Dropshipping Made Easy: 2 Smart Ways to Find the Most Profitable Products

Interested in ecommerce?

If you've never sold a product online before, dropshipping can be the perfect way to “get your feet wet” without investing tens of thousands of dollars.

The dropshipping approach means you don't have to worry about logistics or inventory.

That's taken care of for you. You don't have to deal with manufacturers directly, either.

Instead, you can focus on getting your products in front of the right people.

While you do need a little bit of money to get started, you can start a dropshipping business on a surprisingly low budget.

So naturally, the question arises: “What kind of products should I sell?”

Most dropshippers go through Alibaba or AliExpress, usually the latter.

The thing with AliExpress is that you can find things super cheaply, at a fraction of the cost you'd pay in the US.

That means it can be profitable to buy the items there, then sell them in your online store or through Amazon.

Dropshipping entrepreneurs have had success with all kinds of products, but as you gain experience, you'll find that some things are duds.

It can take some trial and error to find the right thing.

In a recent post from affiliate marketing guru Charles Ngo, he offers two smart ways to start looking for products.

There Are No Easy Alternatives

If you can go on Amazon, easily and cheaply purchase a product, and have it delivered in two days, that’s not a winning product to sell on Shopify.

Why not?

A product shouldn’t be easily purchasable. You don’t want someone thinking, “Oh that’s cool, I’ll go get one at Wal-Mart.”

You want them thinking, “Holy crap, I need that, and this is probably the only place I can get it.”

Otherwise, they will just buy it from Amazon, or it won’t be different enough for them to pull out their credit card.

I think this is a really cool product…

[image source: Charles Ngo]
It’s unique, you probably can’t get it at Wal-Mart, and it’s visually appealing. Plus, you know parents are going to get this for their kids.

How can you find these gold mine products? A couple suggestions.

Browse AliExpress and just have fun.

AliExpress allows you to buy inexpensive products from manufacturers in China. You can see what’s hot, as well as how much you’ll pay for an item. Look at things you would like to buy and see if there’s some margin in there.

[image source: Charles Ngo]
Browse the trending projects in Kickstarter.

The trending projects show you what’s grabbing people’s attention. Pay attention to products that are crushing their funding goals. This shows what people are interested in and willing to pay for. If you can find a similar product to sell, you’re in luck.

Also, can we talk about that weird looking automated toothbrush?

[image source: Charles Ngo]
Browse Amazon.

Amazon isn’t a bad place to look. You can get a feel for what’s popular, as well as how many sellers are pushing a product.

The only challenge is that Amazon is hugely crowded. It can be tricky to find a product to sell that isn’t already being sold by a million other people.

However, it can be a good place to browse, get ideas for further research, and impulsively buy the entire box set of 90210.

Research on Etsy.

Etsy can be a goldmine for finding products to sell on Shopify. The site tends to focus on crafty, handmade items, which can provide great ideas for further research.

If you’re trying to sell to a female demographic, this can be an especially useful tool.

[image source: Charles Ngo]
Look For Products With At Least 100% Profit Margin

Whatever you do, stay away from products with a low-profit margin. You have to sell a huge volume to make a serious profit, and there’s always the danger of spending a lot of money on a product that won’t sell.

At a MINIMUM you should look for products with at least a 100% profit margin. Remember, selling is more than just products costs + Facebook advertising.

You’ve got:

Shipping

Processing fees

Returned and broken items

Shopify apps

Shopify fees

Virtual assistant wages

And a lot more

This is where sites like AliExpress are useful.

You can see what it costs to purchase a product directly from the manufacturer. Then you add in all your additional costs to get a VERY BASIC idea of what your actual margin will be.

If it’s not at least 100%, it’s a no go.

How do you know how to price your products?

Check out your competitors and then match their prices. If the product shows promise, keep increasing the price until your conversion rate starts to fall.