How To Find Winning Products Like a Pro Dropshipper (2024)

Wondering ‘How to find a winning product? Awesome!

See, finding good products to sell is one of the biggest challenges you’ll face on your entrepreneurial journey.

And If you’ve ever wondered how some dropshipping stores make mega-profits while others struggle to survive, it often comes down to having a smokin’ hot product that customers just can’t resist.

Sure, things like store design, branding, and your marketing skills all come into the mix, but without a solid product to ship, you’ll be hard-pressed to promote your Shopify store.

Think about it, you could be the best marketer in the world, but if nobody wants your offer, you’re toast. On the other hand, if people are dying to get their hands on what you’re selling, then even mediocre marketing can bring in profitable sales.

So, in this article, we’re going to break down 5 practical steps that’ll help you sniff out winning products from a mile off.

Sounds good? Let's jump in!

What is a Winning Product?

When we talk about a "winning product," we’re referring to a product that’s driving high sales figures and profits.

The phrase comes from the world of dropshipping. See, many dropshippers employ a strategy whereby they quickly test a wide range of products with the aim of finding the best product to sell that make lots of money (i.e. a winning product)

Now, the first step to find a winning product is to know characteristics of a good dropshipping product. This will help you sort the wheat from the chaff.

So, when using the research methods below, look for a dropshipping product that meets most of the following criteria:

• The product is relatively easy to ship
• Ships quickly via ePacket, DHL, or another fast shipping method
• Not overly technical (e.g., a drone)
• Hard to find in regular stores
• Has good markup potential (200%+)
• It catches your eye while browsing
• Has emotional appeal (preferably related to a passion or hobby)
• Facebook allows you to advertise it (supplements, weapons, etc. are off the table)

Now, not all winning products have these characteristics. But in general, the more of these characteristics a product has, the more likely it is to be a winning product.

How to Find a Winning Product (5 Methods)

Now that you know how to spot a winning product, let’s talk tactics. There’s lots of ways you can find winning products, but here’s the best methods we’ve used when building out successful dropshipping stores:

1. Study Amazon Best Sellers

While this isn’t a revolutionary way to find trending products, it’s worth mentioning because Amazon has a bestsellers list that’s updated every hour

The beauty of using Amazon’s bestsellers to get product ideas is that you know there’s a proven market for them. The customers are out there, you just have to use your skills to find them.

For example, one of the best sellers in the kitchen and dining section on Amazon are these insulated water bottles:

With almost 4,000 reviews, these are crazy popular right now. And with sustainability booming at the minute the demand is only going up. Just one quick search on Aliexpress later and we’ve found a similar product that we can dropship on Shopify:

As you can see, on amazon these bags are selling for $29.99, while you can pick them up on Aliexpress for just $14. That leaves you a nice margin that you can pour into facebook ads to scale your store to the moon.

Pro Tip: Amazon’s ‘Movers & Shakers’ section shows you products that are quickly growing in popularity so you can find winning products before they become saturated.

2.Use TikTok Search

Lots of dropshippers use tiktok to advertise their winning products. So, we can find their ads by using a couple of search terms on TikTok.

Open TikTok and then navigate to the "discover" section located at the bottom of your mobile device's screen. Next input one of the five phrases, also referred to as ‘hashtags’ below:

#tiktokmademebuyit

#amazonfinds

#coolgadgets

#amazonreview

#productreview

Next we want to filter the results. So, hit the filter icon in the top right hand corner of your screen and change ‘date posted’ to ‘last three months’. This shows us the best trending products, as opposed to products that are over-saturated.

Next, search through the filtered videos, looking for TikToks that have 100k likes and above (likes, not views). Also, check out the comments to see what people are saying about it (if people are showing purchase intent - commenting things like ‘where can i get this?’ - it’s a very good sign)

Here’s an example of a dropshipper who’s selling home tools that I found using TikTok:

Lastly, check to see if the product satisfies most of the winning product criteria we outlined above - especially regarding shipping. If so, like the video - this saves it to your profile so you can view it later. Rinse and repeat until you have lots of potential products saved!

3. Use Facebook Search

Lots of dropshippers use Facebook video ads to promote their products and drive traffic to their stores.

You can easily discover their high performing products by searching for key terms that they use in their ad copy. Here are some phrases to get you going:

• Shop Now
• 30/40/50% Off
• Free Shipping
• Tag someone who needs this
• Limited Time Only

Get creative and think about phrases that your future competitors might use in their ads. If you’re aiming for a specific niche, don’t forget to add keywords specific to that interest.

Again, we want to find trending products. So, filter the results by ‘video’ and set the ‘date posted’ to ‘this month.’

Spot good products by looking at ads that have a high number of comments, likes, and shares. If people are saying things like ‘I need this’ or ‘I want one’ that’s a good sign.

Once you find a few winning product ideas, head on over to Aliexpress, see if you can locate the same/a similar product, then start dropshipping it!

Pro Tip: You can use the Facebook ad library to see all of the ads that a dropshipper is running. This can give you inspiration to create your own ads, or show you the other products that a particular advertiser is testing.

4. Bookmark eBay Watchcount

Another useful tool in your product-hunting bow is a website called eBay Watchcount.

Here you’ll find an aggregation of the products with the most watchers on eBay. And guess what? People watching a product means they’re highly interested in buying it.

You can search using keywords, or by category. As you can see above the most popular product in pet supplies is a sturdy dog harness.

Hop over to any dropshipping supplier and see if you can locate similar products to those on eBay Watchcount - it’s typically a good proxy for what products the market is interested in.

No matter what niche you’re in, eBay watchcount helps you keep an eye on what consumers are interested in and always provides ideas for new products.

5. Use Google Trends

Google Trends is a great accessory tool you can use to see if a product is growing or declining in popularity. If you’ve found a product you think might be a winner, pop it into google trends to see if you’re early or late to the party.

Simply plug in the product you’re thinking of selling, choose your target market and get immediate results. You can filter your results by country, category, source, and interest over time.

Above, you can see that the sport of pickleball is absolutely popping off in terms of popularity right now. This would make it an excellent niche to enter if you can find suitable products that pickleball players want.

In all, Google Trends is a great tool if you’re deciding between two products as it allows you to compare the buzz around the products for free. 

Winning Product Examples From Successful Dropshipping Stores

Now that you know how to find winning products, let’s look at some winning product examples to inspire your search. These products are from some of the most successful dropshipping stores. Nowadays, some of the stores have transitioned to a private label model - but they all started as dropshipping stores originally.

1. FlexStrap

FlexStrap is a beautiful one-product dropshipping store selling a product that helps ease back pain. We particularly like their clean store design & the digital products that they give away for free with each purchase.

2. ScalpHero

Scalp Hero is a high-ticket dropshipping store that sells a scalp massage. They have nice consistent branding use lots of social proof and customer reviews to encourage more conversions on their store

3. The Cloudies

The Cloudies is one of the best Shopify stores using the dropshipping model to sell footwear. They’re an excellent example of how you can outshine your competition by going the extra mile with professional product photography.

4. Pocket Speech

Pocket Speech is a successful dropshipping store selling audible flashcards for kids to help them find their voice. Check out how they bundle products together with a discount to increase their average order value.

5. SilkyBrush

SilkyBrush is a dropshipping store that sells winning products in the pet niche. Their best selling product is a dog brush that helps owners make their hounds coat nice and smooth.

How to Find a Winning Product with Product Research Tools

Okay so we’ve covered the best manual method to help you find winning products. But there’s also several software options that can help you speed up the process. If you’ve tried the manual methods and can’t root out any good ideas, then these four tools are worth considering:

1. AutoDS

AutoDS is a dropshipping management platform that automates various tasks related to managing an online store. It integrates with multiple marketplaces and provides a centralized platform for managing orders, inventory, pricing, and product research.

One of AutoDS's key features is its product research tool, which helps users find profitable products to sell by analyzing sales data and other metrics. Users can also filter search results by criteria like price, category, and supplier.

AutoDS's "Hot Products" feature shows users the top-selling products across various marketplaces, updating the list regularly based on sales data. This can help users quickly identify popular products to add to their store.

The platform also offers competitor analysis tools to help users analyze their competitors' sales data and pricing strategies. This can provide valuable insights into what's working in their niche and help users make informed decisions about their own product selection and pricing.

2. Sell The Trend

Sell The Trend is an all-in-one dropshipping platform that provides a range of tools to help users find and sell winning products. The platform includes a product research tool, a store builder, a Facebook Ad creator, and more.

Sell The Trend's product research tool allows users to search for trending and profitable products across multiple platforms, including AliExpress, Amazon, and eBay. It also includes a "Nexus" feature, which uses AI to identify related products and niches.

The platform's store builder makes it easy to create a professional-looking store quickly. It includes pre-designed templates, product page customization tools, and more.

Sell The Trend's Facebook Ad creator is another useful feature. It allows users to create high-converting ad campaigns quickly, using pre-made templates and targeting options.

3. EComHunt

Ecomhunt is a dropshipping product research platform that helps users find and sell winning products. The platform provides a range of tools to help users identify trending and profitable products, including a product database, ad insights, and more.

One of Ecomhunt's key features is its product database, which includes a curated selection of winning products that are updated daily. Users can search the database by category, price range, and other criteria to find products that fit their niche.

Ecomhunt's ad insights feature provides valuable data on successful Facebook ad campaigns, including targeting options, ad copy, and more. This can help users create effective ad campaigns for their own products.

The platform also includes a "hunt" feature, which allows users to submit products they believe are trending and profitable. Ecomhunt's team then evaluates these products and adds them to the product database if they meet the criteria.

4. Niche Scraper

Niche Scraper is a product research tool that helps users find and sell winning products for their dropshipping business. The platform includes a range of features and tools to help users identify profitable niches and products, including a product database, store analysis, and more.

Niche Scraper's product database includes a curated selection of profitable products that are updated daily. Users can search the database by category, price range, and other criteria to find products that fit their niche.

The platform's store analysis feature provides valuable insights into successful online stores, including the products they sell, their pricing strategies, and more. This can help users identify trends and opportunities in their niche.

Niche Scraper also includes a "trend explorer" feature, which allows users to identify trending products and niches based on search volume and other data.

How to Find Winning Products: Don't overcomplicate it!

When it comes to finding a winning product, your success boils down to your research. Many people throw a bunch of random products to their stores in the hope that one will stick, or choose a niche because it’s seen as being trendy or cool.

But if your goal is to become a dropshipping pro, then you can’t leave your product selection to chance. You have to get strategic and methodical in your approach.

While the resources outlined above can increase your chances of finding a wildly profitable product to dropship, you may still have to test many products before you find your winner.

By setting smart goals, keeping your eyes on the prize, and working your butt off, it won’t be long before you root out a killer product and launch your business into the stratosphere.