$ cat prompt.txt — Dropshipping

Winning Dropshipping Product Researcher — TikTok Era Edition

Find 3 winning dropshipping products with TikTok-velocity validation + branded-store potential.

30–60 min intermediate Claude Opus, GPT-5, Gemini 2.5 Pro#dropshipping#product-research#tiktok

intro.md

The 'AliExpress arbitrage' era of dropshipping is dead — Meta CPMs killed it. What works in 2026 is products with TikTok organic velocity (so you don't need to pay for awareness) and brand-building potential (so customer LTV is more than one sale). This prompt screens product ideas against both criteria and gives you 3 vetted winners.

$ cat prompt.txt | pbcopy

The prompt — copy & paste

prompt.txt

You are a 7-figure dropshipping operator who scaled 4 brands past $1M/year in 2024-2025. Your job is to find me 3 WINNING product ideas that meet the 2026 reality: TikTok-organic-viable + brand-buildable + margin-friendly.

MY INPUTS:
- Target audience (life stage, interest, current frustration): {{target_audience}}
- Product retail price range: {{price_range}}
- My starting budget for inventory + ads: {{starting_budget}}

THE 2026 WINNING PRODUCT CRITERIA — every candidate MUST pass all 6:

1. SOLVES A SPECIFIC, DEMONSTRABLE PROBLEM (visible in a 15-second video)
2. NOVELTY FACTOR — "I've never seen that before" reaction (the TikTok stop-scroll signal)
3. SUPPLIER MARGIN — AliExpress / Alibaba cost < 25% of retail (so 4x markup is healthy)
4. BRAND POTENTIAL — can be branded with custom packaging / unboxing (so it's not a race to the bottom)
5. SHIPPING FRIENDLY — < 1lb, durable, ships in a flat parcel (avoids fragility refunds and EU shipping cost spikes)
6. NOT IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS OF "SATURATED WINNERS" — explicitly exclude products that were dropshipping hits in 2024-2025 (you know the list)

EXECUTE:

STAGE 1 — IDEATION (12 candidates)
Generate 12 product ideas matching my audience + price range. For each, write a one-line description.

STAGE 2 — SCREEN (kill the losers fast)
For each of the 12, score 1-5 on each of the 6 criteria above. Drop anything scoring below 18/30 total.

STAGE 3 — DEEP DIVE TOP 3
For the 3 highest-scoring products, give me:

A. PRODUCT BRIEF
- Product name (working brand name)
- One-line buyer description
- 3 specific frustrations it solves
- Estimated AliExpress unit cost + retail price + gross margin
- Why this passes all 6 winning criteria

B. TIKTOK ORGANIC PLAY
- 5 hook concepts for short-form videos (the first 3 seconds — what stops the scroll?)
- 3 demonstration angles (how to show the problem-solve in 15 seconds)
- 2 'POV / day in the life' content concepts
- Niche creator partnerships I should pursue (size + tier — micro 10k-50k, mid 50k-500k, etc.)

C. STORE STRATEGY
- Brand positioning in one sentence
- Color palette + visual vibe (gives me a direction for Shopify theme + ad creative)
- 2 cross-sell / upsell products I should source alongside it (raises AOV)
- Suggested launch price + a 30-60-90 day pricing ladder

D. RISK FLAGS
- Customer complaint themes I should expect (so I can write support templates)
- Supply-chain risks (Chinese New Year, EU regulations, etc.)
- Why this could fail and what to watch for in week 1 data

STAGE 4 — 30-DAY EXECUTION ROADMAP
A specific week-by-week plan to validate the #1 product in 30 days using my {{starting_budget}}:
- Week 1: Order samples + open Shopify trial
- Week 2: Shoot 5 short-form videos + set up store
- Week 3: Launch organic + small Meta test ($200)
- Week 4: Read the data — kill or scale

Be ruthless. If none of the 12 candidates pass screening, tell me my target_audience is too narrow / saturated and recommend a different one.

$ variables_to_fill_in

$ man playbook

Step-by-step playbook

How to actually use this prompt for the best results.

01
Describe your audience by their current behaviour
{{target_audience}} should describe what they're doing now that this product would fix. 'Pet owners' is too broad. 'Apartment dwellers with cats who shed and currently use lint rollers daily' is workable.
02
Set a realistic budget
{{starting_budget}} below $500 limits you to organic-only TikTok plays. $500–$2,000 unlocks paid Meta testing. Be honest about the number — the model adjusts the 30-day plan to fit.
03
Run the prompt and stress-test the criteria scoring
If the top 3 all score 28+/30, the model is being generous — push back with 'be more critical on criteria 2 and 6, I think you're over-scoring novelty'.
04
Order samples of all 3 before deciding
Don't pick a winner without holding the product. Sample order through AliExpress is $50–$150 total. Most 'paper winners' fail the touch test for quality.
05
Pick ONE product and commit 30 days
Don't run multiple products in parallel as a first-time operator. Pick the strongest, give it the full 30-day plan, kill it if the data says so at week 4. Multi-product complexity is what kills 90% of new dropshippers.

$ man tips

Pro tips for better output

›Cross-reference the recommended products with TikTok search results manually — paste each name into TikTok and check if there's existing organic traction (good = some traction, bad = none or already saturated).
›The 'NOT IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS OF WINNERS' rule is critical — if you sell a 2024 winning product in 2026, you're competing against operators with bank balance + agency creative.
›If you're under $300 budget, ignore the Meta-test step entirely and run 100% organic for 60 days — the data won't be as fast but it's honest.
›Quality samples are the #1 differentiator. Spend the $100–$200 on samples even if you can't afford ad spend — selling a product that disappoints is a 1-star-review death spiral.

$ echo $YIELD

What you'll get

output.md

12 screened product candidates, 3 fully-developed winning concepts with brand strategy, TikTok creative angles, store positioning, and a 30-day execution roadmap calibrated to your budget.

$ man faq

FAQ

Is dropshipping legal and is this AI advice safe?

Yes, dropshipping is fully legal — you're acting as a retailer fulfilling orders from a supplier. The AI gives you product ideas and creative direction; you're responsible for compliance with platform terms (Shopify, TikTok), tax obligations in your jurisdiction, and product-safety regulations for restricted categories (electronics, cosmetics, supplements).

How long until I see if a product is a winner?

Organic TikTok: 7–14 days of consistent posting (3+ videos/day) before you have enough data signal. Paid Meta: 3–5 days at $50/day budget. If after 14 days organic + $250 paid spend you're not getting consistent add-to-carts at a reasonable cost, kill the product and try the next one.

Can I run this without inventory (true dropship from China)?

Yes for testing, but for scaling beyond $5k/mo you should switch to a US/EU 3PL (warehoused inventory) to get sub-7-day shipping. Slow shipping is the #1 killer of customer reviews and repeat purchase rate.

$ ls /prompts/dropshipping