When to Launch a Product on Amazon

With the exception of seasonal products, you can launch products anytime of the year. I would, however, avoid launching in Q4 because that time should be used preparing your existing products for the biggest sale events on Amazon – Black Friday/Cyber Monday and the gift shopping season.

Personally, I aim to launch products between January to April. If I want to participate in Summer Prime Day, the 2nd biggest sale event on Amazon that is normally scheduled in mid-July, then April or May would be a good time to launch. And if I want to make it in time for Q4 sale events, August would be the best time.

To give you an idea, here is a sample timeline:

April 15 – launch date

End of February – supplier should be done with production and ready to ship to the US

First week of January – order placed with the supplier – this includes Chinese New Year holiday when most factories are closed for almost a month

December – final samples approved

November – initial samples for testing – expect revisions to be made

October – search for suppliers

August/September – product conceptualization and market competitor research

As you can see, it normally takes 6-8 months to launch products on Amazon. More time is needed if the product is more complex or needs more testing or if you need to change suppliers at the last minute.

You can, of course, move faster and launch products in a shorter time but doing so makes you prone to making mistakes that can be costly. So better plan ahead and account for unforeseen situations that can set you back. Also, it’s not the end of the world if you miss the launching date. Keep going, keep moving forward.