How We Research

Product Selection

Every product on PlanMakeShip starts with data. We monitor Google Trends for rising search queries in consumer product categories, analyze published review data to find products with consistently negative sentiment, and track trend reports across e-commerce platforms to identify gaps between demand and supply quality.

A product makes the cut when it hits three criteria: high and growing search volume, a clear pattern of consumer complaints about existing options, and a realistic path to market for a solo founder or small team.

Guide Generation

Each guide is AI-assisted with human review. We use large language models to synthesize market data, generate supplier outreach templates, and draft marketing copy — then every section is reviewed for accuracy, realism, and actionability.

Supplier email templates are written to be ready to send. Financial projections are conservative. We would rather underestimate margins than set false expectations.

Update Schedule

We publish 2 new guides per week. Existing guides are updated quarterly with refreshed market data, pricing changes, and new competitor information. If a product category becomes saturated or the opportunity window closes, we note that clearly at the top of the guide.

Transparency

We don't sell products. We don't take affiliate commissions from suppliers. We research opportunities and write playbooks. That's it.

The data we cite (search volumes, growth rates, pricing) comes from publicly available tools and published reports. We link sources where possible and note estimates where exact data isn't available.