Best Dropshipping Products: 10 Things To Sell In 2021

By Rodney Laws | Ecommerce

Sep 24

Dropshipping is one of the most exciting, lucrative and accessible entrepreneurial ventures of the last few years. 

The advent of services such as AliExpress and dropshipping add-ons to popular store builders such as WordPress has allowed people all over the world to set up sites and watch the passive income roll in.

While it’s obviously a little harder than it sounds to run a successful dropshipping business, it offers significant time and financial benefits over managing a traditional ecommerce store. 

But how do you find the best dropshipping products to sell online? 

In this article we’ll provide you with the most important piece of the ecommerce puzzle with a list of the 10 best dropshipping products you should consider selling on your store, from trending products you have to take advantage of to evergreen favourites with high seasonal value. 

A brief introduction to dropshipping 

Considering that you’re reading this article for product inspiration, we’re going to assume you’re fairly familiar with the concept of dropshipping. 

To give you a little refresher we’ll just cover the basic points of this ecommerce model: 

  • Dropshipping is an ecommerce fulfilment method where the store do not stock the products they sell
  • The online store purchases products from third-party suppliers and have them shipped directly to the customers
  • Dropshipping is the best way to test out entrepreneurial business ideas in a low-risk environment 
  • A dropshipping enterprise requires less overhead and location investment than a standard ecommerce business
  • Dropshipping add-ons are available for a range of leading ecommerce platforms  

To learn more about the ins and outs of managing your own dropshipping business, check out our full guide to the best dropshipping tools for ecommerce businesses

The 10 best dropshipping products

While useability, design and marketing are all important in dropshipping, the best stores are built on a foundation of adaptability and awareness towards emerging product trends. 

The majority of successful stores either sell useful products at budget prices (generally under £10), products currently experiencing a boom period, or products that are rare or difficult to find. 

Below, we’ve put together a list of 10 of the most profitable dropshipping products to sell through your store, grouped into simple categories both prospective store owners and customers can understand. 

This list was built using a combination of research into trend data, product useability and social media research, giving you the best overview of the types of products to invest in today and the best dropshipping niches.

Let’s get started. 

Clothing

While dropshipping is built on the success of particular trends, like all forms of ecommerce, it’s important to find some products with universal and evergreen value. 

Other than food, water and shelter, is there anything people need more than clothes? 

While fashion retail is a highly competitive market to enter as a first-time store owner, the past few years have shown clothes to be highly versatile additions to a successful business, whether you’re stocking a trending product or leaning into a more stable trend in fashion. 

One challenge stores owners must consider when moving into this dropshipping niche is the ethical standards and product production methods of your suppliers. Buying products of higher ethical quality can put some strain on your financial margins, but it’ll also give you a unique edge in an increasingly saturated market. 

Start dropshipping clothing with these items: 

  • Graphic t-shirts (particularly those featuring designs of popular trends and phrases)
  • Exercise and outdoor wear
  • Jackets 

Everyday accessories 

Consumers are always looking for cheap alternatives of their favourite accessories and the top-selling items of the day. 

While it’s hard to find top of the range watches and bracelets for bargain prices online, dropshipping is a great way to fill out a collection or pick up a stop-gap replacement ready for a new job, first date or even as a cheap gift. 

Many dropshipping suppliers have begun to stock these products en masse as demand rises for them amongst consumers on popular social media platforms and dropshipping stores are targeted by consumers looking to hop on a new trend at a lower investment. 

Start dropshipping everyday accessories with these items: 

  • Wallets 
  • Smartwatches 
  • Minimalist jewellery

Baby products

Focusing your business model around baby-centric products can be risky if you’re not familiar with the niche, but if you’re up to the challenge these can be some of the best-selling dropshipping items. 

New store owners will appreciate the high demand that exists for baby products online and the widespread availability of these products through suppliers such as AliExpress. Meanwhile experienced dropshippers will see the benefit of a niche they can count on for continued popularity and promotional potential for new parents who have grown up familiar with social media and online shopping. 

What do you get when you combine high search volume with new parents looking to cut costs? The perfect dropshipping product. 

Start dropshipping baby products with these items: 

  • Every-day infants wear
  • Winter-wear for children
  • Spill-proof bowls and other feeding materials 

Fashion and beauty products

With many average consumers deeming fashion and beauty products overpriced through their suppliers or in brick and mortar retail stores, it makes sense that they would become brilliant dropshipping products. 

The necessity of these items makes them one of the most profitable dropshipping niches, but it’s their potential for advertising alongside influencers and across social media (such as Instagram and Tik Tok) that really sends them over the edge. 

Nifty solutions to minor cosmetic issues and great ways to cut down the cost of their daily skin routine make your dropshipping store an attractive destination for consumers of all ages. 

Start dropshipping fashion and beauty products with these items: 

  • Face rollers
  • Electric toothbrushes 
  • Sleep eye masks 

Fitness gear

In a post-lockdown world, regular people are more comfortable with the concept of a home workout than ever before. 

The pandemic saw an almost immediate surge in workout equipment delivered to consumer’s doors, with stores struggling to keep up with demand. This led to people searching for new ways to buy essentials to keep them in shape at home. They turned to dropshipping, ordering generic weights, yoga mats and resistance bands. 

While fitness fanatics may be concerned with having a particular brand of fitness gear, the average consumer isn’t as willing to make a huge investment, and is more than likely just looking for a sport or routine that suits them. This makes them ideal customers for dropshipping stores. 

Start dropshipping fitness gear with these items:

  • Yoga mats
  • Leggings
  • Post-workout massage guns 

Pet toys and accessories

The business of pets is booming, with pet owners helping it grow into an estimated $99 billion industry in the United States alone at the end of 2020. 

It’s safe to say people are very passionate about their pets. Whether they have dogs, cats, snakes or rats, all these animal lovers are eager to lavish their furry (or scaly) friends with treats (of both the edible and non-edible kind).

Dropshipping is also a brilliant place for pet lovers to pick up the essential pet gear and specialist equipment they might need. Best of all for store owners, these products are engagement magnets on social media, helping new stores to get off the ground with original and fun products. 

Some pet supplies dropshipping products we recommend looking into include: 

  • Outdoor equipment (leashes, jackets)
  • Toys of all shapes and sizes
  • Novelty beds 

Travel and camping gear

Many of the best selling dropshipping products climb the charts by offering luxury or specialist equipment at cut-rate prices. 

For people looking to explore the wilderness for the first time and enjoy a new hobby, travel and camping gear can get quite expensive, especially when you’re looking at major brands. Dropshipping gives you the opportunity to cut into this growing market and appeal to first-time hikers with white-label fishing, trekking and survival equipment. 

In season, stocking hiking backpacks on your site allows you to appeal to a wide range of different customer types, from avid explorers to festival-goers to families on their first staycation. These products are highly adaptable and generally available at high-margin prices, so give this sector some serious thought. 

Some travel and camping dropshipping products we recommend looking into include: 

  • Hiking backpacks
  • Sleeping equipment
  • Water bottles

Kitchenware 

Everyone loves food, and anything that can improve people’s experience of preparing or enjoying a meal in their kitchen has the potential to be a winning dropshipping product. 

Much like everyday accessories, the beauty of this category is how broad it is. Whether you choose to sell high-grade kitchen appliances or little accoutrements to make people feel more at home while preparing a home-cooked meal, there will always be an audience. 

From full-time parents to eager millennials looking for a new hobby, kitchenware has fascinated consumers for years. Best of all, suppliers all over the world are dealing in these products, making it easy to find the next big niche Tupperware or that essential bit of equipment needed to make that trending desert. 

Some kitchenware dropshipping products we recommend looking into include: 

  • Tupperware boxes
  • Organic tea strainers
  • Dining equipment 

Home decoration 

People love their homes and are always looking for new ways to spice them up. After almost an entire year indoors, people are more eager than ever to do something a little different with their homes. 

Dropshipping provides a great way to offer people the chance to experiment with new styles at a low cost. While it won’t quite give you a window into the interior design business, dropshipping can give entrepreneurs with a passion for particular styles of home decor and an eagerness to learn about the market a great way to indulge themselves in the industry. 

As more and more people, particularly those with disposable income, find themselves on a constantly rotating cycle of rented homes, the need to add something quintessentially ‘them’ to it at an affordable price becomes all the more important. 

Some home decoration dropshipping products we recommend looking into include: 

  • Flower hangers
  • Novelty lights and decorations
  • Pillows, throws and sheets

Office products

Dropshipping businesses don’t just cater to the most frivolous consumer habits. There are many useful products you can make a good profit selling to both businesses and students alike. 

Whether it’s offices needing to refill their supplies or academics in need of back-to-school gear, there will always be a constantly eager group of consumers looking for discounts on everything from writing equipment to digital tools. 

Couple that with the simplicity to manufacture and ship these products and you have a winning dropshipping option with an eye-watering profit margin. 

Some office dropshipping products we recommend looking into include: 

  • Mechanical Pencils
  • Pencil Cases
  • Mechanical Keyboards (Personalised) 

How to do market research for your own dropshipping products 

Not sold on any of these product suggestions? Let us show you how to find your own!

Dropshipping product research is perhaps too complicated a subject to cover in this section alone, but here are a few tips to get you started setting up your own product research lab and finding your own quality products:

  • Analyse trending and promoted ads on social media channels for what other stores are selling (even traditional ecommerce ones!)
  • Follow pages and accounts that post viral videos for insight into the latest trending dropshipping products and challenges
  • Analyse Google Trends data and Google Analytics for insights into exactly what consumers are talking about online
  • Cross-reference the number of orders through AliExpress
  • See what’s trending on Amazon, eBay and Etsy
  • Find dropshipping suppliers and enquire about product availability (and check their rating)
  • Check what other dropshipping items are selling well 

These methods and product research tools can be used to find new products or validate a hunch you have about a potential one! You should always believe in the products you sell yourself before you invest. 

Remember, the best dropshipping products sell through a combination of great marketing and affordable pricing. It’s not quite the same as high-end ecommerce where brand name and product quality will help you through. 

Even the most experienced store owners still struggle to find the right dropshipping products to sell. 

Products rarely find instant success and are even less likely to retain their popularity beyond the initial fad. The truth is, dropshipping is about constantly adapting and looking for new ways to appeal to niche audiences and mass-market consumers, so knowing how to complete product research is just as important as any guide to the very best products.