Reddit, Quora, and Pinterest are your new secret weapons.

If you're only using Amazon to find product ideas, you're fishing in the same pond as every other wannabe seller.

Let’s change that. 🎣

📖 Real-Life Story: The "Shower Foot Scrubber" That Blew Up

A couple years ago, I was digging through Reddit—not for product research, mind you—but because I fell down a rabbit hole reading about weird shower habits (don’t ask 😅). Someone posted:

That single sentence lit a lightbulb. I Googled it. Turns out… there were tons of comments on Quora and Pinterest boards raving about similar products—but very few on Amazon at the time.

So, I test-launched one.

🧼 It turned into one of my most profitable SKUs that year—all because of a random post on a random thread in a place most sellers weren’t looking.

🔢 Step-by-Step: The “Off-Amazon” Product Research Strategy

You don’t need fancy software or big budgets. Just time, curiosity, and a few tricks I’ll share now 👇

🛠️ Step 1: Start with Reddit (Your Free Customer Goldmine)

Reddit is like having thousands of focus groups… for free.

Go to Reddit.com and search things like:

• “What’s a product you can’t live without?”

• “Underrated Amazon finds”

• “What’s something you bought recently that surprised you?”

Subreddits to explore:

• r/BuyItForLife

• r/Frugal

• r/AskMen / r/AskWomen

• r/ShutUpAndTakeMyMoney

Pro Tip: Look for consistent pain points or praises. One viral post is a fluke. Ten posts about the same issue? That’s a product gap. 💡

💬 Step 2: Tap into Quora (The Internet’s Complaint Box)

Quora is where people go to ask what Google couldn’t answer.

Type in:

• “What’s the best way to [X]?”

• “How do I stop [annoying problem]?”

• “What are must-have items for [target niche]?”

You’ll uncover raw, unfiltered frustrations. And guess what? Every complaint is a business opportunity in disguise.

I once found a product idea just by reading answers to:
👉 “How do I stop my laptop from overheating on my lap?”

Boom. Enter: portable lap desk with built-in cooling fan.

📌 Step 3: Dive into Pinterest (The Underrated Trendspotter)

Pinterest isn’t just for recipes and wedding dresses—it’s a visual search engine.

Here’s how to use it like a product research ninja:

• Search “Amazon must-haves”

• Search “TikTok viral products”

• Look at mood boards around lifestyles like “cozy home office,” “minimalist travel,” or “new mom hacks”

The pins with thousands of saves? That’s demand.
Click through, trace back to blogs, influencer lists, or even Etsy shops. You’ll find niches Amazon hasn’t caught up with yet.

🎯 Big Takeaway

👉 Great product ideas aren’t hiding on Amazon—they’re hiding in conversations, complaints, and curated boards outside of Amazon.

When you research where your customers hang out before they hit the “Buy Now” button… you get in early. That’s the unfair advantage.

💬 Repeatable Proverb:

“Dig where others aren’t digging, and you’ll strike gold where they aren’t even looking.”

🗣️ CTA Time

If this post gave you a lightbulb moment 💡:

💌 Forward it to a seller friend

🔖 Save it to your favorites

👇 Or drop a comment if you’ve ever found a product idea in the wild

Stay scrappy, stay curious, and keep makin’ each click count.

Until next time…

Andy Splichal
Founder & Managing Partner of True Online Presence & Author of the Make Each Click Count Book Series

P.S. Want to scale your sales without scaling your stress? I manage PPC for sellers who are serious about growth.

🎯 Book a free strategy call here — we’ll map out a winning game plan.