Role Overview
Clients hire a Product Research Expert to find items that will actually sell—not just look good in theory. Your job is not to chase trends or dump a list of unvetted products. Clients rely on you to identify real potential: products with validated demand, strong competitive angles, and clear profit margins. If you’re guessing, rushing, or relying on popularity alone, you’re not protecting the client’s budget—you’re gambling with it. The right products open the door to revenue; the wrong ones drain ad spend, kill momentum, and hurt trust.
This role is not just about spotting what’s “hot” or copying what’s viral. It’s about knowing what works—why, where, and for whom. Clients expect judgment, not just data. They don’t need a list of products—they need a business opportunity backed by solid market logic. Every recommendation you make carries a downstream cost in copywriting, store setup, creative, and media—that’s why accuracy matters and assumptions don’t fly.
Standards You Must Meet
- Every product you submit must be backed by real proof of demand —trending alone isn’t enough.
- Clients expect a clear angle, not just a category; your picks must show how the store can stand out competitively.
- Product sheets need more than links and specs—they must include pricing logic, margin estimates, and market context.
- Recommending oversaturated, copy-paste products with no differentiation is unacceptable and breaks client trust.
- Your shortlists must be curated—5 strong options with depth always beat 25 guesses with fluff.
- Expect clients to audit your research logic—weak justifications or assumptions won’t pass.
- Turnarounds must be fast, but never rushed; speed is only valuable when insight stays intact.
- This work feeds real budgets and ad spend—mistakes here ripple through the funnel and cost the business.
What You’ll Be Doing
• Research and validate product demand using live market signals, not generic trend data or assumptions.
• Build tightly curated shortlists of 3–5 products with clear angles, positioning notes, and buyer motivation data.
• Evaluate profit margins by calculating product cost, shipping impact, and realistic sell price for client-specific markets.
• Check for oversaturation and assess competitor presence to ensure uniqueness and ad viability in current conditions.
• Deliver product sheets that combine supplier links, pricing logic, and contextual insights—not just spec dumps.
• Pre-vet suppliers for reliability, fulfillment consistency, and delivery timelines before naming them as sources.
• Monitor trend tools, marketplaces, and live ad libraries to identify patterns that align with viable market opportunities.
• Use automation tools to streamline research workflows and eliminate time spent on repetitive, manual tasks.
What You’ll Hand Over
• A curated shortlist of 3–5 product picks, each backed by real demand signals, competitive angles, and margin logic.
• A product summary sheet for each item, including supplier link, target price range, estimated profit, and positioning insight.
• A market context overview that explains buyer intent, saturation level, and how your pick stands out.
• A supplier validation snapshot confirming credibility, shipping times, and fulfillment viability.
• A clear go/no-go recommendation per product, so the client knows what’s ready for launch and what needs to be skipped.
Tools You’ll Need to Use
• Shopify Admin – Core platform for evaluating market readiness, pricing strategies, and product listings.
• AliExpress – Primary supplier directory for sourcing winning products with viable shipping and margin potential.
• Product Trend Tools (e.g., Sell The Trend, Ecomhunt) – Used to monitor real-time product demand and validate market interest.
• Facebook Ad Library – Essential for reviewing competitor ad strategies and identifying high-performing product creatives.
• Google Trends – Supports demand validation by tracking search interest across regions and timeframes.
• Amazon Best Sellers – Offers insights into proven product categories and bestseller behavior across niches.
• eBay & Walmart Marketplace – Useful for cross-referencing trending products and identifying gaps in competitor offerings.
Why Work Smarter
As a Product Research Expert, you must understand that repetitive tasks should not be handled by human effort alone. The clients saving the most time and money are the ones pairing skilled VAs with solid automation. If you can’t automate basic workflows, the client is wasting money on human labor for tasks a machine can do in seconds.
OES is setting this expectation now — not for hype, but because the market already has. We do not wait for trends to go mainstream. We meet them head-on to keep our clients and our VAs competitive. Learn automation, or risk being left out.
Why Your Work Matters
Everything in a Shopify or dropshipping business hinges on one thing: the quality of the product being sold. Right now—not later, not next quarter—clients are spending real money on ads, store builds, and creatives based on your research. If your product recommendation is wrong, everything downstream collapses. Bad product calls don’t just slow down growth—they waste thousands in ad spend, kill trust, and trigger refund loops. This role isn’t “support”—it’s the first decision that determines whether a store makes money or burns it.
Clients no longer have time for trial-and-error. They come to OES because they expect precision: products that are proven, positioned, and profitable. When your picks are backed with logic, clean data, and competitive clarity, you’re not just feeding a store—you’re creating a viable business. Right now, your accuracy is the difference between a client launching with confidence or hesitating with doubts. In today’s landscape, strong product research isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s the most critical, high-leverage move a client can make.
What We Expect From You
As a Specialist Product Research Expert in Shopify + Dropshipping, you are expected to make independent, revenue-impacting decisions backed by data, relevance, and timing. You know how to triangulate product-market fit through trend intelligence, competitor scanning, and platform-native signals—and you don’t guess. You understand that every product selected is a strategic risk that must be justified and measurable. You’re not here to test random products—you’re here to find profitable ones that meet criteria, answer briefs, and move stores toward scale.
We’re looking for someone with commercial discipline and consistent output, not just insight. You apply your judgment to the entire research funnel—from validation to urgency to supplier viability—and you stand behind your calls because you know the impact is real. You don’t overpromise, rush insights, or ignore the workflow. You stay synced to market shifts and align product picks with strategy, not trends in isolation. If you operate with clarity, take ownership of your results, and prioritize profitable execution over passive lists, you’ll own this Specialist role the right way.
This role directly drives store performance and sets the pace for fulfillment success—OES does not take that lightly.
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$500 – $1,100
OES salary standards reflect real market benchmarks, tier and experience level, ensuring fair pay for VAs and realistic expectations for clients.
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