Sell online what passes five checks: steady demand, margin left after marketplace fees and shipping, few returns, small size and competition where you have something to stand out with. There is no ready "top products" list that works for everyone: the same product makes money for one seller and loses it for another because of purchase price, shipping and returns.
Lists of "best products to sell online" show where there are already many sellers, but not how much stays with you. Below: the five checks one by one, how to read demand in Google Trends and in marketplace search, the margin math on an illustrative product, and a table where three candidate categories get scores.
When people ask what to sell online
Usually a person has decided to start selling on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Allegro or their own store and has not picked a product yet. The first searches are "what to sell online", "best products to sell online" and "how to find products to sell online". Next come "what will sell well in 2026" and "high demand products with low competition".
"What sells best" is the wrong question here: its answer is the categories with the most sellers and the thinnest margins. The right question is "which of these can I sell at a profit", and the checks below answer it.
Five checks for a product category
Each check filters out part of the ideas, and the category that passes all five goes on sale. The order matters: check demand and margin first, because without them the rest does not count.
- Demand. People search for the product all year or in a predictable season. Warning sign: one sharp spike and a fall.
- Margin. Money is left after the cost of goods, marketplace fee, shipping and returns. Warning sign: a cheap product where the fee and shipping eat the whole markup.
- Returns. The product is rarely returned. Warning sign: sizes, colors "as in the photo", complex electronics, fragile items.
- Size. The product is light and compact. Warning sign: shipping costs a quarter of the price.
- Competition. You have something to stand out with: price, stock, fast dispatch, a bundle. Warning sign: dozens of sellers on one listing at the same price.
How to check demand: Google Trends and marketplace search
Demand is checked in two ways: Google Trends shows how interest in a product changes over the year, and marketplace search suggestions show how buyers actually search for it.
Google Trends. Choose your country — the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom — and a period of 12 months or 5 years, and enter the product name the way buyers write it. The numbers on the chart are relative: each point is the share of searches for the product among all searches, scaled to a range from 0 to 100, not a count of searches. So compare two or three candidates on one chart — it shows which one people search for more and whose demand is steadier.
A steady wave means stable demand: the product sells all year and stock does not sit. A sharp peak once a year means a seasonal product: you can sell it, but purchasing and ads have to be planned for a few weeks, and out of season the category goes quiet.
Marketplace search. Start typing the product name in Amazon, eBay or Allegro search and look at the suggestions: they show which variants and features people search for most. Then open the first listings and look at the number of reviews and sellers. On eBay, filtering results by sold items shows what actually sells and at what price. This is both a sign of demand and a first look at competition.
How much is left after fees, shipping and returns
What is left is the price minus the cost of goods, the fee, shipping with packaging and the cost of returns — and that amount, not the markup, shows whether the category is worth taking.
Left per order = price − cost of goods − marketplace fee − shipping and packaging − returns per order.
Illustrative example for the arithmetic, not market prices. You buy a product for €36 and sell it for €60. The marketplace fee is 12%, that is €7.20. You pay for shipping and packaging — €4. One order in ten comes back, and each return costs you €30 — shipping both ways and a markdown — which is €3 per order.
| Item | Compact | Bulky |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 60.00 | 60.00 |
| Cost of goods | −36.00 | −36.00 |
| Fee 12% | −7.20 | −7.20 |
| Shipping and packaging | −4.00 | −15.00 |
| Returns per order | −3.00 | −3.00 |
| Left | 9.80 | −1.20 |
The €24 markup is the same in both cases, but the compact product leaves €9.80 per order and the bulky one loses €1.20. Take the fee from your marketplace's rates for the specific category and shipping from your carrier's rates by weight and size. To build the fee into the price itself, use the markup calculator.
Returns and size: where margin gets lost
The most returned products are clothes and shoes because of size, items whose color or material is "not as in the photo", complex electronics the buyer could not figure out, and fragile goods that break on the way. In each case you pay shipping twice and often sell the returned item at a discount. In the EU this risk is built in: a buyer can withdraw from an online purchase within 14 days without giving a reason.
- Before choosing a category, ask the supplier which products in it come back most often and whether they take returned goods back.
- Calculate size from the carrier's rates, not by feel: a large light product can cost more to ship than a small heavy one because carriers charge by volumetric weight.
- Fragile and large items make sense only if the margin covers both shipping and breakage.
How to assess competition
Competition is visible on the product listing: how many sellers offer the same model and how much their prices differ. If there are many sellers and the prices are the same, you will compete on price alone and give away margin.
Look for a way to stand out without undercutting: the product in stock when others have it "on backorder"; same-day dispatch; a bundle others do not have; good photos and a description where competitors have one manufacturer photo. If you can offer none of this, the category is not for you, even if demand is high.
Scoring table: an illustrative example with three categories
Give each candidate category a score from 1 to 3 for each check and add them up: the maximum is 15. Take the category with the highest total, but without a single "1" in demand or margin.
Illustrative example: the categories and scores are made up to show the method. A — small accessories with constant demand. B — seasonal clothing with a size chart. C — a niche product with a high margin but large in size.
| Check | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demand | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Margin | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Returns | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Size | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Competition | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Total | 13 | 9 | 11 |
Category A wins not with a high margin but because it fails no check. B loses on returns: a size chart turns every tenth or even fifth parcel into a return. C is worth a separate shipping calculation: the high margin may cover the size, or it may not.
Once a category passes on paper, test it with a small batch or through dropshipping, without buying stock for a warehouse: the supplier ships the order, and you check demand and returns on real sales.
Once the category is chosen: products on several marketplaces
When a category passes the checks, the next question is how to list hundreds of a supplier's products on two or three marketplaces and keep up with the supplier's prices and stock.
This is what Elbuz does: it takes the supplier's price list or feed, builds a catalog with your prices from it by markup rules, and sends products to marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and Allegro, updating prices and stock on a schedule. How it works is on the dropshipping automation and marketplace integrations pages. Who it is not for: if you are testing a category with a few dozen products on one marketplace, the marketplace's seller account is enough.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find products to sell online?
Collect candidates from Google Trends and marketplace search, then run each through five checks: demand, margin after fees and shipping, returns, size and competition. How to do them is in the section on the checks.
What products sell well online?
Products that leave money after the cost of goods, fees, shipping and returns. Calculate it with your own numbers using the formula from the margin section before you buy stock.
What will sell well in 2026?
There is no universal list: demand for your country is visible in Google Trends and in marketplace search suggestions. Compare candidates on one 12-month chart and pick the one with steadier demand.
What products are always in demand?
Things people need regularly: consumables, care products, small household goods. But constant demand also means many sellers, so check the margin and competition on the listing.
How do I find high-demand products with low competition?
Look for listings where demand is steady but sellers are few or offer weak listings — one photo, no stock, slow dispatch. If you can beat them on stock, dispatch or a bundle, you compete without cutting the price.
Can I sell on a marketplace without my own warehouse?
Yes, through dropshipping, if the marketplace allows it: the supplier ships the order. Check the marketplace's dropshipping policy before you list.
Sources
- Google Trends: how the numbers on the chart are calculated (0 to 100 scale) — support.google.com.
- Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, Art. 9 (14-day right of withdrawal) — eur-lex.europa.eu.
Checked on October 31, 2026.
John
Interestingly, electronics are still in the top 10. It would seem that the market is already oversaturated, but demand is not falling! Does anyone understand why this happens?