Bought some random desk organizer off Amazon a few weeks ago and somehow ended up questioning my entire career path
The thing was like $35 and honestly pretty average. Out of curiosity I reverse image searched it and found basically the exact same product on Alibaba for a fraction of the price. Then I started noticing the same item everywhere, TikTok Shop, Etsy, random Shopify stores, all using slightly different branding but clearly coming from the same supplier.
So I started watching factory tours, reading sourcing threads on Reddit, looking into how small ecommerce brands actually operate. What surprised me most was how many people in that space are already using AI tools now for supplier research and product sourcing. I kept seeing people mention tools like Acciowork, so I tried it myself one night just messing around with product ideas. Honestly, that was the moment things started feeling weirdly real. Being able to type in a vague product concept and instantly see suppliers, MOQ ranges, shipping estimates, similar products, etc. made the whole import business world feel way less gatekept than I always assumed it was.
I still haven't done anything with it yet. But it's kind of crazy realizing how accessible this stuff has become. A month ago I knew nothing about sourcing. Now I catch myself thinking about margins, factories, packaging, and whether I should literally fly to China at some point just to understand how this whole ecosystem works.