 Hey dropshippers and welcome back to our YouTube channel. Today's video is extremely special because all the information on my barter list is relevant to the Q4 holidays coming up. So make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, grab a pen, grab a notebook, maybe some snacks even and stay tuned for all the relevant information I'm about to drop in this video. Quick intro and let's get it. One of the busiest and most profitable times of the year is the much anticipated Q4. So to clarify for those who are new to dropshipping or who are uncertain of what the term Q4 means, it is the time of the year that is spanning from the beginning of October or through December. There are numerous holidays and special occasions that fall on certain days in between of these months. And that is exactly why during Q4 online sales and shopping skyrockets in comparison to other months of the year. And this is why we also strongly encourage dropshippers to take advantage of this special time of the year. And that is exactly why this video is here to tell you what products to sell and how to prepare your online store for Q4 holidays. So what changes occurred during Q4 dropshipping that dropshippers should be aware of? Well, because it is the busiest season of the year and there's all this hustling and bustling going on around us, there are about several changes that occurred during Q4 dropshipping. As a matter of fact, because it is the most popular time of the year, the spike in demand pulls on the threads of stock, shipping, marketing, and other aspects of dropshipping. So let's dive straight into what are the changes that we can expect during Q4 dropshipping. So our first very big change is the rise in e-commerce sales. If we have a look at this chart, we can see an exponential rise of online sales during the Q4 season. Online sale records are without fail broken every year during the Q4 season and people are spending all of their time online searching for gifts to purchase for the various holidays. So this is definitely the shopping season to take advantage of, trust me. Our next change is to expect longer delivery times than usual. Because there's a lot of pressure on shipping carriers due to the influx of orders surrounding the holiday season, we should prepare for some delays because trust me, it is bound to happen along the way and you need to be prepared. The way around this would be to work with multiple dropshipping suppliers. So for example, if I'm only working with AliExpress and I can see that their shipping times are longer than usual simply due to the fact that everybody's online purchasing something because it is the Q4 holidays. And not only that, take into consideration that the product needs to still be shipped from China too so it's even longer. I'm automatically going to go ahead and look for another dropshipping supplier that is able to ship from a place where my target audience resides. So for example, if I'm dropshipping to the USA then I'm going to look for multiple US dropshipping suppliers. Our next change is the increase in customer service. So this means that you're going to be receiving more customer inquiries than normal and this naturally comes with the Q4 holiday season. Remember that the more traffic that is driven to your stores results in more sales which means that customers are going to reach out to you. The best way to deal with this is to constantly check up on the customer support that you're providing to your buyers. This means checking up on the progress of their orders, constantly checking your messages to make sure that you haven't missed anything and make sure to check the messages on both your selling platforms and your emails. If you're selling on eBay, you can check out our customer service feature that we have available on our AutoDS platform. This is a simple way of taking care of all your customers inquiries in one place. You simply just click on the customer support button and here you'll see all the messages from your various buyers pop up which you will be able to respond directly from our AutoDS platform. If you don't have the time to be going through all of your customers inquiries do not worry, you can hire a virtual assistant who can do this on behalf of you. We also have a blog article which explains how you're able to hire a virtual assistant where you can find virtual assistants and how you're able to negotiate with them. Our next change is product discounts which is something that we should be providing to our customers during Q4. Why? Because people are looking for sales, they're looking for those discounted products especially on those Black Friday and Cyber Monday holidays. So we would want to build our store theme around discounted prices and offering promo codes. Q4 really is the best time to be offering these promotions. If you're struggling to price your products at discounted prices and you're worried that you won't be making a profit simply just head over to your competitor's online stores and just check out what they are pricing their products at. The next change is stock shortages and the best way to deal with this is by utilizing drop shipping automation tools and working with multiple suppliers. For example, if we head over to the Autodesk platform and we head over to the products button I then have this product that goes out of stock on my supplier sites. I then need it to immediately go out of stock on my store too. If we're not utilizing automation tools the stock numbers can drop without me even knowing. Let's say for example I go to bed and I'm sleeping and I wake up the next morning and I see that I have 20 or 30 sales on a product that is no longer in stock. This becomes a huge problem because I did not have a software in place that automated my stock status whilst I was sleeping. And having this automation software in place would have saved me from having to cancel my customers orders. As drop shippers we need to be extremely careful of this especially on selling channels such as eBay and Facebook marketplace who are strict and will have your account banned. So our last key for drop shipping change is higher marketing costs. To market your store during Q4 holidays generally costs more. This is only relevant to those selling platforms that do not generate free organic traffic such as Shopify, Wex and WooCommerce where you should be running ads on the products that you are listing. Keep in mind that a lot of other drop shippers and business owners will be running ads on the products during the Q4 holidays. So in order to compete for an ad, a paper, click ad we need to make sure that we're investing more into our ads budgets. So for example, if I want to get a thousand clicks on an ad it's going to cost me more during Q4. Instead of paying 20 cents per click I'm now going to be paying 50 cents per click. Don't be alarmed if you're investing more in your ads budget because the sales conversion from those ads will be higher. And just a quick side note for you drop shippers please do not be afraid of marketing costs. If you're marketing the right product to the right target audience rather pay more so that you'll be able to receive more. Great stuff. Now that we have the drop shipping changes that occur during Q4 out of the way let's now take a look at the top seasonal events that we can take advantage of during Q4 drop shipping. I'm pretty sure we can all guess what is the first seasonal event that's coming up. Yep, you guessed it Halloween which is celebrated on the 31st of October. And although the US market is our main target audience here other countries also celebrate Halloween which means we can target a larger audience. Statistics show that consumers plan on spending 10.1 billion USD on Halloween costumes, decorations, candies, accessories in 2021 alone. I mean how insane is that? And that just proves to us that there definitely is an opportunity for us to boost our store sales based of the seasonal events. Next up we have Thanksgiving which is right around the corner after Halloween. Thanksgiving is mainly an American holiday but it's also celebrated in Canada. Also keep in mind that other countries across the globe celebrate their own version of Thanksgiving. It's just at different times. Leading up to Thanksgiving offering theme decorations, diningware and kitchenware is a good idea. If you'd like to reach a larger target audience leading up to Thanksgiving make sure to prepare to target a different audience at different times with different items. Next for Q4 dropshipping we have the most loved day by consumers, Black Friday. Black Friday happens globally on the Friday straight after Thanksgiving and this year Black Friday falls on the 25th of November. Make sure to save that date. Shoppers look forward to this event because it allows them to purchase large amounts of items at great bargain prices which means you should definitely ride the wave and offer discounts in your dropshipping stores when the seasonal holiday approaches. Remember to lower your prices in order to stay in line with your competition. This may mean losing some initial profits but in the long run we'll still be able to benefit because we'll see an increase in website traffic which then results in higher profits. So we're not really taking alls here. Now just when you thought it couldn't get any better right after Black Friday comes Cyber Monday and this is important for Q4 dropshipping because it's the ultimate event to take advantage of. Plus there's also a super high focus on consumer electronics at this time. To put Cyber Monday in a nutshell for you it's basically a discounted online shopping bonanza that turns the spotlight on e-commerce businesses. So we're really winning here because it's our optimal time for our dropshipping store to shine. It is recommended that during this time we sell electronics of all varieties. For example, smartwatches, hairdryers, gaming accessories and much more. Remember to not worry too much about lowering your prices because the increase in website traffic makes up for it. I feel like this next highlighted Q4 dropshipping event will make you laugh but here it is singles day. Now singles day is a huge e-commerce sales event in China that was started by Alibaba and it falls on the 11th of November every year. Believe it or not but because it is a hugely successful event it has been extended to the first 11 days of November rather than just one day which would have been the 11th of November. So if you're wondering how does this event tie in with dropshipping singles day offers consumers big discounts across all e-commerce stores and to give you a little bit of an idea as to why you should consider partaking your store in this event is JD.com, a giant Chinese e-commerce platform managed to rack up a record breaking $52 billion during this event. Like what? It's so crazy, right? And although as dropshippers we might not be able to reach this figure it just gives us a glimpse into what profits we potentially could be making. Next up we have everybody's favorite Q4 holiday which is Christmas. We all know that Christmas is potentially one of the best events for dropshippers and their stores. Because Christmas falls on the 25th of December and as crazy as it might sound we need to start our product research now to ensure that our dropshipping stores are ready for the biggest holiday of the year. Keep in mind that consumers are looking for Christmas presents weeks and months in advance. So that just means that we can enjoy solid sales volumes for weeks and months to come. We also don't have to offer big discounts in order to stay competitive. We can sell at full price and enjoy those high profit margins to come. Cha-ching! Our last Q4 dropshipping holiday is Wait! There's another event we can benefit from after Christmas? Absolutely! The post Christmas sales allows us to optimize our store with product discounts. For a while, even after Christmas online sales still pour in. Especially in countries like Canada where they celebrate Boxing Day and have weekly sales. Keep in mind that New Year's Eve is creeping up so we can further leverage this to boost our sales around this event. So there you have it. Those were the top seven Q4 dropshipping events that every dropshipper should be taking advantage of. Let's now briefly take a look at what are the best dropshipping niches and key products that you should be selling during Q4 in order to scale your stores. Remember that Q4 products can be categorized as high ticket items as they are high in demand and extremely profitable during this period. So don't play yourselves dropshippers. Our next niche are children's toys. And in truth, Q4 is much scented around children's joy. So toys are necessary for our Q4 listings, okay? Also with Halloween, Christmas and all the birthdays happening this quarter we have plenty of opportunities to boost our sales. Let's now take a look at what are the best children's toys for Q4 dropshipping. First up, we have the LCD writing tablet which is a great way for children to learn and be creative. Next up, we have the dinosaur activity play mat which is not just for entertainment but it also serves for educational purposes because kids can learn from it whilst they play. We also have the toy rocket launcher dolls which is a classic kids toy and will never lose its popularity as well as electric mini cars. They see me rolling, they're hating. These electric mini cars are high in demand because they are extremely appealing to children making them the perfect Christmas gift. Next up, we have the fitness and entertainment niche that has become incredibly lucrative. Entertainment will just simply never go out of fashion and we've seen more and more people become more in tune with their health and fitness goals which just proves that this niche is incredibly profitable. Here are some of the best high ticket items to sell under this niche. Up first, we have smart watches which can measure your heart rate, your sleeping patterns, your workouts and much more. It's also become a super trendy item so make sure to list this as a high ticket item. Next up, we have yoga mats. You can offer these yoga mats in various sizes, colors and styles. Next up, we have gaming keyboard sets which is the most profitable item on our list. The gaming keyboard sets usually consist of a gaming grade keyboard, a mask and an optional headset. High ticket ski goggles and snowboards also fall under this niche especially because winter is the dominant season during Q4. Next up, we have the jewellery and accessories niche. Over time, this niche has proved to be extremely profitable especially during Q4. In fact, jewellery is one of, if not the most go-to choice for gift giving since these pieces are timeless, classic and beautiful. So here are some of the most popular items under this niche. We have cross pendant necklaces, friendship bracelets, rhinestone snowflake brooches, Christmas tree earrings to show your festivity on Christmas day and of course, the travel jewellery box which is a great product to sell throughout the year because we're able to store our various jewellery accessories. Next up, we have the beauty cane niche which offers a lot of diverse products and great bundle options. Remember that offering product bundles is a great way to increase your average order value. So here are some of the best items to sell under this niche. First up, we have a set of beauty blenders. We all know that this has been a popular item amongst women for years now and because of this, that is exactly why they are trendy and profitable. Our next item is eye masks. So the eye mask is usually two under eye patches which is filled with healthier notion components that helps with wrinkles, dark circles and moisturizing. Next up, we have the LED photodynamic device. No worry, I'll explain. So this device emits light composed of blue, yellow, green and red and as a result, it increases the amount of collagen in the skin and reduces the appearance of wrinkles. Next up, we have the UV nail lamp which is used to set gel nail polish. As such, this product is perfect for manicures, pedicures and creating those fake nails. And do not worry, we have not forgotten about the men which brings me to our next product, the electric hair clippers which is one of the best selling items for Q4 drop shipping. We also have the popular flower dog bow ties and the folding silicone water bowl which is super convenient for any owner's furry friend to stay hydrated anywhere, anytime. We have now looked into all the profitable niches and products for Q4 drop shipping. Let's now look at how we're able to find these winning products for our stores. First, we can take a look at the various drop shipping suppliers best sellers list. This list is based on data generated from previous sales activities. Next, you're able to also spy on your competition. For example, you can search for a product on eBay and then check out other sellers metrics. We also have the AutoDS product research tool and this tool helps us to automatically find winning products. Lastly, you can also utilize our AutoDS blog where you'll find endless drop shipping articles and you can head over to our YouTube channel where you can find endless drop shipping content, guides, tutorials, and tips. So to wrap this YouTube video up, I'm briefly going to go through the seven tips you need to know in order to prepare your store for drop shipping in Q4. The first tip is to optimize sales with product bundles. People opt for gift sets for both themselves and others so we can offer product bundles with a good selection of while grouped items. Also, remember to offer these product bundles at discounted prices. Tip two would be to utilize email marketing. Since marketing costs increase during Q4, this is a great way to save some money while still marketing our stores. Tip three would be to keep up with the latest trends. Shoppers interests and demands are constantly changing and so does trends. This happens a lot more often during Q4 because holidays and shopping events change so fast. Because of this, we need to stay on top of trends in order to stay relevant and competitive. Make sure to constantly review your products and conduct relevant product research. The first tip would be to work with multiple drop shipping suppliers in various regions. Remember what I said at the beginning of this video about the changes that we can expect during Q4 drop shipping. Expect to experience longer shipping times and stock shortages. This is exactly why we should be working with multiple drop shipping suppliers so that we can avoid those exact problems. Tip five would be to create personalized discounts. As we now know, Q4 drop shipping is all about discounts. And this is the perfect opportunity for you to create big discounts without hurting your stream of income. And our final tip would be to automate your drop shipping operations. This tip will not only help you to prepare for Q4 but it will also help your drop shipping store scale in general, save your time, your effort and reduce errors by utilizing our AutoDS drop shipping automation tools. Our most popular tools include product research, quick and easy product imports, complete order fulfillment, what to win, price and stock monitoring, price optimization and of course inventory management. Hooray, we have finally reached the end of this video. Thank you for tuning in and I hope all this Q4 drop shipping information is of valuable use to you and your drop shipping stores. And drop shippers, we are posting this video now so that you'll be able to stop prepping your stores and conduct relevant product research before these Q4 holidays hit. Don't say I didn't plug you with the latest Q4 drop shipping tips. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so that you can stay up to date with all the relevant drop shipping tips, tutorials and guides. And of course, if you enjoyed this video, make sure to drop me a thumbs up. Other than that, please let me know in the comment section below which Q4 holiday you and your drop shipping store are looking most forward to. I'll check you guys in the next video. Thanks for tuning in, drop shippers. Bye for now.