The Best and the Worst AliExpress Products to Dropship

by Stanley

THE BEST AND THE WORST ALIEXPRESS PRODUCTS TO DROPSHIP

AliExpress is a popular B2C marketplace where you can find thousands of suppliers selling millions of products from around the world. 

So it doesn’t come as a surprise that the majority of the dropshippers also source their products from AliExpress. Yet, not every product listed there is worth investing your time and money on. 

This is why if you’re confused by the overwhelming variety, then we’ve got you covered. 

In this article we’ll discuss the characteristics of the best products to dropship on AliExpress along with the worst that you should avoid. 

Let’s get right into it!

Characteristics of the Best AliExpress Products to Dropship

Struggling with product hunting? Just keep the following characteristics in mind to make your life easier: 

1) High Profit Margin

The average dropshipping profit margin is recommended to be around 10-20% per product. So if you’re selling a $10 product, then you hardly get to keep like $1-$2 max. 

We know, this doesn’t sound like a lot. This is why if you want to increase your profit, then start selling high ticket products. High ticket products typically start from $200 – $600. 

So if let’s say you’re selling a product worth $500, and you keep 20% on that then you’re bagging $50 per sale, which is pretty good as opposed to $1 per sale. 

That’s why if you’re experienced enough, then high ticket dropshipping is an option worth considering. But of course, it’s not necessary to go for it, especially if you aren’t feeling confident. 

Product Example: Tents 

Tents best AliExpress products to dropship

This nature hike inflating tent is a great example of how to find the perfect high ticket dropshipping product. Since it is inflatable, it can easily be packed and shipped to your customers. 

At the same time, you’re keeping a decent profit on each sale. But of course, marketing products at such a high price is a challenge as well, that’s why this strategy is normally recommended for more experienced dropshippers. 

Nonetheless, tents are still a great product to dropship and you can also find cheaper tents that cost around $50-$100 per unit. 

2) Large Market 

Just because a market is “oversaturated” doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get into it. Think of it in a way that oversaturation simply means that the product is high in demand. 

So although you’ll find many suppliers selling that product, you’ll find even more buyers for it. 

That’s why if you don’t have any clue about which product to dropship then you can perhaps start with the ones that already have an established market. 

Product Example: Yoga Mats

Yoga mats

With the growing fitness trend, it doesn’t come as a surprise why yoga mats are one of the hottest dropshipping products

This seller has also done a pretty good job with over 2,000 orders and also a solid 4.8 rating to attract more buyers. 

So overall, if not yoga mat, then fitness-related products, in general, are a solid choice nowadays. 

3) Easy to Ship

Unless you know your way around logistics, we recommend that you stick to products that are easy to ship. The smaller the product is, the less likely it is to get damaged while shipping. 

This is why we especially recommend beginner dropshippers to go for smaller products. 

The likelihood that you’ll deal with angry customers complaining about a broken product is quite low unless you’re sending something fragile in the package. 

Product Example: Phone Cases

Phone cases

As you can see in the picture above, phone accessories and phone cases, in particular, are evergreen products. Even though it’s a saturated market, it isn’t too difficult for you to find your place in it. 

If you’re providing good quality at a great price, then they’re prone to sell like hotcakes. 

Besides that, there’s only a slim chance that it’ll reach in a bad condition, unless there has been a mistake during its manufacture. 

4) High Upsell Potential

Finding products with upsell potential plays a huge role in helping you keep your store afloat. If you want to get recurring orders then sell products that you can upgrade or offer add-ons for. 

Product Example: Gaming Headphones

Gaming headphones

Gaming headphones and gaming accessories, in general, are great examples of products with a decent upsell potential. New headsets are released every other month, and the customers also show frequent willingness to upgrade. 

So this is a fast-growing niche and if you want to get started with it, then gaming headphones are something that you cannot go wrong with. 

5) Hard to Locally Find 

There are many people who still prefer offline shopping. But what if it’s a product that they aren’t easily able to find in the market? That’s another aspect you can consider during your product hunting phase.

You can even ask yourself, what are some products that you aren’t easily able to find near your home? If anything comes to your mind, then do more research on it to see whether it’s worth dropshipping. 

Product Example: Power Tools

Power tools

More and more people are getting into woodworking and general DIY projects nowadays. So why not capitalize on the growing demand for power tools? 

They even fit the description as most people do not have a shop that sells power tools near their home. Just look at the numbers above. This seller alone has more than 15,000 orders for a cordless drill. 

And it’s also moderately priced, so you make a decent amount of profit on each sale. 

6) Reliable Manufacturers

Dropshipping is a tricky business, mainly because you’re entirely dependent on your supplier. This is why you need to be extra careful and make sure that you’re dealing with someone reliable. 

This might not be as big of an issue for smaller products like phone cases. However, if you’re dropshipping something bulkier, then make sure that the products aren’t susceptible to faulty manufacturing. 

We know this can be a bit difficult to control as a dropshipper. But most of the time, checking the reviews of the supplier can give you a good hint of whether they’re trustworthy or not. 

Product Example: Chairs

Chairs

Unlike phone cases, chairs have higher chances of having a manufacturing fault. It could be damaged material, faulty craftsmanship, or anything else that might cause a defect to the piece. 

This is why if you’re dropshipping a product like this, then be sure to stick with suppliers who have a rating higher than 4.5. If it’s below that, then thoroughly check their reviews to learn more about the complaints of the buyers. 

7) Triggers Impulse Purchase

We’re all guilty of impulsively buying things that we did not need. The props for that go to good marketing. There’s a common tactic sellers often use for such products in which they offer a “hot discount” to create a sense of urgency. 

In short, you don’t always have to think outside the box. You can sell ordinary products as long as you’re able to reach your target audience and captivate them enough to go for the purchase. 

Product Example: Shoes

Shoes

The chances are that you may have also ordered a pair at least once from an ad that you saw online. 

Whether it was due to the cool design, or because of how cheap it looked – it did trigger an impulsive purchase from you. 

That’s why even if you aren’t choosing shoes, you can go for other casual everyday products like clothing, watches, and even socks. 

8) Great for Daily Use

Another great way to get the attention of potential buyers is to again show them products that they may use in their everyday lives. Basically, you must target the growing needs of your customers. 

Even if the market is saturated, don’t worry. If it’s used almost daily by people, then there’s probably a high demand for it as well. This, in turn, would make it easier for you to get sales. 

Product Example: Water Bottles

Water bottles

Water is a basic necessity, so as we mentioned earlier, you don’t have to come up with anything unique to get sales. but a bit of creativity can go a long way.

For this one, we really like the motivational design on the bottle. Whether you’re at the home, office, or in the gym, this water bottle will act as a great reminder of how much water you’ve drunk to help you stay hydrated. 

9) Budget Friendly

Another great strategy is to target products that are both affordable and useful.

This is a characteristic where you’d have to do some brainstorming. 

One tip is to look for products that you might not need in your daily life, but you’d still buy them due to how cheap they are. 

Product Example: Back Massager

Back massager

You probably didn’t see this one coming, but we all know how annoying it can be to scratch our backs. Well, back massagers are a product that most people don’t think about, yet, they would end up buying it anyway if they see it. 

Targeting trendy products can always be a great way to bag in some quick sales. However, there’s a difference between short-term and long-term trends. We suggest that you only go for products that target the latter. 

Product Example: Temporary Tattoo

Temporary tattoo

Tattoos are a huge commitment and once you get one, there’s no going back. We know, nowadays there are surgical techniques that can remove them, but they’re quite expensive, and can be a hassle to go through. 

This is why these temporary tattoo stickers can be a great product to dropship. These temporary tattoo stickers can be used by people to see how a tattoo looks on their skin without actually getting inked. 

Characteristics of the Worst AliExpress Products to Avoid Dropshipping 

Narrowing down your list of options can help you get closer to your desired product. So here are some characteristics of the worst products that you should avoid dropshipping: 

1) Highly Fragile 

Dropshipping is considered to be a low-risk business model because you don’t have an inventory and your supplier also takes care of the shipping. 

But if you’re going for fragile products then this can backfire because you have no control over the logistics. 

The product may be delivered in a damaged condition to the customers. And it is likely to happen from time to time, which can be awful for the reputation of your store. 

Product Example: Glass Storage Case

Glass storage case

This storage case is a fine example of how quickly dropshipping fragile products can go wrong. 

There have only been 6 reviews on the store and still, they have an average rating of 3.8. The reason for that is probably due to the customers receiving a damaged product. 

2) Costly to Source

Once again, if you’re exclusively targeting high ticket dropshipping, then this characteristic wouldn’t apply to you. Unless it’s a product that is not only expensive but also fragile. 

This is probably the worst combination you could go for. That’s because if the supplier isn’t cooperative and the product gets damaged while shipping, then you would have to bear the cost of a refund from your own pocket. 

Product Example: Dressing Table with Mirror

Dressing table with mirror

This dressing table with mirror costs $64 on sale, which is fairly a high sourcing price, yet, they only have a single order. That too hasn’t clearly gone too well. 

The only thing we can say is, ouch! That 1-star rating must’ve hurt, that too on their very first sale. 

Just take this example and note down to yourself that high ticket fragile products should always be avoided. 

3) Too Big to Ship

Unless you know your way around logistics, we wouldn’t recommend dropshipping furniture and other huge products. 

The profit margin may look compelling but order fulfillment would become a nightmare especially if you’re new to the business. 

Product Example: Luxury King Bed

Luxury king bed

The high price point of this product can indeed help you generate a huge profit, but only if done right. The rating of this supplier shows that they were clearly lacking somewhere. 

Dropshipping a product of this size is already difficult, and if you lack experience, then you’re bound to face some serious problems with your customers. 

4) Low Upsell Potential 

This specific characteristic is only for entrepreneurs who are starting a one-product store. Since you don’t have a lot of variety to offer, you need to find a way to get recurring sales. 

So if that’s your plan, then we recommend looking for products that can be upgraded. An example of this is the gaming headphones that we suggested above. 

Product Example: Household Items

Household items

Selling musical instruments like guitars is a decent idea for one product store. But random products like this automatic toothpaste dispenser simply don’t cut it. How are you even going to upsell this product? 

These kinds of products may go well with a niche store that you can build around oral hygiene. Otherwise, perhaps a general store in which you can sell pretty much anything. 

5) Counterfeit Products

Needless to say, counterfeit products should always be avoided. Not only are they illegal on AliExpress but most of them are also low quality. In the worst-case scenario, the platform you’re selling it on might even ban your store for it. 

Product Example: Shoes

Shoes

You’re seeing shoes in this article again, except this time, it’s for awareness. Shoes are one of the most common counterfeit products you’ll find online. 

Especially if you open Instagram or other social media platforms, there will be a ton of sellers selling a cheap copy of a popular brand.

While these shoes aren’t from a particular brand, the reviews do look a bit concerning. 

6) Temporarily Trendy

As a business owner, it’s important for you to judge whether a trend is temporary or here to stay. 

It might be tempting to jump on a bandwagon, but building your store around a product that will be forgotten within a few weeks is pointless. 

Unless you’re building a general product store, don’t waste your efforts on short-term trends.

Product Example: Fidget Spinners

Fidget spinners

We all witnessed the rise and fall of fidget spinners. And despite the rating and order numbers, this isn’t a great product to dropship. 

The popularity of fidget spinners only lasted a couple of weeks or months at max, and now, most people simply don’t care about them.

There are way more interesting toys for entertainment. And unfortunately, there are probably hundreds if not thousands of suppliers who bought an endless stock of fidget spinners right before their hype died down. 

This shows the harm you can cause to your business by hopping on short-term trends. 

7) Potentially Dangerous

Products like non-culinary knives and of course, firearms, are also off-limits. 

The reason is every country has its own laws, and some of the products may also require you to get a license. 

In our opinion, the hassle is simply not worth it, especially with so many other options out there. 

Product Example: Hunter Knives

Hunter knives

We’re not denying that this is a solid knife and an overall durable product. 

But the problem with tactical gear dropshipping is that you need to be well-versed with the laws of the country. 

And you never know, some of them may even amend their laws to restrict the import of such products. 

So while we’re not completely against these kinds of products, we don’t recommend them either. 

Although kitchen knives are totally fine so here’s a list of the best kitchen knife manufacturers to source from.

8) Cheap Quality 

The general idea while hunting a product should be to offer a mix of both quality and affordability. 

Many store owners often experiment by selling a low-quality product at dirt cheap prices. 

However, that’s still not a good strategy because you’d still get negative reviews from the buyers. 

Product Example: Earphones

Earphones

Make no mistake, the rating of these earphones isn’t bad. 4.3 is considered to be pretty decent, but the problem is, it’s still relatively low in this highly saturated niche. 

This is probably because the customers didn’t like the sound quality these earphones offered. However, before writing their review, they completely disregarded its low price, which we do think is a bit unfair.

But overall, it’s a great example that cheap quality with low price isn’t really a good combination to count on. 

Products that can potentially trigger allergic reactions or edibles, in general, should be avoided. 

Unless you’re dropshipping directly from a reputable brand or sourcing service, you never know what ingredients your local supplier is using. 

In the worst-case scenario, it can even get you into legal trouble. 

Product Example: Supplements

Supplements

Supplements and skincare products are quite risky to dropship. If they cause any health-related issue then you can find yourself in hot waters. 

On top of that, a couple of bad reviews are enough to tarnish your reputation. 

Even for this product, we don’t know about you, but we’d have a hard time trusting a supplier with a 4.0 rating selling supplements. 

10) Limited Advertisement Potential

Products that are difficult to market or those that have limited advertisement potential should obviously be avoided. After all, dropshipping is essentially all about effective marketing. And if you aren’t able to openly do that, then reconsider your niche. 

Product Example: Sex Toys

Sex toys

Sex toys fall in the category of a niche market. Despite their popularity, they aren’t worth dropshipping mainly due to their limited advertisement potential. 

Platforms like Facebook do not even allow the marketing of sex toys. So as we mentioned above, if you aren’t able to effectively market a product, then it has no place in a dropshipping store. 

FAQs about Dropshipping AliExpress Products

If you’re using the same product images as your supplier, then usually, it shouldn’t be an issue. Just make sure to remove their logo and if you still feel skeptical, then you can always ask for permission. 

Although, for better SEO we still suggest that you click your own high-quality product images. Especially if your supplier hasn’t done too good of a job. 

Can I Dropship Any Product from AliExpress?

Yes, you can talk to the supplier and dropship most of the products on AliExpress. But the question is, should you do it? No. 

Before you start dropshipping a product, you have to thoroughly study market trends, as well as check the reliability of the supplier through reviews. 

Dropshipping just about any product that you find would never work and you’ll end up wasting your time and money. 

Is Dropshipping AliExpress Products Profitable? 

Yes, many suppliers on Amazon also source their products from AliExpress. The reason is that you can find some of the lowest-priced products on the platform. 

And the lower the price of the product, the higher the profit margin. So in short, dropshipping AliExpress products is indeed profitable. 

Final Thoughts 

There’s no denying that AliExpress offers an endless variety of products to dropship. But that’s also the reason why it’s so easy to go wrong.

This is why before you finalize a product, make sure to check which characteristic it falls under. 

And if you’re interested in getting the above-mentioned best Aliexpress products to dropship or any other product sourced, then NicheDropshipping can assist you. 

We can not only connect with the most reputable suppliers but also help you custom the products to build a private label brand.

So feel free to contact us to learn more about how you can benefit from our services. 

About the Author

stanley nieh ceo

Stanley​

Over 10 years of experience in foreign trade
Helped 2k+ customers improve their dropshipping businesses

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