personal locator beacon
Skip itPricing outside the sweet spot ($517.23 avg) — this niche doesn't clear our bar today.
Market size
Great$1.3M$1.3M/yr · 207K searches
Review moat
Great439.13avg incumbent reviews — the moat a new listing must climb
Returns
Good2.7%return rate — above 5% kills the launch gate
Growth
Good+29.9%90-day search growth — must beat 0% to launch
Competition
Good54%top-5 click share — leaders hold, buyers still browse
Quality gap
Okay4.5★avg incumbent rating — lower means beatable quality
Conversion
Bad1.2%search→purchase rate — share of searches ending in a sale
Brand share
Bad96%top-5 brand share — brand-locked demand
Price range
Bad$72.66–$1475.72cheapest to priciest tracked listing — scored on the share inside $15–$100
Avg price
Bad$517.23avg listing price — sweet spot $15–$100
According to Flapen's Amazon United States niche tracking, personal locator beacon is a $1.3M/yr Amazon United States market (207K searches/yr). The top 5 brands hold 96% of demand. Demand peaks in Jan. Verdict: Skip it — 45/100.
Data updated Jul 22, 2026 · scored weekly · How we score niches
personal locator beacon market data
- Units sold / yr
- 2K–2K
- avg 0–100/product
- Revenue / yr
- $776K–$1.0M
- units × avg price
- Conversion rate
- 1.2%
- Avg BSR
- #407
- Page quality
- 0%
- Prime
- 79%
- Sponsored
- 96%
- Out of stock
- 0.3%
- Avg brand age
- 56 months
- Avg seller age
- 181 days
Competition & brand share
The top 5 products take 54% of clicks — established leaders, but buyers still shop beyond them.Brands
8 falling
Sellers
201
Top-5 brand share
96%
Top 20: 100%
Top-5 click share
54%
Top 20: 96%
Open market
2%
- ACR73%
- Garmin8%
- ZOLEO6%
- McMurdo4%
- Nautilus Lifeline4%
- Onyx2%
- Open — no brand owns it (2 brands, 2%)
Demand & seasonality
Weekly Amazon search volume, last 104 weeks — +29.9% search growth over the last 90 days.Peak months: Jan · busiest ÷ quietest = 2.4×
Top personal locator beacon search terms
- epirb53K/yr
- personal locator beacon36K/yr
- plb personal locator beacon17K/yr
- epirb marine14K/yr
- plb21K/yr
- epirb for boating14K/yr
- emergency beacon9K/yr
- personal locator beacon for hiking7K/yr
- epirb for boat6K/yr
- emergency beacon for hikers5K/yr
Top personal locator beacon products on Amazon
Each bubble is one product — market share against review moat; bubble size tracks estimated sales, color grades how beatable the incumbent looks.
All 24 tracked products in this niche — three views at once, no toggling.
Top sellers
by 90-day click share
ACR ResQLink 400 - SOS Personal Locator Beacon with GPS and Global Coverage - Designed to Alert Search and Rescue Efforts for Any Outdoor Emergency - Ideal for Hiking Hunting Boating Fishing
ACR$405.134.8★162 rev
ACR GLOBALFIX V6 GPS EPIRB SOS Global Coverage Return Link Service & Mobile App - CAT 2 Manual Release Bracket (2854) - Global Satellite Emergency Signaling for Search & Rescue 10 Year Battery Life
ACR$739.534.9★46 rev
ACR ResQLink View - Buoyant Personal Locator Beacon with GPS for Hiking Boating and All Outdoor Adventures (Model PLB 425) ACR 2922
ACR$464.584.6★394 rev
Garmin inReach Mini 2 Lightweight and Compact Satellite Communicator Hiking Handheld Orange - 010-02602-00
Garmin$278.344.6★2,174 rev
ZOLEO Satellite Communicator Two-Way Global SMS Text Messenger & Email Emergency SOS Alerting Check-in & GPS Location Android iOS Smartphone Accessory
ZOLEO$143.484.5★3,141 rev
Newest
by launch date
ACR GlobalFix V6 EPIRB Survival Kit with Ditchbag and Signaling Gear Essential Safety for Emergency situations offering Reliable Distress signaling (Model 2344.1).
ACR$833.379 rev
ACR GlobalFix V5 AIS EPIRB with ResQLink View RLS PLB Survival Kit with USCG Approved ResQFlare E-Flare Ditchbag Strobe Light Hemilight Lifevest Light USCG Whistle & Signal Mirror - 2341.1
ACR$1475.723 rev
ACR GlobalFix V5 AIS EPIRB Survival Kit with Ditchbag and Signaling Gear The Ultimate Safety Solution for Emergency situations ensuring Reliable Distress signaling (Model 2338.1).
ACR$988.916 rev
ACR GLOBALFIX V6 GPS EPIRB SOS Global Coverage Return Link Service & Mobile App - CAT 2 Manual Release Bracket (2854) - Global Satellite Emergency Signaling for Search & Rescue 10 Year Battery Life
ACR$739.5346 rev
ACR GLOBALFIX V6 GPS EPIRB SOS Global Coverage Return Link Service & Mobile App - CAT 1 Auto Release Bracket (2853) - Global Satellite Emergency Signaling for Search & Rescue 10 Year Battery Life
ACR$850.1212 rev
Trending
90-day click momentum
Onyx M-16 Manual Inflatable Belt Pack U.S. Coast Guard Approved Low Profile Compact Design Approved for users 16 years and older; and over 80 pounds
Onyx$72.664.7★
ACR GlobalFix V5 AIS EPIRB with ResQLink View RLS PLB Survival Kit with USCG Approved ResQFlare E-Flare Ditchbag Strobe Light Hemilight Lifevest Light USCG Whistle & Signal Mirror - 2341.1
ACR$1475.724.2★
ACR GlobalFix V5 AIS EPIRB Survival Kit with Ditchbag and Signaling Gear The Ultimate Safety Solution for Emergency situations ensuring Reliable Distress signaling (Model 2338.1).
ACR$988.913.1★
ACR GlobalFix V6 EPIRB with RapidDitch Express Bag - 2343.1: Reliable Emergency Beacon with Quick-Release Bag for Fast Deployment in Critical situations.
ACR$786.455.0★
Sirius Signal C-1004 SOS LED Distress Signal White + IR - USCG Approved
SIRIUS SIGNAL FOR LIFE$99.494.6★
What buyers say about personal locator beacon
What buyers praise and complain about, mined from review topics.What buyers love
“As advertised”
“affordable”
“Great unit,”
“Easy to use”
“it always comes on with a very bright light”
“Garmin has GREAT customer service”
“It seems durable”
“Simple extra travel security”
“Small, good safety item when out in areas where you won't get cell”
“it was a gift”
What buyers complain about
“Not inexpensive”
“My sister, which had one also, was in a real pickle and could not get hers to connect either”
“expensive and frustrating to set up”
“Doesn't work for me”
“Motorcycle broke down”
“Garmin should be giving these away”
“Software isnt the best, hardware works”
“Apparently if you don't charge this at least once every 6 months, the battery dies and won't charge”
“The next year when I launched my boat I found the batteries had died”
“this never inflated despite being loaded”
Top return reasons
Common questions
- Is personal locator beacon profitable to sell on Amazon United States?
- The niche generates $1.3M/yr across 24 tracked products. 90-day search growth is +29.9%. Flapen's verdict: Skip it (45/100).
- How competitive is the personal locator beacon niche?
- 8 brands and 201 sellers compete. The top 5 products take 54% of clicks and top 5 brands hold 96% of demand.
- What do buyers complain about in personal locator beacon?
- Top complaints mined from reviews: Value For Money, Connectivity-Overall, Assembly/Installation. The return rate is 2.7%.
- When does demand for personal locator beacon peak?
- Demand peaks in Jan; the busiest month runs 2.4× the quietest.
- What does it cost to enter the personal locator beacon niche?
- Listings span $72.66–$1475.72; the average listing price is $517.23 (sweet spot $15–$100). The average incumbent carries 439 reviews — the moat a new listing must climb.