Finding any one of the 10 best things to sell online to make money could set you up for a very lucrative online selling career.
Ecommerce has exploded into a trillion-dollar industry in a short amount of time, and growth has nowhere near topped out. The global ecommerce market size is expected to continue growing by double digits through at least 2020, at which point it’s expected to be a $4 trillion industry. eMarketer also estimates that online sales will account for 14.6% of all retail sales at that point, nearly double the 7.4% total of just five years earlier. Needless to say, there’s a lot of money to be made selling things online.
Of course, competition is also fierce, and online sellers will need to do everything in their power to identify valuable niches and stay on top of the latest e-commerce trends, both in terms of how to reach customers and what the hottest items will be in the future. The sooner you’re selling something hot, the less competition you’ll have initially and the greater chance you’ll have of carving out a permanent niche with those items. Consider the current success of fidget spinners and the potential rewards from identifying that trend early, before everyone else had hopped on it.
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Another aspect to consider will be which countries to target. The world is your oyster online, and though shipping items to foreign countries could present some additional obstacles compared to selling primarily within your home country, the potential to gain access to a market with less competition or one where your products are in higher demand is too good to even think about passing up.
In terms of current e commerce market size by country, China easily leads the way at $672 billion in online sales, while the U.S is a distant second at $340 billion. Other major ecommerce markets include Germany, France, Canada, Japan, and Russia. These countries have varying levels of local ecommerce competition and growth potential, as well as varying levels of penetration by Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Speaking of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), the pros and cons of selling products through Amazon will have to be carefully considered by anyone delving into online sales. On the one hand, Amazon gives you access to a huge pool of customers and takes care of much of the heavy lifting for you.
However, selling primarily or completely through Amazon also limits your own growth potential. You’ll have trouble growing your individual brand on Amazon’s platform, and your margins will likely be extremely tight. After all, if you’re not selling a non-original product for the best price on the platform, you simply won’t be getting sales. On a personal website you have more flexibility with pricing and promotions, and greater access to your customers and the data related to their shopping habits.
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Now then, let’s get into the 10 best things to sell online to make money. Firstly, we should emphasize that the items on this list will be related to selling/reselling existing products, as opposed to creating and selling your own. It wouldn’t be much use for us to tell you to make custom products that you have no capability to make.
We considered multiple ways to attack the topic, but ultimately settled on finding ten product categories that are not only consistently popular, but which are also constantly evolving and growing, allowing sellers to find profitable trends and products within those categories. We felt this would make for a more useful list than just listing ten trending products right now (like the aforementioned fidget spinners), which could quickly lose their luster. These categories also provide decent margins. Check out our list beginning on the next page.
To get an idea of what some of the current best selling products online are, you can check out our list of the 10 Best Selling Products On Alibaba.
- Products for Seniors
Younger demographics have much greater internet penetration, but that also means there’s limited room for growth. That’s why baby boomers are actually a great demographic to target. More and more of them are coming online and they have lots of disposable income. Products you could consider selling in this category include adult diapers, hearing aids, walkers, and shower seats.
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- Pet Products
We move from seniors to pets, which are increasingly being lavished by their owners with expensive beds, toys, food, and garments. The U.S pet industry was a $66.75 billion one in 2016, with over $28 billion of that spending being on food, with natural foods for pets gaining in popularity. You can also sell grooming products, pest repellents, and travel carriers.
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- Tech Accessories
This is a broad category that will continue to see plenty of innovation. Wireless is all the rage right now, including wireless speakers/headphones and wireless chargers, while smart home gadgets are also poised for huge things. It’s expected that 193 million smart home products will be sold annually by 2020, more than double the number that were sold in 2015, so there should be plenty of opportunity in this category.
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- Clothing
Clothing will always be popular and greatly influenced by trends, so there’s potential for someone who knows their stuff (or is willing to learn) to make money in this category by staying on top of it. There’s also a growing collection of people buying and selling used clothing online, so don’t think you’re restricted to only selling new stuff.
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- Fashion Accessories
Fashion accessories are an additional way for people to develop their own looks and stand out from the crowd. Whether it’s hats, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, or bags, these items will always be in demand and are constantly being affected by the latest trends. They can also carry nice margins, particularly if you’re talking about luxury fashion accessories.
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- Non-Perishable Food Products
Selling food products online would’ve seemed bizarre a few years ago, but with the rise in popularity of expensive diet-based, organic, and gluten-free products, there’s a great deal of potential in this category. Oils like coconut oil and gluten-free flours are just some of the food products that are extremely popular right now.
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- Supplements
The supplements category is a huge one that caters to just about every person in some way. Whether it’s protein powders, hemp oil, or pills that are packed with every vitamin, mineral, or other ingestible substance known to man, supplements are definitely one of the 10 best things to sell online to make money.
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- Beauty Products
With our ever-increasing emphasis on selfies and picture taking, beauty products are more vital than ever. Women and men alike all want to look their best at all times, as someone could be posting a picture of them online at any moment. Needless to say, makeup, concealers, and all manner of skin care products won’t be losing popularity any time soon. Pro tip: follow the most popular social media stars covering beauty products on Instagram and YouTube and immediately stock anything they recommend, as sales of those items will instantly rise.
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- Collectibles
Collectibles like coins, sports cards, and various forms of memorabilia or limited-edition items are hot products that can be fun to find, research and sell. Collectibles will always be highly valued thanks to their relative scarcity and the fact that they may have special meaning to certain people. You’re also less likely to run into hordes of competition selling the exact same items as you, as finding collectibles isn’t as easy as just ordering a bunch of products off Alibaba that hundreds of other people have also ordered with the same goal of selling them as you.
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- Antiques
Topping our list of the 10 best things to sell online to make money is antiques, which will always be in huge demand and will only continue to appreciate in value as the years go by. As with collectibles, antiques is one of the only categories where you’ll be selling something that could be completely unique, letting you stand out from the crowd and giving you pricing power. Antique hunting can also be quite fun in its own right, as you scour flea markets, visit antique shops, and take part in estate auctions to find coveted goods that you can resell for a profit. That makes antique selling a thrilling, fun, and profitable adventure that shouldn’t be passed up.
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Have any online selling tips to share with our readers, or predictions on which products will be the best to sell online? Feel free to share them below in the comments.
Disclosure: None
