Sourcing Selection
Combine marketplace supply and demand signals into a cautious go/no-go or next-step sourcing memo before you commit inventory or supplier spend.
Overview
Sourcing Selection is an agent skill most often used in Validate (also Idea research and Grow distribution planning) that synthesizes supply and demand evidence into a cautious sourcing judgment with explicit missing lay
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/postplusai/postplus-skills --skill sourcing-selectionWhat is this skill?
- Separates observed evidence, inference, and missing layers instead of faking certainty
- Seven-step decision model from demand proof through compliance and operational risk
- Supports product-idea validation, supply-led opportunities, and shortlist synthesis memos
- Returns provisional judgments with explicit missing layers when data is incomplete
- Does not replace platform collection skills or hosted supplier scraping
- Seven-step minimal decision model from demand proof through compliance risk
Adoption & trust: 1 installs on skills.sh; 8 GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits); trending (+100% hot-view momentum).
What problem does it solve?
You have scattered platform metrics and supplier chatter but no disciplined way to merge them into a go/no-go call without pretending the data is complete.
Who is it for?
Solo merchants and indie founders validating a SKU, niche, or supplier shortlist after separate demand and supply data passes.
Skip if: Replacing dedicated marketplace scrapers or claiming hosted supplier collection when you only need raw platform exports.
When should I use this skill?
The user wants a sourcing or product-selection judgment, supply and demand evidence need combining, or a shortlist needs a cautious go/no-go or next-step memo.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a provisional sourcing memo with supporting signals, ranked decision factors, and the weakest missing layer so you know what to collect or test next.
- Provisional sourcing judgment memo
- Supporting signals and explicit missing layer list
- Ordered next-step recommendations
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Canonical shelf is Validate because the skill outputs a product or niche judgment under incomplete evidence—the same decision gate solo merchants hit before scaling a build. Scope fits structured shortlist and idea validation where demand proof, competition shape, and unit-economics pressure are weighed before full product definition.
Where it fits
Rank three niche ideas using demand proof and competition shape before you deep-dive suppliers.
Turn a supplier signal and landing-page demand into a scoped go/no-go with listed missing layers.
Stress-test merchant-model fit and unit-economics pressure before you set wholesale or retail price.
Check channel fit before you scale ads or UGC around a SKU that may not clear supply feasibility.
How it compares
Use for judgment synthesis after collection skills—not as a substitute for supply-side or demand-side data gathering.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is sourcing-selection for?
Indie ecommerce operators and solo builders who already have partial marketplace evidence and need a structured sourcing or product-selection memo.
When should I use sourcing-selection?
Use it during Idea research when weighing niches, in Validate scope when deciding go/no-go on a product idea, and before Grow content or listing pushes when channel fit must be re-checked against supply feasibility.
Is sourcing-selection safe to install?
It is reasoning-only on released surfaces and does not perform hosted supplier collection; review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page before installing any PostPlus skill bundle.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Sourcing Selection
# Sourcing Selection ## Use When - The user wants a sourcing or product-selection judgment, not just raw platform data. - Supply-side evidence and demand-side evidence need to be combined. - A product idea, supplier signal, channel opportunity, or shortlist needs a cautious go/no-go or next-step memo. ## Do Not Use When - Do not replace platform collection skills. - Do not claim hosted supplier collection from this released skill surface. - Do not turn incomplete evidence into a confident sourcing recommendation. ## Core Rule A sourcing judgment is only as strong as its weakest missing layer. Always separate: - observed evidence - inference - missing layer If evidence is incomplete, return a provisional judgment, supporting signals, and the missing layer instead of fake certainty. ## Minimal Decision Model Use this order unless the user asks otherwise: 1. demand proof 2. competition shape 3. channel fit 4. merchant-model fit 5. supply-side feasibility 6. unit-economics pressure 7. compliance or operational risk ## Input Shapes - Product idea validation: demand proof, supply feasibility, then synthesis. - Supply-led opportunity check: supplier or cheap-supply signal first, then matching demand proof and channel fit. - Demand-led sourcing check: marketplace, search, or content demand first, then supply feasibility. - Shortlist comparison: normalize candidates into one decision frame, compare strongest evidence and biggest gaps, then rank cautiously. ## Capability Routing - Supply-side source: user-provided supplier sheets, quotations, or approved marketplace data. Do not imply a released hosted 1688 collector. - Search-intent source: use `google-trends-research` for early momentum and rising-query signals. - Search-led demand: use `google-trends-research` for rising-query signals and user-provided marketplace exports for listings, reviews, price bands, and channel-native competition. - Content-language fit: use `tiktok-research` when demos, hooks, audience language, or content-led selling matter. - Instagram/Meta social proof: use `social-media-extractor` before choosing the platform-specific collector. ## Output Shape The artifact packages the decision memo as JSON with product or niche, target channel, decision, demand signals, supply signals, rationale, missing layers, and recommended next step when provided. ## Stop Conditions - Stop when required user intent, source evidence, or owned input artifacts are missing and guessing would change the result. - If an owned CLI or script command fails, report the exact error and stop. Do not bypass the failure with metadata-only answers, readiness probing, local payload rewrites, fallback providers, or unpublished tools. ## Handoff - Evidence missing -> route to the right collection skill first. - Memo complete -> hand `decision.json` to research expansion, supplier outreach, channel decision, or brief creation. ## Public Command Boundary - Choose the smallest matching command or workflow from the user input and run it directly. - If an owned CLI or script command fails, report the exact error and stop. Do not bypass the failure with metadata-only answers, readiness probing, local payload rewrites, fallback providers, or unpublished tools. - This public skill is instruction-driven. Produce the artifact described by the workflow directly from the available evidence. - Do not call private provider/runtime paths or unpublished local tools. - If the CLI returns a quote-confirmation challenge, run `postplus quote confirm --json --challenge-file <challenge.json>` and retry with the returned token