We all want to know the hot dropshipping niches, but what about the dropshipping niches and products to avoid? Is every niche a good choice to pick? Read here to find out!
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Hi there, my name is Richard, and I have done some research regarding dropshipping niches to avoid. And I want to share it with you!
In my early dropshipping career I tried to dropship everything, I was desperate after getting sales, and I have to say I’m happy that some of them failed.
I have a rule that I want to order what I’m promoting, regardless of this is dropshipping or affiliate marketing. I did not order products while testing what selling, but if I got a few sales, I did order to check both the product and the supplier. I want to share some of my experience here for you to learn.
Dropshipping products to avoid: Clothing
There was a time where I was selling a few gloves that I saw was several ads on Facebook. Several stores in the hiking/survival niche were selling those gloves. So I had to test them myself, even I was a bit hesitant.
I added the product to my store and made a test run on Facebook. The initial results were ok and received a couple of sales. Then it was time to order them myself.
After a couple of weeks, I received the gloves, and they were cool! I tried them on and… no. I don’t have that big hands so if they didn't fit me, I would definitely not being the only one.
Actually I received one complain where I refunded the person. I assume the others didn't care and I didn't sell so many before I received mines. So I stopped my ads for this product before I got more complaints and moved on.
I have also tried jackets, but even I ordered 2 sizes bigger I didn't like the size. I had this size chart on my page, but who know every measure of their body when they are ordering?
So stay away from clothing.
Dropshipping products to avoid: Electronics
Dropshipping electronics from China can be a bit risky. When you are dealing with products that use electrical power, you need to have your certification on the products in place. Do they follow the rules and regulations in the country you are selling to?
And what if something similar as this incident is happening? A family's house burned down because of an exploding battery. There are some more power and risk involving large batteries as used in this device, but most people that start their dropshipping business start without LLC. This is something you usually think about when you have some income. What if a house burns down because of faulty electrical device you have sold them? Are you protected? Or will you be in debt for the rest of your life… I do not think about lives that are at risk if a house burns down, we have enough to think about if a house burns down.
You need to think about this when selling electrical products, what could go wrong and is the risk worth it? Most likely the product is very good and will never start a fire, but make sure to check the product certification.
Dropshipping products to avoid: Glasses, mugs, and similar products - Expect some higher refund rates
Want to drop ship this new cool mug you found on Aliexpress? Products that break easily during transport is not the best choice. The sellers on Aliexpress wants to protect their goods and will pack the product good, but regardless you need to expect a few more refunds. Some of them will be through their credit card company. At Aliexpress you need pictures to receive a refund, my experience with stripe and PayPal is that isn't always so easy to win a chargeback.
I’m not saying you never should dropship products like that, just that you need to be aware of the higher risk and you need to expect a couple of more refunds.
Dropshipping products to avoid: Copy infringement products
Stay away from copy infringed products. To sell copy infringement products is against the law. You will probably get away with it in the beginning, but you will get in trouble after some time. And most of the time you can just ignore the DMCA letter and remove the products, and you are fine. But what if they decide to set precedence and you are the unlucky target? My advice is to stay away and don't sell products like that.
And if you want some traction and desperately want some customers, stop selling before you are noticed. You can build up an audience of buying customers and create a lookalike audience in Facebook to sell similar products to. Find new products that are not copy protected and sell it to the newly created lookalike audience. This method can work because copy-protected products probably are easier to sell.
But I recommend not to take the risk. Don't sell copy infringed products, you can't build a long-term business, and you don't want to be chased by lawyers from companies with deep wallets that want to set an example.
Dropshipping products to avoid: weapons
Most advertisers don't allow to make ads about weapons. You can make a page post about it, but don't create ads.
I tried myself to dropship a carabiner with a knife. A great product for hikers and I loved it myself. I sold a couple of thousands carabiner, but then facebook shut down my ads, and I was suddenly without a winning product. Was fun as long it lasted, but not a business for the long run.
I'd you want to have a business for the long run, don't break Facebook's rules regarding weapons. Knives are weapons, even if it's a short one made for hiking and outdoor life.
Stay away from self-protection devices
Thinking about dropshipping self-protection equipment to let's say women? That can be a good business idea, but bad dropshipping advice. One thing is that this is hard to advertise on especially Facebook. Facebook didn't like my carabiner with a knife as mentioned above, so good luck with self-protection devices. Another thing is government rules and regulations regarding whats allowed to send between countries.
So check the laws before you start selling or your customers will complain when they don't receive what they're ordered because of the customs.
Alternative medicine products are ok to dropship, but with restriction
If you want to sell products in the alternative medicine niche, you are allowed to do so, but be careful with the health claims. Both Facebook and payment processors have strict rules regarding such claims.
Conclusion
Dropshipping is a lucrative business, but you need to know what you want to stay away from.
Why?
Because the payment merchant don't like dropshipping and if you receive a higher refund rate then the standard, they will investigate and maybe shut down your account or set limitations that may shut down your business. For products you cant sell through Shopify payments, you can read section B5 in their terms of service.
For products you cant advertise on Facebook and Instagram, you can check their policies here.
Do you have some experience of products or niches dropshippers should stay away from? Comment below!
If you are new to dropshipping, you want to check out a dropshipping course I have bought. You can read more about this course here.
