Product shops should be evaluated under a different light than service shops. Their existence shouldn't dissuade you from looking into the market; sometimes com

Product shops should be evaluated under a different light than service shops. Their existence shouldn't dissuade you from looking into the market; sometimes companies are stagnant ghost-ships that haven't done anything for ages. Other times they're an incompetent bunch with outsourced workers for a development team. In yet others, a product company only caters to one big client or two, or is geographically focused in one area. If you don't see their name in industry publications and trade conferences they're as good as dead. Google their products and see if anybody is looking for help with them online. If they have a small user community, you can get a feel for how well they're doing. If there is no visible user community, well, there is either no market or the "company" is just a brochure website for vaporware.