Are you looking to make more money with your business? Are you looking to break into a new market? This is the time to get to know more about back-to-school shopping and how to sell school supplies.
We often talk about the best products to sell and the most profitable niches. Today, we are talking about a niche that can provide a steady income stream throughout the year and, at the same time, turn the market around in a specific season.
Let’s talk about school supplies and the prospects for you, as a business owner.
How to maximize back-to-school shopping, what strategy to use, and how to sell school supplies the best. We will be discussing exactly this right now. Keep watching!
Shopping back to school: Is it a goldmine for business owners?
Is back-to-school shopping really an opportunity for ecommerce entrepreneurs? Both dropshipping pioneers and newcomers to the field of dropshipping should school supplies be worth their attention? Let’s find out!
Ecommerce retail sales are at an all-time high
What are the most important aspects ecommerce entrepreneurs should pay attention to when selecting a niche? They want to find out if the niche has a lot of potential profits and if it is worth a lot of money.
If we’re talking about school supplies, then you might think this niche is all about big bucks. It is highly unlikely that you can imagine the revenues and profitability of your business.
This is just the United States. It sounds impressive, right? There are more statistics.
Households can spend impressively
You will be surprised at the results of large retail sales. According to the analysts, the average expenditures on back to school shopping are about $800 per household. Can you even imagine?
There are many products that you can sell
Selling school supplies gives us more interesting facts. This niche offers a wide range of goods, which makes it appealing to work with. You will have the opportunity to pick which ones you want to concentrate on.
You will also find writing supplies and drawing materials in this niche. If we are talking about back-to-school shopping, you can also pick from desktops and laptops.
Wide target audience
What is the target audience for premium electronics or fishing accessories? Right, this is a limited range of people who have high income or who are fond of fishing, etc.
This is why you can target the entire world. This is amazing, right?
These are exactly the characteristics that make us believe selling school supplies is a very promising business idea.
You can actually make a lot of money by shopping for school supplies back-to-school because they are in high demand. However, you can also sell school supplies during the whole year.
This is due to the fact not everyone has the means to purchase all of the school supplies they need for the year. Many people can’t afford it, while others don’t know how many they will need. That’s why, people buy them all the time.
Selling school supplies is an excellent business idea, both for newbies and experienced dropshippers. These products are highly in demand throughout the year.
How can you profit from the sale of school supplies?
If this seems like a promising niche, as a business owner, the next question is: How do you start selling school supplies?
This niche, like all others, requires you to take some actions:
Find out more about this niche
Learn where to begin ad campaigns
Trending products to buy
You can go on and on.
You can easily find all you need yourself to start selling school supplies. But why should you spend your own time and money on analyzing the market, finding the most promising products, etc? This is what we have done for you already!
Let’s talk about it in the form FAQ.
What should I sell?
We recommend that you carefully consider stationary if you are aiming to build your financial empire by focusing on school supplies sales or back-to-school shopping. Pens, pencils and notebooks are what we’re referring to. These pens are perfect for dropshipping because of the following reasons.
- These products are small in size so shipping is not an issue.
- The initial price of these products is very low, so you can expect a large markup and high profit.
- Most school supplies are bulk-purchased products. Your online store will likely have a large cheque.
There’s even more!
Meantime, if you sell school supplies, you can also add laptops, tablets, and other electronics to your store. Dropshipping is possible with these products. They are however technically complicated and expensive in many cases. We recommend that you concentrate on stationary!
Best Back-to-School Merchandise for Dropshippers to Sell
The children have just split up for their summer holidays and will be back to school before you know it.
So, if you’re running an eCommerce store, you should be taking advantage of this time of year because the back-to-school period can be a lucrative one.
The stats are speaking for themselves.
Back in 2015, the US-only office and school supplies industry rose to a whopping $12 billion. With just as much produced $1.2 billion through online sales! This sector has only gone from strength to strength since then.
You’d be wise to jump on the bandwagon if you haven’t already.
This means seeking goods to sell to murderers, which is where we come in. Below we mentioned some of our favorite back-to-school products to sell to dropshippers.
Is this sounding nice for you? Great. Let’s immerse ourselves straight in!
Pencil Cases
Pencil case is a modern must-have back to school
We all owned one at one point, and I don’t know about you, but I used to love buying a brand new pencil case at the beginning of the year as a child.
As you can see from the screenshot below, they are apparently in demand … right now.
The simple pencil case’s beauty is that you can source them for as little as a dollar, and then sell them on for between $5 and $10 anywhere.
That’s quite a striking markup.
A few tips on marketing
Did you consider giving away something as a freebie while customers are paying a certain amount on your online store? This is a surefire way to boost the sales of your pencil case. There should be something cheap like a novelty pen, pencil, or eraser to do the trick.
Consumers like to get things for free.
So, if you want to create buzz around your new line of products, that’s a great place to start.
Be sure to plaster this promotion across your profiles on social media, so your audience knows about your fabulous offer. You could even run a contest to bolster popularity on social media. This is an easy and budget-friendly way to arrive at new perspectives.
Having all that in mind, here are a few examples of pencil cases we like the look of…
Cute Cartoon Pencil Case
This canvas pencil case is oh so trendy. So, much so that it doubles up as the example of a cosmetic. So, after the back-to-school season has been and gone, you might re-market this commodity and continue to sell it all year round — win-win!
We love that case of cat pencil.
Not just because it’s uber-cute, but also because it’s an eco-friendly product. This USP could easily be used to appeal to parents who take pride in being ethical consumers. Plus, this adorable design is a dead ringer for the ‘Pusheen’ stickers on Facebook messenger. So, we’re confident kids obsessed with social media will love this pencil case!
Sticky Notes
Gone are the days when shoppers could only buy sticky notes that looked generic? There are plenty of excellent choices to choose from nowadays for consumers.
There is something to suit everybody’s tastes, from cute animal-themed designs to fluorescent colored tabs.
So, as a marketer (providing the right products are being sold), you have the freedom to appeal to a broader demographic.
There is a market for sticky notes, from the tots beginning their first day at ‘big school,’ to college students preparing to start a new semester.
A few tips on marketing
We highly recommend that you create and post a banner on your ecommerce store’s homepage. This should capture shoppers’ eyes and entice them to pursue their products back-to-school.
You should expect an influx in website traffic when it’s well marketed. So, put the best foot forward by offering guests an enjoyable shopping experience online. That means fixing anything that might potentially slow down your site’s speed. So, get rid of unnecessary plug-ins and optimize images to ensure that your store loads as fast as you can.
Here are a couple of examples of sticky notes that we cannot get enough of …
Cute Paper Animal Kraft Mini Sticky Notes
If you’ve taken a look on Pinterest recently, you’ll see that Kraft paper is significant in the stationery and craft room. So, we’re predicting these cute sticky notes will sell like hotcakes — especially among lovers of animals! To be serious, who could resist these adorable cartoon sheep’s smiley faces?
Creative Breakfast Food Memo Pads
They say that during the mornings, you are most efficient so these memo pads are the perfect hat tilt to this reality. They are cute, practical, and they are novel. People want something a little different, and that’s undoubtedly those sticky notes.
Pencils Novelty and Pencil Posture Holders
Sales of pencils in the United States grew by a staggering 6.8 per cent in 2011. Kids still need pencils, so they’re a necessity for any back-to-school collection. Selling pencils in novelty style is the best way to stand out from the crowd for what’s usually a pretty generic product.
A few tips on marketing
To stir up some buzz about your pencils, reach out to ‘mom bloggers’ with substantial followings. Before spending their hard-earned cash on back-to-school supplies, parents and students alike will look for inspiration, which is where influencers come into their own.
In 2016, almost a third of parents were willing to spend more money on kids clothing if an online influencer endorsed it. Back-to-school products are easily applied with the same logic.
So head to Google and find the names and email addresses for some of the most popular blogs on parenting. There are tons of influencers in this niche, so you’re bound to find one that will make a shout out to your products!
Here are a few novelty pencils and pencil holders we like the look of …
Flexible, light Pencils
Children love bendy soft pencils and parents love them because they aren’t easily broken or snapped — so they don’t have to shell out for new pencils anyway! They’re fun; they’re colorful, they’re unusual, making them perfect for getting children excited about getting back to school.
Writing Posture Correction Devices
Such apps are great for kids learning how to write. Namely, since they work wonders for helping little ones learn how to handle pencils and pens correctly. Not to mention, they even avoid pencils from uncomfortably rubbing their precious little fingers.
Such posture correction tools are a bit different from writing and offer a solution to a real problem. So, parents on the hunt for all the latest and most fabulous back-to-school stuff (without spending the earth), will love this sort of thing!
Novelty pens
Manufacturers sold around 121 thousand pounds of ballpoint pens in 2013, in only the U.K. Just me!
That’s quite a doe.
So make sure you get a slice of the pie by adding a range of pens to your catalogue of products.
A few tips on marketing
You’ll need to work hard, just like your pencils, to stand out from the crowd.
You don’t want the marketing campaigns simply to make people buy. Instead, you should provide something of value for back-to-school consumers.
You might be able to give parents tips on how to prepare for the back-to-school period, how to motivate children for the school, how to make the most of the summer break — you get the idea!
Here are a few novelty pens that you may wish to consider selling…
Leaf Bookmark Ball Pen
We love the fact that this pen is doubling as a bookmark. The fun design of the bamboo leaf might be perfect for a child who is in merchandise related to the jungle. Perhaps, Tarzan supporters or The Jungle Book fans? Of course, you could use this to fuel your copy of your sales page.
A Customized Pen
A product like this is probably best suited for children who are about to go to college. Giving a student who is about to embark on this educational journey is ideal for parents or grandparents who are searching for a meaningful gift. This pen is wrapped in a comfortable black gift box, so buyers need not think about wrapping paper.
Cross in America does that particular pen. So, you can be sure that you’ll benefit from the cutting-edge innovation and design that was the test of time — to be exact, for 50 years!
Ready to start selling products back to school?
If you’re ready to launch a line of products back to school, you’re not going to go too far wrong with the four products we’ve listed above. Yet, have you found a website extension to help you find other high-converting items before you get going? If not, check out Spocket. You’re expected to fall with them over things you’d never otherwise consider selling!
Dropshipping School Supplies from Alibaba
Dropshipping school supplies products consist of combined stacks paper that can be used to record information in written or printed forms. Dropshipping school supplies products are useful products that can be used by students, teachers, and working professionals. Alibaba.com offers a wide range of dropshipping school supplies products for millions of customers from many different backgrounds. This category has everything you need.
While there are many other ways to store information, the most convenient is dropshipping school supplies. Dropshipping school supplies is still encouraged by educational institutes. They offer a variety of cover bindings that can be used to help students with different subjects. Dropshipping school supplies are still very convenient and easy to use, as they can be carried around with no need to charge electricity or batteries.
Dropshipping school supplies products are available in many sizes and shapes to fit a variety of purposes. Dropshipping school supply items can be bound or loose. Some items are customizable with the ability to add/remove sheets. An alphanumeric code defines the binding, format, size, and other details. This code is used to determine the exact specifications of the product in simpler terms.
This is the best platform to find the product you need. Alibaba.com offers a wide range of dropshipping school supplies that are within your budget. Wholesalers and suppliers offer exclusive discounts for bulk orders.
