What is a dropshipping product?
Three important criteria are required for a dropshipping product to be successful:
- It is profitable
- It’s in demand
- It’s easy to ship (weight, size).
You’re already off to a great start if your product meets these three criteria. There are many options when it comes to choosing the product that you want.
It takes a lot of research to find the best dropshipping product. Get to know the world of eCommerce. Explore online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and AliExpress. Learn about product trends. Take a look at the number of sellers in each niche. Find out about profit margins and seller fees. This information will help you to choose the right dropshipping product.
You can test your ideas with the criteria below if you have already developed a product for dropshipping.
Retail price
Retail price refers to the amount you can sell your product at. We recommend products that sell between $15 and $200. This may seem like a large gap, but it is the “sweet spot,” for dropshipping products.
There are many reasons why dropshipping products should cost between $15 and $200.
- A product that is affordable will increase your chances of selling high volumes.
- Selling large volumes will give you more chances to receive customer feedback which is crucial for credibility.
- Selling products below $15 is difficult to make profits. You will need to sell lots of stock in order to make your investment worthwhile.
- Products priced over $200 are considered unaffordable and may be more difficult to sell.
- Refunds for products sold above $200 can be very painful.
You can go beyond $200
If you can sell products at a minimum advertised or minimum retail price (MAP), then I wouldn’t recommend that you go higher than $150.
A MRP is a price limit that you cannot price a product lower than the manufacturer’s price. Apple, for example, has a very rigid MRP. No retailer offers a better iPhone deal than another, as you may have seen.
Note that MAP does not refer to paid or organic promotion. If a customer has entered your (virtual), door, you can give them a coupon and sell at a lower rate as long as it isn’t advertised. MRP is a price that you cannot lower, even for hidden deals.
Dropshippers love MRP products because you can avoid competing with price and instead focus on value and added benefits to your customers. If you are a beginner, it is important to be careful about going beyond this price point.
Margin recommendation
Dropship products should have a profit margin of at least 20%-40%
Your profit margin should be higher, as sellers often mark up their retail prices by more than 100%.
Dropshipping a product for $200 might allow you to get a 30% profit margin. This would leave you with $60 per sale. If you were to sell a product that retails for $20, the profit margin would be higher.
Your margin must take into consideration shipping costs, packaging and your marketing budget. These are all additional expenses that can be added to a sale. It is safer to choose a dropship product you can make a large profit margin on.
Size and weight
For the best dropshipping product, it should fit in a shoebox. Shipping costs can become prohibitive if the product is larger than this.
ePacket is a service that allows users to send goods from China/Hong Kong to the United States quickly. Dropshippers love this shipping method.
ePacket’s weight limit is 4.4 lbs (or 2kg). ePacket has size restrictions as well.
Dropshipping products should be small and light so that you don’t have shipping problems.
Few moving parts
Dropship products are reliable and can be returned in good condition. Avoid fragile, fiddly products that can easily break during transit. This will lead to a flood of negative feedback and returns.
This is especially true if you are sourcing electronics from a supplier that you don’t know.
You should choose sturdy, reliable products that can withstand international shipping.
Potential repeat business
This is an important consideration for those who are new to selling online and eCommerce: Dropship products generate repeat business.
This means that a customer who has purchased your product once will likely buy it again, either when it is out of stock or when it needs to be renewed.
Subscription services have grown in popularity over recent years. Businesses offer everything from luxury food items to men’s shavers, to socks, and deliver them to their customers every month. This ensures that the seller will receive a steady income each month.
You might be able convert one customer to repeat business by offering a disposable, renewable or subscription-based product.
This is far more efficient than spending a lot of time on one sale and never hearing from them again.
Supplier of quality
The challenge of choosing the right dropship product is just half. It is also important to find a reliable dropshipping supplier.
Dropshipping is a great example of this. You can rely on your supplier to make the product, keep it in stock, and ship it to customers promptly.
Check out our guide How To Find Great Suppliers For Dropshipping for more information.
Low turnover
Dropship products should be able to stay in production. You will see the benefits of investing in high-quality photos and copy for your product listings for a longer time.
High turnover products (meaning that they are discontinued or modified every year) are not a good choice. This is because you will have to regularly update your website and product listings, which can lead to increased costs.
Common mistakes in choosing a product for dropshipping
Dropshipping is a decision that will be made often. It’s okay to make mistakes. They help us learn and improve in eCommerce.
You can learn from the mistakes of others. These are some common mistakes that people make when dropshipping a product.
1. Make a mistake: Selecting a designer/branded product
Many people believe that big-name brands can be sold online for a lot of money because they are in high demand, well-known, and expensive.
Dropshippers should be aware that designer/branded products are often very profitable.
If you don’t have the purchasing power of a large retailer, it is best to avoid big-name brands. Stick with generic products or think about private labelling.
#1: Choose knockoff products
You might be tempted to sell imitation or knockoff products, but there is a market.
It’s a bad idea, and you should avoid selling counterfeit products. This could put you in serious legal trouble, and it could jeopardize your dropshipping business.
Suppliers who sell you so-called brand goods at unbelievable prices should be avoided. They may be counterfeit versions.
3. Mistake: Selecting a product that is competitive
Dropshippers make this common error. This is how it usually works. You think you have a great product that you can sell online. It’s being sold on Amazon and eBay by many other people. It is on the most popular and sought-after product lists. It’s everywhere on social media.
It must be a winner! Wrong!
Selling products that are extremely competitive is a mistake. It is a mistake to sell products that are highly competitive if you must compete with 20 other sellers of the same product. This will result in a small market share and may lead to price competition which you should avoid.
Dropshipping strategy: How do you choose a great product?
Are you serious about finding dropshipping products that will help your eCommerce business succeed? This is the place for you.
Research, planning and strategy are key to choosing a dropshipping product. We will show you how top dropshippers find the best products to sell online using proven methods that have been used to launch many successful dropshipping companies over the years.
Be inspired.
Brainstorm product ideas
Although this step might seem simple, it is crucial. Dropship product ideas begin as random thoughts: “I wonder if this would be a good idea to sell online .”
These thoughts can be harnessed and written down. These ideas may arise from your own problems that you think a product could solve. Sometimes, they are generated by interactions with other people.
To choose a dropshipping product that is great, you need to first sit down and brainstorm all the possible product ideas. It could be Dropshipping Skincare Products? Electronics. Are you looking for pet supplies?
Write them down, even if they seem absurd at first. These ideas might become viable dropshipping business ideas.
It’s also a good idea to be aware of what’s currently selling on online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay Etsy, Etsy and AliExpress. This will help you get an idea about what’s hot.
SaleHoo Market Research Lab
Yes, I recommend our service as I believe it to be one of the best tools for eCommerce market research.
SaleHoo Labs provides all-encompassing product search services. Browse thousands of products across more than 25 categories to find the right product for you.
- Based on the number of people selling each product on Amazon and eBay, how much competition is there?
- The average retail price of each product sold online.
- Each product’s sell-rate.
- This list contains trusted suppliers that you can reach out to immediately.
This allows you to quickly see the details of a product. This allows you to validate and/or eliminate your product ideas by using the most recent data from the largest online marketplaces.
You can also have instant access to verified suppliers, which saves you time and stress when searching for suppliers.
Social shopping websites
Social shopping websites are online marketplaces that are curated by tastemakers and users. These websites are useful because the products are selected by online shoppers. They can provide insight into what’s hot and what’s not before it becomes mainstream.
These websites will save you time searching through thousands of products on Amazon, eBay, and other suppliers’ websites. They also give you a list with curated items that are relevant to your interests or current market trends.
To keep up with the game, it’s a good idea for you to follow some of these websites. They might be able to help you with dropshipping product ideas.
For inspiration, check out these eCommerce shops that have succeeded
It’s helpful to look at the top businesses when you are trying to decide which dropship products to sell. Take a look at the top eCommerce shops and check out what they are selling.
Pay attention to how they arrange their product listings, the product photography, and the sales copy. This can all help you to come up with product ideas. This helps you visualize the look and feel of your online store.
Look at both dropshipping and big brand online shops to see what the various approaches are.
Compare retail prices and the competition
SaleHoo Labs (as mentioned above) can do this for you. If you decide to do it yourself, however, you will need market research.
You should now have some dropshipping product suggestions from brainstorming and looking at eCommerce websites and social shopping sites.
You will now need to gather your dropshipping product list and do market research.
You need to be aware of two things: 1) How much does the product sell online and 2) How competitive is the market?
- Analyzing retail prices this can be done by simply searching on Amazon and eBay for your product ideas. Keep track of the price for your product or similar products. There might be a wide range of prices. Is the retail price within the $15-200 range? Before you contact suppliers, you won’t be able to determine your profit margins. However, you can look at similar products on AliExpress and Alibaba, which are where many Chinese-based suppliers list their products.
- Competitive research involves looking online for similar products or sellers to your product. This is crucial because you don’t want to sell in a saturated market especially when you’re just starting out. You can search for your product on Amazon or eBay. Then scroll down through the listings and take note of which sellers are listed. You can find a list on Amazon of all the sellers (see the image above). You might consider switching products if you are up against more than 15 well-known sellers. TIP – Even if your market is highly competitive, you might still be able sell your product to a niche market by offering a unique product.
Test products
This is the most exciting part. You should dance if you have a dropshipping product that has passed the above steps and looks like a winner. Then, start to think about the next steps.
You now want to find dropshipping suppliers that can supply you with samples. This will allow you to test the quality, suitability, and reliability of the supplier.
Congratulations! You are now ready to launch a dropshipping company. If you are already a dropshipper, this will have helped you add new products to you online store.
