The post The Most Popular Products to Sell on Your Dropshipping Website first appeared on Modalyst.

The post Optimization and Effectiveness in Dropshipping and E-Commerce: Strategies and Trends first appeared on Modalyst.

Many eCommerce businesses after only a few months fizzle out and never amount to anything special.

There are several reasons why these businesses fail fast, and one of the major culprits is the inability to find profitable products to sell online.

Finding just any kind of product to sell isn’t the hard part.

There are millions of products available in the marketplace. However, it’s not always clear which products are trending or are best sellers. Before you get started with dropshipping it’s important to understand how to find trending products and niches to sell.

Characteristics of Trending Dropshipping Business Ideas in 2022

Hot products

You should stay current with the trends and the products which are winning in the market.

Use Google Trends and real-time social networks like Twitter or Instagram to discover what products are bestsellers.

With that idea, carve out a place for your brand or product offering in the market.

Launch your eCommerce website at the right time to capitalize on the sentiment of consumers in the marketplace.

Products with unique appeal

You have to make sure that the products you sell have unique appeal and are eye-grabbing.  If comparable products are available, consumers will research those products as well. When a consumer does comparison shopping, they will usually buy from the seller with higher ratings and better pricing.

That gives you the advantage with it comes to sourcing the best dropshipping products to sell.

Low visibility in Search Engines

If the product is unique, people will definitely try to search for it.

This means the demand will be high. Many ecommerce store owners will try to introduce the product on their stores. Now, you have to take the lead and start marketing it.

Unavailable in your target market

You should make sure the product is not available in the market you’re targeting.

If the product is available in the market you’re targeting, you’re going to face more competition when you sell it.

Actual price is hard to find  

Ensure that the actual price of the products you are planning to sell is not easily discoverable on Google Search.

Many drop shippers source products from sites like AliExpress and Wish.

To avoid any loss of trust, you should verify that the prices are not easy to find.

How To Find Trending Products To Sell

You should follow these steps to find popular products to sell online:

• Research product and dropshipping business ideas in Google Trends
• Find market data to understand the trajectory of the industry and if dropshipping will be worth it
• Narrow down the product categories to explore based on Google search volume
• Review blogs and influencers to find topics people are passionate about
• Use product sales tools such as  JungleScout Sales Estimator

Scope out your competitors, suppliers and manufacturers before spending any money. Look at their prices and inventory levels from day to day to see if they are successful.

When selecting products, keep a narrow focus and identify the sweet spots.

But make sure you have a good mix of low, medium and high price points. Depending on your niche, you might need to have a “loss leader” to bring in customers then upsell them later.

Top Dropshipping Business Ideas on Modalyst

Before you start considering individual products, it’s good to pick a specific niche.

This way, you’ll know what kind of products to look for.

On Modalyst, some of the most successful dropshipping niches are:

• Women’s clothing
• Fitness gear & activewear
• Phone accessories
• Gadgets
• Hobby products

Hand-knitted Sofa Blankets

For the majority of people, grabbing a blanket and snuggling up to Netflix is the idea of a great Friday night. It’s no wonder that blankets and ponchos are popular products to sell.

 

If you use Modalyst, you’ll even get access to numerous suppliers providing hand knitted blankets.

To find products like this one on Modalyst, please click here:

dropship blankets with Modalyst

Solar Adapters

With the increasing importance of solar energy and renewable resources, solar adapters and similar gadgets can be a great way to attract more customers to your store.

You won’t just be doing your part to save the planet; you’ll be improving your profitability, as well. Going green makes for profitable eCommerce!

Greeting Cards

In the digital era, more and more people are turning to paper to preserve the magic of the written word. Greeting cards are definitely making a comeback, and right in time for the holiday season!

Source beautiful artworks from independent artists and spread the joy!

Mouse Pads

We can’t really customize the look of our computers, but we can go wild with mouse pads.

The best part is: complementary tech products like mousepads are really cheap to source!

Wall Clocks

There’s nothing like a clock to remind us that we’re late for work. You know the type, white background and black letters.

Boring.

People want fun clocks and fortunately, wall clocks are one of the best drop shipping products.

Aromatic Shaving Soap

Why bother with perfume if you can start your day right with opulent shaving soap?

Never underestimate your customers’ desire to smell and, consequently, feel good. It’s time to source aromatic shaving soap for as little as $5 on Modalyst!

Beach Towels

When June rolls around, it’s time to have fun. Summer is the perfect time to source unique beach towels and help your customers show off on the beach.

You can get high-quality, Turkish cotton beach towels on Modalyst starting from $29.

Leather Journals

Journaling is an incredibly soothing practice. More and more people flock to it in search of some peace and quiet. How are you going to use that need to build a profitable dropshipping business?

By dropshipping beautiful leather journals, of course!

Backpacks

No one can actually pack into a small suitcase, can they?

Everyone needs a sturdy and stylish backpack in their lives; from adventurers who don’t mind camping, to fancy-pantsers who prefer glamping.

Designer Clothing

Reselling designer apparel makes for a really profitable dropshipping business idea.

From Gucci dresses to Versace sneakers, customers are always on the lookout for a great deal.

And with Modalyst, you’ll have access to suppliers with unparalleled discounts!

Tea Blouses

There’s nothing that says elegance more than a tea blouse.

From garden parties to a day spent brunching with their friends, your customers are going to need something stylish and unique to wear.

Earrings

Earrings are so easy to ship, reducing your costs, and they provide excellent markup opportunities.

Modalyst’s supplier marketplace is full of vendors with products your customers are going to love! Don’t forget to add these to your store to set your dropshipping business apart from others.

Bowties

Bowties are making a comeback and we love it!

Your stylish customers are going to love the accessories instantly lifting their outfits; regardless of their gender.

Bowties were made to be worn by everyone.

Leggings

From fitness and yoga to leisure, leggings are everywhere. They’re comfortable and loved by customers everywhere, making them one of the best products to add to your dropshipping business.

They come in a variety of colors and present a great markup opportunity!

Fitness Sets

Come New Year, everyone will be on the lookout for matching fitness sets they can wear to their first gym sesh.

As an owner of a dropshipping business, you should make use of it by adding a few sports bra & leggings sets to your Modalyst import list.

Straw Bags

Straw bags started taking the world by storm in 2017, and they haven’t stopped ever since.

Influencers are proudly posing with them, and your stylish customers will appreciate you giving them the chance to be as trendy as their idols.

Sports Bras

Fitness apparel is one of the most profitable dropshipping product ideas. Everyone needs to work out every once in a while and they want to do it in style.

With relatively low sourcing costs and plenty of ways to be customized, sports bras are the right product option for your dropshipping business.

Self-Tie Skirts

Speaking of trendy product ideas, self-tie skirts are both stylish and practical.

They can even tie into your fitness dropshipping business!

When your customers lose weight, they don’t want to lose their clothes. An adjustable self-tie skirt is a great option.

Bodysuits

Is it a shirt, is it a corset?

No, it’s a bodysuit!

Bodysuits are the ultimate versatile pieces every woman needs in her closet. Help your customers look more fashionable (and your business become more profitable) by adding bodysuits to your store.

Snapback Hats

Regardless of whether your customers want to go outside without getting sunburnt, or channel their inner bros, snapback hats are a great solution and one of the best dropshipping business ideas out there.

Snapback hats are profitable products for your dropshipping business because they’re universally loved (and needed).

Jogger Pants

Joggers no longer even wear jogger pants, but they sure are comfy!

When you add a few pairs of jogger pants to your store, you’ll see them flying off the shelves. Everyone wants something comfy and practical!

Two-Piece Sets with Skirts

Ever since Kim K started rocking them, the world has gone crazy for hot two-piece sets with skirts.

Choose animal prints or solid colors, knowing that all your stylish customers who follow popular influencers will whip out their credit cards in an instant.

Two-Piece Sets with Pants

For all of your customers that don’t want to sacrifice comfort for style, offer them the best of both worlds with two-piece sets with pants. 

On Modalyst, two-piece sets with pants start at $29, giving you ample markup opportunity. Your dropshipping business will be profitable in a second!

Bodysuits for Kiddos

Stylish mommas want their kiddos to be stylish, too! Fortunately, you can both improve families’ style scores and your dropshipping profitability by selling infant bodysuits.

You don’t even have to worry about communicating with vendors; it’s all so simple on Modalyst!

Peaceful Jewelry

In these fast-paced times, your customers want a reminder that things will calm down. Why not provide it with beautiful jewelry reminding them of ocean waves and cotton candy skies? Jewelry is one of those dropshipping business ideas that always stands the test of time.

Puppy Care Products

Everyone has a soft spot for the furrier members of their family. Dog owners are passionate about providing their pets with the best care products, including herbal shampoos.

Give your customers a chance to spoil their pets rotten!

Elegant Scarves

A scarf is the perfect addition to every outfit, casual and glamorous alike.

And with the majority of customers being more likely to whip out their credit cards for an accessory than a full-blown clothing item, scarves are great products for your dropshipping business.

Dresses

Which woman hasn’t spent her Friday night shopping for new clothes that will help her be the boss lady she wants to become?

Clothing shapes the way we perceive ourselves, and it has the power to improve your customers’ lives (while improving your revenue). Selling clothes is one of the most versatile, evergreen dropshipping business ideas we can think of to get started with.

Socks

When we were kids, getting socks as a present was the worst thing. But as we grew older, socks became the best possible gift.

From zebra-striped to dotted socks, you can’t go wrong with selling products that keep your customers’ feet warm. And since they’re cheap to source, socks provide a great markup opportunity for your dropshipping business.

Warm and Cozy Jackets

People may be able to tolerate discomfort in summer but during the winter, staying warm (and stylish) is a priority.

Parkas are a great, profitable dropshipping business idea and product choice since they’re indispensable. And if they’re stylish at that, you’ll have struck gold!

Complete Hedonism

The money isn’t just about selling practical products. Gifts are a great way to attract a lot more customers to your website.

This whiskey glass & ice cube set is a great gift for the hedonists in your customers’ lives.

Charging on the Go

We’re all using our phones more than ever, your customers included. So when the battery runs low, wouldn’t it be great to charge it on the go?

Practical tech products such as this bag that comes equipped with a charger are absolute winners in 2022!

Necklaces

Gifts, treats, or just indispensable items to enhance an outfit… Necklaces can be used in every situation. It’s time to add them to your product list.

With a significantly lower price point and the ability to make or break an outfit, necklaces are extremely profitable eCommerce products.

BB Creams

You don’t have to have anything in your makeup bag, but you’ve got to have a BB cream.

Unfortunately, finding the right one is pretty hard.

Chances are, your customers have often wanted to buy a BB cream that wasn’t readily available in their local department stores. Cue, dropshipping popular cosmetics.

Wireless Speakers

Life is better with music.

Portable wireless speakers are one of the most profitable dropshipping products today. As tech gadgets, they’re absolutely indispensable to any store that wants to attract a millennial or younger audience.

Extravagant Jumpsuits

With the holiday season approaching -isn’t it always approaching?, your customers will be looking for the perfect outfits to spend their Christmas and New Year’s Eve in.

Jumpsuits are an exquisite choice; timeless and elegant for your customers, and profitable for your dropshipping store.

Sweater Weather

Everyone needs a comfy sweater. If you’re selling apparel, it’ll be a perfect fit for your ecommerce store. If you can also incorporate some brand identity to it, you’ll have plenty of new customers looking for your products.

Facial Oils

There’s nothing that says “treat yourself, you deserved it” like an aromatic facial oil. Adding these products to your health & beauty store can go a long way towards increasing your profitability!

Pajamas

Products like pajamas are always profitable; everyone needs them. A comfy pajama or onesie to wear at home is going to be the perfect product for your customers to put in their carts.

Headbands

Headbands aren’t just stylish; they’re in demand.

Accessories, which are always at a lower price point and thus more likely to be purchased, are a great dropshipping business option if you’re selling to a female audience.

Plus Size Apparel

There’s a serious shortage of cute plus size clothing on the racks of high-street brands.

Fortunately, women and men looking for stunning clothes in their size make up for a significant portion of all our audiences.

Intimates

From briefs to seductive lingerie, intimates are always in demand.

Since we love knowing that we’re wearing cute underwear under amazing outfits, intimates are a must for any dropshipping store that sells clothing.

Faux Leather Clothing

Leather looks stunning on everyone. And even if a lot of contemporary consumers don’t want to wear real leather, faux leather items are a great solution.

If you want to create an extravagant brand, add faux leather pieces to your Modalyst import list.

Cute Workout Shirts

Support your customers’ upcoming or current New Year resolutions (who are we kidding, aren’t resolutions an all year round thing?) by offering them a wide selection of cute and funny gym shirts. Everyone’s on the lookout for great fitness gear, so why not add a few select pieces to your store?

Signature Pieces

Increase your store’s exclusivity by shopping for the most unique products. Signature pieces like extravagant dresses or even statement necklaces are one of the best dropshipping ideas.

Party Dresses

Some of the most successful dropshipping brands have been built on providing stellar clothing for special occasions.

From proms and weddings to nights out and New Year’s Eves, your customers will recommend your store to all of their friends!

Puma Products

Puma is one of the best known sports brands out there.

And just because you’re dropshipping doesn’t mean you can’t source products from name brands.

With Modalyst, you’ll get access to dropshipping business ideas including name brands like Puma, Gucci, and many more.

Embroidered Items

Embroidered items always come with an aura of luxury, and your customers are craving it. Add a few signature pieces to your store; it’s profitable eCommerce like no other!

Jeans

Finding the right fit is the dream. Help your customers choose a pair of jeans that fit in all the right places, and wow with their design.

From trousers to jean jackets and more, you can find plenty of profitable products on Modalyst.

Timeless Ruffles

If you’re selling trendy pieces, you should absolutely add clothing with ruffles to your list.

They’re both feminine and elegant, and present a great markup chance when you source exclusive products.

Elegant Coats

Our customers are always looking for elegant coats – wether something warmer for the winter, or something lighter for spring and autumn mornings and evenings.

Browse Modalyst’s selection of coats and find the best dropshipping business ideas for your store!

Suits

It’s so hard to find an elegant suit that fits. Help your customers by expanding your selection and including suits from well-known brands such as Manuel Ritz.

Knitwear

Knitwear is both comfortable and stylish, your customers will always be on the lookout for the best pieces.

Gowns

Gowns never go out of style; every woman has at least one to wear, should she be whisked off to Monaco by a prince. Help your customers live the fantasy with this elegant dropshipping business idea!

Hoodies

Hoodies are the perfect choice for improving your store’s offer. They’re versatile and, what’s even more important, a profitable business idea.

Maxi Dresses

Help your customers channel their inner influencers with boho, chic, and romantic maxi dresses.

Hair Growth Oils

No one wants to say goodbye to their mane. Build up a profitable business by dropshipping the much needed hair care products.

Chapsticks

Speaking of beauty (and who isn’t speaking about it?), chapsticks are great dropshipping products. They’re cheap to source, and easy to profit from.

Browse the selection of health & beauty products on Modalyst.

Oxford Shoes

Perfect for rain and shine alike, Oxford shoes are going to find places in the closets of your customers. The only question is: will you be the one making money from it?

Men’s Watches

No one really knows what to get their significant other when it’s his birthday. But a watch is a timeless gift. Expand your assortment with a few elegant, manly watches.

Culottes

The world has gone culotte-crazy, and for a good reason. These pants are versatile, both practical and elegant.

If you’re serving a female audience, make sure you add culottes to your Modalyst import list and differentiate your dropshipping business!

Fashionable Sunglasses

Sunglasses are one of the best ideas for your dropshipping business. Help your customers protect their eyes, and stay stylish as they do it.

They also provide an excellent markup opportunity!

Silk Pashminas

If you want to brand your eCommerce store as luxurious, look no further than pashminas. With classic design and extravagant silk blend materials, your customers will go go-go for them!

All Lace Everything

Not only is lace romantic, but it also looks good on everyone. Regardless of your customers’ style preferences, a lacey piece will be the much-needed addition to their closets.

Rings

Rings don’t just look good, they’re also significantly cheaper to source than any other jewelry. Choose from a variety of stunning options on Modalyst!

Tiger Eye

Tiger’s eye is a beautiful gemstone recognized for its symbolism. Enhance your customer’s courage and willpower by offering beautiful tiger’s eye jewelry.

Beanies

Beanies are perfect products for customers who prize comfort and casual elegance. Choose from a variety of customizable designs on Modalyst.

Burberry Items

Branded items are a great opportunity to earn extra revenue for your dropshipping store. Find some of the most elegant Burberry designs straight out of London!

Mini Dresses

Every woman needs a mini in her wardrobe.

If you’re running a fashion store, make sure you add them to your product list.

Midi Dresses

Mini, midi and maxi are all perfect variants of every woman’s favorite pieces of clothing: dresses. And if you’re hoping to attract a stylish female audience, make sure you add them to your dropshipping ideas.

Pocket Squares

Accessories are extremely profitable dropshipping product ideas, but they’re not only meant for women.

Elegant men will love customized pocket squares made in the US. And the best part is that you can source them at a great price on Modalyst.

Bags for Men

We’re all carrying too much stuff around. However, men need a bag that shows off both their manliness and their practical nature.

Find the perfect products to dropship on Modalyst.

Foldable Solar Panels

Renewable resources are the future.

A lot of people want to go green, even if they’re living in small houses or rented apartments. This is what makes foldable solar panels a great dropshipping idea.

Smart Watch Straps

A smart watch becomes even smarter with an elegant strap. It also makes for a smart dropshipping business idea – sorry, we couldn’t resist.

First-Class Mascara

Another profitable eCommerce product is certainly mascara. With plenty of options, customers are always on the lookout for the next best product. Be the store owner who gives it to them.

Blazers

Blazers are the perfect addition to almost every outfit; elegant and casual alike. Modalyst vendors offer plenty of options for even the pickiest of customers.

Retro Garments

In an age where furry sandals exist, some customers just want a blast from the past. Integrate 70s, 80s and 90s inspired products and collections in your store offering, and watch your profitability increase!

Wireless Headphones

Who wants to put a pause on their favorite song just because they’re going out? Wireless headphones are a great choice for techies and regular customers alike!

Himalayan Salt Lamps

Renowned for their healing and calming properties, Himalayan salt lamps are a great addition to your health & beauty store.

Top & Bottoms Sets for Kids

Getting kids dressed properly can be a nightmare.

Make sure your customers’ tykes are stylish and comfortable with top and bottom sets for kids.

Natural Body Mists

There’s nothing like a drop of lavender to instantly calm down even the buzziest minds.

Help your customers unwind with serene body mists.

Beard Oil

Beards are back in style and with them come the products necessary to make them look good.

Among other products, you’ll find some of the best beard oils for your stylish male customers on Modalyst.

Solar Panels

Speaking of going green, more and more people are thinking about installing solar panels.

And the best part is: no one expects them to be cheap.

However, you (as the store owner) can source 100W panels for as little as $72. The rest of the profits are all yours.

Elegant Boots

What is better than Oxford shoes and ankle boots? Oxford ankle boots!

Endlessly classic and timeless, they’re a great addition to the closets of female and male customers alike, making them a great dropshipping product idea.

Skincare Collections

Your customers’ skin withstands so much. Why not give it a little love by helping them buy incredible skincare products?

Byronic Velvet

There’s nothing that says “luxury” as much as velvet does.

The products made out of velvet are flying off the shelves in high street stores and online stores alike. Why not capitalize on this with your store?

Armani Jeans

Armani Jeans is one of the most popular casual brands for customers that want to wear the best Italian fashion has to offer, even when they’re grocery shopping.

Men’s Grooming Kits

It’s men’s time to shine.

Equally passionate about aesthetics, the manlier parts of our society are constantly on the lookout for grooming kits that suit their style and their skin.

Kimonos

Boho is the new chic.

Help all those potential customers looking for ways to emulate their favorite influencers’ aesthetics with effortlessly elegant kimonos.

Vases

Vases are the perfect additions to your customers’ homes, and they provide an excellent markup opportunity!

Pugs & Mugs

There’s no gift better than a cute mug. Bonus points if it’s with a pug!

Bag Straps

Women can’t part from their favorite bags.

Unfortunately, bag straps are prone to breaking apart from the wear and tear.

Add stylish bag strap options to your store; on Modalyst, you can even get Fendi bag straps for your fashionista customers!

Bath Bombs

There’s nothing like coming home and sliding into a bath smelling like your favorite aromas.

Add bath bombs to your offer, and you’ll instantly increase the potential profitability of your store!

Temporary Tattoos

Temporary tattoos have always been fun, but they’re all the rage nowadays.

They’re really cheap to source, and they’ll fly off your virtual shelves!

Vanity Products

Sometimes, your customers just want to flaunt their lifestyle.

Give them the opportunity to do so tastefully, with this dropshipping business idea they’ll love forever.

Regal Wear

If you’re catering to an audience that loves looking like they came straight out of a movie, you’ll love the selection of exclusive European dropshipping products on Modalyst.

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

Get ready for pumpkin season! Stock up on pumpkin-spiced candles, and help your customers create the perfect autumnal fantasy, or just get that halloween feeling all year round.

Messenger Bags

There’s nothing that says “I’ve got places to be” like a messenger bag.

They’re customer favorites, and they’ll increase the profitability of your store in an instant.

Beauty Blenders

Finally, if you want to source a cheap product and get a great markup opportunity to jumpstart your success, look no further.

Beauty blenders are the key to a great dropshipping business idea.

From makeup artists to women wanting to emulate them, beauty blenders are everything you need to increase your profitability.

Browse the selection on Modalyst and start sourcing products for free.e

The post 100 Dropshipping Business Ideas for 2022 first appeared on Modalyst.

Many entrepreneurs have been in this industry since the 1950s, when mail order companies were born. These businesses consisted of mailing catalogs to every corner of the country and receiving orders and payments by mail.Then these orders, in many cases, would be outsourced to a warehousing and distribution company, who would pick, pack and ship the goods. This part of the value chain was known as the drop shipper. Many door to door salesmen also used drop shipping manufacturers and distributors to fulfill customer orders.

Fast forwarding a few decades later, Amazon became one of first to drop ship on the web, using Seattle based book distributors to send orders directly to online shoppers. Amazon used drop shipping so successfully that it grew into the world’s largest retailer. Today Amazon has its own warehousing facilities, but still utilizes drop shipping for some of its products.

So, with 2020 arriving, it’s time to ask, is dropshipping worth it this year and this decade? 

Before we answer the question, let’s define what dropshipping is and how it works. 

Dropshipping defined

What is dropshipping?

In this type of ecommerce business model, three separate parties are involved: the buyer (of the product), the drop shipper (the seller of the product), and the supplier (the manufacturer or third-party in possession of the product). The dropshipper markets and sells directly to the buyer, and then sends the order details to the dropshipping supplier. The supplier accepts the order and then drop ships the product directly to the buyer.

In essence, the seller of the product doesn’t need to warehouse or fulfill the product direct the product to sell it to the buyer. The drop shipper merely connects the buyer and manufacturer, oftentimes without the buyer knowing that the seller and manufacturer are not the same party. 

This is the big difference between drop shipping and other means of retailing since the seller does not stock any products but depends wholly on the third party to fulfill its retailing needs.

How dropshipping works

The typical first step in starting a dropshipping business would be to set up an online store. Fortunately, creating a store has never been easier, as many vendors, including Shopify and Wix, offer support on starting one. 

Once the store is set up, you can either seek suppliers in a specific area or use applications to connect the store with suppliers based on your dropshipping business ideas. The store is now well equipped to take orders from clients. After receiving orders and confirming that all details are correct, the next step is to deliver the order to the supplier. The supplier then ships the product to the client directly. 

Another different approach is buying dropshipping products on an online store, for example, Amazon, and dropshipping them on another site, like eBay. Dropshipping on eBay, of course, has a lot of restrictions depending on the online platform used. It is, therefore, essential to be familiar with how to dropship on eBay before pursuing this fulfillment strategy. 

What brings in the money?

As previously established, the drop shipper doesn’t have direct contact with the products. By merely sending the order to the supplier and shipping information to the buyer, how would you make money? Let us see what costs are incurred first, then what brings in the profit. 

Since this is an online store, the only apparent cost is maintaining a website. Some of the website costs are creating an online store, getting a domain name, and sourcing products connected to your sites such via Modalyst, Oberlo and Dropified. 

Just like any other business, another cost is marketing. The most common means of marketing online are social media ads, display ads, and search engine marketing (SEM). In the long run, other marketing methods like search engine optimization and content marketing would be added to the mix. 

The business will also have to incur customer support costs whenever issues with the product or delivery occur. You will also have to pay the supplier the price indicated for their product.

Dropshipping websites earn money on the difference between the amount the client pays and the supplier’s price. The product must be priced a bit higher than the suppliers’ bid to make a profit. As a general rule, the margin must be high enough to cover the other recurring costs while not being too expensive.

Is dropshipping legal?

Good news: dropshipping online is perfectly legal! 

There are no existing laws barring anyone from running a drop shipping company. Depending on the country, however, some regulations govern how such activities are run. For people who drop ship between online platforms, there are also a few additional regulations for each website. 

It’s crucial to know these restrictions beforehand and to use them to your benefit (within legal means, of course!)

Has dropshipping died in the last decade, or is it still going strong?

This is a question every drop shipping website has to answer very often on surveys and social media and is a hot topic on question-answer websites such as reddit. As most of the tech sector does, new methods emerge ever so frequently and always lead to the death of the old.

Is dropshipping on its way to the grave then?

Absolutely not! Learning how to start a dropship business is still going as strong as ever. In fact, the industry has been on a steady increase despite taking a slight dip in 2018, according to Google Trends data. The business is doing well both in the US and all over the world. The graph, focused on the last five years alone, shows that many people still view dropshipping favorably and even has a bright future ahead.

Now that it’s clear that dropshipping is still an in-thing in 2020 and probably the decade, here are a few reasons why the prime time to jump on the train is now:

Benefits of dropshipping

1. Close to zero initial capital required

Aside from the costs incurred in setting up a website and a little on marketing, there are no upfront costs needed, such as getting office space and equipment.

2. Online marketing is getting easier to do

Even if you have zero experience doing online marketing, there is a lot of content online created to help you. If you’re the adventurous type, online courses and coaches are in oversupply on the internet. For a more hands-off approach, plenty of marketing managers and full-service companies are there to help at a price you can afford.

3. Manufacturers and shippers are embracing dropshipping

Although most of these companies seemed skeptical at first, more and more are getting on board. Why? Dropshipping opens up a market that they wouldn’t have accessed on their own. If it helps to sell, why not add it to the options available?

4. Online payments are more effective

As internet technologies are getting better, so are online payment technologies. These payment options are becoming more accessible, more reliable, and more secure, gaining the trust of the clients and online drop shippers alike. These methods are also available in most countries across the globe, reducing the limitations and opening up the market.

5. Ecommerce is wildly growing

More and more people are getting connected to the internet and are getting addicted to their devices. As the internet time every day is getting more, so is ecommerce. Many people prefer ordering items online and getting them delivered to the doorstep. If you can provide such a service, then you are on the winning side.

Advantages of running a dropshipping business

Without a doubt, dropshipping is a very valid business model for 2020. But what are the benefits of running such an enterprise? Here are some of them:

Minimal capital is required to run

This is probably the most significant drop shipping benefit. It is now almost effortless to launch an online store and run a dropshipping business without investing a lot of capital into it. This is because, unlike traditional companies, there is no need to acquire inventory, and there are virtually no overhead costs to take care of. The dropshipping model allows you to get started immediately, shipping products whenever they are needed. It is also less risky since you have no inventory to worry about from threats like theft and spoilage. 

Easy to get off the ground

Dropshipping takes the stress out of running an e-commerce store. Since the dropshipper has no contact with the products, there is no need to fret about packaging, tracking, and the delivery of the products to the client. There is even no thought of stocking and restocking and managing a warehouse. Seems easy enough already!

Low overhead costs

Many dropshipping businesses are run from homes and coffee shops with little more than a functioning laptop and a working internet connection. Overhead costs typical to a traditional store such as purchasing stock and maintaining a warehouse are unheard of. Apart from a few recurrent expenses, the cost of running a dropshipping business is relatively low. Even if the company upscales, the rise in expenditure still leaves more profit on the plate compared to traditional storefronts. 

High level of flexibility

A dropshipping business can be run anywhere in the world with access to a computer/ mobile device and an internet connection. As long as customer orders are taken smoothly and products delivered with smooth communication, the business is good to go from anywhere comfortable.

Many niches available to choose from

You can sell anything you want on the internet, period! Since there is no pre-ordering of stock, you can choose to offer a wide range of products on your site to choose from as long as the supplier has them in stock. Some drop shippers prefer to specialize in a specific niche without much competition, but that is entirely up to you. New products are also launched almost daily, so the list of opportunities to choose from is never short. 

Testing new products is easier

Unlike traditional stores that stock up on their items before selling them, drop shipping test products is significantly more comfortable. A whole line of products or even single ones can be tested in the market without stocking on them, reducing the potential danger of buying an item rejected by the market. Since there is no commitment to purchase stock, if the product does not work in the market, no enormous losses are incurred. If the market also accepts the products, they are ordered on request- the minimal risk involved. 

Easier to upscale

More orders usually mean more work for traditional retailers as they have to put in more work to get the additional requests done. This is not the case for dropshipping companies. Apart from the need to get additional customer support staff and a few other sales requirements, drop shippers generally have an easier time upscaling their businesses. The further orders are handled by the manufacturer or supplier of the product, allowing the business to grow with minimal effort and investment. 

Is Dropshipping profitable?

An honest answer is both a yes and a no.

Why yes? The dropshipping business model is highly rewarding for those who have the dedication to make it work for them. And it will definitely not be so for those looking at it as a quick cash-making mechanism because it simply isn’t. 

The right approach to drop shipping would be to check up on the ideal profit margins you want to make and whether you’re willing to put in the work (a lot of work, mind you) to make it a reality. 

A few challenges to note before embarking on a dropship lifestyle.

We’re sorry if we’ve made setting up a dropshipping site look so glamorous! Drop-shipping, too, has a downside. Here’s what to expect:

Profit margins are low

Since dropshipping doesn’t require a lot to start, the barrier to entry for competition is very low. Competing stores go for the lowest prices in the market just to stay afloat. This means that the stores are willing to sacrifice profits in the race for customers, and hence to make a decent profit, they need to sell a lot of items. 

Most stores operate on the bare minimum- low-quality service, less customer service, and sometimes even lower quality products. This doesn’t mean that prices won’t be compared – in fact, they usually are.

A good rule of thumb when setting up a site is choosing a niche with lower competition (in volume) and higher ticket sizes to carve out a decent unit profit.

Inventory complexities

If you were running your own store, it would be easy to know when an item was out of stock or no longer in production. Real-time management of stock is a pain in the neck for retailers, especially when dealing with multiple warehouses and on items that quickly go out of stock.

In the recent past, however, developments in the industry have alleviated the problem by syncing drop shippers and suppliers. These apps allow the dropshipper to check the amount of stock the supplier has in real-time. Some like Oberlo even make automated decisions on your behalf. This includes taking the product off the site or marking it as out of stock on your store. 

Shipping can be problematic

Transportation is one of the biggest nightmares for the dropshipping industry. As much as you may want to provide the best services for your clients, the shipping process is in the hands of the supplier. If you work with multiple suppliers, shipping products from different suppliers to the same client becomes a bit complex and comes with added costs. 

Suppliers can make mistakes

Everybody makes mistakes, and suppliers have their fair share of errors. From low-quality items and bad packaging to missing or damaged items, suppliers can make blunders that may ruin your store’s reputation. Most of the time, you may have to personally take the blame and apologize for supplier errors, which, in most cases, you had no part in!

Customization and branding options are limited

As already stressed enough, drop shippers have no contact with actual products. This implies that there are few options to custom-make items and deliver them to the client as these are often done by the supplier. 

Making changes to products also requires a significant number of items to be economically valuable, which your orders may not reach. Sometimes, the supplier may accommodate these changes, but these decisions are entirely at the supplier’s hands. 

Final thoughts

All the facts have been laid plain on the table. All the benefits, the downsides, and the processes have (hopefully!) been greatly simplified. All this dropshipping business may seem overwhelming at first. Still, once you get the hang of it, you’re well on your way to making a few extra bucks to supplement or even become your primary income source. 

Another good thing is that business experience is not a must. However, individuals with business knowledge obviously have a better chance of making it. Numerous resources are available on the internet for a competitive price or even for free. Not everything will be covered in these lessons though, and the rest will come later with a bit of experience. 

With this in mind, dropshipping is undoubtedly not for everyone. It is not a business strategy to make millions overnight. For many entrepreneurs, the reality that a successful dropshipping business takes lots of time and effort can be frustrating. Some employers also have a strict policy on side-jobs. If your company is one of these, you might want to stay on the right side of the law unless you’re absolutely sure you want to dive in at the risk of your job. 

The best dropshipping websites invest prioritize their business. If time isn’t a currency you’re swimming in, think twice before starting a store. If you are multitasking drop shipment with your job, the business may negatively impact your career. If this is a risk you are not willing to take, steer clear of the industry. 

That said, drop-shipping is still alive and well, and anyone with the limited resources needed, some time in their hands, and a dedication for business can do well. If you’re looking to start your own store, it’s never been an easier time to take the leap!

The post Is Dropshipping Still Worth It in 2022? first appeared on Modalyst.

So you run an eCommerce store, and you’ve been hunting for ways to keep your operating costs down.

You have considered dropshipping, a business model that lets you order products from manufacturers and have them delivered to your consumer without having to stock them up in a warehouse. Some say it’s a brilliant cost-cutting measure and even a brilliant way to raise revenue streams. Others think the profit margins are so small that it’s just not worth trying out.

Maybe you’re not sure whether to give this drop shipping thing a go or steer clear from potentially wasting your precious time with it.

Whatever your thoughts are about dropshipping as a means of eliminating inventory storage costs or making extra bucks, it’s not as simple as many claim.

If you’re not selling products that are in high demand, any cumulative gains you realize may not be worth your while.

For one thing, it’s a very competitive niche. There are lots of people jostling for ever-shrinking bits of the eCommerce market. As players in this space continue to search for an advantage over their rivals, they continue to drop their prices to new levels of low. The manufacturers aren’t doing any favors with their prices either. They are in business to make money, just like every dropshipping outfit.

Let’s put this plainly: there are opportunities with this business model, but they aren’t lying around for the average Joe. It’s up to you to find them wherever they might be hidden.

Google Trends to the Rescue

Thankfully, there is at least one easy way to uncover these opportunities. It’s Google Trends, a tool which lets you know what people in your locality or around the world are looking for with its search engines.

It displays the most popular search queries of the moment, as well as over different periods from the past. A lot of this information is depicted in charts that are easy to understand.

Here’s why this concerns you: when a lot of people are looking for particular products, their searches will turn up in Google Trends. And if you use it, you’ll be able to tell the most-searched-for merchandise within any given period.

If you know anything about SEO, you’ll probably realize straight away the potential gold mine this resource could be for you or for any other dropshipping venture, eCommerce store, or businesses in general.

Source: Google Trends

But if this isn’t clicking for you yet, here’s a rundown of some of the reasons why Google Trends could be the sweetener for your dropshipping business.

Some trends chart the use of specific search terms over long periods. With this, you’re able to tell how the levels of interest in certain products have increased or reduced in any given length of time.

You can view these products (or whatever trends you’re investigating) in categories, and find out the level of interest in various products and services segmented by industries.

You can see how queries for different sorts of things spike or drop off in particular seasons. In many cases, this helps you stay on top of seasonal demands.

In certain cases, you may be able to see how frequently your competition gets searched by potential customers. Other insights, such as locations in which your rivals may be doing better than you are, can be gotten as well.

In summary, we’re not just talking about Google Trends finding products that are in demand. It’s also about collecting vital insights about where your markets are, who your closest competitors are, and what the prospects might be for selling certain kinds of merchandise.

Before we get into how Google Trends can help you make more money via dropshipping, let’s take a look at its most important features and how they work. 

How Google Trends Works

The Google Trends app has options for viewing search terms by interest over time, interest by region, interest by related topics, and related queries. It also charts the most-searched-for (or top) topics in real-time.

Interest over time

Interest by region / subregion

Related Queries & breakout topics

Also worth mentioning are the breakout topics. These are topics garnering serious attention and pulling a lot of search traffic. If there’s a product within your reach that’s a breakout, you might want to look into it quickly before it tapers off.

But this sort of ‘hit’ rarely happens. If you are only just getting serious about dropshipping or working to change the range of products you sell via this method, you’re much better off comparing longer-term trends of viable products and finding out which ones have performed best over time.   

When you compare, watch for items that show slow and steady growth. They typically have trend lines that aren’t very steep but tilting upwards on the average. Also look out for growth that’s steep and sudden, like in a chart where the trend line has shot up and forward closer to the present. It’s usually a sign that something has spiked demand for that product or interest in that brand.

You should also have an eye on the regional trends displayed by the app. This feature could give you clues about what sort of products are in high demand in various regions. Such information can help you tailor your shipping offerings to meet the unique needs of people living in these locations.

Practical Ways to Grow Your Drop shipping Business with Google Trends 

1. Sell Products That People Actually Want

With Google Trends, dropshipping becomes about delivering stuff that people are looking for. When there is a large audience looking for a product via Google search, it’s a good indication that the product has a sizeable pool of potential customers you can market to.

Ready to start: build a dropshipping website today

2. Make Relevant Content Marketing and Ad Campaigns

You already know that the demand for any given product varies over different regions.

What Google Trends does is to give you a glimpse into what those differences are. For instance, if you’re going to reach potential customers in two locales with ads, you’ll want to know how to allocate ad spend for the different campaigns.

While Google Trends won’t help you with exact sharing formulas, it will let you know the difference between the levels of interest in both towns for the product you intend to offer. This will, in turn, inform your decision on how effort you should expend in reaching target audiences in each locale.

Also, the tips gotten from this tool can be used to drive more targeted digital marketing initiatives. You can mine trending keywords from Google Trends and plug them into your online content. When combined with other SEO strategies, this could help your content get more clicks and score higher search result rankings.     

3. Come Up with Deals and Promotions for Specific Locations

Google Trends deliver accurate insights that are integral to the success of your region-specific marketing campaigns.

Deals are usually designed to get more people interested in the things you’re selling from manufacturers, and ultimately, raise sales and revenues. But unless you’re offering deals for things that people in the areas you’re targeting actually want, you may not achieve the result you hope for.

Leveraging Google Trends can help bring you closer to your goal.

4. Gain Valuable insights Into Viable Markets and Target Audiences

The trend lines you see are not just summaries of droll statistics. They represent the stories of real people: their problems, hopes and dreams, expectations, their search for a solution, and their painstaking review of answers they think are viable.

These lines and charts deliver real-time insights into the major concerns and pain points of your target audience, as well as tidbits into the viability of a product and inside scoops about their preferences that you could exploit in your brand messaging to draw them to your products and services.

Wrapping Up

With Google Trends, finding products and niches for dropshipping is much easier. One really nice thing about this tool is that it’s free to use. That’s a whole wealth box of analytics available to you at no cost whatsoever.

Now that you’ve been introduced to the joys of this app, go on and deploy it to devastating effect. But don’t just build your eCommerce venture on its trends. If you can, compare them with data from actual research, and talk to the people on the ground as much as possible.

The post How to Use Google Trends for Dropshipping & eCommerce Success first appeared on Modalyst.

Our entire world has turned digital, so it’s no surprise that we’re all looking for how to make money online without paying anything.

There are myriad ways to make money online. Whether you are looking for a side hustle or extra income, there are several options out there.

Some of the most compelling options require you to invest capital upfront in order to get started.

In many cases, these are the opportunities that involve building a small business and ultimately give you the potential for a high income.

The amount of money that you’ll have to invest varies quite a bit.

You can start a blog for under $10/month. But even writing several blog posts each month can be costly in terms of the time you spend. Creating a private label brand to sell products on Amazon is also an aspiration for many, but you will need a few thousand dollars for your initial inventory.

However, if you’re looking to start making money online and you have nothing to invest, don’t worry. There are some options to earn money online without paying anything, and in this article, we’ll look at many of the best possibilities.

These are the most commonly suggested ways to make money online without paying anything:

Common Ways to Earn Money Online for Free

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is where you get to promote and sell products and then earn a commission in exchange. The only catch here is that as an affiliate marketer you promote these products online, mostly on a blog using a special referral link. You get your commission whenever someone uses your referral link to make a purchase.

Blogging

Blogs are now the go-to sources of information. As a blogger, this is one of the most popular ways to make money online.

You can literally write about anything. This makes it relatively simple for anyone to start blogging.

While it demands your time, it usually requires only a small upfront investment. You can choose to blog on a free platform like Blogger or Tumblr.

However, if you want to make meaningful extra income (i.e., a few thousand dollars per month), it can be very time intensive and promoting the blog can get very expensive.

Freelance Writing

Thinking of how to make money online without investment? Start a service-based freelance writing business online.

Freelancing is providing your skill as a service to customers who have a need for the skill. You promote your skill to as many customers as you can manage and charge them on a per project basis.

You can become a freelance writer pretty easily. All you need is an interest in writing and the capability to write prolifically and tirelessly.

Freelance Graphic Design

If you have a knack for drawing and design, graphic design might be a practical option. There is a good deal of work available for freelance graphic designers.

The type of work varies. It can include creating websites, logos, and marketing materials. Increasingly, designing blog templates and social media images are growing in demand.

Create Online Courses

Do you have a skill that you are proficient at? How about teaching that skill to others?

Teaching online is not only fulfilling but also a way to make extra money without having to spend much, other than time, to do it.

This will, however, take up your time. If you don’t have the time to teach one-on-one classes, you could create online courses and sell them on your website.

Fill Out Surveys

Filling out surveys is easy and will not take more than 15 minutes to complete. Short surveys could take as few as 2 minutes. The survey sites will offer you money or amazon gift cards, and all sorts of other cool stuff in return.

At times it feels like a data entry job, but you can make quick cash without having to invest much money.

The Best Way to Make Extra Income Online 

While there are lots of options to earn money online without paying anything, the best way is to start a dropshipping website.

There aren’t many types of online businesses that you can start with literally zero investment. It’s even harder to find an opportunity that allows you to be either full time or part time and still generate side income.  Dropshipping is one of those rare opportunities and we’ll explain why.

Let’s start with the basics.

What Is Dropshipping?

If you’re wondering how to make money online fast, look no further than dropshipping.

Dropshipping is an online retail method in which you effectively serve as an intermediary between the end buyer and the suppliers. 

You don’t have to worry about producing or shipping items. 

All you have to do is set up an online storefront and start selling.

With drop shipping, you don’t handle any stock. 

Instead, when you sell an item, that’s when you order it from suppliers, who then ship the item directly to the person who bought it from you.

If you don’t want to, you don’t even have to see the products you sell. All you have to do is promote your store and sell the products.

It’s a win-win.

How Do You Earn Money Drop Shipping?

If you run a dropshipping store, you earn money by taking your cut.

Let’s say you would buy a product from the supplier for $2. 

All you have to do to earn money in that case is set your margin. 

For example, you could sell the item for $3.

When someone orders your item and pays for it, you then pay $2 to the supplier who ships and sends the item, and you pocket $1.

Rinse and repeat.

Talking Numbers

The question of how to make money online comes with a simple answer where dropshipping is concerned:

• On average, the top 10% of eBay dropshippers earn $7,731 month (Source)
• Dropshipping transactions grew by 146% between 2016 and 2018 (Source)
• Around 33% percent of online stores use dropshipping as their fulfillment method (Source) 

There’s no way around it: dropshipping is profitable.

If you run a dropshipping business, you don’t have to deal with: 

• Hefty overhead costs (Storage space, utilities, production, etc.)
• Billing and scheduling (You just process orders)
• Upfront capital (You can start dropshipping even if you don’t have thousands of dollars to pump into your business)
• Risk (You don’t buy products before your customers pay for them)

All of this makes dropshipping one of the best ways to make money online. It’s low risk, too. You’re not giving money to suppliers unless you’ve already received money from your customers.

There’s no way you’re getting that option with any other kind of business. 

But let’s talk specifics.

Pros and Cons of Dropshipping

As an entrepreneur, you have to choose a method of making money online that works best for you. 

So here are all the pros and cons of making money with dropshipping:

Pro: You’ll be significantly reducing your overhead costs if you start dropshipping.

For example, let’s say you want to open a brick and mortar store selling mugs. 

Even before you’ve opened the door, you have to pay the rent and order your products. Then, you’ll also have to pay the utilities, subscription for all the software you need to keep track of your inventory, marketing materials, shipping, and your own salary. After all, someone will have to run that store.

But maybe you don’t want to sell mugs in your town. 

Maybe you want to take them online.

In that case, you’re saving money on rent, but you’re still dealing with the fact that you have to order a certain quantity of products in order to sell them. There’s no guarantee you’ll sell them, but you’ve already paid for them.

In contrast, the main costs associated with dropshipping are IT costs. 

Pro: You can sell anything (and anywhere).

When you dropship products, not even the sky is the limit. You can sell absolutely anything. 

Ever wanted to sell smartphones? 

Now you can.

Did you want to start a fashion label and take the New York Fashion Week by storm?

Possible with dropshipping.

You can sell anything, as long as there’s a market for it. 

And when it comes to dropshipping, the more niche you can go the better.

This also means that you don’t have to restrict yourself to your immediate area. 

You can ship to wherever your suppliers agreed they would ship. One moment it’s New York, the other it’s Singapore. 

Growing a business is so easy when you don’t have to worry about constraints. 

Pro: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

The number one question entrepreneurs struggle with is: “How am I going to make money?”

Startup founders come up with cool apps. They create products that would impress Tesla. The world wants to see them. 

But at the end of the day, they find themselves asking:

“Is this business idea going to be profitable?”

They have to create their business models from scratch. And not to mention that they have to become economists in one night to create a viable business plan. Otherwise, they don’t stand a chance at getting funding.

With dropshipping, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

You just have to follow the steps and learn from best practices (some of which we’re covering in this guide). Your business will be profitable in no time.

Pro: Dropshipping Is a Low-Risk Business

The main risk in traditional business is ordering items that you might not sell. But with dropshipping, you don’t buy the inventory that hasn’t already been sold. 

Con: Limited Supplier Options

One of the main cons of dropshipping is the fact that not every manufacturer or supplier is open to dropshipping. 

However, times are changing. 

Even the most hardcore suppliers are changing their minds nowadays, having understood that dropshipping is the fulfillment method of the future. 

Con: Shipping Fees

Shipping comes with a cost, which will cut into your profit margin if you’re not careful. 

Fortunately, you can agree on fixed fees with your supplier and run the numbers, ensuring that you’re still earning plenty from your dropshipping business.

Con: Coordination

Dropshipping relies on the coordination between you and the supplier. 

You have to be careful not to advertise items that went out of stock. Because of this, your systems and your suppliers’ systems have to be integrated.

Similarly, you’ll have to decide on how you want to handle returns.

Coordination isn’t a big problem. 

These days, there’s plenty of automation and inventory management software that ensures your store state perfectly reflects the state of your suppliers’ warehouses.

You can also find multiple suppliers so even if one doesn’t carry your item at the moment, you have a fail-safe supplier to rely on.

How to Start Dropshipping

There are a few surefire ways to start off your dropshipping business and ensure it’s lucrative:

What to Sell Online?

Before we get into the thick of it, you have to choose what you’ll sell online.

As a rule of thumb, niches are most profitable because:

• You get recurring customers 
• You can quickly build up credibility and increase your brand awareness within the niche
• You’ll get more referrals (your customers will refer their like-minded friends)

And of course, if the niche isn’t extremely competitive, you’ll have better chances of earning more money than you’ve ever dreamed of.

After all, if you carry a lot of related products, you’ll soon become your customers’ go-to store for purchasing them.

Conversely, if you sell a bit of everything, you’ll have a harder time of differentiating yourself in the market and building a brand.

Look Into Trending Products

If you need something to jog your inspiration, use Amazon, eBay and Wish to find trending products.

For example, (Rolex) watches are trending on eBay at the moment of writing this guide. 

Now, some of those trending products will be great during the times they’re popular (e.g. Christmas – everyone gets their S.O.s fancy gifts), but others will be veritable cash cow products.

You can easily differentiate between shooting star and cash cow products by searching for the product name on Google Trends.

If we take our example with watches, here’s what we got when we searched for “buy watches online”:

We were focused on the long-term sustainability of dropshipping watches, which is why we chose 5 years as our trend period. 

You can absolutely mix and match, as well as find trends for specific countries. You can even compare different keywords (i.e. product ideas).

Word of advice: integrate words like “buy” or “shopping,” as well as location-based keywords when searching for your target products. You’ll get much more accurate results than if you’d searched for “watch” or “mugs.”

Niche Down

When you decide to shortlist a few products, it’s time to niche down. 

Again, you can be a generalist, but it’s much more profitable to operate in a specific niche. You’ll have less competition, and you’ll establish your brand sooner than if you’d just sold everything.

You can find your niche by looking at your products. Fitbits are in the fitness niche, lightsabers are for Star Wars aficionados, and so on. 

For example, let’s say you’re interested in dropshipping watches, mugs, smart watches, and fitness apparel.

First, define which niche your products fit:

• Is it a niche people are passionate about?
• Is there a community in the niche?
• Do the potential customers like spending money on your niche?

For example, there’s not a specific watches niche. People just buy them. Yes, they can be passionate, but when it comes to luxury watches, you’ll have a lot of (already established) competition.

Conversely, fitness apparel is a great niche because people are passionate about staying fit. 

They form communities (just take a look at Instagram), and they definitely love spending money, even if it’s just on yoga pants and eco-friendly water bottles.

You can find and validate your niche by:

• Visiting social media and message boards
• Assessing the level of interest in the niche (e.g. people in the fitness niche post about it on their profiles constantly – people who buy watches don’t)

Ideally, you’ll find a niche where people aren’t hesitant to spend money (typically when products are priced under $100). 

This way, you won’t need to convince them through marketing too much.

Stake Out the Competition

In order for your dropshipping business to be successful, you have to have something that the competition doesn’t.

Usually, it’s the quality (and variety of your products), or your prices.

When you’ve shortlisted the products you’re interested in dropshipping, conduct competitor research. You can do it on major platforms, or just by Google searching. 

Write down the prices you come across and try to understand where your competitors source their products.

Get in Touch with Suppliers

A great product is significantly less so if you can’t source it at a price that would generate profit.

You can find individual suppliers and get in touch with them directly, or use a variety of supplier platforms such as:

• AliExpress
• SaleHoo
• Doba

You could even find niche supplier sites, so don’t be afraid to Google around. 

Questions for Suppliers

Before you start selling, get in touch with the suppliers to learn more about their policies. 

Your business depends on them holding up their end of the bargain, so you should make sure you do business with reputable suppliers. 

Ask about:

• Minimum order quantity
• Pricing and quantity discounts
• Shipping and handling policies
• Additional costs like taxes and duties
• Their openness to eCommerce and dropshipping
• Tools they use for inventory management, and automation with your store

You should always vet multiple suppliers.

It’s always good to have multiple suppliers on your roster, just in case one goes out of stock. 

This way, you won’t go out of stock even if your main supplier does.

Keep in Mind

The location of your supplier matters.

If you sell products in the US and you source them from China, it’ll likely take them a while to reach your customers. 

You should also be aware of any additional costs (e.g. shipping fees, duties and taxes), and either notify your customers of the possibility, or agree with the supplier on how you will include them in the price of the product.

Extra Services

Some suppliers offer extra services like white labeling (producing the products with your brand name on them).

If this is something vital to your drop shipping business, make sure you’re working with the supplier who can provide it.

Similarly, you’ll rely on automation to run your business. 

Your supplier has to have the ability of integrating their inventory management systems with yours, so the product levels on your site are always accurate.

Choose a Dropshipping Solution

Shopify Dropshipping

Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce solutions for both regular eCommerce and dropshipping alike.

Pros of dropshipping with Shopify:

• Easy set up
• Over 1,500 apps and integrations
• Built-in marketing and SEO features

Cons of dropshipping with Shopify:

• Payment processor – you’ll pay an additional fee if you’re not using Shopify’s payment processor
• Scaling and exporting your store to a different platform later on is tricky

Pricing: Shopify plans start at $29/month, with a 14-day free trial

Verdict: Shopify is great if you want to dropship a few products, and you don’t have a lot of experience with other content management systems. 

Wix Dropshipping

Dropshipping with Wix is a great solution if you want to build a brand and ensure your customers have a great user experience.

Previously, Wix was tricky for dropshipping, but now it has a fully integrated sourcing solution: Modalyst. 

Pros of dropshipping with Wix:

• Ease of use – it’s very easy to start running your business and build a beautiful dropshipping storefront with Wix
• No transaction fees
• Access to thousands of high-quality suppliers through Modalyst

Cons of dropshipping with Wix:

• Not originally an eCommerce platform
• Fewer templates

Pricing: eCommerce plans start at $35/month

Verdict: Wix is a great dropshipping platform for small and mid-sized business alike. The fact that they don’t charge commissions is great for your bottom line!

Amazon Dropshipping

There are two kinds of Amazon dropshipping: Fulfillment by Amazon (Amazon FBA), where you store your products in Amazon’s warehouses (but you have to buy and ship them to the warehouses first), and traditional dropshipping.  We’ll focus on the latter. 

Pros of dropshipping with Amazon:

• Access to hundreds of millions of potential customers

Cons of dropshipping with Amazon:

• 10-15% fee on every item
• Potential problems if Amazon realizes you’re dropshipping

Pricing: 10-15% on every item you sell.

Verdict: Great if you’re starting your business and you want to reach a huge audience from the get-go, but not great for scaling.

eBay Dropshipping

Similarly to Amazon, eBay gives you access to a huge audience. However, it doesn’t allow the kind of low-risk dropshipping that will help you generate revenue.

Pros of dropshipping with eBay:

• Access to a huge audience

Cons of dropshipping with eBay:

• You’re not allowed to sell products you haven’t already bought
• Huge audience? Huge competition

Pricing: 10% fee per sold product.

Verdict: eBay dropshipping is great if you want to make money fast. 

But if you want to build a sustainable business, you’re better off starting your store on Wix, sourcing high-quality products through Modalyst, and promoting them through eBay and Amazon. 

The post How to Make Money Online Without Paying Anything first appeared on Modalyst.

Whether at the mall, in a coffee shop, or strolling down the street, there are probably people everywhere wearing T-shirts. As a basic clothing item, it’s safe to say that nearly every person on the planet owns at least one t-shirt. In developed countries, it’s probably more like 30.

Regardless, the point is that tshirts are a popular item. People love them, they are easy to source, and they are highly customizable. All of this makes them a great item to sell in an ecommerce store.

However, because of this, there is a lot of competition. So for people who want to learn how to start an online t-shirt business, here’s a tip. You have to do more than just open a Shopify store and wait for customers.

Check out these effective tips for starting a t-shirt business, and making it successful.

Use an Ecommerce Platform For Your Online T-Shirt Business

Your online website is very important to your long term success.

You need to have a nicely designed, professional website to attract customers. No one wants to buy from a website that they don’t trust.

Fortunately, there are many great ecommerce platforms to choose from.

With $30 a month you can get a site up and start making money. Shopify has tons of free themes that will make you look professional without spending a ton of cash. It’s also easy enough to use that you can customize the site to your brand, manage inventory, and run your website without expensive designers and webmasters.

Read our article here about the best e-commerce website for clothing companies.

Source High Quality Products

People regularly get cheapy T-shirts for free that they don’t really want to wear.

For example, companies looking to promote themselves will often give out low-quality, inexpensive T-shirts with their name plastered all over them.

These are the shirts that people use for doing yard work or when they want to repaint their house.

An ecommerce store is selling clothing with unique t-shirt designs on them that people actually want to buy and wear out in public. This means that the shirts need to be made of quality materials.

Look for fabrics that won’t fade or have their colors run after a couple of washes, comfortable material that breathes well and isn’t itchy, and a shape that comfortably fits and flatters the body. Yes, that means investing in flattering fits for women as well unless the chosen niche largely appeals to men only.

Choosing the right product goes a long way towards building the brand’s reputation, fostering brand loyalty, and driving sales from repeat customers.

Design Your Own T-Shirt

What makes people buy a T-shirt?

Typically they’re not making a fashion statement. They’re either looking for a comfortable piece of basic clothing or they love the design on it.

Perhaps it makes a statement they want to promote, depicts a video game character they love, or simply has an eye-catching design that they love.

Regardless, while quality and comfort are important for repeat customers, the design is what will make people buy the first time. If a store sells the same designs as everyone else, it will be much harder to stand out from the pack.

So…create unique designs!

There are many websites that will help you bring your t shirt design ideas to life. Both Shopify and Wix have apps for this purpose.

There are also inexpensive Photoshop templates entrepreneurs can use to put their designs on a model and improve the overall quality of their product photos. This is a hugely important part of the sale funnel as 75% of online shoppers rely on the product photo when making their buying choices.

The templates are easy to use. Some basic Photoshop skills are necessary but don’t worry about being a Photoshop guru.

Of course, many people don’t feel confident in their design skills. Entrepreneurs can try collaborating with a graphic designer who can help translate your shirt mockup into a fleshed out design. Alternatively, consider contacting freelance designers on sites like Upwork or Fiverrr to help create designs inexpensively.

Test Your Designs

Armed with a handful of designs, many people might think they’re ready.

We highly recommend seeking feedback before printing up a bunch of T-shirts.

Watermark the images so they can’t be stolen and post them on online forums or an online discussion platform like Reddit. There are plenty of people who will be happy to give their opinion on the designs.

We recommend that entrepreneurs put on their rhino skin before reading them and be open to constructive criticism. A benefit of this approach is the potential to gain a few interested customers before the store even opens.

Don’t forget to reach out to professional design consultants as well. Professionals can give unbiased feedback on how the designs will print and the look of the final product. This is particularly important for entrepreneurs who’ve never printed T-shirts before.

Choose a Niche

A helpful strategy for success is to focus on a niche store for your online t-shirt business.

Selling T-shirts online with any and all types of designs to appeal to a wide range of people can work. However, it will be more work and the business will require a lot more time and effort going into marketing.

Choosing a niche for the t-shirt business brings things down to a manageable space, especially when the store is just starting out. The sky is the limit here. Try to find a niche that few other companies are selling, as that would be ideal. Less competition means easier sales and the marketing bill will be much cheaper.

Don’t be afraid to carefully research this part before opening the store. The right niche could literally make or break a business. So, spend some time browsing other stores to see what’s available and shape ideas.

Finding a gap in the available products is a gold mine for entrepreneurs. All they have to do is position their store to fill it.

Build a Strong Brand Image

Lastly, it is vital that entrepreneurs focus on building a strong brand image. Customers these days love getting to know a brand and are more likely to buy items from a company that resonates with them.

Building a brand and presenting it uniformly across all platforms increases revenue by about 23%. An eCommerce T-shirt store might never get to be as recognizable as Coca-Cola or Nike, but that doesn’t mean that entrepreneurs shouldn’t focus on creating that recognition.

Use consistent imaging, colors, wording, fonts, etc across all marketing channels. This presents the brand uniformly and begins to foster recognition among loyal customers. Who knows? Done right, an eCommerce store could become the next Amazon for T-shirts.

Being active on social media also helps with this. Millennials, in particular, love to be able to interact with the companies they buy from. It’s also a great way for entrepreneurs to learn what their customers love and get feedback on what they can improve.

Additionally, customize the content as much as possible. A whopping 82% of customers feel more positive about a brand after reading this type of content.

Strong branding also fosters a sense of loyalty. Businesses with strong brands enjoy more brand loyalty and repeat customers. This is important as 65% of a company’s business comes from its current customers. 

A well-thought-out brand image also helps to show the store’s cohesiveness and professionalism. A chaotic brand image can make customers doubt they will receive their packages on time or even that they’ll receive the right product. This can scare off customers before the store ever has a chance to impress them with their actual products and services.

The post How to Start a Successful T-Shirt Business first appeared on Modalyst.

[UPDATED] It is one of the most popular questions new entrepreneurs ask about dropshipping.

You may be tempted to add products from as many different categories as you can, with the thought that a bigger variety leads to more sales. In reality, though, not every category is a “hit” with consumers. On top of that, a chaotic range of product lines can cause buyer confusion and lost revenue.

How do the successful dropshipping stores sweep audiences from the internet? How do they avoid low-performing categories? If you haven’t figured it out yet, these businesses are constantly researching the top product categories to drop ship. Get the idea?

At Modalyst, tens of thousands of store owners are using our platform to add products to their online businesses, which gives an opportunity to identify popular trends. Recently, we pulled some data and found the following product categories are on the rise:

1. Womens Clothing & Accessories
2. Home & Garden
3. Beauty & Health
4. Jewelry
5. Sports & Entertainment

Womens Clothing & Accessories

This category has managed to perform better than any other in the last 12 months.

There are several niches that fall under Womens Clothing & Accessories, including those that don’t have a high demand – such as jumpsuits and jeans.

That said, we’ve spotted and listed three winners for this and all other categories. The following items steal the show in the Womens Clothing & Accessories category.

Intimates & Lingerie

The most interesting finding is that this niche is seemingly recession-proof. How is that possible? 

According to Edited, “during a recession, underwear is an inexpensive treat and to the consumer can feel more justified and ‘necessary’ than buying into a specific garment trend.”

Intimates & Lingerie had the highest sell-through of any niche in any category in 2019, and it’s on pace to do it again this year. Remarkably, this was true across price points, with luxe lingerie experiencing the highest sell-through across all price segments.

Here are examples of some of the Intimates on Modalyst that perform well:

Accessories

The accessories category is enormous, accounting for nearly 20% of the entire apparel market.

It’s also growing at an incredible pace. So far this year, the entire market has 4% more product retailing than the prior year.

This niche is large and varied, and there is no concise way to describe the products that fall into this bucket.

It’s essentially lots of small items, including jewelry and watches, hair accessories, handbags and purses, hats, sunglasses, belts and scarves, and gloves. It also includes things like statement earrings, which have risen in popularity in 2020 due to the selfie or Instagram effect. Edited describes this as:

“when you’re taking pictures of your face, earrings have a better chance of getting in shot and making a statement about which kind of cool you are. And given the soaring interest in beauty, when influencers are sharing, they’re sharing face. (And ear.)”

Aside from the rising tide of consumer interest we see in statement earrings, the following accessories trends are likely to have staying power for the rest of 2020 and beyond: pearls, animal prints, brooches, and bucket hats.

Bottoms

This is a broad niche that continues to perform well year after year.

Based on the runway trends, keep your eye on cargo pants. This particular product is likely to make a resurgence in late 2020, led by luxury brands.

Home & Garden

There are several factors pointing to huge gains for online stores in the Home & Garden category. Internet Retailer explains that two distinct demographics are driving the demand in this category: boomers and millennials.

Millennials represent an influx of shoppers who will want to transition from a college dorm to an entire house.

As this group ages, and home decor becomes a part of their personal identity, millennials will represent the highest-spending age group across all Home & Garden products.

Baby Boomers are aging, too, but they’re mostly focused on niche products that make home life easier and more practical.Grab bars, ramps, and walk-in tubs are some examples of the most popular products amongst this demographic.

It’s also true that many boomers are buying second homes and apartments, and are looking for stuff to fill up these new properties. Interestingly, they’re being turned to the brands that millennials love, including the ones they hear about from their kids and see on social media.

Broadly speaking, Home & Garden is the category where you’ll discover items for your living room, kitchen, bedroom, patio, and more. There are several products that will resonate with potential buyers, including some practical picks designed to make people’s lives easier.

Home Décor

This niche has been going strong for years.

It presents consumers with items that add some life and personality to their homes.

Hanging/Delectable Garden

According to Digital Third Coast’s latest design trends study, which is based on Google search data from 2004 to 2019, earthy garden items such as terrariums, succulents, and mason jars are all the rage right now in the home & garden category.

Kitchen & Dining

A combination of fun and useful, like the mugs below.

Beauty & Health

The overall business of beauty & health continues to defy gravity.

This product category has been on a tear for the last several years, and remarkably about half the growth is online.

This is remarkable for an inherently “experiential” category.  An interactive in-store experience used to be required to emotionally influence a consumer and shape their perception of the product they’re wearing.

According to Forbes, one of the most significant factors in the growth of sales in beauty products is the attitude of consumers, mostly women, who are actively seeking new brands and finding new products :

 “This is part of a larger generational shift of younger consumers rejecting the large brands their parents preferred and seeking out locally-made, artisanal, natural products in all consumer categories. The need to be Instagrammable at all times also helps.”

Ranking third in top drop shipping categories in each of the past three years is the Beauty & Health category.

This category comprises of niches that are good for your wellbeing. Examples include Massage oils, makeup, skincare, and other similar items.

Healthcare

This niche of products to sell doesn’t include things like surgical instruments and medicine. Instead, it contains popular products like massage oil and muscle recovery pads.

Makeup

Makeup is more self-explanatory.

Power brushes, eye shadows, lipstick, etc. While this dropshipping niche is exclusive to females, that hasn’t stopped it from occupying the Beauty & Health space in recent years.

Skincare

The niche contains products that boost the appearance of your skin.

However, set realistic expectations rather than wild promises by writing a custom product description if you import this or another similar item in your store.

Jewelry

Womens Clothing & Accessories might have topped the list of best-performing dropshipping categories, but Jewelry is also enjoying considerable success as a product to dropship.

The category consists of things like necklaces, earrings, bracelets, bangles, pendants, etc.

Necklaces

Necklaces have been topping the list of niches in the Jewelry category each year. Items within this niche sell online and are especially affordable for retailers. Hence, you can enjoy a good markup on the wholesale price, even if you price the product in the $2-$5 range.

Bracelets

Bracelets like the one you see below are associated with China, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and other Asian countries.

Rings

Coming in third place, the Rings category is yet another product that is popular amongst consumers and inexpensive to source for ecommerce websites.

Sports & Entertainment

Sports & Entertainment occupies the fifth place in the list of top-selling product categories.

Almost every household has an individual who needs sports equipment. Additionally, there are plenty of adults who play just for entertainment. No shortage of demand here.

Workout clothes

Coming in first as the top-performing niche in the Sports & Entertainment category, workout clothes include items such as gym tanks, sleeveless cuts, and more.

Headbands

These are used as fashionable headgear or during physical activity such as running and exercising.

Basketball shorts

This product niche is also experiencing a rise in demand.

Other Tips for Choosing a Drop Ship Product Category

Use Google Trends

Our compilation aside, you can use a tool like Google Trends to gauge search volumes for specific different types of products.

It will show you whether a category has a peak month that rises at the same time each year, or is it on an overall rise. We recommend using the range “last 5 years” because that offers a detailed overview of a category’s growth.

Pick A Category You Can Easily Promote

When deciding which category to pick products from, always consider how you’ll promote it.

Do you have good connections with influencers in the Jewelry space? Are you familiar with the Sports and Entertainment market? For existing online stores, is the category something that can be used to up-sell items from other categories to existing visitors?

For instance, if you sell womens clothing and accessories you can increase your AOV by offering necklaces, earrings, and other jewelry pieces after potential buyers add an accessory to their cart.

Pick A Category You’re Personally Interested In

Select a category that you are truly passionate about. The reason for going with your interest is that if you’re working with items you are truly interested in, you’re more likely to have better luck promoting them and reaching your goals over the long period. Plus, you’ll likely have industry connections and access to groups/forums where you can post about the category’s items.

Start Selling Products from Top Dropship Categories Today!

Focus on categories that have a sustainable demand or that you can easily promote.

Get started now rather than later, and experiment with other categories as you go. With Modalyst, you can add products from top product niches in a matter of minutes and start taking orders right away. If you have any questions or require help, get in touch with our support team.

The post Top 5 Untapped Dropshipping Categories to Sell first appeared on Modalyst.

The e-commerce industry is growing at an aggressive rate, making it even more important for online stores to find the best products to sell online. Doing so, will keep you differentiated and ahead of the competition.

A new year is often accompanied by new trends and preferences. What sold like hot cakes in the previous year can suddenly experience a drop in demand in 2022.

But knowing what’s trending and what’s out of fashion doesn’t need to be guesswork. With data from Google Trends and a bit of research, you can discover the best drop shipping products to sell in 2020.

Whether you’re refilling the stock of your existing online store or launching a new one from scratch, these picks will help you generate revenue with minimum marketing spend.

Finding Trending Products to Sell Online

If it were easy to start a successful online business, everybody in the world would be billionaires.

We understand those Youtube ads where a talking head tells you they made $100,000 in a month might make eCommerce seem like a piece of cake. While they’re telling the truth about their success, these ads aren’t telling you all that goes into the process.

Namely, those drop shipping gurus are experts at product selection and have a defined process that ensures they’re buying and selling at a substantial profit.

As an ecommerce novice, you can’t create that process out of thin air. You need a starting point—which is what we’re offering below, firstly with different places you can find the right products for your online store:

Look in the Mirror

You’re an entrepreneur, so you probably have some pretty great product ideas. It’s always worth investigating something you’ve already thought of before desperately scouring the internet for that one magic product idea.

It’s wise to consider particular products, niches, and industries in which you and your friends are interested. After that, brainstorm any potential pain points or inconveniences you experience in your own life.

Look to Your Surroundings

The answers you seek may lie in your local community. Meaning, you don’t necessarily need to embark on an epic journey to Middle Earth or – even worse – the dark web to find your product.

You can visit local brick-and-mortar establishments and assess trends. Therein might lie a ground-breaking product idea that you can take into the eCommerce space. Take a few weekend afternoons to study the newest and most exciting retail concepts and products.

Alternatively, if you aren’t into galavanting around town searching for ideas, local newspapers feature innovative products being developed and sold in your community.

Decide if the local trends could sell in the digital sphere. Some products sell better in physical locations than they do in the digital space – and vice versa.

Adhere to the Experts

Online consumer trend publications will steer your business in the right direction.

Within trend publications are experts whose jobs are to be accurate and discerning about the latest trending products. By reading them, you’ll start getting a sense of consumer inclinations – or in layman’s terms, what’s selling and what isn’t. You’ll also be privy to what other entrepreneurs are bringing to the market.

These publications will also bring to light new product categories and industries you otherwise would have never known.

Trend Watching’s team of 30 professionals throughout London, Singapore, Sydney, and Largos report on a smorgasbord of worldwide trends.

Those seeking a more mainstream trend publication will enjoy Trend Hunter – the largest of its kind.

With a global network of 137,000 members and 3,000,000 fans, Trend Hunter is brimming with inspirational product ideas that might help get your business off the ground.

Turn to the Top Dogs

Reinventing the wheel is virtually impossible.

It always helps to look at what’s worked in the past and working in the present, then use those examples as starting-off points.

Once you have an idea of your preferred market or industry, there are multitudes of online tools, such as Topsy and Followerwonk, that’ll aid in discovering influencers in those spheres.

Leading ecommerce and drop shipping professionals can teach you a lot. By using their example as a template for success, you’ll be in way less over your head than if you try conjuring up a business model from scratch.

From the Mouths of Critics

The truth lies in product reviews blogs. You can find out the ins and outs of any product, market, or industry based on this valuable content.

Reviews will let you know about failures in products, gaps in the market that you could leverage, and the type of people to whom you’ll be selling.

These blogs will also offer a well-rounded look into the newest trends on the market and can provide another source of inspiration.

Uncrate, Outblush, Bless This Stuff, and Cool Material are fantastic sources for product review blogs.

Niche review sites are ideal if you’re considering a product that isn’t mainstream. It’s stellar practice to choose a product that is a proven seller but has low competition. Niche blogs act as a conduit to finding those types of products.

Social Curation is Your Key

Fancy is equal parts store, magazine, and wish list. It’ll offer you a strong sense of new trends that’ll give you great product ideas.

Reddit is Your Realest Product Source

Within Reddit, there are thousands of subreddits offering a window into virtually any niche topic you can imagine – making them one of the best places to find product ideas.

No matter the industry or product niche, it’ll be on a subreddit.

Don’t believe us? Just search, and we guarantee you’ll find a subreddit for the most obscure products you could imagine. Then, you’ll know if there could be a viable interest. Since Reddit is interactive, you can engage directly with your target market to gain further market insights.

Evaluating which Trending Products to Sell

When choosing the right products to sell, you must evaluate the market and the product itself.

First, let’s look at the pros and cons and what to consider when assessing the market:

The Size of Your Playing Field

You must initially hypothesize the market size for your product.

Start by using common sense. Running shoes for males between 18-25 are going to have a large market with high demand. Whereas, a tracksuit catered to 40-50-year-old plumbers with an active lifestyle is too much of a niche for your business to make waves.

The Stiffness of Competition

Are you selling a product with no competition?

Conversely, if the market is too saturated, despite the product probably being a great seller, the competition will make it difficult to get a strong foothold in the market. In this instance, you must find a way to set your product apart with creative branding to find any success.

The Shelf-Life for Selling

The returns will be very short-term because the demand will die out quicker than you can say ‘why me?’

It’s possible to capitalize on a fad if you buy in and out at precisely the right times – but those are tricky waters to navigate since the lifespan of a fad is highly unpredictable.

A trend is akin to a fad’s more charming and reliable brother. While trends do have a shelf-life, they grow and decline at a far steadier rate than fads and are, thereby, far more lucrative. Trends can develop into long-term stable markets, but much like fads, it’s tough to predict.

When looking to limit ups-and-downs, selling a product that exists in a stable market could work – which has undeniable lasting power and does not fluctuate.

Lastly, there are growing markets that show steady improvement and an ability to cause a long-term market shift.

The Convenience Factor

How easy is it for your consumers to get the trending products you intend on selling?

Is purchasing a simple matter of heading down to the local strip mall? Then it might not be the best product choice. On the other hand, if a product isn’t easy to find, people are far more likely to search for it online.

The Customer Psyche

Get a good feel for the type of customer that your product appeals to, including knowing their online shopping proclivities.

For instance, selling to teens comes with the obstacle of your target not having a credit card to make an online purchase. Whereas, selling to baby boomers means your target customer will be technology-averse and generally won’t purchase online.

In the case of catering to teenagers, you may benefit from directing your marketing efforts towards their parents, as they’ll make the purchasing decisions. With baby boomers, positioning your product as a gift might work. This way, your advertising would appeal to the children of boomers, who’d purchase your product for their parents.

Now, we’ll take a look at product evaluation:

Markup Can Make You Crazy

You’ll be amazed at the mountainous list of fees that render each sale bereft of profit.

As such, sufficiently marking up your product is a must before trying to sell, especially right off the bat. You’ll need to offset those selling fees on top of the other costs associated with getting your business off the ground.

Click here for an example of the fees you might be stuck with when selling a product. It’ll give you a good idea of why some eCommerce businesses mark products up nearly 1,200% to generate a reasonable profit.

The Selling Price Sweet Spot

The sweet spot for eCommerce pricing is estimated to be around $75-$150.

You won’t need to move tons of product to generate a return, nor will you be stuck with hefty marketing and operation costs.

When a product is too inexpensive, you’ll have to sell an enormous number of units to turn a profit. Then, there’ll be mix-ups and issues with customer service due to the volume of sales.

On the other side of the spectrum, expensive products come with extended sales cycles and pickier customers.

Finding the perfect product for the ideal price is vital in being efficient as a dropshipper, where you’re already wearing many hats and need to streamline operations as much as possible.

Subscribing to Success

Turning customers into subscribers is the best way to get continued business. It also automates the selling process which requires less effort and decreases operating costs.

Even if your product isn’t traditionally subscription-based, try to do what Dollar Shave Club did with razors. It could turn into one of the most profitable decisions you make for your business.

Size Does Count

The size and weight of a product can eat directly into your profit margins.

Shoppers won’t settle for anything less than free shipping, and you may have to eat the costs associated with more substantial items.

Decide whether the market demand can offset the size and weight-related costs of your product.

Durable Products Could Mean Enduring Success

Fragile products will cost more in replacements, exchanges, and protective packaging.

While it’s possible to be effective at shipping fragile products, it requires considerable strategy so that it doesn’t devour your profits.

Is Your Product a One Season Quitter?

Seasonal products won’t necessarily sink your business, but they come with more challenges than products that sell year-round.

Ensuring consistent cash flow with seasonal products requires marketing to different countries at different times of the year.

This tactic works very well with winter and summer clothing, as opposed to holiday-based products. Seasons happen differently all over the world, whereas most holidays happen on the same day, regardless of country or continent.

Product Turnover Could Mean Profit Turnover

There are products, like smartphone cases and running shoes, that regularly need new designs to meet the latest demands of the market. Meaning, the older models need to sell before the newer ones hit the market.

Otherwise, there’ll be a massive stockpile of outdated product.

Selling items that need to be refreshed and updated continually is risky, so planning and adhering to a turnover schedule is a must.

Can these Trending Products Grow with Your Dropshipping Business?

Okay, so your ecommerce store is in its infancy. Maybe you’re using Shopify or Wix to get to market quickly. And perhaps you’ve scoured Spocket and Oberlo and even AliExpress to find your initial dropship suppliers. 

Amid all the initial hiccups, planning to scale your business is a tall task.

Regardless, accounting for scalability from the building-block phase of your business will equip you for long-term success.

If you’re selling spices from a local butcher, will the butcher be able to get you enough product to meet an increasingly growing demand? Will you need more employees to handle the increase in sales? How can you know whether your newest dropshippers are trustworthy and able to deliver as advertised?

Those are just a few of the questions you’ll need to consider when evaluating the best drop ship products to add to your online business.

Trending Products to Sell Online

1. Vape cartridge

Google Trends confirms that vaping is a growing trend, so it makes sense to sell vape products and accessories.

Vape cartridges are one of the hottest items in this category. Buyers can either use them as an old-fashioned vaporizer or as an eVape pen. Some of them also contain pre-filled liquid of a certain flavor.

Whatever the case, there is certainly a growing community and a lifestyle element you can capitalize on to make sales in this rapidly evolving industry.

Plus, there’s profit to be made as plenty of suppliers will drop ship these for as little as $1.

2. Posture Corrector

Nowadays, a lot of individuals spend a major portion of their day working at their desks, studying or managing paperwork in a sedentary position.

That makes them look down instead of sitting in an upright position and look forward, which has a negative impact on their postures. Hence, there’s no better time to sell a posture corrector than now.

Google Trends’ data reveals that the demand for these items is on the rise.

You can sell multiple varieties of these including posture correctors that keep the back straight, the ones that place balanced pressure on your trigger points, and more.

3. Stove Cover

Do you dislike removing spilled food particles and grease from a stove?Most people do, which is one of the main reasons why they’re taking out their credit cards for stove covers.

Google Trends, too, reveals a positive sentiment towards this item.

In addition to keeping the inside of a stove clean, stove covers are dishwasher safe and highly reusable. Whoever buys them won’t have to do any scrubbing. For store owners, the best thing about this product is its portability.

The fact that stove covers are quite easy to ship makes them a great drop ship product to add to your store, especially if you’re in the household goods niche.

4. Minimalist Jewelry

There’s a certain demographic that likes owning finer things in life.That’s why minimalist jewelry continues to see a steady rise in demand from around the world.

Becoming popular in the 90s, the first minimalist jewels had Yellow Gold as their color, so most of the production involved Yellow Gold rhodium plates.

Today, this sort of jewelry comes in three forms of gold: White, Red (rose), and Yellow. Each of them has distinct characteristics but follow the basic mantra of “less is more.”

You can promote minimalist jewelry by partnering with lifestyle influencers on Instagram. Etsy and Shopify have a strong network of suppliers and sellers in this category as as well. 

Once you add these types of products to your ecommerce store, use hashtags like #minimalist to help you gain traction among the right audience.

5. WiFi Security Camera

Tech trends to be as wireless as it could be in this day and age, and the verdict applies to security monitors too.

No one likes to see a big wire passing their lawn, so an increasing interest in WiFi security cameras isn’t surprising.

Such devices are known to add comfort and convenience in people’s lives, especially when it comes to security.If you’re already promoting security cameras, you might want to include WiFi-equipped models to stay up-to-date with the trends.

Aliexpress has tons of suppliers offering this type of product. We recommend using Oberlo to find different dropship suppliers whose products you can sync to your Shopify store. The eBay marketplace is also a great resource with its dozens of sellers in this dropshipping niche.

If you’re about to launch a new home appliances store, don’t be shy of considering this as your go-to trending item to sell.

6. Wireless Charger

Wireless chargers made waves in early 2015 but there is still a hype that you can capitalize on to make sales online.

One way to beat your competitors to the punch is to source wireless chargers of a higher quality.

As most internet entrepreneurs are selling Chinese wholesaler products, quality is a big concern for the buyer.High-quality wireless chargers will enable users to charge their devices within minutes. Plus, they don’t look ugly.

Overall, the demand for wireless chargers is poised to grow now that Apple has officially integrated wireless charging capability in its newest line of iPhones.

7. Touchscreen Gloves

With winters set to break records, it’s a no brainer to predict that people will be looking for touchscreen gloves to provide safety to their numb, cold fingers.

Because traditional gloves don’t help much when it comes to interacting with a touchscreen, the demand for Touchscreen Gloves has grown.

Google Trends indicates it’s especially high between September and February.

These uniquely manufactured gloves allow people to use their phones without exposing their bare hands to fierce winds.

You can promote these through an unboxing or demonstration video on YouTube. Make one yourself or hire an Instagram influencer for the job.

8. Makeup Travel Bags

These are must-sell hot products for online stores across the world, especially when it’s winter.

The idea behind makeup travel bags is simple – people make a ton of plans for travel and adventure, and most of them take some time to pull off.

During those long journeys, makeup travel bags protect makeup, beauty and health products from the wet weather while withstanding the bumps and knocks of continuous travel.

And, if you search them up on Google Trends, you’ll see that people want to get their hands on them.

Makeup travel bags can be marketed with the help of makeup and fashion bloggers from different social media platforms.

9. Waterproof Pants

For those who love backpacking and traveling to the great outdoors, waterproof pants are more of a necessity than an option.

Google Trends shows that people worldwide are searching for this item. Whether your niche is skiing, camping, backpacking or hiking, these products will make a great addition to your online business.

Marketing waterproof pants should also be easier than marketing other dropshipping items.

You can send a free sample or two to Instagram influencers and ask them to give your store a shout out to get things off the ground.

Start Selling the Best Dropshipping Products Today!

While there are plenty of unique products to choose from, focus on one that you can easily promote as a jump-off point.

Do it today rather than later, and experiment with additional products as you move forward.

With Modalyst, you can find trending product in a matter of minutes and accept orders right anyway.

If you need help or want to ask a question, get in touch with our support staff. We’re friendly and approachable.

The post Best Dropshipping Products in 2022 first appeared on Modalyst.

Los Angeles mom Evelyne Teman made $500,000 dollars in three years from selling clothes on Poshmark. On Depop, Millennial entrepreneur Bella McFaden(depop username: @InternetGirl) withdrew from College to sell on Depop full time. Like Teman and McFaden, many individuals today use P2P fashion platforms such as Poshmark and Depop as mechanism to get rid of unwanted clothing and as an alternative way to make a living.

The continued strong dominance of e-commerce in retail is largely the result of “re-commerce”–the process of reselling goods. Re-commerce is a thriving industry, growing at 13% YoY and was already an $18 billion business in 2016 with expectations to double in the next 5 years – and that just in the United States!

This growth is spearheaded by the Millennial market, which has taken up re-commerce in a viral manner due to 3 key areas: convenience, experience, and personalization.

Convenience

Digital-savvy Millennials are accustomed to navigating through their day-to-day interactions through their mobile devices – interactions are more convenient and productive. Thus, since many P2P platforms are mobile-first applications, they have been able to penetrate into the Millennial market rapidly. By simply taking a photo and uploading it to the app, people are able to sell their unwanted items, declutter their closets, and earn money.  For buyers, this saves the hassle of making a trip to the mall – instead, one can simply shop via their mobile device. Since P2P platforms operate with no middleman, consumers are also able to save significant money by avoiding the mark-up price stores would charge.

Experience

76% of re-commerce shoppers rank “fun factor” as one of their top three reasons for participating in the marketplace. Why? Because sellers are able to truly bring their “virtual closet” to life through imagery. Top sellers take pictures of themselves wearing products out on the scene, with their personal flair. They curate their virtual “closet” towards a specific theme and vibe, forming an emotional connection with their followers. Moreover, today’s consumers are increasingly concerned about the backstory of their product. Buying from a trusted source on a re-commerce platform aligns their beliefs, for example when looking for items made in ways that correspond with their values and style (eg. environmentally friendly, vintage, handmade, etc.). And, as buyers and sellers can communicate directly with each other, they comprehend the full story behind their purchase. There is also the emotional appeal of buying directly from hot bloggers – who wouldn’t want to own the Manrepeller’s wardrobe (depop: @leandramedine)?!

Source : sftcdn

Personalization

P2P platforms source products from millions of people – so the offering available is huge and limitless. While traditional stores offer the same products to a mass audience, the items listed on these re-commerce platforms are differentiated whether it be vintage to fashion-forward, or petit size to plus. Thus, people with all different styles are able to items that appeal to them. Moreover, on many apps like Poshmark and Depop, one can filter the search engine to cater to one’s specific preferences–making the shopping experience more personalized and direct.

Ebay is perhaps the most well-known reselling platform, however Millennial fashion resellers are gravitating towards Poshmark and Depop. These apps offer users a social experience through the ability to curate a profile and directly contact other users through likes, comments, and private messages–a major appeal to Millennials. And, with an interface similar to Instagram, users have a familiar, aesthetically pleasing, easy-to-use experience. They allow users to buy apparel at a lower price point than traditional stores with a more diversified selection of products, and the opportunity to interact with other users

There are some incredible success stories of sellers quitting their jobs or making a significant secondary income through re-commerce. For them, the problem is keeping supply up with demand.

Source : RoseMary Maccabe

So, how do fashion resellers find their inventory, once their closets are emptied?

When sellers on Poshmark, Depop, Ebay etc. re-sell clothes from their closet, they have a limited supply of clothes they can offer their followers. Once they sell out of their closets, they are forced to buy inventory through other means, which is expensive.

Interestingly, Modalyst has become an alternative supply of inventory. Instead of scouring the markets, Modalyst has ~500 brands offering ~50,000 items for sale in a marketplace – all with stock available and ready to dropship directly to customers. Meaning, Depop sellers are curating a selection of items to add to their shop, and sell. Additionally, this means that one is able to sell quantity of an item, as opposed to one at a time. Once the item sells to a customer, the reseller pays for it and retains the profit.

This has been an interesting change in our business model. Previously, Modalyst only worked with ecommerce retailers. But, as we have seen demand grow amongst users on apps like Poshmark and Depop, we have opened the platform for P2P businesses to source from us.

Contact us at team@modalyst.co to learn more and join this program.

The post P2P Marketplaces : Retail first appeared on Modalyst.