Blog / Beginner's handbook / 11 Most Profitable Products to Sell Online
Blog / Beginner's handbook / 11 Most Profitable Products to Sell Online
When you’re thinking about opening an online business, one of the first things you’ll have to figure out is what kind of products to sell. Sounds easy enough, right?
Well, deciding on your product range is an important step that requires thorough market research. There are so many possibilities out there—will you sell online courses or custom t-shirts? Toys for kids or beautiful handmade jewelry?
The good news is we’re here to help you decide. Ultimately, it’s less about what you’re selling and more about if it sells. So, we’ve put together a list of the most profitable products to sell online.
Whether you’re dropshipping or creating handmade items, this article will be a useful tool to help you choose.
From tech accessories to apparel and kids’ toys, we’ve covered the best money-making categories and trending products to use for your online business. Let’s check out some profitable products!
Where were you when Hailey Bieber posted the famous Rhode phone case earlier this year? It went viral and became an instant hit, with fans clamoring to get their hands on one. The Rhodes phone case is proof that the tech and phone accessories market isn’t just for tech-savvy customers—it’s for everyone.
Source: Pinterest
Over the past two decades, tech devices have become an important part of our daily lives. Everyone has a phone, tablet, or laptop, right? With tech devices being so widespread, there’s a huge market for accessories. Tech and phone accessories have become akin to fashion statements, so people increasingly look for customized products that reflect their style, interests, or personality.
Tech and phone accessories make for profitable items because they don’t cost a lot to produce or ship out, which allows for significant markup and higher profit margins. In addition, items like phone cases wear out with time, which means your customers might make repeat purchases.
So, if you’re planning to get into the tech accessories market, here’s how you can start selling custom tech products online with Printful.
It’s no surprise that the humble t-shirt is one of the most profitable products to sell online. The global t-shirt market is projected to reach an impressive $45.54 billion in 2025. So, if you’re targeting the right niche markets, have competitive pricing and the right marketing strategies for your ecommerce store, you can get in on the t-shirt market and get great sales.
But what exactly makes t-shirts so profitable? They’re a modern-day wardrobe staple, so they’re in constant demand. T-shirts are also highly customizable, which means you’ll be able to jump on trends quickly, maximizing your sales potential.
And perhaps, most importantly: t-shirts are relatively easy to produce, offering strong profit margins as compared to other apparel items.
When you’re just starting out on your t-shirt store journey, it’s a good idea to think about dropshipping or print-on-demand (POD, for short). These business models will allow you to try out your hand at selling t-shirts without a major upfront investment.
Source: Printful
Another apparel classic to have in your ecommerce store: hoodies.
Much like t-shirts, hoodies are a comfy, casual apparel item that won’t go out of style anytime soon, so you’ll always have a broad audience. They’re also just as customizable as t-shirts, which means you can alter your designs to fit certain trends or seasons, increasing your sales potential. However, unlike t-shirts, hoodies are seen as a more premium item, so you’ll be able to sell them for more money.
When selling hoodies, potential customers will care about quality and design. That’s why you’ll need a reliable apparel provider that can offer vast customization options and high-quality products. With a provider like Printful, you’ll be able to totally customize your hoodies to fit customer needs.
Source: Printful
Do you ever think about the megatrends of the past—the 2000s Y2K look or the 2010s hipster vibe—and wonder: what is the megatrend of the 2020s? Well, ponder no more, we’ve got the answer. it’s athleisure.
Source: Bo & Tee
Yes, it’s biker shorts with oversized jackets. It’s tennis skirts, trainers, flared leggings, and crop tops. Just take a look at any influencer on your favorite social media platforms, and you’re guaranteed to find them wearing an athleisure apparel item.
Athleisure items are profitable products to sell on your online store because consumers increasingly value comfortable clothing that can suit any occasion, whether it’s just running errands or going to the gym. It means there’s a growing audience for athleisure products, which translates into increased profitability.
Similar to hoodies, certain athleisure pieces are seen as premium products so people are willing to pay more for them. If you can keep production costs relatively low, you’ll be able to get higher profit margins on every item you sell.
Source: Printful
But you won’t be the only ecommerce business owner looking to make online sales capitalizing on this trend. That’s why it’s important to do your market research and find the right niche. If you’re not sure where to begin, you can start with our Athleisure Market Report.
With concerns over global warming rising, consumers are gradually becoming more environmentally-conscious. In fact, a 2023 study from Deloitte shows that a quarter of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainability. This means there’s growing market demand for sustainable and eco-friendly products—and high demand means an opportunity for you.
Source: Printful
If you’re looking to start an eco-friendly ecommerce business selling apparel, you’ll first have to find a supplier of sustainable products. Before choosing your products, conduct market research and perform a competitive analysis of potential suppliers.
For example, at Printful we take sustainability and responsibility practices very seriously. We also collaborate with a number of suppliers that ensure their products are eco-friendly and sustainable.
Take a look at some of our favorite eco-friendly products to sell online.
During the pandemic, pet ownership rates saw a considerable increase. Case in point: back in 2020, cat ownership in the US went up by a whopping 40%. More recent statistics from 2024 show that currently, around 66% of US homes (that’s 86.9 million households) own a pet. That’s good news for any aspiring entrepreneur.
Why? Because the pet products market has grown along with pet ownership rates and is projected to reach $116 billion by 2030. This means it’s a flourishing niche segment for online sellers like you to target.
If you’re looking to design your own pet products, Printful offers some great choices. Pet owners will love our stainless steel Pet Bowl, the fun All-Over Print Bandana or our Pet Collar and Leash combo.
Source: Printful
Beauty isn’t everything—but let’s be honest, it is pretty important for many of us. And that becomes especially clear when you look at the numbers. The global beauty products market is expected to generate a revenue of $646 billion in 2025. The largest and most profitable segment in the beauty market is personal care products, which has a market volume of approximately $282 billion in 2024.
This niche is a goldmine for profitable products to sell online—think soaps, face masks, scrubs, natural and organic skincare, and more. If you’re into dropshipping products with a high profit margin, health and beauty products can be a great option for you.
Interested in selling handmade beauty products? Make sure to do your market research beforehand. For example, in the US, it’s totally legal to sell handmade cosmetics, you don’t need to have your cosmetics approved by the FDA. However, in the EU and elsewhere laws are different so you’ll have to look into it.
Source: Printful
If you want to be totally sure that you’re in the clear, you can get a third-party supplier like Printful. We work with trusted partners to create safe products like our Refreshing Hand & Body Wash.
Jewelry is a product with deeply enduring popularity. From the beginnings of civilization to the modern day, people have wanted to adorn themselves with beautiful baubles. What exactly makes jewelry profitable for online sellers? It’s pretty simple: jewelry has broad appeal, diverse customization possibilities, and since it can be cheap to produce, there’s also a high markup potential.
The jewelry market size is expected to reach an impressive $310 billion in revenue in 2025. Although historically jewelry has been seen as an extravagant item, affordable non-luxury jewelry is currently dominating the market. In fact, 88% of jewelry market sales in 2025 is expected to come from non-luxury items.
Since there’s a high demand for affordable, accessible jewelry, lean into this trend. Consider handmade jewelry or simple yet effective pieces created by a third-party supplier that will fly off the shelves.
Source: FujeJewellery on Etsy
The baby care market has seen a significant shift over the past few years as people turn increasingly toward high-quality and premium baby products. Currently, the baby care market size is expected to reach $88.72 billion by 2026. This marks a significant increase from 2020 when the estimated market value was approximately $67.35 billion.
One of the reasons why this category of products is profitable is its predictability. The demand for baby products and kids’ toys is pretty consistent—there will always be children who need clothing, toys, mealtime accessories, and more. Plus, with the right product choices, you can ensure frequent return buyers.
For example, offer clothing with the same designs for babies, toddlers, and kids. People love matchy-matchy! And if the customer was satisfied with your products on their first purchase, they’ll likely return to your store once their child outgrows an item and needs a larger size.
Source: DreamBuyEU on Etsy
Digital products include e-books, online courses, website templates, and digital media like photos or videos, and these can be excellent items to sell online. These products are often low cost, which means there will be a good profit margin on the items you sell.
If you want to get into selling digital products, there a ton of ways you can do it. What matters is what exactly you want to sell. What are some solid digital products to sell online?
First off, stock photos, videos, or illustrations. Nowadays, it’s almost impossible to do any marketing or branding without high-quality visuals. So if you have the skills, you can start with stock photography sites like Getty Images or Shutterstock. These sites will license your photos to agencies and businesses, allowing you to make a passive income.
Another profitable category is online courses. There’s a growing demand for online learning. If you’re a pro on a subject—let’s say, you’re a great painter or you know how to DIY home decor projects—you can create your own online courses and upload them to platforms like Udemy or Skillshare. What makes online courses profitable, aside from the growing market demand, is that you can create a business without any inventory or shipping costs involved, thus keeping your overhead costs low.
Source: Getty Images
Learning about the kinds of products that’ll get you online sales is great, but knowing exactly what makes a product profitable is even better. So let’s take a look at what factors play into the profitability of your products.
A high profit margin means that you spend significantly less money to source an item than your customers spend to buy it. For example, if you paid $12 to produce a t-shirt, but you sell it for $20, your gross profit is $8. This means your profit margin is 40%—the higher the number, the better for you.
When you’re selling products online, having high profit margins means you’ll make more profit on each sale, which can improve your overall return on investment.
You can ensure good profit margins in several ways. One approach is to sell low-cost handmade items while being resourceful with production and shipping costs. Another way is by adjusting your pricing strategies to maintain higher margins. If you want to learn more about pricing your products, you can take a look at this video on How to Price Your Print-On-Demand Products.
The most profitable products to sell online will be those that have a large audience. When a product is in high demand, you’ll be able to get more sales and much better profit margins.
For example, the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed many aspects of our lives; now things like home decor, pet products, and casual athleisure apparel items are in much higher demand than before.
Similarly, the rise of visual social media apps like Instagram or TikTok have changed the way we view health and beauty products. Before Instagram, it was fine to own just a few products, now a large part of the population want a makeup collection that rivals that of professional makeup artists.
This means these products are currently in higher demand than they’ve ever been before. That’s what makes them some of the most profitable products to sell online.
Another big factor is competition. Although high-demand items can be very profitable, targeting a less competitive niche with growing demand can maximize your profit.
Think about it: if the niche you’ve chosen is oversaturated with other online sellers, you’ll have to work extra hard to make sure your products stand out from the crowd. Sometimes it’s worth it. But sometimes it’s better to look for a more specific target audience or for an emerging niche that isn’t so overcrowded yet.
For example, pet products are in high demand, right? Well, selling eco-friendly pet accessories like biodegradable dog toys or sustainable pet beds is a niche that’s still relatively low in competition, but growing in demand. Plus, with a focus on sustainability and eco-conscious consumers, you can charge premium prices, making this a profitable opportunity.
Another way to decrease competition is to offer handmade or custom products with your own designs. This way, the products you sell online will be completely unique, with your own art and style. Since these products are one-of-a-kind, you can charge higher prices, which makes them more profitable.
Scalability
When selecting profitable products to sell online, it’s also important to think about how easily the product can scale. A product that is difficult or costly to produce in large quantities can limit your long-term profitability.
Using a print-on-demand (POD) provider like Printful allows you to choose products that can scale effortlessly as your business grows. With POD, there’s no need for upfront inventory, meaning you can expand your product offerings and increase sales without the burden of higher production costs. As demand increases, a POD provider can seamlessly fulfill more orders without putting strain on your resources, helping you maintain profitability even at scale.
It’s nice to have a lot of ideas about products to sell online, but how do you actually go about creating a real online business? Let’s quickly go through the steps of what it takes to start your very own business.
First off, you’ll need to define your niche. There’s a saying: when you’re selling to everyone, you’re selling to no one. In other words, it’s impossible to create products that appeal to everybody. You need to have a specific target niche in mind when you’re setting up your store and creating a product catalog.
Having a defined niche will also help you stand out from the crowd in markets with high competition. If you’re selling t-shirts with basic designs and slogans, people will just scroll by your products without really noticing them. But take a look at how Match Kicks used POD to create unique t-shirts in a very specific, high-demand, low-competition niche.
Once you have your niche defined, it’s time to get to work. Unless you’re planning on creating digital, unique, or handmade items, like online courses, innovative pet products or knitted toys, you’ll need a reliable product supplier.
If you’re thinking of selling apparel, it’s good to go with a print-on-demand partner. With POD, you’ll gain more creative freedom and control, allowing you to design and create unique products. For example, with a provider like Printful, you’ll have access to a huge product catalog of over 300 items. Plus, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of printing techniques—DTG, all-over print, embroidery, DTF and sublimation.
What’s even more important, Printful has locations all over the world, so your store will have a global reach. And we have a high customer satisfaction rate, too—only around 0.24% of Printful orders are reshipped because of quality concerns.
Source: Printful
After you’ve found your supplier, it’s time to create your own store so that your customers can browse and purchase products from you. When you’re just starting selling online, it’s best to get your store up and running quickly by using a low cost ecommerce solution instead of wasting a ton of time and money on creating a website from scratch.
That’s why you should take a look at the most popular ecommerce platforms like Shopify, or online marketplaces like Etsy. A user friendly online platform like Shopify will allow you to create your own website. A marketplace like Etsy or Amazon, on the other hand, will let you create just a storefront on their already existing platform.
If you need help deciding on which platform to use, you can check out our Printful integration guide, where we compare and analyze all the most popular platforms and marketplaces.
And there you go! You have a niche, you’ve figured out your suppliers, and you’ve created an online store. Now it’s time to think about your marketing and selling strategy because even if you have the most profitable products to sell online, the sales won’t roll in without proper marketing.
Once you’ve gotten to this point, it’s very important to learn from other brands. Make good use of social media platforms and see what works for other brands. Keep an eye on your competitors and their marketing campaigns. And if you’re not totally sure how to create a comprehensive marketing strategy, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.
Remember—creating an online store takes a few clicks, but building a brand takes time. Even if you don’t get a ton of sales immediately, don’t worry. Keep learning everything you can about the ecommerce world, stay on top of the most recent trends and arm yourself with patience.
If you’re looking for more advice on how to sell online, make sure to check out our Printful blog. We always have the latest ecommerce and marketing trends, tips, statistics and more. Or, if you’re a visual learner, head on over to our YouTube channel. You’ll find a ton of useful info on selling products online.
Alright, that’s all from us. We hope this article was helpful. Good luck!
Ilze Elizabete Strazda
Guest author
Ilze Elizabete is a freelance writer with a background in law and international relations. In her free time, Ilze is an avid reader and painter.
Search blog
Details