Dropshipping is one of the most profitable business models at the moment and allows anybody with even the slightest budget to start a profitable business with nothing but a laptop and a dream. While tons of people have been able to make a living building dropshipping businesses, a lot of people end up failing. In many cases, they weren’t able to succeed because they couldn’t find profitable products to sell, products that were in demand, or both. However, if you know where and how to look, you should be able to find great products in no time. Here are a few tips to find profitable products to sell through dropshipping.
Do Some Reverse Engineering
One of the best ways to do reverse engineering is with SaleSource. SaleSource can give you a lot of useful information on your competitors such as their Best Selling products, monthly revenue, Shopify apps used, Facebook campaigns, etc.
Products that are popular are a safe bet for beginners but usually have a lot of competition, and you might not have the money necessary to compete in terms of buying power. This is why you have to make sure that you have access to suppliers that will allow you to make a solid margin.
One trick you can use is to run a reverse image search on a product. You could use the reverse image search tool from Oberlo and look at the source for a particular product that you’ve seen online for sale. In most cases, people who dropship will use the same pictures as the supplier, so this will often take you straight to where they got the product from. You could then inquire with the supplier and see how much they charge for dropshipping. You might even find out that they’re reselling items directly from another retailer, so this should give you a quick idea of what type of margins you can make.
Use Services to Find Reputable Suppliers
There are plenty of product sourcing services available that you can use. These will give you access to a variety of suppliers for popular products. We strongly suggest you subscribe to their pro plans if possible, as they will give you access to products that are more profitable. Also, get second opinions before you sign up with any service and make sure that they offer safe payment options like Paypal and allow you to easily integrate with eCommerce platforms like Shopify.
Avoid Bad Niches
A lot of people make the mistake of going for a niche and assume that it will be profitable. This is why so many people end up selling electronics, thinking that it’s a sure sale. Little do they know that electronics is one of the absolute worst niches for newcomers. First of all, the margin on electronics is notoriously slim. Second, these tend to be pricey and the chance for fraudulent transactions is very high. You’ll also have to compete with thousands of people in the same niche, often with much bigger budgets and buying power than you.
If you can, avoid seasonal niches that could cause delivery time conflicts, highly personalized items like bedding or clothing with high return rates, and items that could cause technical issues.
If you want to find a great niche, make sure that you do your research and keep these few tips in mind. Whatever you do, make sure to start small and test as many niches as you can until you find a winner.