Product selection is vital to every dropshipper’s success. You need to choose the products that generate the highest sales, ideally those with unique value propositions. This guide will explain how to identify these winning products and boost your dropshipping success.

Understanding winning products

Winning products generate sizable revenue for your store. They are characterized by high demand, low competition, and sizable profit margins. 

High demand enables you to sell many units of a winning product. This demand stems from the product solving a pressing problem, e.g., fitness equipment allowing owners to stay physically active. 

Low competition gives you a greater opportunity to find customers. Overcrowded niches are difficult to break into, especially for new dropshippers with a limited marketing budget, so low-competition niches give you the best chances of winning.

Winning products have high profit margins of 50% and above. You can obtain them from suppliers at low prices and sell them at high markups. Customers often don’t mind paying higher prices to get their favorite products.

Other characteristics of winning products include

• They are high-quality, e.g., durable, safe, and efficient.
• They are visually appealing.
• They are easy to ship domestically and internationally.
• You can advertise them on social media apps without issues (Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms restrict the promotion of certain products, such as supplements).
• They appeal to your audience’s emotions, e.g., an item that lets a customer fulfill their passion.

Importance of identifying winning products

Identifying winning products has a significant impact on your dropshipping success. Winning products sell higher, enabling you to boost sales and profit margins. They help you attract customers in competitive dropshipping niches. Let’s examine their main benefits.

Winning products boost sales

Winning products helps dropshippers fulfill their primary goal of increasing sales and profits. You’re more likely to find customers when selling high-demand products like clothing, fitness equipment, electronics, and sports apparel. 

Choosing the right products for dropshipping helps you win customers with minimal effort. You must not spend heavily on marketing, especially as a new dropshipper, when you have a good product selection. A little social media or search engine marketing spend can bring significant profits.

Customer satisfaction

High quality is a primary trait of the winning products for dropshipping stores. These high-quality products increase customer satisfaction, boosting your chances of getting repeat sales.

The proper product selection keeps customers happy, and happy customers can spread the word about your brand. It’s an effective organic marketing strategy for dropshippers.

Brand reputation

Reputation is crucial for dropshipping stores. This industry has excessive competition, including from fly-by-night stores selling shoddy products. Hence, customers rely on reputation when patronizing dropshipping stores.

Winning products are high-quality and solve customers’ problems. Selling these products gives your store an excellent reputation, which you can leverage to win more customers. 

You can highlight positive reviews from previous customers on your store. These reviews can help convince doubting visitors to click the checkout button.

A sample store highlighting product reviews to improve its reputation.

Source: Allbirds

Top methods to discover winning products

1. Analyzing Amazon’s best-selling list

Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, with over $500 billion in annual sales and 300 million customers worldwide. It is the gold standard for e-commerce entrepreneurs, and its top-selling products also sell well on other e-commerce sites.

You can frequently monitor Amazon’s best-selling lists to find winning products for your store. Amazon provides real-time updates on its best-selling products. You can monitor the best sellers in every niche and check reviews from previous buyers. 

If you observe overwhelmingly positive reviews for a product in your niche, you can list that exact product or a similar one in your store. Products that top Amazon’s sales charts will likely also top your store’s sales charts.

2. Leveraging TikTok trends

You’ve likely heard of TikTok, the popular short-form video app with over 1 billion users. TikTok is a go-to app for product trends because of its focus on virality. Many products go viral on TikTok, raising demand to unprecedented levels. You can leverage these trends to identify winning products for your store.

For example, Maybelline is an American cosmetics company whose Sky High Mascara went viral on TikTok in 2021. This product sold out four times because of heightened demand, and Maybelline doubled down on this virality to sell other cosmetic products. 

During Maybelline’s viral era, dropshippers began selling similar mascara products and got high sales. Maybelline’s Sky High Mascara sold out multiple times, so people opted for comparable products from other brands. Dropshippers and conventional online retailers fulfilled this demand and made sizable profits, illustrating how to leverage TikTok trends to find winning products.

You can scroll through your TikTok feed to identify trending products for dropshipping. Monitor trending hashtags to identify the products TikTok users are interested in. Because of its massive user base, TikTok trends change rapidly, so constant monitoring is required to find the winning products for dropshipping.

3. Utilizing Facebook insights

Facebook is the most popular social media platform worldwide, with 3 billion active users. Unsurprisingly, it’s one of the best places to identify winning products for dropshipping. Products that go viral on Facebook sell well in dropshipping stores.

You can scroll through your Facebook feed to identify top-selling products. Perhaps your Facebook friends or mutual contacts are posting about the latest trending products. You can search the “Top Trends” section for popular products anytime.

Facebook provides a “Hot topics” tool for businesses to identify product trends. You can check groups and marketplaces to augment your insights. Facebook is an excellent dropshipping winning products finder. 

4. Exploring Pinterest Popular Pins

Pinterest is yet another popular social media platform. As the name suggests (“Pin” + “Interest”), it’s a social board where people can pin their favorite web content. For example, someone can view a nice product and add it to their Pinterest board for future reference.

Popular Pinterest pins are fitting proxies for top-selling products. Many people use Pinterest primarily for product recommendations, so popular pins indicate products in high demand. 

Pinterest provides a dedicated Trends tool for businesses. You can use this tool to monitor product trends in specific locations and niches. 

Suppose you sell fashion products to U.K.-based customers. Pinterest Trends lets you identify the most viewed fashion pins from U.K.-based users. Then, you can list these items in your store to attract customers.

5. Monitoring eBay’s trending items

eBay is a leading e-commerce marketplace facilitating over $70 billion in annual transactions. As a popular marketplace, especially in North America, eBay’s trending section gives a good hint of the best-selling items for your store.

If you observe a product trending on eBay, it’s likely also trending on other online marketplaces. You can list the products in your store and benefit from their increased demand. 

eBay has a Trending Deals section that makes it easy to monitor the top-selling items. You can sort the items by categories and monitor the ones trending in your niche. You can also use WatchCount, an external site that provides detailed eBay insights.

WatchCount lets you search the top-selling eBay items in real-time. You can monitor the price each buyer pays, helping you set competitive prices for the same product. This platform lets you discover trends quickly and latch onto them, unlike the usual Trending Deals section, where you might hardly notice a trend until it matures. 

6. Using Google Trends for market analysis

Google is the most widely used search engine and the primary gateway to the web. Almost everyone looking for a product first searches for it on Google. This search engine has valuable insights on product sales, which you can access via the free Google Trends tool.

Google Trends shows the trending product searches at any given time. You can narrow the insights to specific countries or cities. For example, if you run a dropshipping store targeting Canadian customers, you can view the trending product searches across Canada or specific cities like Toronto and Vancouver.

With Google Trends, you can monitor consumer interest in specific products over a particular period. For example, a Google Trends chart below shows Canadian users’ interest in Lululemon apparel over the past 12 months (up to January 2025). 

Interest is peaking in November and December and decreasing in other months. Because of this heightened interest, November and December are the best times to sell Lulemon gear. The above chart illustrates the insight Google Trends provides online retailers.

7. Researching on AliExpress

AliExpress is a prominent online marketplace with 150 million+ users and over $100 billion in annual transactions. Many people choose AliExpress because of its robust product variety and affordability.

You can monitor AliExpress’s trending products to find the best ideas for your store. Many dropshippers use AliExpress suppliers, so any product trending on this platform will be a top seller in relevant dropshipping stores.

Seek AliExpress products with high demand and positive reviews. The marketplace is vast and offers many products, including shoddy ones, so you should research diligently to find the best ones.

AliExpress curates trending products in real-time, so discovering the relevant ones for your store isn’t challenging. The key is diligently checking the reviews to ensure the product is durable and high-quality before adding it to your store.

8. Exploring Etsy’s best-sellers

Etsy is a prominent marketplace for handmade tools. Millions patronize Etsy for everything from books to dresses, home decor, mugs, and jewelry. This platform emphasizes quality more than most online marketplaces.

The best-selling Etsy products also sell bountifully on other marketplaces. Hence, you can monitor Etsy’s best-sellers lists and add the items to your store. Some dropshipping plugins let you import products directly from Etsy and sell them at a markup. 

You can sell Etsy products at high margins, as many customers don’t mind paying more for their favorite handmade products. This marketplace focuses more on quality than quantity, so you can get away with higher prices than in other marketplaces.

Etsy curates its best-selling products, making them easy to monitor. You can sort these products by price, reviews, and seller ratings. Products from 5-star-rated sellers are more likely to sell in your store.

9. Investigating Walmart’s top picks

Walmart is best known as a brick-and-mortar retailer but has built a formidable online retail business over the past decade. It’s the second-largest online retailer in the U.S., only beaten by Amazon.

Walmart’s top-selling list is a good source of information on how to find dropshipping products. Walmart trends provide accurate insights into consumer preferences in the U.S. and other North American markets. If North America is your target market, Walmart’s top-selling products will likely sell substantially in your store.

Users can access Walmart’s top-sellers list anytime. This list includes products sold by Walmart itself and third-party retailers selling via its marketplace. When you find relevant top-selling products on Walmart, you can add similar items from other suppliers to your store.

Walmart’s top-selling list sample.

Source: Walmart.com

10. Attending trade shows and exhibitions

Discovering winning products doesn’t always occur online. You can visit industry trade shows to find trending products in your niche. You’ll interact with the product physically, making it easier to judge its quality. You can talk directly with the manufacturer to get product information or suggest changes.

Most niches have their prominent trade shows. For example, the Consumer Electronics Show is the gold standard for the technology industry, and the Cairo International Book Fair is the go-to event for book retailers. Your locale might also host smaller shows, so you can attend them instead of traveling afar.

Interacting with products firsthand is beneficial. It helps you make better product selections, leading to increased sales and profits. 

Utilizing product research tools

1. Zendrop

Zendrop is a reliable dropshipping partner with a data-driven approach to identifying winning products. It offers a managed supply chain that gives dropshippers access to high-quality products.

Zendrop does the heavy lifting of product research for you. Our experts curate the best-selling products across different niches and offer dropshippers easy access. We ship products quickly, in as little as 1 to 3 days.

After registering on Zendrop, you can monitor the best-selling products across different niches in real-time. You can view the product specs and compare them to similar products. If you like a product, you can import it to your dropshipping store at the click of a button.

Many dropshippers choose Zendrop because of its vast product range and competitive prices. It reduces the stress involved in finding winning products for dropshipping.

2. Sell The Trend

Sell The Trend is a well-known dropshipping products finder. It harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze product trends and select the best-selling items for dropshippers.

Suppose you run a fashion dropshipping store. You can use Sell The Trend to monitor the trending fashion items and add them to your store. This platform curates data from many sources so you can monitor which products’ sales are growing rapidly.

Sell The Trend includes a TikTok ads spy tool to identify product trends on the popular social media app. You can import trending products into your store at the click of a button. This platform empowers you to discover and latch onto trends early. 

3. Ecomhunt

Ecomhunt lets dropshippers hunt for best-selling goods in different categories. Every day, it curates the best-selling products from different dropshipping suppliers, with detailed information including pricing, profit margins, engagement, and the ideal target audience for each product.

With Ecomhunt, you’ll get insights into every curated product, helping you decide whether it fits your store well. You can view products handpicked by Ecomhunt’s team or track live trends and leverage them early.

Ecomhunt offers a free plan with limited access to its winning products database. You can upgrade to a paid plan for unlimited access and complementary features, such as 1-on-1 consultations with e-commerce experts.

4. Niche Scraper

Niche Scraper is a practical answer to how to find trending products for dropshipping. It provides analytical tools to help dropshippers select the best products for their stores. Every day, its experts manually curate the top-selling products across different niches, and you can access this curation for free.

Niche Scraper allows you to analyze specific Shopify stores and discover their best-selling products. 

For example, if you dropship toys and have close competitors whose stores are hosted on Shopify, Niche Scraper can help you discover their best-selling products. This information will guide your product selection.

There’s also an ad spy tool that lets users monitor top-performing product ads on Facebook and TikTok. These trends can help you choose winning products and boost profits. 

Characteristics of profitable dropshipping products

1. Proven sales record

A proven sales record is the primary qualification for a winning product. Products with consistent sales history are more likely to continue selling in your store.

Research tools like Zendrop help you find winning products with substantial sales. They use both manual and automated tools to curate the best-selling products across the web. Human experts handpick the top-selling products in different categories, and automated tools show real-time trends you can discover early. 

Apparel, baby products, kitchen utensils, and pet supplies are some of the best-selling dropshipping items. You can find numerous versions of these products with a proven sales record and add them to your store.

2. High demand and low competition

Dropshipping is an intensely competitive business, especially for newcomers with limited marketing budgets. Hence, winning products are usually those with high demand yet low competition.

Lower competition increases your chances of attracting customers, and with the right promotional strategies, you can capture customers quickly. 

The key to finding low-competition products is choosing the right supplier. For example, Zendrop offers access to exclusive products that are hard to find on other platforms. You can sell these products to your customer base instead of the common products most dropshippers sell.

Zendrop provides industry-leading shipping for end consumers. Your customers will receive items quickly, boosting the chances of getting repeat sales. Zendrop is the go-to winning product finder for dropshippers.

3. Solves a problem or fulfills a need

Best-selling products solve pressing problems for their buyers. The value proposition is what drives people to purchase these products. The more pressing the problem, the more customers will pay for a solution.

For example, sunscreen solves a major problem for buyers. When people visit the beach or take long afternoon walks, too much sun exposure can cause sunburn. Sunscreen prevents sunburn and its associated ailments. 

Unsurprisingly, sunscreen is one of the best-selling online products. It has high profit margins because people are willing to pay more to solve their problems. Winning products fulfill a dire need, just like sunscreen.

4. Affordable

The best dropshipping products are relatively affordable to customers yet have good profit margins. Sunscreen is a good example of such a product. Many online retailers buy them at wholesale prices and sell them at 50% markups or above. Yet, the average sunscreen bottle costs less than $10.

The key remains to choose the proper suppliers to access affordable yet high-margin products. Zendrop's directly controlled supply chain guarantees high-quality products, making it your perfect partner for finding these winning products.

5. Easy to ship

The best dropshipping products are easy to ship. This characteristic implies they’re lightweight and sturdy, which translates to low shipping costs. Shipping couriers charge more for heavy and fragile products, so they aren’t best suited for dropshipping.

Shipping is crucial to your dropshipping success. Aim to ship items quickly to customers, helped by choosing the right shipping couriers. Customers who wait too long for shipments will view your brand negatively and might leave scathing reviews. Zendrop offers swift, industry-leading shipping, so you’re in safe hands with us.

Validating your product choices

1. Running test marketing campaigns

Marketing campaigns are effective at evaluating interest in your product selection. With a small budget, you can run social media or search engine ads and observe how your target audience responds. 

Suppose you sell smartphone accessories. You can run a $5 Instagram marketing campaign for your target audience. This campaign will last a day, and Instagram will track its clicks and conversions. The aim is to monitor the conversion rate, i.e., the percentage of ad viewers who follow the suggested action.

If you get a high conversion rate (3 to 10%, depending on the niche), you have the right target audience and can increase the ad budget to achieve more results. In contrast, a low conversion rate signals a need to change the target audience or ad elements.

2. Gathering customer feedback

You can conduct surveys to get customers’ honest opinions. Surveys can be digital or in-person, with the advantage of getting firsthand views from potential customers. You can start with family and friends and ask them to share the surveys with their social circles.

Existing customers are also good survey targets. After a customer receives an item from your store, you can send an automated survey email to get their opinion. The survey can be a multiple-choice questionnaire or a plain text form for the buyer to write a review.

Customer feedback helps you refine products to get the best results. If you notice excessive complaints about a specific product, it’s a signal to sell an alternative product or remove it from your store. 

If you observe overwhelmingly positive reviews, you can double down on that product by selling more varieties.

3. Monitoring competitor performance

Your competitors provide valuable insights concerning product selection. They walk the path so that you don’t always have to do the same. Observe what products your rivals select and which ones they remove after a short period. The removed products are likely those that didn’t generate sufficient sales.

Monitor what products your competitors promote incessantly, as these are likely the products generating the most sales. Then, you can list the exact product or a similar one in your store. 

You should have up to five core competitors whose results you’ll monitor. You can learn from their successes and failures instead of relearning the same lessons at a significant cost.

Conclusion: Mastering product selection for dropshipping success

Product selection is inseparable from dropshipping success. Every profitable dropshipping venture starts with choosing the best products from the best suppliers. This guide explains how to find these products without hassles and validate your choices before going all in.

Zendrop is the ideal partner for obtaining winning products. We offer a vast selection of products from a controlled supply chain. We work directly with manufacturers, unlike many dropshipping platforms that connect you to random middlemen. 

Our managed supply chain guarantees high-quality products and industry-leading shipping. Start your free trial today.

Frequently asked questions

How do I identify a winning product?

Winning products have defining characteristics, including high demand, low competition, affordability, easy shipment, and a consistent sales record from previous sellers. These are the main considerations for knowing how to find dropshipping products.

Are there free tools for finding winning products?

Yes, numerous free tools help you find winning products for your store. Examples include Google Trends, a popular analytics platform, and social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. You can monitor these tools to identify and leverage growing product trends early.

How can I stay updated on product trends?

You can stay updated on product trends by monitoring relevant online platforms and communities. Social media apps like TikTok and Facebook let you discover new trends across the globe. You can also check the trending sections of e-commerce marketplaces like Etsy and Amazon.

Likewise, you can research platforms like Zendrop to get real-time updates on product trends across different niches. 

What are the common mistakes to avoid when choosing products?

Avoid choosing what you like instead of what will sell. Many dropshippers list products they love, but that doesn’t mean there’s a sufficient market for them. 

Before adding a product to your store, research its demand level, shipping options, affordability, and availability.

Another frequent mistake is choosing shoddy suppliers. Your chosen supplier can make or break your business, so research extensively before choosing one. 

Before committing to a supplier, read past reviews and research their shipping options, prices, and terms of use. This research is crucial in learning how to find dropshipping products that will generate high sales.

The global e-commerce market surpassed $4 trillion in 2024 and is expected to grow in 2025 and beyond. It is a massive market with lucrative opportunities for online sellers.

But how do I start selling online? What tools do I need to leverage the industry’s growth to build a successful business? We’ve written this guide to answer these questions. Read on to learn how to sell online and make substantial profits.

Why sell online?

Selling online provides many benefits for entrepreneurs. You’ll have a large customer reach with no physical barriers, enabling you to scale your business rapidly. Online stores have lower startup costs than brick-and-mortar stores.

You can track everything in an online store, from your customer’s location to the products they added to their cart, the most viewed products, and more. Online sellers get valuable insights that brick-and-mortar retailers struggle to get. These valuable insights help you implement the right strategies to grow your business.

Essential components of an online store

Branding and website design

Every successful online store needs a unique brand identity. Creating this unique brand and design is crucial to learning how to sell online. Your store should have a short, easy-to-remember name. It should have distinctive colors, a motto, and a logo that people associate exclusively with your brand.

The unique colors should be integrated closely with your website. Suppose your logo is white, purple, and blue. Your online store can have a white background, a blue menu, and purple buttons. This way, customers who visit the website get a special experience that they’ll always associate with your brand.

Example of a well-designed store with minimal colors.

Source: Glossier

Helpful branding tips include:

1. Your store’s name should use keywords relevant to its niche. For example, “Beauty Hub” and “Glossier” are fitting names for a cosmetics store. A layperson hearing these names for the first time already associates them with cosmetics, so they won’t be confused when encountering a cosmetics store.
2. Avoid names that sound similar to established competitors. Visitors can get annoyed when they mistake your site for another brand. Similar names can also invite trademark lawsuits from competitors.
3. The shorter, the better. Shorter names are easier for customers to remember for a long time. 

Marketing and customer engagement

Marketing is critical to learning how to sell online. No matter how good your products may be, they won’t sell without people hearing about them. You can create brand awareness via several channels, such as social media, search engine optimization (SEO), and email marketing.

You can advertise products on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. These platforms let you target ads to the perfect audience by age, gender, and interests. 

You can also build organic followings on social media apps to create brand awareness, although this process takes more time than direct advertising.

SEO involves optimizing your website to rank high on search engines. It includes inserting high-quality product images with alternative text descriptions, product descriptions with relevant keywords that people search for, and accurate meta descriptions for all pages. 

As part of SEO, you can create a blog to publish relevant content and attract visitors to your online store. 

Email marketing involves promoting products via emails. You’ll first collect email addresses via a web form. Then, you’ll send regular messages promoting new arrivals, discounts, and bundles. 

You can also send reminder emails to customers who added products to their carts but didn’t check out. A little discount can nudge the email recipient to complete the purchase.

Shipping and fulfillment

Shipping and fulfillment are paramount to learning the best ways to sell online. You need a shipping system that lets you deliver products at optimal prices and times..

Choose the best shipping providers depending on the customer's location. For example, if your company is based in the U.S. and shipping to a domestic customer, you can choose couriers like UPS, USPS, and FedEx. If you’re dropshipping to global customers, you can select suppliers with robust shipping systems like Zendrop. 

Pay attention to courier prices, which customers ultimately pay. Look for affordable shipping couriers to avoid discouraging customers because of high prices. Many online retailers offer free shipping to bulk buyers, e.g., $500 upwards. You can imitate this strategy to incentivize high-value orders.

Steps to Start Selling Online

Step 1: Conduct market research

Extensive market research is the first step in learning how to start selling things online. Research guides you on the products to sell and strategies to help your brand stand out from competitors. 

Your best bet is a fast-growing niche with limited competition. A fast-growing niche opens many more opportunities to attract customers, and limited competition boosts your chances of outmaneuvering industry incumbents.

Research the market size of your desired niche and its growth history. You can check data sources like Statista and read news articles about your niche. 

Suppose you want to sell cosmetics. Statista shows that the global cosmetics market reached $108 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to $132 billion by 2029. These statistics indicate a rapidly expanding market you can latch onto and build a formidable business. 

You may prefer a specific niche, but the statistics indicate low growth prospects and tough competition. It’s a signal to find an alternative niche with higher chances of success.

Step 2: Identify your target audience

Having a precise target audience is critical in learning how to sell products online successfully. You need an accurate profile of your target customers, which will help you formulate the best marketing strategy.

Suppose you want to sell baby clothing. Your target audience is new parents, caregivers, and pregnant moms, as this cohort is the primary buyer of baby clothing. You can create social media ads targeting women aged 21 to 30 interested in “babies,” “pregnancy,” and “baby clothing.” 

The above audience is more likely to respond positively to social media ads for baby clothes than any other demographic. The same logic applies to other niches like gaming accessories, school items, electronics, and sports apparel. You should clearly understand your target audience and create ads that speak directly to them.

Step 3: Choose an e-commerce platform

E-commerce platforms simplify the process of creating an online store. Instead of hiring a programmer to build a store from scratch, you can choose an existing template from Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, and similar e-commerce platforms to form your store’s foundation. 

Shopify is the most popular e-commerce website builder. It currently hosts over 4 million online stores.

Source: Shopify

Professional e-commerce platforms provide customizable templates to build visually appealing stores without hassles. They let you edit your store’s visual elements extensively, including its background, colors, buttons, and checkout process.

Every e-commerce platform has its pros and cons. For example, Shopify has the most advanced features and templates, but it is an expensive platform. Wix has an intuitive interface but doesn’t have as many features as Shopify. WooCommerce has ubiquitous features but a more complex interface than Shopify and Wix.

Shopify is the top choice for online sellers because of its numerous features and extensive customizability. If you need a feature that Shopify doesn’t support natively, you’ll likely find it on the Shopify App Store. 

Step 4: Build your online store

After choosing your e-commerce platform, building the store is the next step in learning how to start selling things online. 

E-commerce platforms like Shopify have simplified the process of building a store, but non-technical people often need help in the initial setup. For example, picking the correct template, fonts, and checkout process for your store can be challenging.

Our AI-based storebuilder eliminates the headaches of setting up an online store. It lets you create a Shopify store within minutes via text prompts, bypassing the traditional process that can take hours. 

Tips for building an online store include

1. Make the visual elements responsive, i.e., adjust well on both desktop and mobile displays. Most e-commerce platforms handle this process for you.
2. Keep the checkout process simple. Any little friction can discourage customers from completing a purchase.
3. Showcase reviews from previous customers to convince doubting visitors.
4. Make your store easy to navigate. The fewer the menus, the better.
5. Use as few colors and images as possible. Too many visual elements can annoy visitors and lead to reduced sales.

Step 5: Add high-quality product listings

With your store ready, you can add products for customers to buy. Every product should have a precise description. This description makes human visitors understand the product better and feeds search engines accurate information to index. 

Your products also need high-quality images and demonstration videos. These photos and videos illustrate a product’s look and function and help convince potential buyers. Suppose you’re selling fashion items. It’s advisable to have high-quality images of every product's front, back, and sides, preferably on a human model.

A sample fashion store with high-quality photos

Source: Fashion Nova

Step 6: Promote and market your store

We’ve mentioned marketing being essential to every e-commerce business. You need to promote products to the right audience that’ll buy them. You can run social media and email campaigns for the perfect audience. You can also run targeted search engine ads to find customers.

Suppose you sell gaming chairs. You can run Google ads targeting the keywords “gaming chairs” and “gaming accessories.” When people search for these queries, your ad will appear on the results page. Anyone searching for these keywords is likely interested in acquiring a gaming chair and may buy it from your store.

You can collaborate with social media influencers to promote products. Influencers command huge followings and reputations in different niches. A recommendation from the right influencer can significantly increase your sales.

Step 7: Manage inventory and shipping

Fulfillment is crucial to your store’s success. You need to manage inventory rigorously, ensuring customers have access to high-demand products. Always keep tabs on your products and restock them when required. 

You need to ship products to customers quickly, so choose shipping couriers with widespread coverage and reliability. Many entrepreneurs choose dropshipping because it removes many inventory management and shipping headaches. It involves outsourcing these tasks to a third party while focusing more on design and marketing.

Many online sellers choose the dropshipping model because of its convenience.

Zendrop is one of the best dropshipping suppliers for different niches. Our platform gives you access to high-quality products with industry-leading shipping times. We connect you directly to product manufacturers and control our supply chain to guarantee top-notch products. 

What products can you sell online?

Commoditized products

Commoditized products are mass-market products with high demand. Examples are groceries, phone cases, and electronic accessories. Customers pay little attention to branding when buying these products.

Because branding doesn’t matter much for commoditized products, online sellers compete on price. You need to sell them at competitive prices to attract buyers. You can also stand out by selling high-quality, durable products. 

Commoditized products are easy to source either directly or indirectly via dropshipping. You can procure them from multiple manufacturers and sell them at significant markups.

Niche products

Niche products are customized for specific customer segments. Branding is the core factor buyers consider for niche products, so you need effective strategies to stand out from the crowd. 

Niche product examples include fitness apparel, beverages, souvenirs, and cosmetic kits. You’ll customize the products with unique colors, logos, and materials that differentiate them from rivals. The key is partnering with manufacturers offering high-quality products at optimal prices.

Many entrepreneurs use the print-on-demand model for niche products. It involves designing custom products and outsourcing production to third parties. You’ll only pay the manufacturer after someone orders an item, saving you the risk of stocking products people may not buy. Many print-on-demand sites offer these services for online sellers.

How to Choose What to Sell Online

Solve a problem

The best product to sell is one that solves a problem. Problem-solving products have a clear value proposition, making convincing people to buy them easier. Some products might not solve pressing issues, but you can promote them from a problem-solving angle to win customers.

For example, pouches protect smartphones from damage, but many buy pouches more for their decorativeness than for their protective capabilities. When selling pouches, you can emphasize their protective capabilities more than decorativeness to win customers.

You can identify creative products that address unmet needs and market challenges. For example, affordable massage chairs solve pain problems for individuals. Pet hair remover brushes help dog owners remove scruffy hair that spills everywhere. Portable shoe racks help buyers keep their rooms arranged.

The world won’t run out of problems soon, so endless opportunities exist to sell problem-solving products. The key is identifying a pressing concern and selling innovative products that solve it.

Leverage trends

You can leverage social trends to sell high-margin products. Social trends change rapidly, so you need to monitor these trends and adapt swiftly. 

For example, product trends on TikTok lead to a sales uptick. You can monitor TikTok and quickly list trending products in your store. Sourcing new products can be hectic, but you can offload the headaches to third parties like Zendrop and focus more on promotion. 

Zendrop simplifies the process of discovering trending products. We offer a curated list of best-selling products at any moment, helping you list items with the highest chances of selling.  

Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, and Reddit are other popular social media platforms you can monitor for trends. It’s advisable to spot trends and capitalize on them early instead of waiting till they get too competitive. 

Focus on branding potential

Seek products with significant branding potential, as they provide ample opportunities to build a distinct brand and win customers. Cosmetics is one example of a niche with massive branding potential. Customers in this niche don’t mind paying high prices for their favorite products, so effective branding helps you capture more profits.

Apparel is another product with enormous branding potential. A loyal fanbase doesn’t mind paying much more for specific brands. An example is the Supreme streetwear brand, which has sky-high prices compared to competitors yet massive sales. You can sell branded apparel at high margins and make profits.

As an e-commerce entrepreneur, you can sell products from other brands or build your own brand. Print-on-demand enables you to create a distinct brand without investing much in production. 

You’ll design the product, and a print-on-demand partner will handle the manufacturing and shipment. Zendrop is your ideal print-on-demand partner with industry-leading product quality and shipping times. 

Serve a passionate audience

Seek products that resonate with customers’ passions and interests. Many entrepreneurs have built formidable businesses targeting hobbyists who don’t mind spending much money to pursue their passions.

For example, you can sell musical instruments to music hobbyists. This audience tends to spend substantial money to get cherished instruments, especially vintage ones. The key is sourcing high-quality products that’ll keep them coming for more.

Other hobbyist niches include fishing, archery, pottery, cooking, painting, and drawing. You can make significant sales by targeting these audiences with high-quality products. Social media is your best bet to promote products to hobbyists, as you can show ads to your perfect customer profile.

Where to sell online?

Your own website

You can create an online store and list products for sale. Anyone can visit your store, add items to their cart, and pay for them. After receiving money, your duty is to ship the items quickly to customers.

An online store gives you control over branding and product selection. You can use custom colors and logos that people identify with your brand. You can run discounts and add or remove products without hassle.

In contrast, many third-party marketplaces restrict what you can sell. Some need explicit approval before listing a product, delaying the time it takes to sell trending products. An online store provides more control over your store’s fate.

Creating an online store might sound technically complex, but third-party platforms like Shopify and Wix have made it easy. These platforms handle the complicated back-end processes of your online store, and you’ll focus on the less challenging front-end aspects like design and branding. 

Social media platforms

You can sell products on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. These platforms have designated marketplaces that let customers buy your products in-app. Their massive audiences provide ample opportunities to find customers and boost sales.

E-commerce platforms like Shopify have direct integrations with TikTok Shop and the Facebook Marketplace. Hence, you can list products on both your online store and these platforms. Any product change from your store’s backend will be reflected in the social media listings.

Online marketplaces

Online marketplaces like eBay, Etsy, Walmart, and Amazon have enormous visitors. You can list products on these marketplaces to capture the attention of your target audience. 

Listing a product on an online marketplace is like having a stall in a popular shopping mall. It makes it easier to find customers without investing excessively in ads. Shopify has integrations with popular marketplaces, so you can sell products on both your store and third-party platforms.

Tips for successful online selling

Major online selling tips for beginners include

Invest in SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) helps attract organic traffic to your online store. Effective SEO can attract considerable visitors to your online store without much ad spending.

Conduct keyword research to learn the most queried terms in your niche. Tools like Semrush help you find these keywords, which you’ll strategically insert into your website. 

Semrush is one of the best SEO research tools for e-commerce entrepreneurs

Source: Semrush

Insert relevant keywords naturally into your web pages instead of “stuffing” them, which search engines penalize. These natural insertions boost your site’s chances of appearing on search result pages.

Mobile optimization is another crucial SEO tenet. All your site’s visual elements should automatically adjust for mobile displays. Search engines consider mobile optimization when ranking sites, and many users will view your site from mobile smartphones, necessitating this optimization.

Optimize your site’s speed by compressing images and videos to the smallest sizes while maintaining quality. Google and Bing, the leading search engines, consider site speed for website rankings.

Your product descriptions should be clear and concise. Search engines will index these descriptions, which will help entice users to patronize your store.

Optimize user experience

We’ve mentioned mobile and speed optimization as part of SEO. Mobile devices account for over 60% of web traffic, so mobile optimization is necessary to attract and retain customers.

Every visual element on your website should automatically adjust to different mobile displays. Images, videos, and text should fit mobile or tablet screens without hassle. Avoid using too many visual elements because they can slow your website.

Your website should be easy for a layperson to navigate. Include a menu bar that leads visitors to all your store’s product categories. The footer menu should include informative links like the refund policy, a contact page, a site map, and order tracking.

Use minimal colors, preferably a white background, to make your website visually appealing.

Use high-quality visuals

Customers highly consider visuals when making a purchase. Hence, use high-definition images and videos to illustrate your products. The pictures should feel like the work of professional photographers. High-quality visuals help your store stand out from competitors.

In this era, you must not pay professional photographers or videographers to get high-quality visuals. Many apps, such as BeFunky and PicMonkey, let you create stunning product images with a smartphone camera. Some apps even allow you transfer a photo of a clothing item to a human model.

Offer excellent customer support

Customer support is a non-negotiable aspect of building a successful e-commerce business. Make customers feel esteemed by answering their inquiries promptly and informatively.

Complaints can sometimes arise, so be responsive and go the extra mile to help resolve them. Excellent support encourages customers to become repeat buyers. 

Advisably, have a FAQ page that answers the most common inquiries. Customers with mundane inquiries will get answers from the FAQ page, while you’ll focus on responding to complex inquiries.

Conclusion

A successful online store begins with a few steps. This guide has explained how to start selling things online, including the key steps that will help you succeed in the long term.

Starting a successful e-commerce business might seem arduous. Of course, it isn’t all rosy, but it’s doable if you follow the required steps. 

Zendrop is your ideal partner for launching an online store. We offer a vast selection of high-quality products across different niches. We’ll take care of shipping and fulfillment while you focus more on attracting customers. Start your Zendrop free trial today. 

Frequently asked questions

What are the best products to sell online?

The best products to sell online are those with high demand and low competition. Products with significant branding potential are also suitable for online stores, e.g., cosmetics and apparel. Likewise, you can latch onto social media trends to list top-selling products. 

How do I choose the right eCommerce platform?

Pricing, ease of use, and features are the primary considerations when choosing an e-commerce platform. You need the right balance between affordability, ubiquitousness, and intuitiveness to select the best e-commerce platform for your needs.

Should I consider selling on multiple websites?

Yes, diversified sales channels help entrepreneurs build successful e-commerce businesses. Listing products on third-party sites helps broaden your customer base and boosts profits. It reduces the risks of relying on a single platform wherein a policy change can thwart your business.

How do I attract customers to my online store?

You can run social media and search engine ads to attract customers. Social media apps and search engines let you create targeted campaigns for your perfect customer profile.

Search engine optimization and content marketing help attract customers without spending much money. However, these efforts take longer to yield results than ads.

Do I have to pay taxes on items I sell online?

It depends on your jurisdiction. Many countries and cities charge sales taxes but exempt small sellers from these taxes. It’s advisable to consult tax professionals for guidance in your relevant jurisdictions.

How do I determine shipping costs when selling online?

Consider the weight and price of an item when setting shipping costs. Also, consider your courier’s charges so that you can set shipping fees that’ll cover the charges.

You can charge a flat fee depending on the customer’s location. Set fees slightly above your shipping carrier’s rates for specific locations. You can also provide free shipping for high-value orders, as this strategy encourages customers to buy more items to hit the free shipping threshold. 

Dropshipping is a low-risk method for entrepreneurs to test the waters of running an online business. This flexible model involves selling products without keeping upfront inventory. Instead, procurement and shipping are outsourced to a third party, while the seller focuses on design and marketing.

This guide will dive into the dropshipping basics, how it works, its pros and cons, and other relevant information about this flexible business model. 

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is a business model where items customers order from your store are shipped and packaged by third-party suppliers. Dropshippers don’t stock inventory. Instead, they act as the intermediary between the supplier and the buyer.

When someone orders an item from your store, you immediately forward the order details to the supplier for fulfillment. Dropshipping is popular because it eliminates the headaches of running conventional e-commerce businesses. Instead, the seller focuses on design and marketing, which are less hectic.

Suppose you want to sell smartphones online. Obtaining your first badge of inventory will usually cost considerable money, and there’s no assurance that people will purchase them from you. You can partner with a smartphone supplier instead of risking money to buy inventory.

You’ll list the supplier’s smartphones on your store at a markup, e.g., 20% more than the supplier’s price. When someone orders a smartphone, you’ll send the details to the supplier, who’ll ship the product to the customer. After paying the supplier for the smartphone and shipping, whatever amount is left is your gross profit.

How does dropshipping work?

What is dropshipping? An illustration for beginners

Dropshipping has many variations, but we’ll focus on the standard method of dropshipping for beginners. It works this way:

1. You’ll find a supplier for your desired products. 
2. You’ll build an online store, list products, and promote your store to the relevant audience.
3. A customer visits your store and orders an item. You’ll collect money from the customer.
4. You forward the order details to the supplier, including the quantity, customer’s name, and customer’s receiving address.
5. The supplier packages the product and ships it to the customer’s address. You’ll pay the supplier for the procurement and shipment.
6. After paying the supplier, any money left is your gross profit. 

Repeating the above process can yield significant profits. Many brands have built successful e-commerce businesses using the dropshipping model. 

Key benefits and pitfalls of dropshipping

Advantages of dropshipping

Low upfront costs

It costs much less to start a dropshipping business than a conventional e-commerce business. Dropshipping eliminates upfront inventory costs, making it cost-effective for new entrepreneurs.

You can start a dropshipping business for less than $100 or even free. With no upfront inventory costs, you have more money to dedicate to marketing and building your online store.

Scalability

Dropshipping is a highly scalable business model. You can quickly expand your business by adding new products or finding new suppliers. If you observe increasing demand for a specific product, you can find a suitable supplier and add it to your store. 

It’s easier to scale a dropshipping business than a conventional e-commerce venture. In dropshipping, most of the scaling work is handled by expert suppliers, letting you focus on other aspects of your business.

Effective marketing

Dropshipping enables you to devote more effort to promoting your products. The money and time you’ll save from outsourcing inventory can be invaluable in your marketing efforts. You can spend more money on advertising and giving customers a memorable experience, increasing your long-term chances of success.

Less overhead

When running a dropshipping business, you can achieve more with fewer expenses. Outsourcing inventory eliminates the need to rent a warehouse, hire warehouse managers, and negotiate with shipping couriers. This is a major benefit of dropshipping for beginners who lack expertise in running retail operations. 

Disadvantages of dropshipping

High competition

Dropshipping is very competitive because of its low barriers to entry. Anyone can easily start a dropshipping business, making many niches have a glut of sellers. Building a unique brand in these niches is challenging, and sellers often engage in price wars, reducing profitability.

Difficulty in managing product returns

Product returns are part of running an e-commerce business. Dropshippers often struggle with managing returns because they don’t maintain warehouse space to receive returned goods. 

The best way to address this issue is to have a clear and concise return policy that outlines the conditions under which a product qualifies for return. This policy reduces the rate of unnecessary returns, allowing you to focus on the necessary ones. 

For the necessary returns, you can tell customers to ship them back to the supplier or your PO box address. 

Dependency on third-party suppliers

Dropshipping leaves you dependent on third-party suppliers, which carries significant risks. Any little mishap from a supplier can cause shipment delays and annoy customers. Suppliers can make mistakes when shipping products, and you’ll be on the hook despite not being directly responsible.

The best way to mitigate this issue is to choose reliable suppliers with excellent track records. Zendrop is an ideal supplier, offering a broad range of products and industry-leading shipping. We empower entrepreneurs to build successful dropshipping businesses in many niches.

How to start a dropshipping business in 7 easy steps

Step 1: Analyze the market

Dropshipping for dummies starts with market research. You should analyze your target market and its prospects. For example, if you want to sell custom T-shirts, research the size of the market in your target locations and its growth prospects. 

What’s the current market size, and what will it be within 5 to 10 years? How has the market fared over the past decade? These are typical questions to research about any dropshipping niche.

These tools can help you research effectively:

Google Trends

Google is the most popular search engine worldwide. You can use its Trends tool to monitor global or regional product trends. You can query any niche and observe if search interest has increased or decreased. 

As the most popular search engine, search trends on Google mirror real-world consumer interest for any niche. If you observe a niche with increasing popularity on Google Trends, product demand in that niche is likely also climbing.

Online marketplaces

You can monitor trends on popular online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. The best-selling products on these marketplaces also sell bountifully on dropshipping stores.

Check the best-seller lists on these marketplaces to get a good clue about the items to sell. Read reviews to see what customers say about these products. Products with high demand and positive reviews will likely be good additions to your dropshipping store.

Competitors’ stores

You can analyze popular dropshipping stores to get a hint of what to sell. Check the top stores in your desired niche. Analyze the stores’ best-selling products and their prices. Learning from competitors is a crucial part of dropshipping for beginners.

Step 2: Choose a niche

Selecting your niche is the next step of dropshipping for beginners. The research and market analysis in the earlier step will guide you in choosing the right niche. Many people choose niches they’re passionate about, as this passion drives them to select the best products, create effective marketing campaigns, and provide excellent customer support.

However, choosing a niche isn’t all about passion. You might be passionate about a niche that has low prospects. In that case, it’s advisable to switch to another fast-growing niche with better chances of building a loyal customer base. 

Popular dropshipping niches include clothing, jewelry, fitness equipment, smartphone accessories, home decor, and eco-friendly products. There are endless niches with great prospects, so you can choose anyone and start building your dropshipping business.

Step 3: Find reliable suppliers

Once you have settled on your niche, the next step in dropshipping for dummies is finding reliable suppliers. Suppliers can make or break your business, so you should choose wisely. 

Research extensively before choosing a supplier. What do other dropshippers say about them? Do they sell high-quality products and ship them on time? Is their product quality consistent? These are typical questions to answer when vetting suppliers.

Consider these other factors when vetting suppliers:

• Location. Where is the supplier based, and how does it affect their shipping times? The closer a supplier is to your target audience’s location, the better. 
• Ease of integration. You need a supplier whose software you can seamlessly integrate your store with. This integration enables you to automatically pass order details for the supplier to fulfill. For example, Zendrop has an app you can install on your Shopify store.
• Customer service. You might need urgent help to solve product delivery issues. Hence, you need a supplier with excellent customer support. You should be able to contact your supplier’s support team via email, live chat, or telephone to get a swift response.
• Product selection. The best suppliers have broad product selections, making it easier to scale your dropshipping business. A broad product variety lets you quickly add new items to your store and attract more customers. 

Step 4: Select dropshipping products

At this point, you can start adding products from your chosen suppliers. The best suppliers have apps you can integrate into your online store. This integration lets you import products into your store at the click of a button.

Dropshipping involves adding markups to suppliers’ prices. Suppose a supplier sells a T-shirt for $20. You can list it for $30 to make profits. However, ensure your pricing is in line with competitors, or you risk losing customers.

Many suppliers curate their best-selling products, letting dropshippers know which items sell more than others. You can use these best-selling lists as a guide when adding new products. You can also check reviews to see if customers love what they get.

Step 5: Create your online store

Creating your online store is the next step of dropshipping for dummies. E-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce have made this process easy. They provide ready-made templates and building blocks for your store. These platforms handle the technical aspects of hosting your store while you focus on more straightforward aspects like branding and marketing.

Shopify is the leading platform for dropshippers because of its numerous features and integrations. It provides many built-in features to help you create a unique online store. If Shopify doesn’t offer a feature natively, chances are you’ll find that feature on its app store. 

Shopify lets you automate many aspects of your dropshipping business. For example, you can automatically issue invoices, send abandoned cart reminders, delist out-of-stock products, and add specific percentage markups to imported products. Many other e-commerce platforms have similar features. 

If creating a store from scratch feels like too much work, you can use Zendrop’s AI storebuilder to generate a website via text prompts. This storebuilder creates an online store according to your preferences, and you can make the final touches to give visitors a unique experience. 

Step 6: Market your store

With your store ready, marketing is the next focus in your dropshipping journey. You need to promote products to the relevant audience interested in them. You can run ads on social media platforms and search engines.

Social media

Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) have billions of users with varying interests. You can find the right audience for every product on these platforms.

Social media platforms have self-serve ad tools that make it easy to promote products. You can choose the exact location, age group, and interests to which your ads will be shown. 

Suppose you start a store selling history books. You can show Instagram ads to people aged 18 to 24 interested in political and economic history. This age group has the most readers and people interested in political and economic history are likelier to buy your books.

Social media ads are flexible, as you can run them on any budget. You can start with a small budget to test your ads and increase it if you get positive results. Otherwise, you can change the target audience to get better results.

Search engines

Search engines like Google and Bing let you run targeted ads. You’ll choose the location and keywords for your ads to appear on. 

For example, if you sell custom T-shirts, you can run ads that’ll show when people search for “T-shirts,” “Best T-shirts,” and “Cool T-shirts.” Anyone searching for these terms is your target audience and may be interested in your products. They can follow the ad to your website and order some items.

Search engine optimization (SEO) also helps attract unpaid traffic to your dropshipping store. It involves inserting relevant keywords across your store, using precise product descriptions, adding alternative text to all product images, and writing relevant blog posts for your target audience.

Step 7: Accept and fulfill orders

Accepting and fulfilling orders is the final step of dropshipping for dummies. The good thing is that this step can be highly automated. When people order products from your store, the details can be automatically passed to the supplier for fulfillment.

With outsourced packaging and shipping, you can focus on offering extensive customer support. Problems can arise at any time, so customers should be able to contact you via email, live chat, or telephone. 

Swiftly respond to customers’ inquiries and go the extra mile to solve their issues. Excellent support can make customers recommend your store to their social circles, driving unpaid traffic and increasing sales.

Tools and resources for dropshipping success

Shopify

Shopify is the most popular e-commerce store builder for a good reason. It’s an easy-to-use platform for newbies to quickly set up online stores. You can create a store on Shopify without needing to hire a coder. Shopify breaks down the creation process into intuitive steps anyone can follow.

Zendrop

Zendrop is one of the best dropshipping suppliers. It offers access to a catalog of 1 million+ competitively priced products. Unlike some dropshipping apps that connect sellers to randomly sourced suppliers, Zendrop directly controls its supply chain to guarantee product quality.

With custom packaging and print-on-demand services, Zendrop empowers dropshippers to build unique brands and amass a strong customer base. We ship products at industry-leading speeds and offer 24/7 world-class customer support.

Canva

Canva is a popular, free graphic design tool. It allows you to create stunning visuals for your online store and social media campaigns. Canva provides a user-friendly interface and free templates for endless types of designs.

Whether you need a social media poster, logo, infographic, T-shirt prints, labels, tags, or other visual assets, Canva provides professional templates to choose from. You can customize these visual assets extensively and build unique designs to attract customers’ attention.

How to find and choose the best suppliers

Consider these factors when selecting suppliers for your dropshipping business:

1. Reliability

You need suppliers that deliver consistently to your customers. They should offer quality products and ship them at the promised times. Unreliable suppliers can cause shipment delays and harm your store’s reputation, so you should avoid them by all means.

Before choosing a supplier, check their reviews and status on the Better Business Bureau and research dropshipping forums for potential complaints. If you notice overwhelmingly negative reviews, it’s a signal to find another supplier.

2. Cost

You need suppliers that offer competitively priced products. This way, you can add significant markups and make profits. The more affordable a supplier’s products are, the more money you can add to them while still giving customers reasonable prices.

The best suppliers have large, controlled supply chains that guarantee abundant products at decent prices. Zendrop is a notable supplier that offers some of the best product deals.

3. Shipping terms

Research the supplier’s shipping terms before making a final choice. How long does it take to ship items to customers? Shipping times vary according to the customer’s location, but the faster, the better. 

Ideal shipping times for dropshippers are 3 to 7 days for domestic deliveries and 7 to 14 days for international shipments. Find suppliers that fit within this range.

Common dropshipping challenges and how to overcome them

Competition

Dropshipping is an intensely competitive business, especially in crowded niches like fashion and home decor. Standing out in these niches and building a dependable customer base takes considerable time and effort.

The best way to outshine competitors as a dropshipper is via marketing and customer service. You can create unique social media ad campaigns to attract customers. You can also offer excellent, personalized customer service to differentiate your brand.

Shipping delays

The global supply chain is a complicated machine. A minor flaw in one process can affect the whole system. Suppliers often experience shipping delays due to internal and external factors.

Sometimes, the delay is caused by the supplier, and in other cases, it is caused by the shipping company. Such delays can affect your brand’s reputation and revenue, but you can mitigate this by choosing suppliers with redundant distribution networks.

Returns

Product returns are an inevitable part of running an e-commerce business. Some customers can be unsatisfied with a product and decide to return it. Managing returns poses a problem for dropshippers who don’t have warehouses to keep the items.

Some suppliers handle returns on dropshippers’ behalf but charge processing fees. These fees can eat into your profit margins. 

The best way to mitigate returns headaches is to choose suppliers with high-quality products. This will reduce the chances of customers being unsatisfied with their items. You should also have a concise policy outlining when a product qualifies for a return. This policy will discourage unnecessary customer returns. 

How to stand out in a competitive market

Telling a compelling story and having a unique value proposition are the keys to standing out in competitive dropshipping markets. Don’t just use generic product descriptions given by your supplier. Instead, add a personal touch and highlight how the product solves a problem.

For example, a flower vase from a supplier can have a generic description like “Red flower vase, 7.4 inches for Tulip, Minimalism style.” This description is too routine and doesn’t tell a unique story.

You can change the description to “This eco-friendly flower vase beautifies your home and reduces environmental pollution. Its minimalist style makes it perfect for a contemporary home decorated with Tulips.” This description tells a unique story and offers a value proposition that customers can relate to.

Managing shipping costs and speed

Dropshippers can manage shipping costs in several ways. It starts with choosing suppliers that offer competitive shipping rates. This way, you can charge reasonable shipping prices and satisfy your customers. 

The best suppliers have global distribution networks that enable them to ship goods quickly. Customers who order an item from your store will receive it from the warehouse closest to them.

You can charge flat or different shipping rates according to the customer’s location. You can also offer free shipping for bulk orders, encouraging customers to fill up their carts and, in turn, your profit margins. The profits from bulk orders will be enough to cover shipping costs and give you significant gains.

How profitable is dropshipping?

Dropshipping can be very lucrative if done right. Profitability depends on several factors, including your niche, supplier, product selection, and customer service. You can build a loyal customer base and make good profits but don’t expect a quick and easy ride. It takes considerable time and effort to build a successful dropshipping business.

One of the best things about running a dropshipping business is its scalability. Endless opportunities exist to expand into new product lines and grow your business. You can start small and increase your profits over time.

Conclusion

We’ve written this guide for people wondering how to learn dropshipping. It explains how dropshipping works, its pros & cons, and how to manage the challenges of running a dropshipping business. 

Dropshipping is a popular and fast-growing business model. It enables entrepreneurs to launch e-commerce businesses without risking much capital and is very scalable. 

Zendrop is your ideal partner for launching a dropshipping business. We offer high-quality products, excellent customer support, and industry-leading shipping times, empowering dropshippers to build a sturdy customer base. Join Zendrop and kickstart your successful dropshipping journey.

Frequently asked questions

Is dropshipping good for beginners?

Yes, dropshipping is a good business model for entrepreneurs new to the e-commerce industry. It has low barriers to entry and is very scalable. Learning to dropship can be a lucrative endeavor.

Can I start dropshipping with no money?

Yes, you can start dropshipping without capital. Many e-commerce platforms offer free trials, allowing you to build an online store without paying immediately. 

Then, you can find suppliers to add products to your store without initial payments. You’ll only pay after a customer places an order, and you can scale your dropshipping business from this level.

How do I maximize my chances of success?

You can maximize your chances of success by selling products with a unique value proposition, promoting them to relevant audiences, pricing them in line with competitors' prices, and offering excellent customer service.

Shopify is the most popular e-commerce platform because of its ubiquitous features, user-friendly interface, and vast third-party app network. It’s the go-to solution for entrepreneurs looking to sell products and receive money from customers online. 

But what can you sell on Shopify, and how can you set up a store with this platform? This guide answers these questions and explores how to sell products on Shopify. 

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that simplifies selling products online. It provides a ready-made infrastructure for listing products and receiving money for them. After a transaction, you’ll ship the products to customers and handle post-sale support.

Many entrepreneurs choose Shopify because of its user-friendliness and advanced features. It provides numerous functionalities that help you convert visitors into customers and receive money from global users. Any feature not available directly on Shopify will likely be found on its third-party app store.

Shopify’s core features

Catalog

Shopify lets you list unlimited products and organize them into collections. You can sell physical and digital products at your desired price, and visitors can add these products to their shopping cart. When a visitor is done shopping, they can proceed to cart checkout and pay for the product.

You can use Shopify’s native payments processor or external processors like Stripe, PayPal, and Braintree. Each payment processor has their own fees, e.g., Shopify charges 2.4% to 2.9% of every transaction.

Email marketing

Shopify provides tools to promote products and interact with customers via email. For instance, you can send automated reminder emails to visitors who added items to their cart but didn’t proceed to checkout. This email nudges them to complete the purchase, increasing your revenue.

You can manage a mailing list directly from Shopify, eliminating the need to pay for a separate email marketing platform. You can also create custom email templates and reuse them as often as you want. 

Third-party listing

Shopify lets you list products on third-party marketplaces outside your main store. These include eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, and TikTok Shop. For instance, you can open a TikTok Shop store, and customers can pay for items without visiting your main Shopify store.

Thanks to seamless integration with third-party platforms, any product you list on Shopify can automatically be added to other marketplaces. Any changes to existing products will also be reflected in third-party marketplaces.

Analytics

Shopify provides detailed analytical reports so you can evaluate your store’s performance and make the right decisions. An interactive dashboard shows every relevant store metric, including the number of orders, items added to carts, visitors’ location, total sales, profit, and live traffic.

You can generate custom reports to monitor your store’s performance over specific periods and compare them to others. If you need to view the data in other ways, you can download it in CSV format and export it to third-party apps.

Tax management

Online sellers often need to pay sales tax in multiple countries, and Shopify makes this process easy. You can use it to automate sales tax collection and remit them to the respective authorities. If Shopify doesn’t support tax collection for a specific country, third-party apps can fill in the gap.

Third-party apps

Shopify has the largest third-party app collection of any e-commerce platform. Many developers have built apps to add extra functionality to Shopify stores.  

Think of any useful online store feature, and you’ll likely find it on the Shopify App Store. Examples include apps for print-on-demand, social media marketing, customer reviews, loyalty programs, gift card programs, etc. 

How much does it cost to sell on Shopify?

Shopify offers different pricing plans, and understanding these plans is crucial to learning how to sell on Shopify. It offers four main plans: Basic, Shopify, Advanced, and Plus.

For $32 monthly, the Basic plan offers all you need to set up a simple online store. You can choose a Shopify theme and customize it to fit your needs. Then, you can list products, set prices, and receive payments from customers. This plan lets you add a custom domain to your store.

For $92 monthly, the Shopify plan lets you add up to 5 staff accounts, and transaction fees are reduced from 2% to 1%, which is a significant cost savings for high-volume sellers.

At $399 per month, the Advanced plan lets you add up to 15 staff accounts and cut transaction fees to 0.6%. It has a 10x checkout capacity, which translates to 40,000 checkouts per minute compared to 4,000 on the other plans.

The Plus plan is noticeably expensive at $2,300 monthly. It includes unlimited staff accounts, lower transaction fees, and 40x checkout capacity (160,000 checkouts per minute). It’s perfect for large retailers with a global customer base. 

Shopify offers a 25% discount on the monthly price if you pay for 12 months upfront. The Basic, Shopify, and Advanced plans have 3-day free trials.

Who should sell on Shopify?

Shopify is a versatile e-commerce platform that works well for all types of online sellers, from small businesses to big brands catering to millions of customers. Its versatility and broad features make Shopify a top choice despite being more expensive than most e-commerce platforms.

Advantages and disadvantages of Shopify

Advantages

• Scalability. Shopify is a highly scalable platform that retains its speed, performance, and intuitiveness even as your business grows. It handles surging traffic without hiccups, and you can easily upgrade to get more advanced features. 
• Customizability. Shopify lets you customize many aspects of your store. It provides professional themes that you can edit to fit your tastes or use custom themes made by other developers. You can customize fonts, image sizes, text fields, colors, backgrounds, buttons, and other visual elements.
• Ease of use. Despite its complex features, Shopify has an intuitive interface that’s easy to understand. New users get on-screen tutorials to help them navigate the platform, and you can quickly get accustomed to the interface.
• Excellent customer service. Shopify provides 24/7 support to customers who need help. It has a detailed knowledge base and technical documentation to help users resolve issues quickly.

Disadvantages

• Cost. Shopify is more expensive than most competitors. Its plans start from $32 monthly, which can be steep for individuals and small businesses.
• Transaction fees. Shopify takes a commission on every transaction, which can be significant for high-volume sellers. 
• Limited free themes. Shopify provides 12 free themes, which might not be as advanced as you would prefer. Luckily, you can buy an external Shopify theme and customize it to fit your needs. 
• Steep learning curve. Although Shopify has an intuitive interface, the depth of its features makes for a steep learning curve. Beginners will likely need time to understand Shopify’s numerous features and customize their store extensively. 

How to sell on Shopify: 9 easy steps

Step 1: Sign up for an account

Creating an account is the first step in knowing how to sell on Shopify. Head to Shopify.com and click the “Start free trial” button.

You’ll be redirected to a page with different registration options. You can sign up via email or an existing Google, Facebook, or Apple ID account. Choose a convenient option and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the registration.

After registering, Shopify asks basic questions to help set up your online store. You can answer them or skip this part and go directly to your store.

Step 2: Add a domain name

By default, Shopify stores are hosted on a URL like [storename.myshopify.com]. Most stores look unprofessional on this subdomain, so it's advisable to get a custom domain to stand out. 

Open Settings at the bottom of your store’s left menu.

Click Domains on the Settings page.

Shopify lets you buy a new domain or connect an existing domain. New buyers can search for an available domain and pay directly on Shopify. 

If you’re connecting an existing domain, Shopify will provide unique credentials to add to the domain’s DNS settings on its registrar dashboard. Add these credentials and click Verify connection. 

If the credentials have been added, Shopify will confirm it, and the domain will be immediately connected to your store.

Step 3: Set up payment methods

Setting up a payment gateway is the next step in learning how to sell on Shopify. This payment gateway will let you receive money from customers and pay for your store’s operations. You can use Shopify Payments or an external payment gateway.

Click on Payments on the settings page.

Click on the Choose a provider button and select your desired payment processor. 

Install the payment processor and follow the setup instructions. Every payment provider has a unique process. You’ll be required to provide valid identification and business details to set up a merchant account and receive money from customers.

Step 4: Set up shipping rates

With your payments processing infrastructure set, the next step is setting shipping rates for your customers. This step is crucial to your store’s success, as customers often seek the best shipping rates when buying products.

Open Shipping and Delivery on the settings page.

Shopify lets you create different shipping profiles. For example, you can have different shipping prices for orders above $50, $100, $200, $500, and so on. Many retailers provide free shipping above a specific threshold, so you can simply put $0 in the relevant threshold.

Different shipping rates can be set for different cities and countries. Shopify lets you control shipping rates extensively to give every customer the best choice.

Step 5: Design your store

With payment processing and shipping rates ready, it’s time to focus on your store’s front end. Your store needs a visually appealing design to entice customers.

Exit the Settings page and head to Online Store > Themes.

Then, click the Customize button.

The customization menu lets you change many visual elements, such as headers, images, buttons, link colors, text fonts and sizes, etc. Shopify is a highly customizable platform that lets you modify every nook and cranny to stand out.

To demonstrate, let’s change the header images of our sample store. We clicked on the header image, and Shopify showed the option to upload new ones.

We’ve decided to change the two header images to a blue background.

Below is the result. This is just an example of how you can visually customize your store. Shopify lets you do much more.

If designing a store is too difficult, Zendrop offers custom-built Shopify stores for different use cases. You can also use our AI Storebuilder to create a visually appealing store via text prompts.

Step 6: Add products

Adding products is the core step in knowing how to sell on Shopify. With your design ready, it’s time to list the items you’ll sell to customers. 

Exit the design customization menu and open the Products menu. Then, click on the +Add product button.

You’ll be redirected to a page where you can add your first product. Shopify lets you choose a product title, description, images, videos, and price. 

To illustrate, we’ll add a product titled “The Zendrop guide to selling on Shopify” and list it for $10. We used the Shopify logo as the product image.

After filling out the product details, click the Save button. Congratulations, you’ve added your first Shopify product.

Below is how the product looks to visitors. 

Shopify lets you organize products into categories. Suppose you run an online bookstore. You can have separate areas for “guides,” “business,” “technology,” “politics,” and “stories,” making it easier for visitors to find their desired products.

If you’re dropshipping products, you can import them from the supplier’s app into your Shopify store at the click of a button. Zendrop lets you seamlessly add products to your store and set pricing rules, such as listing each product 50% above the supplier’s price. You don’t need to add every product detail from scratch when dropshipping.

Zendrop gives dropshippers access to a diverse range of best-selling products. We provide industry-leading shipping and customer service, helping dropshippers deliver items quickly and satisfactorily. By joining our platform, you can connect with the best product suppliers. 

Step 7: Launch your store

Review all store details, including product descriptions, images, categories, prices, shipping rates, and themes, before going live. You can seek third-party, unbiased opinions before launching your store to the public and test the checkout process to understand how it works for customers.

If you’re comfortable with the store’s characteristics, you can publish it. By default, new Shopify stores are password-protected, so remove this password by heading to Online Store > Preferences and unchecking the password protection checkbox.

Viola! Your store is open for anyone to visit.

Step 8: Market your Shopify store

With your store ready, it’s time to promote it to get customers. The best ways to promote an online store include:

Social media

You can run ads on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to find the right customers. These platforms let you target a specific demographic, including gender, age, occupation, and interests. This detailed targeting enables you to show ads to the perfect customer profile.

Suppose you’re selling history books. Your ideal target audience is people interested in political and economic history. You can target this precise audience on Facebook and Instagram to get high conversion rates.

Influencer marketing

You can partner with influencers, i.e., popular social media accounts with authority in specific niches. A recommendation from the right influencer can significantly boost your customer base. Influencers charge money to promote products, either upfront or commission-based.

Search engine ads

You can run ads on search engines like Google and Bing. You’ll bid for specific keywords, and your ad will show when users search for these keywords. For example, a jewelry seller can bid for their ads to appear when people search for “beautiful jewelry” and “best jewelry to buy.” The people searching for these keywords will be more likely to buy jewelry products from your store.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO involves tweaking your website to rank high on search engines and attract organic traffic. It includes adding relevant keywords that people search for, precise product descriptions, alternative text for images, blog posts related to your product niche, and optimizing your site for mobile displays.

A little investment in search engine optimization can entice many website visitors, some of whom will place orders after searching your site’s catalog.

Step 9: Monitor your analytics

Use Shopify’s built-in analytics to monitor your store’s metrics. You can access real-time or historical sales data to monitor the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. Don’t hesitate to change things when you’re not getting the desired results.

Online retail is not a one-and-done thing. It requires constant monitoring to stay ahead of competitors and keep up with industry trends.

How to sell on Shopify with social media

Shopify has integrations with popular social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, enabling users to sell products directly on these platforms. Let’s explore how to sell Shopify-listed products on these social platforms. 

How to sell on Facebook with Shopify

1. Visit the Shopify App Store and search for the “Facebook & Instagram” app. Meta, the parent company of these two platforms, created this Shopify app to help sellers manage their social media presence.

2. Click the Install button and follow the on-screen instructions.

3. Connect your Facebook account by signing in. 

4. Provide your business details according to the on-screen instructions.

5. Wait for Facebook’s approval.

After approval, you can seamlessly upload products from your Shopify catalog to Facebook Shops. Facebook users can order these products without leaving the app, and every order will immediately reflect on your Shopify dashboard.

How to sell on Instagram with Shopify

Shopify sellers can use the same app to sell products on Facebook and Instagram. Hence, you can follow the above instructions to install the Facebook & Instagram app from the Shopify App Store. 

After installing the app, open the Instagram Shop section and follow the on-screen instructions to connect your store. Meta approves products within 24 to 48 hours, and you can start selling immediately after approval.

Alongside selling products, the Facebook & Instagram app lets you run ads directly on Facebook and Instagram and monitor the results from your Shopify dashboard. 

How to sell on Pinterest with Shopify

1. Head to the Shopify App Store and search for “Pinterest.” This app was built by Pinterest to help Shopify sellers showcase and sell products seamlessly.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the Pinterest app. 
3. Connect your Shopify store with an existing Pinterest Business account. 

After installing the app, your Shopify product feed will be connected to Pinterest. Products from your Shopify inventory can be converted to Product Pins, which Pinterest users can click on to get directed to your store. Every change you make to a product will immediately reflect on the Pinterest Product Pin.

Selling on Shopify FAQ

What can you sell on Shopify?

You can sell physical and digital products on Shopify. Examples include clothing, electronics, jewelry, e-books, cosmetics, phone accessories, sports apparel, and more. Shopify makes it easy to sell regardless of your niche and product volume.

How do I start selling on Shopify?

You can start by signing up for Shopify. After signing up, you can connect a custom domain, design your store, and add products. You’ll need to integrate a payment gateway to receive money from customers. Then, you can start selling products immediately.

How much does Shopify take per sale?

Shopify's commission on each sale ranges from 0.6% to 2%, depending on your plan. The costlier plans have lower transaction fees.

Can I sell on Shopify through social media platforms?

Yes, Shopify has apps that integrate your store with social media platforms. After integrating your store, you can sell its inventory on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

What is the best way to sell products on Shopify?

Use high-quality images and write precise descriptions of each product. Include relevant keywords in product descriptions to boost your store's search engine rankings. Use social media ads to promote your product to the perfect target audience.

How to Price Your Product: A Step-by-Step Guide

Pricing is the foundation of every e-commerce business. It directly affects your business’s profitability and long-term sustainability, so you should be strategic in this area. You need to price products optimally to entice customers and make profit.

This guide will teach you how to price a product effectively and boost sales. Read on to learn how to determine the price of a product with our step-by-step formula, strategies, and common mistakes to avoid.

Why product pricing matters

Pricing is the first thing customers look for when ordering a product. Customers love getting good deals, so they’ll seek competitive prices when ordering items from your store.

Pricing directly affects your e-commerce business's revenue, profit margins, and competitive advantage. It largely determines your store’s long-term profitability amid increasing competition. 

Every online seller needs optimal prices to attract and retain customers, and these prices depend on factors like niche, value proposition, and competition. Below, let’s explore the key factors to consider when pricing your product.

Key factors to consider when pricing your product

Direct and indirect costs

The first factor to consider when setting prices is the cost of manufacturing a product. After all, you need to sell higher than your base costs to make a profit.

Consider direct and indirect costs to know how to price a product. Direct costs include production materials, labor, and overhead. Indirect costs include rent, utilities, licenses, and marketing.  

Add the direct and indirect costs of obtaining products and set prices at a level that will recoup these costs and earn profits. This will help you build a long-term profitable business. 

Market research and competitor pricing

Your competitors’ prices are a good starting point for setting yours. Customers often research multiple options when seeking a product, so you need prices that align with competitors to avoid scaring them away. 

Setting prices too high will spur customers to patronize competitors, and setting prices too low will undercut your potential profits. Research your closest competitors and keep your prices in line with theirs. 

Differentiating factors like quality and brand perception should be considered during competitive research. Competitors with stellar reputations can set high prices, but setting yours similarly high can scare away customers. 

New brands will likely need lower prices to build market share but can set high prices over time after amassing a customer base.

Customer perception and value proposition

Value proposition and customer perception are key to knowing how to determine the price of a product. How customers perceive your brand affects their willingness to pay higher prices. Hence, premium brands can charge steep prices and earn more profits.

Creating a value proposition also helps you charge higher prices. Convince customers that they’re getting good value by illustrating how the product solves a pressing problem. For example, you can promote an office chair with the perspective of preventing ergonomic pain and improving long-term health. 

Price anchoring is another tactic for charging premium prices. It involves setting a higher starting price point for a product but emphasizing its current discount, e.g., a $100 watch selling for a discounted $75. The discount convinces customers they’re getting a good value even while paying premium prices.

Popular pricing strategies

Businesses use standard strategies to set optimal prices, including value-based, cost-plus, competitive, and dynamic pricing. Understanding these strategies is crucial to knowing how to calculate how much to charge for a product, so let’s explore them.

Cost-plus pricing

Cost-plus pricing determines the price by adding a fixed profit margin to the production cost. Suppose you want an 80% profit margin. You’ll simply add 80% to the cost of all products to get the desired profit. A $100 item will sell for $180, a $200 item will sell for $360, and so on.

This model is popular, especially with dropshippers, because of its predictability. You’ll simply set a specific percentage above the production cost to make your desired profit. Zendrop lets dropshippers import products into their stores with automated cost-plus pricing rules. 

However, cost-plus pricing has limitations, such as not considering customer demand when setting prices. Your desired profit margin might be too high for customers, leading to lower product sales.

Value-based pricing

This strategy involves setting a price based on the perceived value to the customer. The challenge is determining the perceived value, and the solution is to have a precise value proposition. Promote products with the perspective of solving a major problem, e.g., “This pouch protects your valuable smartphone and helps avoid costly repairs.”

Understand customer pain points and promote products that solve these pain points. Customers who detect good value in your product will be more willing to pay higher prices.

Competitive pricing

This model involves setting prices based on what competitors charge for similar products. It's the best price model for saturated markets where customers pay little attention to branding. Often, a market leader sets the price, and competitors use it as a guide.

This pricing strategy involves constantly researching your competitors’ websites and catalogs to find their prices. If a close competitor increases or reduces prices, it’s a signal to follow, so you’ll need to monitor price changes frequently. 

Constant price monitoring can be time-consuming, but it helps you attract customers in intensely competitive markets. 

Dynamic pricing

Dynamic pricing involves adjusting real-time prices based on factors like demand, seasonality, and competition. It’s commonly used in e-commerce and other sectors, such as travel and hospitality.

Suppose you sell sports jerseys and observe increasing demand for a team that just won a championship. You can increase the prices of the winning team’s jerseys to earn higher profits. Customers will likely pay higher prices because of the heightened demand. 

Dynamic pricing lets you optimize pricing to capture profits and manage inventory more effectively. However, overdoing it can cause customer dissatisfaction. 

Step-by-step pricing formula

Learning how to price an item involves following standard formulas, such as cost of production + 60% margin. Below, let’s explore a step-by-step pricing formula online retailers can follow.

Step 1: Calculate your costs

The first step is calculating your direct (fixed) and indirect (variable) costs. Direct costs include the materials and labor required to produce items. Suppose you’re selling apparel. Your direct costs include the materials and the workforce needed to manufacture the apparel.

If you’re dropshipping products, the direct cost is the price of obtaining every product from a supplier. Many entrepreneurs choose to dropship because it removes the stress of manufacturing products and managing inventory. You’ll outsource these processes to third parties like Zendrop, which offers high-quality products with industry-leading shipping.

Indirect costs are mostly overhead expenses like rent, utilities, marketing, licensing, and insurance. These costs are significant for e-commerce businesses, so they need to be considered when setting prices. 

Add your annual overhead cost and divide it by the number of products. This figure provides a good sense of each product's indirect cost.  

Below is an ideal example of cost calculation.

Cost of materials	$20
Labor cost per product	$5
Packaging	$2
Marketing	$1
Shipping	$5
Overhead (the average for each product)	$3
Total cost	$36

Step 2: Set your desired profit margin

Setting your desired profit margin is the next step in determining a product's price. Your desired profit margin should be based on industry standards, competition, and general business goals. For example, if 50% is the standard profit margin in your industry, you should target this range to stay competitive.

Some industries tend to have higher profit margins than others. For example, fashion and jewelry have much greater profit margins than books. The average profit margin for jewelry hovers around 42% to 47%, while bookstores range from 2% to 10%.

Research extensively about industry profit margins before setting prices. You should weigh industry standards against your personal profit goals and strike a balance. Usually, new brands can target lower profit margins to build a customer base, then gradually increase prices after building a reputation that’ll entice buyers to pay more.

Step 3: Analyze the market and adjust

Price-setting isn’t a one-and-done activity. Knowing how to price a product includes constantly analyzing the market for new clues. Check competitors’ price changes to guide yours. If close competitors hike prices, you can follow their lead to capture more profits. If they reduce prices, you can follow their lead to remain competitive.

Monitor customer demand to guide your price-setting. You can raise prices for products experiencing heightened demand. Customers will tolerate higher prices stemming from demand constraints. 

Pay attention to price elasticity, which measures how much demand for a product impacts prices. Generally, prices rise when demand increases for a product, but customers can only tolerate a certain degree of price increase. 

If your product has many alternatives, limit the price increase to avoid driving customers to competitors. If you sell exclusive products with few alternatives, customers will be more tolerant of increased prices during high-demand periods. 

How to test your pricing

“How much should I charge for my product” is an open-ended question with no definite answer. Answers change frequently according to market conditions, so trial and error is necessary to strike the right balance. You can always test new strategies if the initial ones don't work out. 

For example, you might start with cost-plus pricing and notice that it doesn’t work. You can switch to value-based or dynamic pricing, or you could use different pricing strategies for different products.

The most important aspect of pricing is earning enough to cover expenses and provide some profits. Once this is achieved, you can test and adjust pricing strategies according to market conditions. Testing is essential to knowing how to price a product for retail.

Common pricing mistakes to avoid

Underpricing and overpricing are two core mistakes e-commerce entrepreneurs often make. Avoiding these mistakes is a key part of learning how to price a product, so let’s explore them further.

Underpricing

Online sellers often set much lower prices to outdo competitors. This strategy can be excused for new brands trying to win market share but can reduce long-term profitability. 

Underpricing can also adversely impact brand perception, as customers often consider cheap products substandard. This perception is more pronounced in some niches, like jewelry and accessories, where buyers associate pricing with quality.

Competitive research helps you avoid underpricing as much as possible. Research your competitors’ prices over time and keep your prices aligned. You can apply dynamic pricing during increased demand to avoid underpricing. You can also offer bundles and discounts to convince customers to pay more for your products.

Overpricing

Many e-commerce retailers charge higher than they should, alienating customers. This mistake often stems from a lack of competitive research when setting prices. It can reduce long-term profitability, so it should be avoided at all costs.

Competitive research helps prevent overpricing. Evaluate your competitors’ prices and keep your prices similar to theirs. You can raise prices during times of heightened demand but keep your price raises in line with competitors. 

If you raise prices and notice a sales drop, it’s a signal to revert to previous prices. Testing is part of learning how to price a product, so don’t hesitate to adjust prices in response to customer feedback.

FAQ

How much profit should I make on a product?

The ideal profit margin depends on several factors, such as niche, cost of goods, and customer demand. Different niches have different average profit margins, so research yours when setting prices. You can earn as much profit as industry trends permit.

What is a good price for an item that costs $10 to produce?

An ideal way to price a product is to set a specific percentage above the cost of obtaining it. For e-commerce businesses, a profit margin of 50% and above is ideal, so a $10 product can be priced at $15 or more.

How should I price my product?

You can conduct competitive research to guide your online store’s prices. Always align your product prices with competitors' to avoid scaring away customers. Other factors like customer demand and value proposition should also be considered when setting prices.

What factors should be considered when pricing a product?

Market research, customer perception, and customer demand are the main factors to consider when learning how to determine the price of a product. These factors guide you in choosing the optimal prices that’ll entice customers. 

How do you determine the value of an item?

First, you need to consider the cost of goods sold (COGS), which is the price you pay to your supplier for the product. Additionally, you must factor in shipping costs, whether it's a flat fee or variable, based on the supplier or your delivery method.

Market research is also crucial — you should look at competitor prices, demand, and customer preferences to understand the going rate for similar products. Another important consideration is your profit margin. This means determining how much you want to earn from each sale after covering costs. Finally, the customer perceived value plays a role, as higher-quality or branded items can justify a higher price.

Which is an example of product pricing?

Imagine you're selling a wireless Bluetooth speaker through a dropshipping model. You find a supplier offering the product for $15, and the supplier charges an additional $5 for shipping. So, COGS is $20 ($15 for the product + $5 for shipping).

Next, you conduct market research and discover that similar wireless Bluetooth speakers are selling for around $40 on most online platforms, with some ranging between $35 and $45 depending on features and brand reputation. This gives you an idea of the market price and helps you understand the demand for such products.

You then decide that you want to achieve a profit margin of around 50%. To calculate the selling price, you can take your COGS of $20 and apply a 50% markup, which would give you a selling price of $40. However, you also want to consider that the market average is around $40, so pricing your product at $39.99 would make it competitive while maintaining the desired margin.

Private labeling is a growing business model for e-commerce entrepreneurs. It entails outsourcing manufacturing to a third-party while selling the products under your brand name. 

This business model gives you access to a robust supply chain for lower costs. You’ll focus more on branding and marketing while outsourcing production headaches. Read on to learn what private labeling is and how to harness it to build a successful venture.

What is private label?

Private label products are produced by a third-party but sold under your brand name. The third-party makes the product according to your specifications, making it easier to stand out from competitors.

For example, many perfume brands are private label products manufactured by third parties. The manufacturer creates a unique scent and packaging, and the perfume brand handles marketing. The perfume is sold at a significant markup to the manufacturer’s price.

Many retailers choose private labeling because it is convenient. They can quickly expand their product lines with third-party manufacturers instead of taking the risk themselves. Popular private label products include cosmetics, jewelry, electronics, and clothing.

How does private labeling work?

Private labeling involves two main parties. The first is the private label brand, i.e., the retailer designing and marketing the product. The second is the manufacturer, who makes the product according to the brand’s specifications.

The manufacturer might already have a catalog of products. Then, the brand can pick a product and add finishing touches like packaging and color. Alternatively, the brand can design a new product from scratch for the manufacturer. After paying for manufacturing costs, the product is sold at a sizable markup to give the brand profits.

Private labeling differs from contract manufacturing. In the latter, the brand is heavily involved in the product's design, development, and testing. However, in private labeling, the manufacturer handles most of the development and testing while the brand adds the finishing touches.

Contract manufacturing is ideal for complex products like electronics. It allows more extensive customization than private labeling.

Private label vs. white label products

People often confuse private and white labeling, but they’re different. White-labeled products are generic and cannot be customized, while private label products can be customized. Private label products are made for a specific brand, while white label products are sold to multiple brands. 

In white labeling, the manufacturer creates a single product for different retailers. The retailers sell the same product under their brand names, but the core product isn’t unique. White labeling doesn’t offer much room to stand out from competitors.

Advantages of private labeling

Unique value proposition

Private labeling allows businesses to sell exclusive products with unique value propositions. Companies can customize their products' feel, look, and characteristics, offering buyers a value they’ll hardly find elsewhere. This customization makes it easier for businesses to stand out and build a large customer base.

Higher profit margins

Exclusive products translate to higher profit margins. Private labeling allows brands to offer unique products and charge more for them. Customers are more likely to tolerate higher prices when they know they can’t find the same product elsewhere.

Branding and marketing control

Private labeling gives brands greater control over product branding and marketing. Customizing the end product’s look and feel makes it easier to form an effective marketing strategy.

Suppose you want to launch a new perfume. You can demand a pink color and a rose scent from the private label manufacturer. These characteristics enable you to create effective marketing campaigns based on roses and pink visuals.

Adaptability and flexibility

Private labeling enables businesses to adapt quickly to changing consumer tastes. When trends change, you can request that the manufacturer tweak the product quickly. 

Suppose you sell wristwatches and notice customers’ preference for new colors. You can tell your manufacturer to switch to these colors immediately. The manufacturer has a robust supply chain that helps your business adapt to rapidly changing trends.

Disadvantages of private labeling

Dependence on third-party manufacturers

Private labeling allows product customization, but you remain dependent on the manufacturer’s whims. For instance, the manufacturer may be unwilling to customize the product to your desired extent or make rapid product changes in response to customer feedback.

Private labeling involves a considerable risk of dependence on a third-party manufacturer. However, you can mitigate this risk by choosing reliable manufacturers and suppliers. Zendrop connects you directly with high-quality manufacturers offering a broad product variety. We control our supply chain to assure product quality and speedy delivery.

Innovation limitations

This risk is related to your dependence on third-party manufacturers. You may want to innovate with your product, but the manufacturer may be unwilling to implement the required changes. The manufacturer can limit your customization options, reducing the chances of standing out from the competition.

The best way to mitigate this risk is by choosing the right manufacturers that allow extensive customization. Research different manufacturers and read reviews from past partners before making a commitment.

Popular private label products

Coffee

Image: Coburg

Many brands sell coffee manufactured by third parties at high markups from the manufacturer’s prices. Coffee is a highly demanded product that can be easily branded as premium. Many are willing to pay high prices for cherished coffee goods, so companies leverage this situation to sell high-margin coffee.

Personal care products

Personal care products, including body lotions, shampoos, toothpaste, and deodorant, are often sold via the private label model. Many manufacturers specialize in making personal care products for external brands, and this abundance of manufacturers makes it easier for retailers to find the right partner.

Suppose you want to start a soap brand. You can give a private label manufacturer your specifications, and they’ll make the product accordingly. You can buy these products in bulk at lower prices and sell them at high prices.

Pet food

Source: VAFO Group

Pet food, especially cat and dog food, is commonly sold via the private label model. Some major pet food manufacturers serve multiple brands, each with products made according to their specifications. These brands sell pet food at high markups, capitalizing on customers’ willingness to spend big on their pets.

The global pet food market is worth $158 billion, with the U.S. accounting for the largest share, $62 billion. Its healthy growth rate, projected to reach $195 billion by 2029, makes pet food a promising market for new private label brands.

Examples of successful private label brands

Kirkland Signature

Source: Kirkland Signature/Costco

Kirkland Signature is a private label brand run by Costco, a major American brick-and-mortar retailer with $250 billion in annual sales. This brand offers everything from grocery products to clothing, cleaning items, pet food, and baby diapers.

Costco works with many third-party manufacturers to produce items for its Kirkland Signature brand, which has built a reputation for offering high-quality products at competitive prices. 

Kirkland Signature is one of Costco’s top-selling brands, making it an ideal case study for learning what a private label brand is. This contributes to Costco’s envied customer base of 136 million members who pay annual membership fees starting from $65.

Amazon Basics

Source: Amazon Basics

Amazon is best known as the world’s largest online retailer, with over $500 billion in annual sales. It sells virtually any product one can think of. 

Private labeling contributes to Amazon’s e-commerce dominance. The company has its private label brand, Amazon Basics, with numerous products like kitchen utensils, phone accessories, home decor, office supplies, and travel luggage.

Amazon contracts third-party manufacturers worldwide to make its products. The lower manufacturing costs enable Amazon to sell private label products at reasonable prices and retain customers in a fiercely competitive e-commerce market. 

Amazon Basics contributes billions of dollars in annual sales and helps Amazon stay atop the global e-commerce sector. It’s an excellent example for learning what a private label product is. 

Trader Joe’s

Source: Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe's is one of the biggest grocery store chains in the U.S. Its product selection is primarily based on private label goods produced by third parties. 

Trader Joe’s works with big-name manufacturers who own some of the most popular product brands. For example, Trader Joe’s pita chips are made by Stacy’s, which sells a famous brand of its own pita chips.

Third-party manufacturers create custom products for Trader Joe’s, helping the grocer retain its loyal customers by selling high-quality products at competitive prices. Brand loyalty has helped Trader Joe’s remain a dominant grocery retailer with $20 billion in annual sales despite tough competition.

How to choose the right private label manufacturer

Quality and consistency

An ideal manufacturer should offer high-quality products with consistency. It should have stringent quality controls ensuring you get high-quality products and regular checks to prevent deficient output.

Before choosing a manufacturer, read other dropshippers’ opinions about their products. You can order samples or visit trade shows to evaluate the quality in person. 

Zendrop gives you direct access to vetted, high-quality manufacturers. We control our supply chain to ensure outstanding quality and consistency. Choosing the right manufacturer is just one step away with Zendrop.

Production capabilities

Consider your sales target and if a manufacturer can handle the required output. Suppose you aim to sell thousands of units monthly. Consider if the manufacturer has sufficient capacity to deliver these units.

You need manufacturers who can scale their production according to your needs. This characteristic is crucial for fast-growing brands whose product demand may rise sharply. Zendrop gives you access to reliable manufacturers with robust production capacity. 

Communication and support

Manufacturers can make or break your private label brand, so you need effective communication and support from them. An ideal manufacturer should offer excellent customer service and allow you to contact them quickly via email, telephone, or live chat.

You should receive speedy responses to inquiries, and the manufacturer should be willing to go the extra mile to resolve problems. Before making your final decision, check reviews about a manufacturer’s customer support. 

Knowing what to consider when choosing manufacturers is an integral part of learning what private labeling is.

Conclusion

This guide has answered “What is private label?” and it works in detail. When done correctly, this business model can be lucrative, and we’ve provided case studies to prove it. Private labeling offers many advantages for retailers, mainly higher profit margins and a unique value proposition for your product. 

Zendrop is your ideal partner for launching a private label brand. We offer high-quality products you can customize and sell at high margins. This program is available for high-volume sellers via Zendrop Select. 

FAQ

What does “private label” mean?

Private labeling refers to products created for specific brands by third-party manufacturers. You can partner with these manufacturers and sell their products under your brand name. It’s an effective business model adopted by many manufacturers.

How do private labels work?

Private labels involve partnering with a third-party manufacturer to produce items according to your specifications. You’ll then sell these products at higher markups, paying the manufacturer and pocketing the rest as profit. 

Manufacturers can make or break your business, so choosing the right one is a crucial aspect of learning what private label is.

How does private labeling differ from branded products?

Private label and branded products don’t differ much except for the manufacturing process. Branded products are usually designed and produced by the same company selling them, while private label products are outsourced to third-party manufacturers.

Many people confuse private label products with branded products. However, differentiating between both is an essential part of learning what a private label is. 

Can private labeling be profitable?

Yes, many brands have built formidable businesses based on the private label model. The key is having the proper product selection and manufacturers who deliver high-quality products for your customers.

Costco’s Kirkland Signature is an excellent example of what private label is and how to leverage this model to build a highly profitable brand.

How do I start my own private label business?

The process starts with choosing a niche and selecting products. Then, seek the right manufacturers who will deliver high-quality products. Finally, create a unique brand and promote the products to win customers.

Learning what a private label is includes acknowledging the intense competition in the industry. You need unique products and marketing strategies to stand out from competitors and build a formidable business.

Print-on-demand (POD) is an e-commerce model that’s gaining popularity because of the convenience it offers. It involves creating custom designs and outsourcing the manufacturing to a third party. 

Whenever someone orders the product, the manufacturer handles the printing and shipment. You’ll pay the manufacturer for its service and keep the rest as profit. 

This guide will dive deeper into how print-on-demand works and how to leverage it to create a successful online business.

What is print-on-demand?

Print-on-demand (POD) is a business model in which you design products such as clothing and phone accessories and outsource the manufacturing to a trusted third party. When a customer orders an item, the third party makes and ships it to them. After paying this third party, the remainder is your gross profit.

Design, manufacturing, and shipping are the key aspects of understanding what print-on-demand is about. You’ll focus on the first aspect, design, and outsource the other two to a trusted print-on-demand supplier like Zendrop.

How print-on-demand works

How does print-on-demand work? An illustration

Below is a step-by-step explanation of the print-on-demand business model.

1. You create a stunning graphic design and upload it to the print-on-demand platform.
2. You choose the products on which the design will be featured, such as T-shirts, hats, mugs, and keychains.
3. You list the chosen products on your online store.
4. A customer visits your store and places an order.
5. You send the order details to the print-on-demand supplier.
6. The print-on-demand supplier manufactures and ships the product to the customer’s address.
7. You pay the supplier and keep the remaining money as your gross profit.

Choosing the right supplier is crucial to building a successful print-on-demand business. You need a high-quality partner like Zendrop, which offers a wide selection of products and industry-leading shipping times.

Pros and cons of print-on-demand

Pros

1. Low upfront costs. Print-on-demand eliminates the need to buy inventory or manufacturing equipment to start your business. Manufacturing is outsourced to a third party with a robust supply chain, enabling you to start the business with minimal funds.
2. Quick turnaround. This business model allows you to quickly bring products to market. Upload the design, select the products, and you're ready to sell. This flexibility makes it easier to respond to changing customer demands.

Cons

1. Lower profit margins. Items from print-on-demand suppliers cost more because you don’t buy them in bulk. This can lead to lower profit margins if customers aren’t willing to pay high prices for your products.
2. Third-party dependency. There are significant risks associated with depending on a third party for manufacturing and shipment. Any little mishap from the third party, such as manufacturing delays, can negatively affect your brand. 
3. Limited customization. Some print-on-demand companies might be unwilling to customize a product as much as you want. This situation gives you less creative flexibility and can make it challenging to stand out from competitors.

Who can benefit from print-on-demand?

Artists and creators

Skilled artists can monetize their designs via the print-on-demand model. Stunning designs make t-shirts, mugs, phone pouches, and other items sell well. 

Hence, artists can focus on designs and outsource the manufacturing to print-on-demand suppliers. They can make significant profits without experiencing inventory and manufacturing headaches.

Entrepreneurs

General entrepreneurs can leverage print-on-demand to build a successful e-commerce business. As an entrepreneur, you’ll focus on designing and promoting your products to the right audience. You’ll sell products at significant markups from the print-on-demand company’s prices.

When people order your products, the print-on-demand company fulfills their orders, and you can make sizable profits because of your price markups. The key is promoting products to the right audience and having a unique value proposition.

Established brands

Established brands can also benefit from the print-on-demand model. They can use it to quickly expand their product lines without investing in new supply chains. 

Suppose a prominent clothing brand observes a new trending T-shirt. The brand can create a similar design and outsource the manufacturing to a print-on-demand company. This model allows the brand to quickly react to changing customer demand without revamping its supply chain.

Popular print-on-demand providers

Zendrop

Zendrop is the ultimate partner for print-on-demand businesses. Our platform helps you set up a successful print-on-demand business from the ground up. You can get a prebuilt store or use our AI-assisted storebuilder to create one via text prompts.

After creating your store, you can browse Zendrop’s expansive print-on-demand product selection. Our managed supply chain links you with the best print-on-demand manufacturers. Hence, expect high-quality products and industry-leading shipping at the lowest possible prices.

Zendrop is your everything app for running a robust print-on-demand operation. Our platform is integrated with Shopify, letting you import products and mockups at the click of a button. 

Printful

Printful has a diverse product catalog and integrates with the most popular e-commerce platforms. Its robust shipping network enables quick product delivery regardless of your customer’s location.

Prinful's user-friendly interface makes setting up a print-on-demand business easy. It provides mockup generators to help customers visualize your products. You can even add your branding to the unboxing experience. Popular products on this platform include hoodies, mugs, phone cases, and tote bags.

Printify

Printify is a popular print-on-demand service with a diverse product selection. It has a global network of manufacturing partners to enable speedy delivery. 

When a customer orders an item, fulfillment is handled by the manufacturing center closest to them. This distributed system ensures quick delivery and customer satisfaction.  

Printify has reasonable prices, enabling you to sell items at competitive markups and make a profit. This platform is user-friendly and integrated with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.

Gooten

Gooten fulfills orders via a global network of partners. It offers products of varying qualities, giving you more flexibility over pricing and branding. You can choose precise product printing techniques and your desired shipping times.

This print-on-demand provider offers an intuitive editor for creating visually appealing products. It is integrated with popular e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, TikTok Shop, BigCommerce, and Etsy.

Lulu

Lulu is a unique print-on-demand company that specializes in custom book printing. It’s an ideal partner for designing custom notebooks, calendars, jotters, yearbooks, and photo books. Lulu integrates with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce.

You can extensively customize products on Lulu, choosing the book’s length, binding type, template, page count, and other characteristics. This print-on-demand company offers affordable prices, making it easier to add markups and earn profits.

How to start a print-on-demand business

Choose the right print-on-demand provider

A successful print-on-demand business starts with choosing the right fulfillment partner. This partner can make or break your business, so choose them thoughtfully.

Consider the print-on-demand partner’s product selection, fulfillment costs, and shipping times. A vast product selection enables you to build a robust e-commerce business with many items. Shipping times are vital to customer satisfaction, as people hardly tolerate long delays. 

Consider the product costs and whether customers can afford significant markups on these costs. Also, research the e-commerce platforms with which a print-on-demand provider is integrated. 

Seamless integration makes it easier to list products on your store and send customers’ order details to the print-on-demand company. 

Integrations

Print-on-demand companies usually have integrations with popular e-commerce platforms. For example, Zendrop has direct integration with Shopify. This integration allows you to import print-on-demand products from Zendrop into your store at the click of a button.

When a customer orders an item, Zendrop automatically receives the order details and begins fulfillment. The Shopify integration lets entrepreneurs run their online stores without stress. 

Check what print-on-demand providers offer integrations with your chosen e-commerce platform. After deciding, head to your e-commerce platform’s app store and download the print-on-demand provider’s app.

Order samples

If possible, order samples of each product listed in your store. This step lets you evaluate product quality in person instead of relying primarily on third-party reviews and word of mouth. 

We recognize that ordering samples might not be possible due to limited funds. However, if possible, it’s an effective way to evaluate the print-on-demand provider’s product quality and printing accuracy.

Create mockups

You can use mockup tools to showcase print-on-demand designs in your store. In this age of artificial intelligence (AI), tools like Mockey.ai can show your product being worn by a computer-generated human model. 

Mockups make your store look professional and boost its credibility with customers. People, especially first-time shoppers, feel more comfortable ordering from professional-looking stores.

Find a niche

The e-commerce industry is fiercely competitive. Targeting a specific niche gives you the best chance of standing out and building a loyal customer base. 

Your niche can be a single product line, such as T-shirts, phone accessories, or wristwatches. The thinner your niche, the better your chances of effectively promoting products and building a loyal following. 

E-commerce stores selling a random product assortment tend to perform undesirably. It’s better to dominate a specific niche than to be a jack of all trades.

Customization techniques in print-on-demand

Learning about a print-on-demand business includes paying attention to printing techniques. Print-on-demand providers use different printing techniques of varying qualities. Consider which ones to choose based on your desired quality and price point.

Direct-to-garment (DTG) printing

The name of this printing technique is self-explanatory. Ink is printed directly onto fabric and left to soak in. When it dries, the fabric will be colorful and vibrant.

Example of a DTG-printed t-shirt

Source: Really Good Branding

Direct-to-garment printing is a popular method for producing decorative T-shirts, hoodies, and tote bags. This method is easy to scale, making it a top choice for fast-growing brands.

Sublimation printing

This method entails using high heat to transfer a design from a sublimation paper to a fabric. The combination of heat and pressure imprints the design on a material and makes it last long. Sublimation printing is perfect for all-over-print designs.

Example of sublimation printing

The drawback is that sublimation printing only works on polyester fabrics. It also doesn’t work for black or dark-colored materials because sublimation ink is too transparent to be printed on dark colors. 

Some manufacturers work around the dark colors by printing the design on white vinyl and then attaching it to the dark-colored fabric. However, this workaround significantly increases production costs, and many print-on-demand companies are unwilling to use it.

Screen printing

This technique involves forcing ink through a mesh screen onto a fabric. The printed material is durable, making it suitable for high-quality products. 

Screen printing example

Screen printing is affordable and easy to scale, making it suitable for businesses that sell mass-produced designs. If you plan to have a massive customer base, screen printing is an efficient way to make your products. 

Direct-to-film (DTF) printing

This technique involves printing a design onto a transfer film, which is then heat-pressed onto the desired fabric. 

DTF printing is becoming more popular because it works for most types of fabrics, including colors that can be challenging for other techniques to decorate, such as red and yellow.

With DTF printing, you can create high-quality products with minimal preparation. The printed products are durable and cost-effective, boosting your chances of selling them at high markups.

DTF printing example

Popular print-on-demand products

Choosing the right items to sell is a key aspect of learning what print-on-demand is. Some products are more popular than others in the print-on-demand niche, mainly T-shirts, eco-friendly products, and stationery. Let’s examine what makes them popular.

T-shirts

T-shirts are popular with print-on-demand companies because they have enormous demand and are easy to make. Almost everyone has T-shirts and keeps buying more. The better the design, the more attractive a t-shirt is to potential customers.

A T-shirt is a common starting point for entrepreneurs who want to launch print-on-demand businesses. Using different techniques, you can print stylish T-shirts and sell them at high markups.

Eco-friendly products

Climate change awareness is as high as ever, so people are seeking eco-friendly products to reduce environmental pollution. This growing demand has made eco-friendly products a staple of print-on-demand businesses.

You can sell sustainable products like reusable water bottles and bags. Bamboo-derived home decor is another top-selling eco-friendly product. These products are easy to make, and customers can tolerate high prices for creative designs. 

Drinkware and stationery

Many people prefer mugs and water bottles with creative designs. These designs help with personal expression and are aesthetically pleasing. If you’re a skilled designer, you can create the best visuals for drinkware items and make money when people buy them.

Notebooks, planners, calendars, envelopes, and other stationeries are also popular print-on-demand products. Many people love stationeries with vibrant colors, so you can make money by fulfilling their demands.

Zendrop offers a vast print-on-demand selection, including t-shirts, drinkware, stationery, and eco-friendly products. Our in-app tool streamlines the process of creating and listing products in your online store. Try our print-on-demand services today. 

Conclusion

This guide has described what a print-on-demand business is about and what makes this model popular. We’ve also described what the best print-on-demand platform is, depending on your preferences. 

The global print-on-demand market is expected to surpass $46 billion by 2031 from $6 billion currently. This statistic indicates rapid growth that you can leverage to build a successful print-on-demand business. Zendrop is your ideal partner for this business, so sign up and kickstart your venture today. 

FAQs about print-on-demand

Is print-on-demand profitable?

Yes, print-on-demand can be profitable if you put effort into designing unique, high-quality products. 

It’s not a get-rich-quick business model. Rather, it demands effort to create stunning designs, curate an in-demand product selection, and promote products to the right audience. These efforts are a critical part of learning what print-on-demand is about.

How do you price print-on-demand products?

You can price print-on-demand products by placing a fixed markup over the manufacturer’s price. For example, you can add a 50% markup to the cost of each item. After paying the print-on-demand manufacturer, this markup will cover your hosting and marketing costs and leave more profit for everyday expenses.

However, your pricing should be in line with those of your competitors. Over-pricing can drive customers away from your brand, so research your main competitors when setting prices.

Is print-on-demand good for beginners?

Yes, print-on-demand is a good business model for new e-commerce entrepreneurs. It enables you to launch an e-commerce business without the risks of creating a supply chain from scratch. You’ll outsource supply chain bottlenecks to a third party and focus more on design and branding.

Can you make passive income with print-on-demand?

Yes, you can make significant passive income with print-on-demand. However, it takes considerable time and effort to set up the business initially for long-term success. 

You’ll spend time creating enticing designs, choosing the right products, and promoting items to the right customers. If these efforts are successful, you can then relax and earn long-term revenue. 

Is dropshipping or print-on-demand better?

Print-on-demand and dropshipping are both good business models with respective pros and cons.

Dropshipping is best for people who want to launch e-commerce businesses quickly without customizing their products. In contrast, print-on-demand is perfect for people who want to customize their product lines extensively. The better choice depends on your personal business needs.

Can you start a print-on-demand business for free?

Yes, you can technically start a print-on-demand business for free. Many e-commerce platforms offer free trials you can leverage to build a store. Then, you can integrate a print-on-demand app for free. 

After your first badge of sales, you can use the profit to pay recurring hosting and marketing expenses. 

TikTok Shop is quickly becoming a go-to platform for online sellers, offering a fresh and engaging way to connect with a vast audience. Whether you’re new to e-commerce or exploring TikTok Shop for the first time, this guide will help you easily set up your seller account. Follow these steps, and you’ll be ready to showcase your products confidently.

Step 1: Visit the TikTok Shop Seller Registration Page

Start by accessing the TikTok Shop seller registration portal. You can find it directly on TikTok’s official site or in relevant resources. Once there:

1. Input your email address.
2. Create a strong password to secure your account.

After registration, you’ll be redirected to the account setup section.

Step 2: Select the Right Account Type

Next, TikTok will ask you to specify your business type. Choose from the following options based on your setup:

• Individual Seller. Ideal for those selling as a sole proprietor without a registered company.
• Business or Organization. Suitable for registered entities, such as corporations or partnerships.

For Individual Sellers, you’ll need to provide identity verification documents, like a passport or driver’s license. Make sure the uploaded images are clear to avoid approval delays.

Step 3: Complete Business Verification

Once you’ve uploaded your documents, TikTok will review your application. The outcome will depend on their verification process:

• Instant Approval. Your account gets approved immediately, allowing you to start selling immediately.
• Pending Review. Additional verification may take up to 24 hours, during which TikTok might request more details.

Factors like your location and account risk profile may influence the review process.

Step 4: Enter Your Tax Details

After your account is verified, the next step is to provide your tax information. This process includes:

1. Completing a W-9 form.
2. Adding your Social Security Number (SSN) or business tax identification number.
3. Entering your address and digitally signing the form.

 

Providing accurate tax information ensures compliance with regulations and allows TikTok to process payouts efficiently.

Step 5: List Your First Product

Now it’s time to add your first product to TikTok Shop. You have two main options for this step:

• Manual Upload. Manually input product details, including descriptions and images.
• Connect an Online Store. Sync your TikTok Shop with an existing Shopify store for effortless product management.

For Shopify users, syncing your store ensures a smooth workflow and synchronized inventory. This method can save you time and effort if you're running a dropshipping business. Check out detailed guides to make the connection process seamless.

Pro Tip: Leverage TikTok Campaigns and Promotions

Once your shop is live, TikTok may offer opportunities to join promotional campaigns, such as holiday sales or themed events. Participating in these initiatives can significantly increase your shop’s visibility and attract more buyers.

Final Words

Creating a TikTok Shop seller account is simple and beginner-friendly. By following this guide, you’ll have your account set up and your first product listed in no time. TikTok Shop opens new doors for online businesses, offering a dynamic way to connect with customers and grow your sales.

If you need help or have any questions during the setup, leave a comment below. We’re here to support your journey. Best of luck, and happy selling!

Promoting your dropshipping products effectively requires a strong advertising strategy, and TikTok ads can be a powerful tool to reach your audience. In this guide, we'll walk through the process of creating a TikTok ads campaign. Whether you're new to TikTok ads or a longtime user looking to refine your strategy, this article will provide everything you need to get started.

Step 1: Setting up your TikTok Ads account

Before creating an ad, ensure your TikTok Ads Manager account is up and running. If you're unfamiliar with this process, refer to a setup guide. Once your account is ready, navigate to the Campaign tab on your dashboard to create your first ad.

Step 2: Creating a new campaign

Click the red Create button to open the campaign creation page. Here, always choose the Advanced option. While the Basic mode offers automated features, Advanced gives you complete control over customization. For most dropshipping stores, select Website Conversions as your campaign goal. This option ensures ads drive traffic to your store and encourage purchases.

Pro Tip: Label your campaign clearly (e.g., “Zen Drop 1”) to keep track of your ads, especially when scaling with multiple campaigns.

Step 3: Using Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO)

Enable Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO) to manage your ad spending efficiently. For example, if you set a daily budget of $50 across four ads, CBO will automatically allocate funds to the best-performing ads. This approach saves money by focusing your budget on ads that deliver results.

Step 4: Creating ad groups and connecting a TikTok Pixel

Name your ad groups (e.g., “Ad Set 1”) for easy identification. Next, connect your TikTok Pixel. A Pixel is a small piece of code that tracks user actions on your website, such as clicks, add-to-cart events, and purchases. Pixel helps TikTok monitor and optimize your ads for better performance.

To set up a Pixel:

1. Go to your Shopify dashboard.
2. Install the TikTok app.
3. Sync the app with your TikTok Ads Manager account.
4. Create a new Pixel in Ads Manager.

Step 5: Configuring ad placements and targeting

When setting placements, select TikTok only and deselect other apps. For targeting:

• Focus on the United States (or your target region).
• Set the age range to 18+ for a higher likelihood of purchases.
• Keep genders and interests broad for initial testing.

If your initial targeting doesn’t perform well, you can later refine demographics, interests, and behaviors to optimize results.

Step 6: Setting your budget and schedule

For CBO campaigns, the minimum daily budget is $50. If you're starting with limited funds, stick to one campaign. For more robust testing, duplicate your campaign 4–5 times to compare performance across multiple ad sets.

Timing Tip: Schedule your ads to run from 8:00 a.m. to midnight, as these are peak shopping hours.

Step 7: Launch and monitor

Once your campaign is ready, click Next to finalize. TikTok will start running your ads the next day at the scheduled time. Monitor your campaign for a few days, identifying high-performing ads and increasing their budgets. Simultaneously, pause or remove underperforming ones.

Advanced testing strategy

If you have a budget of $100–$200 for initial testing, duplicate your campaign multiple times. TikTok’s algorithm may optimize different ads differently, so this approach allows you to find winners faster. After a few days, reallocate your budget to the best-performing ads.

Conclusion

Creating a TikTok ads campaign doesn’t have to be complicated. By following the steps in this guide, you can efficiently set up, run, and optimize campaigns. Whether testing one product or scaling multiple, the key lies in tracking performance and adjusting strategies as needed.

If you have questions or want to learn more about TikTok ads or dropshipping strategies, leave a comment below. Good luck with your campaigns!

 

TikTok Ads Manager provides a fantastic way to showcase your products or services to a broad and engaged audience. While setting up an account might seem complicated at first, it’s actually a very simple process. This guide will take you through the steps to ensure your account is ready to launch an ad campaign.

Step 1: Visit the TikTok Ads Manager registration page

To get started, go to the TikTok Ads Manager website. You can find the link on TikTok’s official page or through recommended sources. Once there:

1. Click the Get Started button located on the homepage.
2. Input your email address and create a secure password.

Although you can link this to an existing TikTok account, creating a separate account for advertising is generally better.

Step 2: Provide your business information

After verifying your email, TikTok will guide you to a page where you need to fill in your business details. Here’s what you need to complete:

1. Industry category. Choose a category that reflects your business, such as e-commerce, if you operate an online shop.
2. Business name. Enter a name for your Ads Manager account (e.g., “Zen Drop Campaigns”). This name is for internal use only and won’t be visible to customers.
3. Contact number. Provide a valid phone number to receive updates and notifications.
4. Business location. Indicate the state or country where your business operates.

If you intend to use the account for various projects or stores in the future, keep these details broad for versatility.

Step 3: Select a payment option

TikTok offers two types of payment methods for running ads:

1. Automatic payment. Charges are applied to your card whenever your ad spend reaches a predefined amount (e.g., $50 or $100). This ensures your campaigns keep running without interruption.
2. Manual payment. You pre-load funds into your account, and ads stop running once the loaded amount is used. This is an excellent choice for strict budget management.

Automatic payment is ideal if you value convenience. However, manual payment is a good alternative if you prefer tighter control over your spending.

Step 4: Familiarize yourself with the dashboard

Once your account is set up, you’ll access the TikTok Ads Manager dashboard. Here’s what you’ll find:

1. Campaign section. This is where you create and manage your campaigns. You can also track important metrics such as impressions, click-through rates, and spending.
2. Creative tools. TikTok’s Creative Library allows you to browse successful ad examples, discover trending formats, and conduct product research for your business.

1. Video editor. Use TikTok’s integrated editor to craft engaging ads without requiring separate editing software.
2. Analytics. You can access detailed reports to track your campaigns' performance, sales, and return on investment.

The dashboard also includes an Updates Area, where TikTok provides insights, feature announcements, and advertising tips.

Pro tips to get started

1. Test different strategies: Use the Campaign section to experiment with various ad formats and approaches, helping you identify what resonates best with your audience.
2. Learn from the creative library: Analyze successful ads to understand what works well on TikTok and incorporate similar strategies.
3. Leverage built-in tools: TikTok’s native tools, such as the video editor and analytics, make it easy to optimize your ads and track their effectiveness.

Final thoughts

Creating a TikTok Ads Manager account is a straightforward process that unlocks exciting advertising opportunities. By following the steps outlined here, you’ll be ready to launch your first campaign and reach your target audience effectively.

If you have additional questions or need guidance, leave a comment below. For more advanced strategies and campaign tips, check out the next guide in this series. Good luck, and happy advertising!