DropShipping Bonfire Night products [Updated for 2021]

While Guy Fawkes might not have been the most well behaved character in history, he sure did leave us with a fun legacy to celebrate each year. From mid-October onwards, skies around the UK are lit up with colour and sparkles, peaking on November 5th. Of course, last year Fireworks Night was pretty different due to coronavirus lockdowns, and many large firework displays and accompanying events such as funfairs that would normally be on the cards were cancelled. This year, customers are likely to be celebrating twice as hard, setting off fireworks at home, and attending organised displays.

Where customers are celebrating separately rather than at big events, they are likely to be looking for ways to get that Bonfire Night experience at home. For sellers, that means a great opportunity to make sales of items for the night – and of course, if you are DropShipping, you can add these items to your inventory until demand drops off, and then stop selling them.

Rather than just highlighting the marketing opportunity that sellers can take advantage of, we thought we’d have a quick look at some ideas of products that will sell well – both ahead of Guy Fawkes Night, and after.

Clothing

Many of us still aren’t commuting at the moment, so we’re not really noticing how chilly it is outside, but when planning for an event like a bonfire party, people often come to realise that they need new outdoor wear. If they don’t notice before the event, often they realise after that they need winter clothing and footwear – such as when there are holes in wellies leading to wet toes!

Fireworks Night is a great opportunity to really push cold weather gear, so coats, hats, scarves and gloves are a good place to start. But they’re not the only items of clothing that will sell well at this time of year. Warm socks for under wellies, thermal leggings and vests, fleecy hoodies – they are all big sellers in the autumn and into early winter.

When it comes to footwear, wellington boots and waterproof boots are the things to add. Bonus points for bright, fun colours! Remember, if you’re DropShipping, you won’t be left with stock or random pairs of small or large sizes to clear – so you can add those riskier styles that customers might love, but they also might not.

The whole family is likely to need replacement clothing items, so ensure you have items and styles in a range of sizes.

Fun and games

Since there will be few chances to attend large firework displays and to go on funfair rides that often accompany those type of events, parents will be looking to make the most of their gardens with their families. Getting bundled up and painting faces, and playing with glow in the dark toys isn’t quite the same as going to a funfair, but it certainly will create memories and great photo opportunities. With that in mind, offering lighting options such as fairy lights (ideal to sell from now through until mid-December), party decorations and firework effect LED lights will help customers to set the scene.

Filling your sales channels with glow in the dark toys and games, glowsticks and neon clothing will help to increase your sales, as well items like LED gloves, indoor sparklers and so on.

Food and cooking

One of the things that we think everyone will miss this year if they can’t get to large bonfire displays is the food. The smell of frying onions, burgers, doughnuts and candyfloss – well, we’re getting hungry just thinking about it! Having delicious food in the garden is going to be essential again this year, and so we’re anticipating a demand on items like barbeque tools and crepe makers. Slow cookers are a constant seller throughout the winter months, but Fireworks Night is just another reason to market them – suggest delicious warming chilli over jacket potatoes to your customers.

To get that sweet treat after dinner in the garden, candy floss makers and popcorn makers are likely to sell well, in addition to baking equipment.

Pet comfort

Not everybody loves fireworks unfortunately – and many of our pets are scared senseless with all the unusual loud bangs. Each year we see reminders from animal charities and veterinary practices to help remind pet owners that they need to keep their animals safe and secure.

If you’re promoting items Bonfire Night, be sure to remind your customers about the needs of their pets – you can add items to your inventory that will keep pets comfortable and feeling secure throughout the fireworks season. Super-soft, fluffy blankets, warming pads and enclosed beds will help owners to keep their animals feeling safe, and you can recommend that they play music to help block out the noise and keep pets from feeling stressed. (I particularly enjoy Amazon Music’s ‘Classical for Pets’ playlist – and I don’t have a pet at the moment! – Dawn)

Bonfire accessories

Talking of animals, hedgehogs often climb inside bonfires – so remind your customers to check their fires before lighting, or even better – encourage them to buy a closed fire pit that animals are less likely to be able to get into!

Sales of fire pits are likely to increase in late October, and items like Swedish candle logs. For families with children, look at selling packs that you can put on the fire to change the colour, and having decorative, artificial cardboard campfires that children can play with without risking them getting burnt. They won’t have huge margins, but every little counts, especially if your customers are ordering other items from you.

Safety items

Although most of us love fireworks, nobody wants to get hurt. With events cancelled and families setting off their own fireworks, there is likely to be a demand for items that can help keep the family safe. Heat-proof gloves and high-viz clothing are a good idea for whoever is setting off the fireworks, as are having torches available for children and buckets for putting out sparklers. These type of items probably aren’t particularly exciting, but they will sell – and if you’re creating a feature for your customers, it is likely to prompt add-on sales.

Smaller children are often frightened by loud bangs but enjoy the colours, so consider adding ear defenders and earmuffs to help them to enjoy the event without being quite as scared.

Marketplace restrictions to know for DropShipping fireworks

It is possible to DropShip fireworks, and some businesses do have arrangements in place with wholesalers and suppliers. However, for businesses that are still scaling, DropShipping fireworks can turn out to be more hassle than it is worth – especially if traffic to your website is still growing. Most marketplaces have fireworks on their list of restricted items due to them containing explosive materials – See here for Amazon’s rules, and here for eBay.