The Problem With "Feels Good" Decisions

Every seller has sourced a product that felt right. The images looked good. The idea seemed clever. The price was affordable. But when the data came back, the Sell-Through Rate was 22% and there were 800 active competitors. The product sat in storage for four months.

A scoring framework removes feelings from the equation entirely. Every product gets a number from 0 to 100. Products above a certain score get sourced. Products below it get skipped. No exceptions, no gut instinct override, no "I have a good feeling about this one."

This does not mean the framework is perfect — no scoring system is. But it is consistent. And consistency is what lets you learn. When a scored product fails, you can go back to the score and find out which metric was wrong. Over time, you calibrate the weights until the framework reliably predicts winners.

The 5-Dimension Scoring System (100 Points Total)

The Cut-Off Score: Where to Draw the Line

After testing this framework across hundreds of product evaluations, the cut-off score of 60 out of 100 produces the best balance between inclusion and quality. Here is what the score ranges mean in practice:

• 80–100: Strong buy. Multiple criteria are excellent. Prioritise sourcing.
• 60–79: Viable. One or two criteria are average but overall the product passes. Source a small test quantity first.
• 40–59: Revisit. The numbers are not good enough today. Check again in 2–3 weeks to see if conditions have changed.
• 0–39: Skip. Do not invest time or money here. The data does not support it.

The Google Sheets Scoring Formula

Assuming your columns are: C = STR (%), D = Active Listings, H = Profit ($), C2 in the STR column already has the value, not the formula:

STR Score (E):
=IF(C2>=70,25,IF(C2>=50,18,IF(C2>=35,10,0)))

Competition Score (F):
=IF(D2<100,25,IF(D2<=200,18,IF(D2<=300,10,0)))

Profit Score (G):
=IF(H2>=12,20,IF(H2>=8,14,IF(H2>=5,8,0)))

Total Score (I) — add STR+Competition+Profit, enter Sales and Trend manually in cols J+K:
=E2+F2+G2+J2+K2

Batch-Scoring 10 Products in 30 Minutes

Follow this exact workflow to score 10 products in one sitting:

1. Minutes 1–5: Open your research sheet. List 10 product keywords in Column A.
2. Minutes 6–20: Open Terapeak or ZIK Analytics. For each product, pull Sold/Month and Active Listings. Enter in Columns C and D. The STR and Competition scores auto-calculate.
3. Minutes 21–25: Check AliExpress or Amazon for the cheapest source price for each product. Enter in the Source Price column. Profit scores auto-calculate.
4. Minutes 26–28: Open Google Trends. Quick 5-second check for each product — is it rising, stable, or declining? Enter trend score manually (10/7/5/0).
5. Minutes 29–30: Sort by Total Score descending. Products ≥60 go to your sourcing shortlist. Products <40 are marked Skip.

Adjusting the Weights for Your Business Model

The weights above are balanced for general dropshipping. If you run a different model, adjust as follows:

• Online Arbitrage: Increase Profit Margin weight to 30 pts. Reduce Trend to 5 pts. Margins must justify sourcing effort.
• Wholesale: Increase Sales Volume to 30 pts. Reduce Competition to 15 pts. Volume matters more when you have MOQ commitments.
• Private Label: Increase Trend Direction to 20 pts. Reduce STR to 15 pts. You need long runway, not just current demand.

Key Takeaways

• A scoring framework replaces emotion with consistent, data-driven decisions
• 5 dimensions: STR (25 pts), Competition (25 pts), Profit (20 pts), Volume (20 pts), Trend (10 pts)
• Cut-off: 60/100 to pursue · 40–59 to revisit · below 40 to skip
• Google Sheets formulas auto-calculate STR and competition scores — only profit, volume, and trend need manual input
• Adjust the weights for your specific business model — this is not one-size-fits-all

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