Dropshipping products

Are you looking for a good niche with dropshipping products? Not all products are suited to start your first business with. Products that will be returned often or have a high warranty risk do not fit the bill. Luckily, there are lots of niches that are perfect for dropshipping.

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping means that when someone orders in your online shop, the supplier ships the item directly to the customer. Therefore you do not need your own stock or the hassle of supply management.

To be upfront: this is not a comprehensive list of the best dropshipping products of all time. However, if you are just starting out, there are ways to figure out the best products for your store. And, maybe more importantly, which products to avoid.

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What products to start your online store with

More and more products are directly being shipped to consumers by suppliers. With market research tools like Google Trends, or simply checking out what is popular among social media platforms, it is relatively easy to find the niches with the most profitable dropshipping products.

As an online store owner this kind of business probably sounds ideal, and it definitely can be. However, do not underestimate things like marketing, customer service or the simple laws of economics. To find products to sell might sound easy, but to actually make a living with it, is something else. When you are starting your first online business be aware that dropshipping works best for certain products, and not so well for others.

Dropshipping cosmetics and food is a risk

First off, when you start a dropshipping business, you are not the one managing the quality of the product. The product is not in your hands and you can not make adjustments to it. This means that certain products are a safety risk.

Take food and cosmetics, for example. Even though the second category is especially popular among dropshipping suppliers, it is best to steer away when you are starting your first business unless you are an expert in the field or know the supplier well.

Blindly trusting a supplier can result in unforeseen issues. Maybe the information on the product is not entirely correct, or customers experience skin irritation and allergic reactions from it. The product may not be your own, but you are still the one responsible when issues arise.

With dropshipping, you’re the one responsible when issues arise.

The same goes for vitamin pills and other nutritional supplements. In addition to the safety risks, there are a lot of rules surrounding the marketing for these products. Certain health claims on the packaging can be outright illegal in some countries. And Facebook and Google do not allow some types of marketing for these products. If you do not have experience in this area, it is best to avoid it altogether.

Avoid clothing item returns

Fashion is a popular product category among dropshippers, but also demands a bit of experience. Having a lot of returns can really complicate things. And clothing is the number one most returned product in ecommerce.

Moreover, dropshipping clothes increases the already high risk of returns. Since suppliers that offer dropshipment services are usually stationed abroad, international sizing can vary. Sizes in Asian countries run smaller than European sizes, for example. Even the clothing sizes within Europe are not all the same. The quality of garments can also vary, as well as fashion trends around the world.

Clothing varies in quality and sizing, which makes for a high risk of returns.

Every ecommerce business that sells fashion has to deal with returns. But if you use dropshipping, you probably did it to avoid any warehouse-related work. Because fashion is so often returned, it kind of defeats the purpose.

That said, fashion is not entirely a no-go. You just have to go about it another way. Selling t-shirts, rompers and bibs with custom prints, for instance, is perfect for a dropshipping business and a good way to avoid returns. This also makes your products unique, which can be hard when your dropshipping supplier delivers to thousands of other shops.

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The best dropshipping product sells less

You are an ecommerce entrepreneur and probably want to sell as much as possible. But products that sell less, are actually best suited for dropshipping. Why? Because you do not want to buy it in bulk upfront or keep it in stock.

Products that people only buy once are perfect for dropshipping, such as travel, garden and fitness supplies. Take for example a tent, barbecue, yoga mat, children’s toy, wine rack or flower vase. These are not best-sellers, but good dropshipping products nonetheless. In addition, online shops that keep their own stock will not favor these items. This puts you at an advantage.

Products that sell less, are the best dropshipping products.

Do you have products selling like hot cakes? Then it is better to keep your own stock. That way you can also negotiate a better price with your supplier, use your own packaging and have a more professional looking return address. If you still want to outsource some of the tedious work, you can use fulfillment. This means you do have your own stockroom, but a third party takes care of the entire shipping process.

Do you want to dropship home, garden and fitness supplies or electronics? Bigbuy.eu is a big Spanish dropshipping platform with 150.000 products and fast shipping.

European product safety laws

All things electronic have to abide by European laws on product safety. Even though AliExpress is full of products like drones, electric train sets and phone chargers, they might not be in accordance with European guidelines. This means you have a high warranty risk.

For this reason, if this is your first ecommerce store it is best to start with electronics from European dropshipping suppliers. Also make sure to test it yourself before selling it to customers. European laws aside, electronics are very popular dropshipping products. Items like a kitchen scale, toaster or mixer are perfect examples of dropshipment items to sell in your online store.

Broaden your product range

The perfect dropshipping products may sell less, but with dropshipping you are able to offer a bigger range of products. You are not limited to shelves in a physical store or the size of your stockroom. If each product only sells once a day, that may seem like a disappointment. But if you have a thousand different products, one order per product will mean millions of profit per year.

Dropshipping is also a smart way to extend your existing product range, since these products do not need to be stocked up in advance. Do you already have an online shop? Take a look at products that are not selling well, cost a lot or take up lots of storage space. Turning these into dropshipping products can make them more profitable. You can even ask your existing supplier if they offer dropshipping.

Dropshipping is an easy way to broaden your product range or fill up empty product categories.

Dropshipping can also be a form of market research. It is an easy way to fill up empty product categories or try selling a new product. In that case you can see what customers think, test out conversion rates and already start building search engine hits. Or find out how much of a product you really need before stocking it yourself.

Dropshipping does not make selling any easier

Even when you pick out the very best  products, it does not guarantee that they will actually sell or be profitable.

Dropshipping is ideal to skip the hassle of stocking and shipping, but it can also mean lower profit margins and less control over your product. You can sell anything with dropshipping and the competition is everywhere.

Therefore it is important to know your product and your target audience like the back of your hand. Make sure you will not back down from answering questions from customers or market regulators. Ask yourself the following questions. Can you find the right customers and seduce them to buy your product? Do you know the product and its ingredients, and would you recommend it to someone else? If so, dropshipping may be the way to go.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Some of the frequently asked questions about dropshipping products:

What are the best dropshipping products?

Products that customers only buy once, are the best for dropshipping. Travel items, garden and fitness supplies are a good fit. Clothes, electronics and children’s toys can also be good dropshipping items to sell, but these are more complicated because of safety laws and a high risk of returns. You can overcome this by selling printed t-shirts or costumes, that are more unique.

Where do I find dropshipping suppliers?

There are a lot of suppliers that offer dropshipping. You can start by asking your existing supplier about dropshipping. Are you just starting your online shop? Start by browsing popular dropship platforms like AliExpress and Bigbuy.

Can you dropship clothing items?

Anything you can sell online, you can also sell with dropshipping. But keep in mind that clothing is probably not the most successful. International sizing can cause problems and you will have to deal with high returns. And when dropshipping, you are still the one responsible for customer service and warranty.