Worst things to dropship through your dropshipping store
Time to talk about serious things: limitations and restrictions. The possible issues connected to a wrong product choice might be:- A super angry customer who wants to return the product, make a refund, and ruin your reputation on social media
- Legal consequences
In order not to get into trouble, please avoid the products that are:
– Copyrighted
Take a look at this item.
Do you remember that we’ve mentioned something about AliExpress's own ban on branded items…? Technically, the platform forbids selling such items, but here it is, shining bright.
We don’t recommend adding something of this kind to your store. If it’s a replica of unsatisfactory quality, the buyers will most likely get disappointed because of unmet expectations and their negative feedback won’t do you any good.
Plus, most likely, you will have difficulties while promoting these items on social media (Facebook ads, Instagram shoutouts, etc.). If they get wide coverage, they will certainly get the attention of the original brand owners, authorities, or just concerned individuals. Your social media account might get blocked, and your whole business will get compromised. That’s not what you want, right? And you cannot avoid using this kind of promotion, as other sources – email marketing or something else – cannot provide such great coverage of your target audience.
– Potentially dangerous
The item below is a good illustration of a product with a provocative nature. A customs officer would be likely to ban it from entering the country.
Every country has its own understanding of the legal items for import. These regulations even apply to online orders of private individuals. There might be some restrictions on importing defense articles, hunting tools, military-related items, smoking devices, etc. If you are not sure that it is safe and legal to ship this or that product to your buyers’ country of residence, please check it twice, and if you’re still doubting, just leave it out.
– Fragile
The item on the picture below is super cute but somewhat tricky.
Product delivery takes a lot of time; during the shipment process, the package will certainly see some external impact.
No one likes receiving deformed or broken items! This is why the products of glass, ceramics, or other similar materials are sometimes a questionable choice.
If you still want to have them in your store, talk to the relevant AliExpress seller first. Ask about the used type of the packaging materials, and read the previous buyers’ reviews. This is how you will find out whether the seller can actually provide the items with a secure and damage-proof package.
– Heavy
According to the seller’s description, the weight of the package containing this animal-head piece of home decor is 4 kg.
Even for domestic shipping, such items are usually a bit tricky.
International delivery, most likely, will demand some extra shipping fees, which is not good news for your buyers. Plus, the heavier items are inconvenient to manage. Any unpleasant incident that happens during the loading activities may result in product damage.
– Technically complex
The picture below shows an example of a drone offered on AliExpress.
Even though the gadget industry shows a rapid favorable growth, it might be a better strategy to focus on the relevant accessories and spare parts instead.
The reason for this precaution is simple: neither you nor your buyer can physically examine this complicated piece of technology. So, none of you can be 100% sure in its perfect working order.
If something goes wrong, you will have to deal with the standard return and refund routine. Generally, it is a simple and quick procedure, but if you’re dealing with costly items (and gadgets are quite expensive, as you can guess), the whole process might get a bit longer and trickier.
– Tight-fitting clothes and shoes
Typically, we don’t even recommend working with shoes (except for home slippers) and ‘demanding’ clothes. Here’s what we’re talking about:
This dress is exquisite and looks fancy, but, as you guess, it requires a specific body type, plus it needs to be tried on before purchase.
You have certainly seen some funny ‘AliExpress: Expectations vs Reality’ posts on social media, and this is exactly what might happen to your buyer. When a store visitor has no way to try on a piece of clothing before purchase, there are two possible scenarios for this customer. The client will either leave the store without completing the order, or buy an unsuitable and disappointing piece of clothing, and return it later. None of the options is really great, right?
The same is true for shoes; here’s an illustrative picture from a seller’s page.
Even the modeling person clearly has some inconveniences with wearing these high heels; can you expect that a random customer’s feet will definitely fit into this pair of shoes?
This is why we recommend picking oversize clothes and items with a loose cut. Since they don’t have to fit you tightly, buyers with any body type can pick and wear them with no stress and discomfort.
That’s all for our dropshipping items recommendations!
