SmartScout Review 2023
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As an avid user of Amazon and someone potentially interested in building a selling platform, I decided to research SmartScout and a few alternatives to find a seller’s site that was best for me. I found that SmartScout is a brilliant software tool marketed for Amazon sellers that gives a top to bottom analysis of Amazon’s sellers, brands, and products.
SmartScout gives you the full scoop on the top 20 categories and thousands of subcategories, as well as the data and metrics you need to properly improve your platform as a seller or grow your brand.
SmartScout Overview
I found SmartScout to be a useful tool that offers plenty of features to help Amazon sellers get the most out of their listings. It offers more than similar tools on the market, but it also costs more and can be overwhelming for beginners.
When getting into selling through Amazon or any other adjacent service, I believe it is sometimes necessary to have a bit of third-party assistance. With Amazon in particular being such a large company it can seem an impossible market to crack the code to and quite the feat to conquer. With websites like SmartScout, I now have an easy and contained way to search for exactly what I was looking for.
On top of making the Amazon selling market more digestible, SmartScout helped me find the best ways to market products, where to advertise them, and what to advertise alongside them.
SmartScout’s Key Features
SmartScout has a very wide range of features available to its users based on what level of subscription you purchase with them (the prices of which will be discussed later). There are three levels you can purchase access to; Starter, Pro, and Enterprise. The largest difference is the number of users per month.
With a starter subscription you will have open to you:
- Room for 2 users per month
- Worldwide seller map
- Brand search tool
- All search subcategories
- Limited seller search capabilities
- Full product database
- Private label FBA Calculator
- Product history
- Out-of-stock arbitrage finder
- MarketShare analyzer
- Priority onboarding
- And 10,000 searches/mo on the UPC scanner
With Pro you add:
- Room for 5 users per month
- Traffic graph
- Full access to seller search
- Excel Exports
- And 100,000 searches/mo on the UPC scanner
With Enterprise you will add:
- Room for 10 users per month
- AdSpy
- Seller exports/growth filters
- And 200,000 searches/mo on the UPC scanner
Worldwide Seller Map
The seller map tool is formatted like a giant map that you can zoom in and out of by area. It is helpful for businesses who may be looking for a specific seller who fits their needs in a particular area. It helped me find sellers who may need my advertising help or who may help me with your advertising.
This tool is very searchable and is easily navigated through many search terms and filters. There will be no shortage of matches to the exact things you are looking to find in a seller. I could see this tool becoming essential to my business and growth.
Brand Search Tool
This tool gives sellers an expansive look at brands that sell on Amazon, what products they sell, their size as it relates to monthly revenue, their amazon in-stock rate, average selling prices, etc. This database is also easily searchable by category and brand.
You can enter all of the specifics of what kind of brand you are looking to find and it will produce results that fit all of your criteria and give you the rundown on them. This was a big help when looking for what brands are best rated, best selling, and will compete for most with others, as well as which will compete most with amazon in terms of stock availability. It gave me a look at which brands to buy from or sell for before diving right in.
Full Product Database
This tool covers a very broad range of things. You get a bird’s eye view of up to 5000 products on a single screen. I will say it can be quite overwhelming. Still, it is quite an asset. You can see any product at a glance. You get to view photos of the product and see an evaluative score of the product itself.
Luckily this tool is also quite searchable, and rightfully so because it is quite a lot to navigate through at once. As a seller trying to find what products will sell well and build my selling platform, I found this to be extremely helpful. I was able to find the perfect products for my Amazon storefront.
Private Label FBA Calculator
If you are a new seller on Amazon you may have become painfully aware of how much of your profit can be taken from your business by using Amazon for your fulfillment if not done correctly. I know I did. This tool is to help you get it done the right way. SmartScout’s FBA Calculator will break down the FBA fees on any product so you can see exactly what you’re paying for and be sure you aren’t paying unnecessary fees.
Priority Onboarding
Third-party logistics will accelerate your onboarding process and will help you get ahead of the competition.
Traffic Graph
This is another important feature of SmartScout that can seem a bit overwhelming at a glance. But essentially this feature shows you how best to market your products and where to advertise. The graph gave me a look at the revenue estimates, product score, and other info on my products as well as see what other items are frequently bought alongside products.
This helped me to know how best to market my products and possibly what kind of products I may want to add to my inventory to pair with my existing items in the future.
AdSpy
This feature might be one of SmartScout’s most unique features. This tool can be used to track product and brand ad interaction, keyword search traction, and spy on your competition. This will help you to assess your position as a seller.
Which Membership Is Right for You?
The starter subscription is geared toward sellers who are beginning to desire substantial growth in their new selling platform on Amazon. This is the most basic subscription and provides only the most essential of SmartScout’s services. If you are just starting, this would be your best option.
The Pro package offers more users per month and more features as well. This would be good if you have multiple business partners and are further along the journey of building your foundations as an Amazon seller. This is the membership package I chose because it had the features I wanted for a mid-range price.
Enterprise level is definitely for someone who is looking to build a business that can support a large number of orders and needs help balancing books, advertising, and scanning the competitors.
Efficiency and Ease of Use
There are praises to be sung about how easy SmartScout is to navigate. With an expansive amount of knowledge it would have been easy to get lost, but the searchability and easily scroll-able menu bar of SmartScout made sure I found my way around. With the number of keyword searches and subcategories to filter your results through, it becomes easy to find the results you need quickly.
The few issues I found when using the site were the layout and occasional overwhelmingly large lists. There were moments when pieces of their layout got in the way of my search results. But beyond these small complaints, the website is simple to navigate and quick and easy to use.
Pricing
As mentioned before, there are three pricing tiers you can choose from for your SmartScout subscription. The pricing goes from $97 to $197 a month. Enterprise is available for you to discuss pricing with the sales team at SmartScout. You can also save up to 20% on your subscription if you pay yearly. Pricing is seemingly the biggest point of contention amongst SmartScout’s customer base.
If those prices scare you, I will say there are cheaper tools out there for online marketplace optimization. Things like A2X ($19/mo), Webgility ($99/mo), and Helium (Free). When going for a cheaper option, though, you do sacrifice some tools that may be assets to you. SmartScout has the most expansive network of services of all the similar options.
SmartScout Pros:
- User-friendly and searchable
- More features than other websites of its kind
- Well reviewed by many users on many platforms
SmartScout Cons:
- A lot of information in one place can be overwhelming, especially with some of their layout quirks
- A bit pricier than others like it
- Limited features relating to accounting and bookkeeping
How do SmartScout’s Services Compare?
What sets SmartScout apart is the vastness of the features offered. They provide far more resources than their competitors and make their services worth the money. Let’s break down the competitors one by one.
A2X
I believe comparing A2X and SmartScout is tough as they are quite different services. A2X is far more geared towards accounting and giving you an easy way to balance your books, whereas SmartScout is geared a bit more toward resources for marketing and being the smartest seller you can be.
webgility
Webgility is much the same as A2X in that its primary features work toward giving you automated accounting and better bookkeeping tools. This site however is more comparable to SmartScout than the last we discussed. Webgility has some features similar to SmartScout that give an idea of product profitability and business and brand analytics. These features give it more of a marketing or brand-building focus as does SmartScout.
Helium 10
Seemingly the most similar service to SmartScout is Helium 10. Helium 10 has a product research tool, keyword research tool, listing optimization resources, and marketing resources. This tells you it is more geared toward building and maximizing your selling platform, much like SmartScout.
AMZScout
This site offers you an Amazon sellers course, keyword search tools, popularity trackers, ASIN search engines, and stock stats. The significant advantage of this service is the price. The Amazon Sellers bundle is quite a comprehensive subscription and it is $29 per month. In turn for a cheaper price, you do sacrifice some of the more advanced services.
FAQs
Answer: For a more detailed answer you can refer back to the pricing section of this article. But as mentioned before, there are three pricing tiers. Starter for $97 per month, Pro for $197 per month, and Enterprise pricing is available with a quick contact with the sales team.
Answer: Yes. There is a free trial period of 7 days. You also get 30 days risk-free. Means you can get your money back within the first 30 days if SmartScout isn’t right for you.
Answer: You can cancel your subscription at any time. Your account will be active until the end of your billing period and then will not renew. You can cancel your subscription within your account.
Is SmartScout Ultimately Worth it?
SmartScout offers an extensive amount of services and is at a moderate price point for the type of resources you gain. It is an asset to a new seller trying to quickly learn how to build their platform and grow their brand. Ultimately, I believe it may come down to your price point and what service you may be willing to compromise. Overall, SmartScout is a useful tool and offers a lot for the money you will be paying. I believe it’s a top option for sure.
