Wanna make money dropshipping notebooks, journals, and planners but don’t know how to start?
Here, we break down the demand for the notebook niche as well as its pros and cons. We’ll also show you the best suppliers and product ideas to start selling notebooks and journals without inventory profitably.
Are Notebooks, Journals, & Planners A Good Dropshipping Niche?
According to TechNavio, the global notebook market size is expected to grow by $16.55 billion during 2021-2025, registering a CAGR of 7.25%. Although there’re some big brands in the market, it’s still highly fragmented and open to newcomers. Hence, notebooks, journals, and planners are a dropshipping niche with potential.
On Google, the search volumes for notebook-related keywords are consistently at a very high level, proving the enormous demand for this dropshipping niche. For example, “journals” has 110,000 searches/month in the US alone, and the number for “planners” is 201,000 searches/month.
How Much Money Can You Make Dropshipping Notebooks, Journals, & Planners?
To answer this question, let’s dissect NotebookTherapy – one of the most successful dropshipping stores.
NotebookTherapy dropships a large portion of its notebook products from AliExpress. Currently, the store has a whopping 400K monthly visitors, mostly from the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and France – countries with high incomes and spending.
As reported by CSIMarket, the average net margin for paper products is 7.2% (It’s important to keep in mind that a top notebook brand like Milanese has a whopping 27% operating profit margin).
Take 1% as the median eCommerce conversion rate. Suppose you get 400K visitors/month to your notebook dropshipping store like NotebookTherapy, with an average order value of $84.89, your monthly profit would be 400K * 1% * $84.89 * 7.2% = $24,448/month.
Pros & Cons Of Dropshipping Notebooks & Journals
Below are the benefits of dropshipping notebooks:
- Plenty Of Suppliers: You can find high-quality and cheap notebooks and journals to dropship from various sellers and platforms.
- Easy To Upsell & Cross-Sell: If you sell notebooks and planners, it’s relatively easy to cross-sell pencil cases, pens, sticky notes, stickers, and other related stationery goods.
And, here are drawbacks of the notebook & journal dropshipping niche:
- Markup Problems: The main difficulty when dropshipping notebooks and journals is that most consumers have a rough idea of how much it should cost. Therefore, it’s tough to resell them at any considerable price.
- Low Profit Margin: For reference, the jewelry dropshipping niche has an average gross profit margin of 42.6%. The number is about the same for hair extension dropshipping.
10 Best Dropshipping Suppliers For Notebooks & Journals
Below are the 10 best dropshipping suppliers to find high-quality and low-cost notebooks, journals, and planners.
1. PepperAndCute
First, we have PepperAndCute. This dropshipping supplier provides some of the most visually appealing notebooks, journals, and planners that are sure to catch people’s attention.
And, if you’re interested in other stationery goods like pens, pencil cases, paper clips, stickers, PepperAndCute can also help you with that.
Regarding pricing, it’s free to start dropshipping from PepperAndCute.
2. HalfMoonBay
How about trying your luck with some branded stuff?
HalfMoonBay gives you access to a catalog of stationery & notebook products of famous characters from Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, Minions, and more. Besides, it provides you with a huge collection of mugs, bottles, cushions, lunch boxes, jewelry, etc.
It’s important to note that to dropship branded products from HalfMoonBay, you have to message them to ask for permissions and certificates.
3. ArtOfWhere
ArtOfWhere is a print-on-demand and fulfillment supplier based in Canada that gives you the ability to design custom notebooks and dropship them globally. It also offers custom labeling and packaging services to make your brand truly stand out.
In regards to pricing, ArtOfWhere is a completely free dropshipping app.
4. AliExpress
The next one is none other than AliExpress. It’s the most famous Chinese B2C marketplace among dropshippers because it’s free to access, easy to use, and provides a wide variety of products in literally any dropshipping niche. It’s also supported by most Shopify dropshipping apps, like Oberlo, DSers, Dropified, etc.
On here, you can find hundreds of thousands of notebooks and journals to start dropshipping for as low as $1.
5. DHgate
Like AliExpress, DHgate is a massive Chinese marketplace to dropship journals and notebooks from. Having a self-built efficient supply chain, it can deliver packages to over 222 countries and regions within 3 to 15 days.
Dropshipping from DHgate means that both you and your customers are backed by a great buyer protection service, which allows for partial or 100% refunds if orders are not as described or are faulty.
6. Banggood
An alternative to DHgate and AliExpress is Banggood. This marketplace has been around for more than 10 years, developing a supplier network all over China and having 37+ overseas warehouses. As a result, it’s able to keep products’ costs low and still provide fast shipping to 200+ countries and territories globally.
When becoming a Banggood dropshipping partner (which is free), you get 5% – 20% off on most products. Blind dropshipping is applied for all orders with no trace that they’re from Banggood.
7. Alibaba
Alibaba is the largest platform for global B2B wholesale trade, and it’s completely free to access.
With the recent launch of the Alibaba Dropshipping Center, it’s no longer for B2B customers alone. Anyone can now start an Alibaba dropshipping business with no MOQ (no minimum order requirement).
What sets Alibaba apart from the crowd is that all Chinese suppliers on here have to go through a strict business verification and authentication process to ensure legitimacy. Therefore, it’s very reliable and safe to dropship notebooks, journals, and planners from Alibaba.
8. Modalyst
Modalyst is the home of 1,000+ dropshipping suppliers of all sizes and shapes, from private label brands, indie retailers, eco-friendly companies to AliExpress manufacturers.
Using this platform, you have access to thousands of dropshipping notebooks and journals starting from $1.
As stated by Modalyst, it can deliver products to international customers within 15 business days and local shoppers within 4-7 business days.
In terms of pricing, Modalyst is free to use with an importing limit of 25 products. Paid plans start from $35/month.
9. Syncee
Similar to Modalyst, Syncee connects you with various reliable sellers in the US, EU, AU, and other local retailers. In addition, it allows you to access product catalogs of some of the biggest wholesale suppliers, including Alibaba, BigBuy, Wish, Sernes, Matterhorn, VidaXL, etc.
On here, you can find plenty of notebook & journal dropshipping goods at B2B wholesale prices with no MOQ.
Syncee pricing is also the same as Modalyst. It’s free to use up to 25 imported products. To add more items, you have to be on a paid plan, starting from $29/month.
10. CJDropshipping
Finally, we have CJDropshipping. This dropshipping supplier has 200+ warehouses all over the world, including China, the USA, Germany, Britain, Australia, France, and other Asian countries. Hence, it can deliver products relatively fast globally (typically within 7-22 days).
CJ also provides you with a service to help you source any Chinese products, not only from AliExpress but also from 1688, Taobao, and any other Chinese marketplaces.
What is even more amazing is that sourcing costs for a specific item are free if it already exists in CJ warehouses. Additionally, you can start selling any product available on its website for free.
Other services CJDropshipping provides are winning product photography, print on demand, and dropshipping branding.
8 Best Winning Product Ideas For Notebooks & Journals Dropshipping
Here are the 8 most interesting dropshipping product ideas for notebooks, journals, and planners.
1. Custom Notebooks & Planners
First, let’s talk about custom journals and planners. They refer to any type of notebook made to create a sense of uniqueness for the person using it. An example is a notebook with your name on it.
Researchers show that 1 in 5 shoppers is willing to pay 20% more for a custom product. Furthermore, 48% of shoppers are okay with waiting longer for personalized service.
2. Notebook Sets
It’s no argument that we love finishing things. According to research, people are willing to spend money to achieve completeness. And, positioning products in a set incentivizes them to buy.
For this reason, dropshipping notebook sets can be very profitable.
3. Wooden Notebooks & Planners
The next dropshipping product idea is wooden notebooks and planners. Selling these items capitalizes on the fact that more and more customers show a preference for eco-friendly products, mainly due to the escalating awareness of environmental problems and health diseases.
As studied by NielsenIQ, 73% of shoppers say they would change their consumption habits to reduce their impact on the environment. SurveyMonkey also shows that 35% of customers would buy a product that’s better for the environment over another that’s slightly cheaper.
4. Vintage Diaries
Dropshipping vintage diaries can help you evoke feelings of nostalgia, a human bias that increases our willingness to spend money.
5. Erasable & Reusable Notebooks
Reusable notebooks are notebooks that can be erased and used over and over again. Many people favor them because they reduce paper waste and environmental impacts.
Many erasable & reusable notebooks nowadays also come with smart pens and tablets that can capture what you’re writing or drawing and digitalize it to apps like Evernote or Dropbox.
6. Artistic Journals
When we talk about artistic journals, we mean notebooks with colorful and eye-catching hardcovers.
What’s great when dropshipping these journals is that they can immediately capture people’s attention. And, that’s the first step to anyone’s shopping journey.
7. Mini Notebooks
The next one to try dropshipping is mini notebooks. They’re small, attractive, and people obsess over cute stuff.
That’s why selling mini notebooks might yield you some unexpected results.
8. Kawaii Journals
The final notebook dropshipping product idea we’d like to mention is kawaii journals.
Along with the rapid adoption of Japanese culture, kawaii quickly expands to become one of the most sought-after styles among teenagers.
Dropshipping Notebooks, Journals, & Planners – Conclusion
Notebooks, journals, and planners are a good dropshipping niche with potential. However, the main challenge when selling them is that it’s difficult to mark them up with a substantial margin to make up for the advertising costs.
Therefore, aside from ads, you should also focus on growing your social media presence on Instagram, Pinterest, and optimize your store for SEO. They can drive tons of traffic to your dropshipping store without spending too much money.
For more information, check out the dropshipping checklist for a complete roadmap on building a successful dropshipping business.
The rightful owner of The Clever Business. I review & curate the leading suppliers so you don't waste time scouring the internet.
