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So you're interested in dropshipping and starting a store, but you have no idea what to sell. Fortunately, dropshipping allows you to quickly test and validate different ideas you might have. If you don't have any ideas yet, we're going to talk about finding ideas for products to sell and then quickly evaluate that product idea before moving on to testing. The first thing you can do to get the idea ball rolling is to find what is already selling. To increase your chances of success, consider entering a proven niche with hot products.
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To start, look at marketplaces such as Amazon, Etsy and eBay and go through their best sellers to begin to collect ideas. Start by looking through the categories you have experience, expertise, knowledge or interest in. You don't need to be interested in the product you're selling, it just helps create the spark for the idea process. So, for example, I like drinking tea, so I might start off in the food categories or simply search "tea" and sort by the best sellers to see what I get.
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However, the product we end up with might not be something we've a lot of interest or knowledge in. I only recommend this as a starting point. Merchants sell products for other reasons besides being passionate about their products. So, one is opportunity. If we're able to find a low competition niche, an opportunity to market a product differently or solve a problem that nobody else has solved yet, it might be enough to decide on a product to sell or niche to target.
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So, finding these opportunities takes a lot of brainstorming and research. One tool you can use to help you with this is Google Keyword Planner. The second reason is trend. Every so often, a new trend comes along, creating opportunity to build a business. Whether it's hover boards, fidget spinners or diet teas, new trends come and go. Some trends wind up being fads, others were years in the making before they caught on.
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Catching these trends isn't always easy but if you see something new emerging it might be worth jumping in or at least testing. Finding these trends takes a lot of patience and research. One resource I like is Google Trends, or even looking at YouTube's trending videos to see what the most common theme is. Sometimes it's reviews for a particular kind of product. If you're looking for more inspiration, I would check out consumer product review blogs such as Uncrate, Bless This Stuff and Cool Material, or check out social curation sites such as as Pinterest, Polyvore, Fancy or Wanelo.
