Over the years, I have seen many products that only sell because they are a trend, then the trend disappears. I also learned over many years that you must be in tune with what is happening around you. 

I am trying to say that you should not rely on yourself alone. Instead, look for products in different places that can inspire you. 

Here are the things you will learn in this article:

• Places to find ideas about what to sell
• Sites where to find suppliers
• Tool to use to know if a product makes sales

And here are the key takeaways:

• It is better to use a spy tool than rely on your instinct
• Sign up for multiple dropship supplier accounts to find winning products
• Sometimes, it is better to customize a product than sell the same things everyone is sell

Ultimately, you should know product selection principles, where to find these products, and how to see if people want them. Ready? Let us start!

How to Find Dropshipping Ideas 

1. Go to Online Stores

You cannot expect to successfully sell retail products if you are not passionate about it. As such, you must be a shopper to find winning products you can dropship. 

Online stores are the best places to start. What I mean is a stand-alone online store. Before starting, you must know what niche you want to penetrate. If you are new, you can read our blog about the best niches to dropship.

Let us say that you want to sell lipstick. Google that keyword, and the search results will show you several stores you can browse. 

Here is an example: 

Mac is a popular brand of cosmetics. From this website, you can see that they have products on sale, new products, bestsellers, etc., for the lips, face, eyes, etc.

Now, it is up to you if you want to sell lipsticks only. There is no right or wrong decision about how deep you want to penetrate a niche. The principle is the same—explore existing stores and get inspiration from their sales. From here, you can list down possibilities. To sell lipstick, you can head to AliExpress to find a supplier. 

What matters in this exercise is that you list down what you see. It would help to begin with ideas and then go through each later. 

You may find yourself overwhelmed if you browse big brand stores. What I suggest is that you use a tool like ours. We provide a product database system. You can search for winning dropshipping products and view the dropshipping stores that sell these products. 

You can use our tool free for seven days. After logging in, you can see data about live dropshipping stores, how much they sell the products, how the dropshippers market their products, and so much more.  

2. Use Facebook, Instagram, or Social Media

There are many shops on Facebook and Instagram. Curiously, what once began as a social media site has also become a marketplace.  

How do you do this? On your Facebook, tap the search icon and type “marketplace.” Once you see the Facebook Marketplace icon on the search results, tap it. It looks like this:

On a desktop, you can do the same, and once you are in the marketplace, you will see something like this: 

Now, it is up to you to type specific keywords to narrow your search or use the filters. Facebook also has categories on the left panel. Use this technique to see trends in how potential customers respond to the listing. 

One thing to note though: Facebook does not show the number of units sold. In addition, although Facebook now processes payments, I would not recommend charging money through Facebook as it will only add more work for you. 

In addition, you may also consider setting up a Facebook shop. Whether you use Shopify or WooCommerce, you can integrate your Facebook page into your store. 

Keep scrolling until you find a product that belongs to your niche which you think has the potential to make money. For example, I typed the keyword “phone case,” and here are the results: 

You will see more details about the product if you click on each thumbnail. However, Facebook will not show you sales data or reviews. This activity’s value is finding products worth putting in your store. 

Exploring Facebook and other social media stores or shops will also give you an idea of how to showcase your products. You can see videos and images which should inspire you to take action regarding your product photography. 

3. Competitor product research

One of the best ways to know what to sell is to visit your competitor’s website. There are several ways to do this; the best way is to use a search engine like Google. All you need to do is type the keyword, and you can click on each link to see what these sellers offer. 

You will not like that Google will return search results for the biggest companies. For example, you can expect that most of the links on the top of the search results are all for Amazon, Walmart, eBay, etc.

So, instead of doing this, I recommend using our tool, Dropship.IO. Our product database lets you see who sells the same products as yours.

Here are some examples of what we provide:

• Store name
• Store URL
• Sales yesterday, today, this week, and this month
• Number of units sold
• Tools used by the dropshipper in the Shopify store

As you can see, we provide you with plenty of details. Use this information to your advantage. For one, if a product does not sell well, why would you consider putting it in your store? 

Here is a sample of a competitor search result from our tool: 

You can see information about the store, Facebook ads related to it (FB icon), the date the owner created the product and store, and many more. You can click the store URL and visit the site to see how it looks. 

Another thing you can do is to track a specific store. We have a sales tracker that monitors online stores. You can view a lot of details about them. Here is an example: 

With Dropship.IO, you are not running your business blind or without a plan. We can help you find winning products, analyze competitors, and more!

4. Go to a supplier’s website

What I mean by “supplier” is a marketplace like AliExpress. I recommend that you visit these sites and sign up for each. It is always free anyway.

What do you get out of signing up? If you sign up, you can explore all the products available for dropshipping. Now, you can list the ones you like and further research them with our tool. 

For example, if you like drones, you can search for that item on AliExpress, and you will see this: 

What is your guarantee that these products will sell outside of the AliExpress platform? What if the sales on AliExpress are from Chinese customers, not dropshippers? 

Going back to our product database, I typed “drones,” and here are the results: 

As you can see, the product on top has a monthly sales performance of 1,805 units. The next three are not drones. The fifth one sold 601 units.

Now that you know that a product sells well outside the AliExpress marketplace, the next thing to do is find a reliable supplier. We have several tips on the things you must consider to find a reliable dropshipping supplier. I encourage you to read them.  

I am not saying that you must only use AliExpress. There are many other dropshipping supplier websites that you can try. For one, I particularly use Printify. If I did not sign up for an account, I would not have known that it is possible to sell custom phone cases.

Here are the other tools we recommend: 

• Spocket
• Printful
• Salehoo
• Printify
• Dropified
• HyperSKU
• AppScenic
• AudoDS
• Importify
• CJDropshipping
• DHgate
• Eprolo
• Banggood
• Kimmyshop
• Wholesale2b
• Syncee

It is free to join all of these. To learn more about these websites, visit our blog resource page. We have plenty of articles about suppliers, getting started on dropshipping, and products that you may want to consider selling.

5. Use search on Google Shopping

Google Shopping is a useful tool for finding ideas about products to dropship. Many online sellers today who build their sites have a Google Shopping plug-in. It means that Google recognizes its stores and recommends products relevant to what a user is searching for. 

If you type the word “drone for sale” in Google Search, you will see this:

You will get to this page by clicking the SHOPPING link at the top. As you can see, many types of drones are for sale. On the left panel, there are also filters you can use to narrow your search. If you scroll down, you will find several shops. 

Patience is the key here, as the first search results will show you big websites like Amazon. If you scroll long enough, you will find supplier websites such as AliExpress, DHGate, etc.

You can also click on websites that you know are not big ones. If you do, you will get inspiration from them. Take a look at this: 

I clicked that, and it took me to this website: 

Now, I can see how much the drone is selling for. In addition, I can also see that the seller does not offer free shipping. What else? 

• You can pay for the drone in four months with no interest
• There is a well-written copy
• There is only one item left 

Scrolling down, I also saw that the product description has everything a buyer has to know about the product. I can say that people who visit this site are likely to make the purchase. 

Google Shopping is not only a place to get ideas about what to sell. As you can see from the screenshots, you can also learn HOW to sell the item.

6. Use keyword research tools

The next process I recommend is using keyword research tools or spy tools. You can find the volume of searches for that particular product with keyword tools. 

The thing is that no keyword search tool fits all online marketplaces. For example, one good keyword tool is Helium 10. However, it is mostly useful on Amazon only. 

How does this work? If you type a keyword in the tool, it will show you the search volume for that keyword on Amazon. Below is a sample: 

As you can see, the search result shows that the keyword “knives Victorinox” has 318 searches (past month). There is also a column where you can see the trend of this keyword compared to the previous month. 

A green arrow pointing up means that the search volume is higher now than the previous month, telling us that there is a bigger interest. The Sponsored ASINs refer to the number of products with an ad or sponsorship on the Amazon platform. 

From here, you can list the products with the highest volume. A high keyword volume is indicative that people are looking for that product on Amazon.

If you know a demand, you can start looking for suppliers. In addition, you can also visit Amazon stores, list down the price, and then decide if you want to compete against them. 

Keyword tools like this are not free. Prepare to pay a monthly fee. The benefit of a tool like this is knowing which items sell on Amazon. More importantly, you know what thing people are looking for. 

7. Go to Amazon

I know that all these tools can put a dent in your wallet. As such, the key here is to search manually. The trick is to find the best sellers on the Amazon platform. 

Why Amazon? Amazon is the biggest retail site in the United States and other regions worldwide. People who come here have one thing on their minds: to buy. If a product sells on Amazon, you know it has a high demand. 

To do this, go to Amazon and type the keyword for a product you want to sell. In this example, I will use drones again. Take a look at this: 

I highlighted the products that have the highest review count. The first one has 17,598 reviews and a rating of 4 stars. 

Looking at the five product thumbnails, what do you see? You can see that there is a specific kind of drone style that people buy. They want a drone that has four rotators. As you can see, the rotators are like helicopter rotators—there is no round enclosure around the rotators. 

This search result shows us what kind of drones sell the most. We also have a price range of between $49 and $339. From an estimate, we can say that customers are willing to buy these products at $50 to $80. 

You can also see that these drones have remote controls that can handle phones. It is also apparent that these drones have apps. The user would download the drone app on the phone, and the drone would show what the camera sees on the phone screen. 

The other method is to head straight to the category section of Amazon. On the left panel, click on the categories until you find your niche. In this example, I chose headphones.

By default, Amazon will show you the best-selling products in this category. Take a look at this screenshot: 

We can say that the best headphones look like Air Pods. These are not Apple products, but they do look like the original. These items have thousands of reviews, meaning people buy them. The next step is to search a supplier database and find something similar. 

8. Look for winning products on Etsy

The last suggestion I have where to find dropshipping product ideas is Etsy. However, Etsy is pretty much for handcrafted products. But then there is a flaw. 

Etsy allows print-on-demand products. Because of this, you can find items you can sell on your dropshipping platform. In addition, some sellers managed to get past the “check” that Etsy does. 

Typically, Etsy does not allow any mass-manufactured goods. Now look at this:

These are not handcrafted products, are they? Since Etsy is one big platform for sellers, you will certainly find items here that can give you an idea of what to dropship. Like Amazon, Etsy has product categories. Now, you want to select only the top sellers:

After applying this to your filter settings, you will see this: 

All of these are bestsellers. Many of them have thousands of reviews. If they made all these sales, so can you.

Best Supplier Tools for Dropshipping

1. AliExpress

Although AliExpress is not a tool, it is the most used supplier source for dropshippers, especially those just beginning their dropshipping journey. You will find millions of products in AliExpress that you can sell for a high profit. 

AliExpress is an online marketplace, and it is bigger than Amazon. The reason is that many people who sell on Amazon get their products from AliExpress. 

Here are the benefits of using AliExpress as a product source:

• There are many free and paid tools you can use to import products from AliExpress straight to your store
• There are millions of products on the site
• Most of the sellers here know what dropshipping is, and they can support you

AliExpress is not a perfect tool. It is an excellent product source, but you will do a lot of hard work. Here are some words of caution.

• The actual product is not always as good as the pictures
• Most products here are cheap knockoffs
• Some descriptions and images are in Chinese; you must edit them
• Shipping times can take 60 days

AliExpress sellers are mostly in China. There are AliExpress suppliers whose products are in the USA, but it is rare. Although you will find many shipping options on the platform, you will realize that the cheapest ones will still take at least three weeks. 

AliExpress is an excellent dropshipping supplier tool if you want to sell low-quality items at super affordable prices. In addition, your customers must be those who do not mind waiting. 

If you are new to the dropshipping business, AliExpress is your primary choice. It is free to use, and many plug-ins that can import the products. If your dropshipping business fails, which I hope it doesn’t, you can at least mitigate or reduce your financial losses. 

2. Dropship.IO

Our tool is a spy tool, a competitor tool, a supplier database, and a product database; all rolled into one. Its main purpose is to help you find winning products. And if you do, you will not sell items no one wants.  

With our product database, you can view the following details: 

• The price range of the product
• Units sold for the month
• Revenue from a product in a month
• The store that sells it
• Possible suppliers and sellers in AliExpress and Amazon 
• Ads from Facebook, if any 

We also have a sales tracker where you can view the performance of your competitors. In it, you will see the following details:

• Sales today, yesterday, past seven days, and past 30 days
• Statistical data on performance according to your selected date range
• The apps that the store uses on Shopify
• The number of products the store has
• The Shopify theme the store uses

You can analyze what the store is doing right. We can provide data on the store’s top-selling products and the webpage containing that store. From here, you can draw inspiration from their product pages. 

Once you have found a product in your niche and know it has a demand, you can look for a supplier. Our tool can route you to suppliers in AliExpress for similar products. You can also view the products from Amazon or ads in the Facebook library if the seller ever advertised. 

Dropship.IO is the only tool you need to find winning products and spy on competitors. If you know the tools and apps they use for shipping, marketing, and web development, you will save a lot of time from experimenting with what tools to use. Just use the same tools, and you should be able to replicate your competitor’s strategy. 

3. SaleHoo

SaleHoo has two main product lines. They started with a dropship directory where you can find reliable suppliers. Then, they launched the Shopify integration tool, where you can import items from their suppliers to your Shopify store. 

SaleHoo takes its suppliers mainly from China—the same companies that sell on AliExpress. The thing is that with SaleHoo, you have a guarantee that you are working with the best suppliers only.

How does that happen? 

SaleHoo has a vetting process. Suppliers cannot just come and sign up for an account. SaleHoo’s management will put them through a test. Only reliable dropship suppliers with high-quality products make it to the final list. 

With SaleHoo, you can access what they call the Market Research Lab. It is a product research tool that helps you find winning products you can sell in your store. 

There are over 2.5 million products inside the SaleHoo Directory. The research tool gives you the following details: 

• Product cost
• Suggested retail price
• Potential suppliers
• Where the suppliers are willing to ship
• There the item will ship from
• Minimum order requirement

Now, SaleHoo is not free. The directory costs $127 for a lifetime membership or access. The Dropship tool costs $270 per month for the basic plan. The premium one costs $97 per month. 

You cannot import the products to your store if you get the directory. It is merely a list of their suppliers, contact information, products, etc. 

If you are looking for a supplier database and a tool to import the products, you must get the SaleHoo dropship tool. 

Since SaleHoo mainly has Chinese suppliers, you can expect that shipping times are not as fast as you would want. Because of this, you may also want to consider local suppliers from your country. 

4. CJDropshipping

CJDropshipping is a supplier tool and a dropship importation system. It is like Spocket or SaleHoo but mainly has Chinese suppliers in its database. What makes CJ different is that you can ask them to look for a supplier for a particular product.

At first glance, it would seem like CJ is an online marketplace. In a way, it is, too. However, you can integrate this marketplace with your store and import the products with one click. The CJ system integrates with several platforms. 

Here are some examples: 

• Etsy
• Wix
• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• Shopee
• Lazada

Although CJDropshipping has mostly Chinese suppliers, it does not mean they only ship from China. They have warehouses in the following locations: 

• USA
• Germany
• China
• Australia
• Canada
• UK
• Italy
• Poland

Now, if there is a product you cannot find in the CJ system, you can create a request, upload an image, and they will source it for you. 

For example, let us say that you want a bag, and this type of bag is not in the CJ system, you can upload the link where you found it. CJ agents will contact their suppliers and see if they can source the item for you. 

They will add that product to their database if the item is successful. From here, you can import the product to your store.

In addition, CJ also has a print-on-demand service. Not only do they print shirts and mugs, but they have suppliers who engrave jewelry. Since CJ works with many wholesale manufacturers in China, you can also source white-label items here. 

What does that mean? If you want to order in bulk and have them print specific tags or designs on the product, you can do so if you meet the minimum order requirement. With CJ, you can do retail dropshipping, wholesale white-label, and private-label wholesale.

5. Printify

Printify is a print-on-demand dropship supplier company. They work with several companies that print the items, which means it is not Printify that creates the items you sell. 

How it works is like this: 

• You integrate the Printify system with your store
• You select a product and upload your design
• You import the product to your store, including the mock-up images

Let me show you an example of an image or design. 

On Printify, I can select a product, like a mug, which looks like this: 

On the design tool, it looks like this: 

After I upload the image, it looks like this: 

Finally, the product will look like this if you import it to your store:

As you can see, Printify is easy to use. There is no monthly subscription unless you want a premium account. With a premium account, you will get up to 20% discounts when you buy the items. 

Once a customer orders the product from your dropshipping store, you head to your Printify dashboard and place the order there. Supply the customer’s shipping address, and the Printify supplier will print, pack, and ship the item.

Printify offers many types of products. However, you can also use other print-on-demand services like Printful. If you do this, you can leverage the strengths of both companies. 

Do not forget to price your products higher than the supplier’s cost. There is also the shipping factor, so you must consider that when dropshipping print-on-demand products. 

Dropshipping Idea FAQs

How do I know if a product is available for dropshipping?

It is automatically available if you are looking at it in a marketplace like AliExpress or a dropship supplier tool like CJDropshipping. Otherwise, it would help if you asked the seller. 

What types of products are good for dropshipping?

There are many excellent for dropshipping. Make sure you choose a product that solves a problem. We do have a tutorial on how to find the best niches for dropshipping. 

How do I find profitable products to sell in dropshipping?

All dropshipping products are profitable, provided that you mark up the products correctly. Please read our guide on how to price your dropshipping products to know more about profitability. 

How do I find product images for dropshipping?

You can use the supplier’s product images. The alternative is to order the product and do your product photography. 

Summary

The next step now is to list down your ideas and product keywords. Then, choose the most convenient way to find these products using the mentioned methods. 

Whatever method you choose, do not forget to sign-up for a free account with us. Explore our tool, Dropship.IO, to determine if a product is making money.

We offer a 7-day free trial. See what our tools can do, and I promise you that you will do your business better than most dropshippers out there!