15 Dropshipping Niches to Avoid

Dropshipping niches to avoid

There are certain dropshipping niches to avoid completely in 2022 if you want to succeed as a dropshipper. These niches are either over-saturated, bound by stiff legal laws, or are just difficult to get into. 

Be it as it may, dropshipping can be a widely profitable adventure if you are smart enough to pick the right niche. 

Still don’t know what dropshipping is all about? 

Dropshipping is a form of eCommerce that allows you to sell products to customers without keeping inventory. You buy from a supplier and ship directly to your customers. 

You don’t have to store those products, neither do you have to worry about shipping – the supplier takes care of that. 

As we earlier said, your success as a dropshipper depends largely on the dropshipping niche you pick. A niche, simply, is a sub-segment of a market you decide to focus on. 

By way of illustration, if you want to get into the footwear dropshipping business, you can decide to focus on kids’ shoes, men’s shoes, unisex sneakers – the options are many. Whichever you pick becomes your niche. 

Selecting the right niche improves your odds of success and saves you from spending money on ads promoting products you will most likely never sell. 

In this post, we will show you some dropshipping niches to avoid altogether and the ones you should focus on. 

Let’s get right into it!

15 Dropshipping Niches to Avoid in 2022

Here are the top 15 niches to avoid in 2022. We will tell you why for every niche. 

1. Electronics

Dropshipping electronics can be a bad idea for two major reasons: they are fragile and risky. 

Their fragile nature makes them vulnerable to damage, especially while in transit. And you might hurt your store’s reputation by selling defective products to customers. 

Also, electronics can be hazardous and can inflict harm on your customers. 

The other day on Quora, someone narrated how a dropshipper he knew got into trouble by dropshipping LED lights to a customer. The LED lights were of low quality, and so burned the office of a customer that bought them. 

Unfortunately, the dropshipper did not get away with this, paying heavily in damages. 

So, by all means, avoid getting into electronics dropshipping – you could get yourself into a lot of trouble. 

2. Copyrighted Products

Copyrighted and branded products are also a no-no if you want to get ahead in dropshipping this year. 

Dropshipping copyrighted products will get into trouble for many reasons. 

Firstly, you could be sued by the company you copied their products for a huge fine. 

Another reason is that your customers will feel disappointed if they realize the products they bought from you are counterfeit or copyrighted. 

Thirdly, you might have a hard time advertising these products on Facebook and other advertising platforms. 

In short, steer clear from copyrighted products. 

3. Fragile Items

Mirrors, ceramic products, glass cups, electronic accessories, optical instruments….these are some fragile products that can easily get damaged in transit. 

Although you can make a lot of profits selling these products, you are better off letting them be, or else you will end up shipping defective products to customers. 

And you know the implications of selling damaged products, don’t you?

4. Branded Products 

Are you thinking of dropshipping Nike products? Think again because you might end up getting yourself into trouble. 

The reason is that you will have to obtain authorization to sell branded products such as Nike. And getting that authorization can take a long time and can also be frustrating. Worse, you might pay a hefty fee to obtain such authorization 

In fact, some brands don’t allow dropshippers to sell their products. 

As such, you are better off sticking with generic brands – they are less risky to dropship. 

5. Furniture

Fifth on our list of dropshipping niches to avoid in 2022 is furniture. 

Why so?

The average cost of a couch or sofa is about $1200. Office furniture set costs between $1500 and $2500. This means you can make huge profits by selling furniture. 

But on the flipside, furniture can be expensive and difficult to ship due, as they are bulky and heavy. If you are not careful, all profits can go into shipping fees. 

What about returns? You wouldn’t even want to go there because handling returns for furniture can be a nightmare. 

6. Bulky, Heavy Products

Furniture is not the only heavy and bulky product that is heavy to ship – Piano, bathtubs, gym equipment, etc. are other good examples. 

You already know why you should avoid these products, don’t you?

7. Watches 

Watch is a very popular dropshipping niche – and competitive too!

The competition is so fierce that making sales in this niche can be tough. 

As proof, if you open Google Keyword Planner and input “watch” as a keyword, you will see this:

Did you notice how high the competition is around all the related keywords? 

Unless you have a huge ad budget and are ready to slug it out no matter what, we suggest looking into other less competitive niches. 

8. Shoes

Every tom, dick, and harry seems to be selling shoes online these days. And you know what that means? Tough competition!

The shoe and sneaker niche is one over-saturated niche we strongly advise against getting into. 

A peek into Google Keyword Planner proves us right. 

So, you are better off looking for a less saturated niche than struggling in futility. 

9. Potentially Dangerous Products

Swiss knives, daggers, chemicals, etc. are products you can sell to make a nice profit. The problem, however, is that these products can cause harm, and you can get into trouble by dropshipping them. 

Laws and regulations around these products are often stiff, making it difficult to ship them. 

As such, you are better off turning your attention somewhere else than selling these products. 

10. Hand Sanitizers

Hand sanitizers were a thing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Dropshippers that got into the hand sanitizer business made a fortune for themselves. 

But all that has changed now. Demand for hand sanitizers has been declining since 2021 and might hit rock bottom in a few short years. 

Google Trends is a testament to that. 

So, if you are thinking of getting into the hand sanitizer business, think again!

11. Health Products and Supplements

There are many reasons why avoiding the health products and supplements niche makes sense. 

First off, people tend to be allergic to certain drug supplements and might not even know it. Law enforcement officers might come after you if something goes wrong after a customer consumes your product. 

Secondly, there are usually lots of regulations and restrictions around health products, particularly in developed countries. Navigating these regulations can be frustrating and time-consuming. 

We suggest that you stay away from this niche if you can. 

12. Cosmetics

Cosmetics are another set of products that can trigger allergic reactions in your customers. So, you might want to stay away from it. 

Also, the cosmetic niche is fiercely competitive and over-saturated – another reason to consider another niche. 

13. General Clothing

Why did we include clothing in this list even though it sells hot and is very popular?

If you guessed competition, you wouldn’t be so wrong. Yes, the clothing niche is very competitive, but there is even a bigger problem: returns. 

Compared with other niches, clothing has a high rate of returns – and people return clothes they buy for a myriad of reasons. It’s either too big or small, wasn’t exactly what they were expecting, or they just changed their mind. 

You should stay away from this niche unless you have a well-developed system to handle returns. 

14. Smartphones

The idea of dropshipping smartphones like the iPhone, Samsung, Xiaomi, etc. might look like a good one. But when you think about it, you might have to avoid this niche altogether. 

Why did we say so?

Often, people like to buy their smartphones directly from a supplier, cutting out middlemen like you. This means you will have difficulty generating sales if you get into the smartphone niche. 

You are better off getting into the phone case niche instead. 

15. Laptop 

The reason why you should avoid dropshipping laptops is the same reason we recommended shying away from smartphones. Besides, laptops are fragile items. 

5 Reasons Why You Should Avoid These Niches

So there you have it; 15 dropshipping niches to avoid in 2022. Why did we suggest avoiding these niches? Well, for many reasons but here are the top 5:

1. Competition 

Dropshipping is a highly-competitive industry. Sometimes, the best way to differentiate yourself is by picking a niche with less competition. 

Since these niches are over-saturated, there is no point in getting into them.

2. Requires an Extraordinary amount of Effort

Dropshipping is hard work – we get it. But how much work is too much work? Any dropshipping niche that requires an extraordinary amount of effort (and money) to get off the ground should be a no-no. 

3. Outdated Products

Selling outdated products won’t take you too far. Doing so will put your store’s reputation at risk, or, worse, get into trouble with the law. 

4. Little or no emotional connection with your target audience

If your target audience can’t emotionally connect with the products you are trying to sell to them, they will be unresponsive and apathetic towards it. So by all means, avoid such products. 

5. Not suitable for a dropshipping store

Not all products are suitable for a dropshipping store. Smartphones are a good example. Avoid them. 

The Beginners Guide to Finding Niches for Dropshipping 

It’s not enough to tell you dropshipping niches to avoid; it’s imperative we show you how to find the right ones. 

That being said, here are some of the tested-and-trusted methods for determining the right niche to get into as a beginner dropshipper. 

1. Go for Your Passion

You’ve probably heard that a zillion skillion times. It might look like a cliche, but going for your passion is still one of the surest ways to discover the right niche for your business. 

Why is that so?

Right after the initial enthusiasm and euphoria of getting into dropshipping has faded – as it will always do – your passion will keep you going. 

2. Explore eCommerce Marketplaces

Exploring eCommerce marketplaces will also be useful, especially if you don’t have a strong passion for any niche and still want to get into dropshipping. 

Aliexpress, Amazon, eBay, etc. are excellent marketplaces you can start your search. 

3. Trust Numbers

Numbers don’t lie. If numbers say a niche is not worth getting into, you better keep off. But if it says otherwise, trust your gut and dive in. 

Google Keyword Planner and Google Analytics can help you with numbers. 

4. Check Google Trend

One easy way to know if a product is trending or not is by keeping a tab on Google Trends. It’s free to use and has a very friendly user interface. 

5. Use a Product Discovery Tool

Google Trends might not always be able to help you find the best niche to get into. The best if can do is tell you if the niche is trending or not. 

As such, it’s better to use a product discovery tool. 

This is where Sell the Trend comes into play. 

Sell the Trend lets you find trending products and spot profitable niches to get into without doing much. 

And the coolest part is that it is very easy to use. 

6. Find Competitors on Facebook

Lastly, sneak up on your competitors on Facebook to see what they are selling – and what they are doing. You will surely glean helpful insights to make your own dropshipping hustle a success. 

Wrapping it Up

Dropshipping can be a highly profitable and rewarding business. The key to success is knowing the niches to avoid and those to get into. 

We hope this post will help you make the right decision. 

If you are still struggling to find the right niche to get into, Sell the Trend can help.

Sell the Trend makes it easy to find trending products with a few clicks of the button. In fact, it allows you to automate your product research while you spend your time on what matters: growing your business. 

Sign up for an account right away to take Sell the Trend for a spin.