Best Selling Items on Amazon in 2026 (12 Departments)

TL;DR: I read the top 6 of Amazon's Best Sellers in 12 departments on 9 November 2026, signed out, with a New York delivery address. The best selling items on Amazon that day were mostly things people use up (toilet paper, cat litter, copy paper), plain basics and one toy craze. Amazon's own products sat in eight of the 12 lists, and many leaders had hundreds of thousands of ratings, so the top spots are rarely a new seller's fight. The lists are better at showing buyers and seasons: on the novelty t-shirt list, the opening for print-on-demand sellers was the holidays.

If you are deciding what to sell on Amazon, the Best Sellers page is the right place to see the best selling items on Amazon: it ranks each list by sales. It doesn't tell you what a list means for a seller, or which spots are open.

So I read 12 lists on one day. Below are the best selling products on Amazon that day, department by department: the top 3, a picture and one honest lesson. No sales figures: Amazon doesn't publish them, and I won't invent them.

Trendlytic, the tool I build, is for print-on-demand sellers, so the last list is Men's Novelty T-Shirts. I say where our tool fits near the end.

How we read these lists

• When and where: 9 November 2026, Amazon.com Best Sellers, signed out, delivery address New York 10001. Another address or a signed-in account can see different prices and offers.
• What: the top 6 in 11 departments plus Men's Novelty T-Shirts, a subcategory of Clothing: rank, title, stars, ratings count and the price on the card.
• Prices as displayed. A few cards showed "1 offer from" (a third-party price), "Click for details" or no price at all. I report them that way rather than guess.

Amazon orders these lists by sales, so #1 was the department's best seller when I looked. A rank is not a sales count: Amazon publishes no units or revenue for these items, and neither do we. Ratings aren't sales either, and one count can be shared across colors. The lists change often, so read this as one day's photograph. For how the rank works on a product page, see what Amazon BSR means.

The #1 best selling item on Amazon in each department

1. Home & Kitchen: Amazon's own sheets and hangers

Amazon's own brand took the top two: an Amazon Basics microfiber bed sheet set (twin, navy; 4.5 stars, 482,140 ratings, $11.29) and a 50-pack of Amazon Basics velvet hangers (4.8 stars, 239,095 ratings, $17.99). #3 was a Barossa Design clear shower curtain liner (4.5 stars, 102,734 ratings, $8.95).

The lesson: here you compete with Amazon itself. Amazon Basics or Amazon Essentials sat in the top 6 of six of the 12 lists and held #1 in two, this one and Office Products. Count the Fire TV Stick and Amazon's custom tee, and Amazon's own products were in eight of the 12. This top 6 is all plain goods, the ground Amazon's line covers.

2. Beauty & Personal Care: small, used up, under $20

#1 was eos Shea Better body lotion in Vanilla Cashmere (4.7 stars, 93,249 ratings, $9.97). #2 was Mighty Patch Original acne patches, 36 count (4.6 stars, 187,203 ratings, $11.97). #3 was medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0 toner pads (4.6 stars, 36,357 ratings, $18.90).

The lesson: name the job and keep the price low. All six cost under $20 and get used up; #6 was Amazon Essentials cotton swabs at $2.55. Two of the top three name the problem in the title: "Acne Pimple Patches" and "Exfoliation and Pore Care". That carries over to a shirt: say who it is for, in the words that buyer types.

3. Health & Household: the reorder list

#1 was Scott ComfortPlus toilet paper, 12 triple rolls (4.5 stars, 148,760 ratings, $7.47). #2 and #3 were both Bounty paper towels: 16 family rolls "= 40 regular rolls" (4.8 stars, 238,366 ratings, $43.49) and 2 triple rolls (4.8 stars, 26,295 ratings, $9.69).

The lesson: consumables and reorders dominate, behind a wall of ratings. Nothing here is bought once: after Bounty came paper plates, AA batteries and more toilet paper. The Amazon Basics 48-pack of AA batteries at #5 had 669,186 ratings, the largest count in all 12 lists. A new listing starts at zero, on the same page as that number.

4. Electronics: a subscription and three Apple products

#1 was not a device but the "blink plus plan with monthly auto-renewal" (4.4 stars, 281,871 ratings, $11.99). #2 was Apple EarPods with a USB-C plug (4.5 stars, 20,045 ratings, $19.00) and #3 the Apple AirTag, 2nd Generation (4.6 stars, 12,986 ratings, $23.00).

The lesson: some lists show what people buy, not what you can sell. Apple held three of the top four, with AirPods Pro 3 at #4 ($199.00, the priciest item in all 12 lists), and Amazon's Fire TV Stick and a Roku stick filled #5 and #6. Nobody breaks into this list with a better earbud.

5. Toys & Games: one squeeze toy brand, four spots

Schylling's NeeDoh squeeze toys took #1, #2 and #3: the 2.25-inch Nice Cube (4.2 stars, 9,075 ratings), the 1.25-inch Nice Ice Baby (4.1 stars, 5,064 ratings) and the Teenie Color Change 4-pack (4.5 stars, 446 ratings). The first two showed only "1 offer from" a third-party seller, at $49.99 and $6.99, and the third showed no price.

The lesson: a toy craze can fill a whole top 3, and the rank follows sales, not reviews. NeeDoh was #6 too, with 5 ratings, among toys with thousands. A craze is worth noticing, but it belongs to the brand, and a lookalike of someone else's toy is not a plan I would recommend.

6. Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry: blank fleece for November

Plain cold-weather basics led the whole department. #1 was a Hanes men's EcoSmart fleece crewneck sweatshirt (4.6 stars, 9,596 ratings) and #3 the Hanes EcoSmart hoodie (4.5 stars, 172,958 ratings), both showing "Click for details" instead of a price. Between them sat a Trendy Queen women's long sleeve top sold as "Fall Fashion" (4.4 stars, 8,537 ratings, $5.59).

The lesson: at department level, clothing is blanks and the season. None of the six carries a print or a slogan. For a print-on-demand seller that says two things: fleece season had started, and graphic shirts compete one level down, in lists like Men's Novelty T-Shirts (number 12).

7. Pet Supplies: cat owners restocking

#1 was Dr. Elsey's Ultra unscented cat litter in a 40 lb bag (4.4 stars, 70,678 ratings, $22.99). #2 was a 30-can pack of Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers (4.7 stars, 55,844 ratings, $28.06). #3 was Amazon Basics puppy pee pads, 100 count (4.4 stars, 220,894 ratings, $20.99).

The lesson: a pet list is a list of owners. Cat products took four of the six spots, including INABA Churu treats at #6 (4.9 stars, the best rating in all 12 lists), and all six get used up. If you sell designs, the litter doesn't transfer, but the buyer does.

8. Office Products: the same price to the cent

#1 was Amazon Basics copy paper, one ream (4.8 stars, 232,582 ratings, $6.97). #2 was Scotch Heavy Duty packing tape, 6 rolls (4.8 stars, 136,705 ratings, $11.98). #3 was HP Copy & Print paper, one ream (4.8 stars, 89,462 ratings), also at $6.97.

The lesson: when products are interchangeable, prices match and stars stop separating them. The two reams cost the same to the cent, and five of the six had 4.8 stars. What decides is the price, the ratings pile and the name on the box, Amazon's included.

9. Sports & Outdoors: one bottle in three lists

#1 was the Owala FreeSip 24 oz water bottle in Black Cherry (4.6 stars, 145,248 ratings, $29.99). #2 was Aquatabs water purification tablets, 100 pack (4.7 stars, 3,622 ratings, $39.99). #3 was Owala again, the FreeSip Sway 30 oz in Sweet Talk (4.6 stars, 14,369 ratings, $39.99).

The lesson: departments overlap, and a ratings count can cover a whole product family. The FreeSip 24 oz was #1 here, #1 in Kitchen & Dining in Denim and #4 in Home & Kitchen. Both colors showed the same 145,248 ratings, so that count covers the bottle across colors. Check every department your product could sit in before you call a niche empty or crowded.

10. Kitchen & Dining: a fall table runner among the bottles

Drinkware led. #1 was the same Owala FreeSip 24 oz, in Denim ($29.99). #2 was the Owala SmoothSip Slider, a 12 oz coffee tumbler in Vanilla Bean (4.6 stars, 16,026 ratings, $24.98). #3 was a bella slim 2-slice toaster in Oatmilk (4.2 stars, 22,563 ratings, $19.99).

The lesson: seasonal items climb in season. At #5 sat an $8.99 terracotta cheesecloth table runner whose title names Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving. With 8,118 ratings, the fewest in this top 6, it still ranked above a KitchenAid can opener with more than ten times as many. The likely reason is the date, with Thanksgiving on 26 November. A seasonal listing only gets that window if it is live early, which is why our free POD calendar is built around upload dates.

11. Arts, Crafts & Sewing: one marker set, two seasons

#1 was an ARTISTRO set of 36 dual-tip acrylic paint markers, titled as a "Pumpkin Painting & Decorating Kit for Halloween & Fall Crafts" (4.4 stars, 6,408 ratings, $9.95). #2 was a 2 oz bottle of Apple Barrel white acrylic paint at $0.58, the cheapest item in all 12 lists (4.7 stars, 46,972 ratings). #3 was Elmer's disappearing purple glue sticks, 3 count (4.8 stars, 118,221 ratings, $3.99).

The lesson: the occasion lives in the title. At #4 was what reads as the same 36-marker set in a second listing ($9.99, 16,255 ratings), titled for "Christmas Crafts & Stocking Stuffers". Nine days after Halloween, the fall version was still #1. For a design seller, titles and tags work the same way: name the occasion, and prepare the next one early.

12. Men's Novelty T-Shirts: where a t-shirt seller competes

Men's Novelty T-Shirts is a subcategory inside Clothing, and the list closest to print on demand. #1 was True Classic men's plain crew neck t-shirts (4.2 stars, 22,855 ratings, $98.99); the photo shows six colors, and the card doesn't say how many shirts that price buys. #2 was "Custom T-Shirt with Your Image for Men, Women and Kids by Modify by Amazon Merch on Demand" (4.2 stars, 5,636 ratings, $14.99). #3 was a Peanuts Happy Thanksgiving shirt (4.8 stars, 427 ratings, $16.99).

The capture stops at #2 because #3 is a licensed character shirt.

The lesson: the top three held no independent design. A plain-tee brand, Amazon's own custom tee and a licensed character. The room for original work is elsewhere, which is the next section.

Where print-on-demand sellers fit among Amazon's best sellers

If you sell designs, your shelf is a subcategory like this one, not the Clothing department above it. Its full top 6 that day:

Amazon is here too. #2 is Amazon's own custom tee, printed from the buyer's image under the Merch on Demand name. #2 and #6 both print the buyer's photo, a different business from selling designs. Independent designers reach Amazon through Merch on Demand itself, covered in the FAQ below.

Two of the six are licensed. The Peanuts and Superman shirts come from companies that hold the license. An independent seller cannot use those characters, names or logos, and trying puts the account at risk. The buyer behind #3 is still useful: someone who wanted a Thanksgiving shirt in early November. Make your own version for the same buyer, with your own art and words.

The season is the open lane. Thanksgiving at #3 and a funny Christmas shirt at #5 show the list turning toward Christmas, and holiday demand is open to original work. Our best selling t-shirt designs post shows which themes led across four marketplaces on 29 October.

Most designs never compete for #1 in a list this broad, and they don't need to. They sell in narrow niches, where the number to watch is a design's own Best Sellers Rank. The free Amazon BSR calculator turns that rank into a rough sales estimate, labelled as one because Amazon publishes no real figures. For buyer wording, see the most searched keywords on Amazon. Amazon Merch research shows how we weigh a Merch niche before a design gets made.

How to use Amazon's best seller lists without chasing them

1. Read the buyer and the calendar, not the product. The table runner, the fall markers and the fleece say what people prepared for in November. That carries over; the product rarely does.
2. Check who holds the top. If it is Amazon's own line, a platform brand or a license holder, the list is information, not a target.
3. Read the ratings column as a wall. Where leaders have a few hundred or a few thousand ratings, a newer listing can still rank: a toy with 5 ratings was #6 that day.
4. Go one level down. Read the subcategory your product would live in, not the department.
5. Date every reading, and read again a week later. An item still there tells you more than one rank.
6. Don't copy the winner. Take the buyer and make your own version for the same buyer.
7. If you sell designs, check the niche on more than one marketplace first. The same buyer on Amazon, Etsy, Redbubble and TeePublic, with new designs still getting through, beats one list on one day. By hand, that takes hours per idea.

That last check is what we built Trendlytic for, so weigh this knowing it is our product. It covers t-shirts and similar print-on-demand products, not Amazon's general departments: it won't tell you whether to sell paper towels. For a niche you type, it reads Amazon US alongside Etsy, Redbubble and TeePublic and shows the designs selling there (on Etsy, favorites and listing dates, since Etsy shares no sales), with Rising marking new designs already selling. It starts from $19.99/mo, with 100 searches, which read up to 6,000 designs on the marketplaces with a verdict on every niche, plus the 1,000 top designs in Best Design Instant, re-ranked every hour. A USPTO lookup is one click on any phrase, and the 3-day trial takes a card. See what is selling in your niche before you upload a design.

FAQ

What are the best selling items on Amazon right now?

On 9 November 2026 the #1s were mostly staples: an Amazon Basics sheet set, Scott toilet paper, eos body lotion, Dr. Elsey's cat litter, Amazon Basics copy paper and an Owala water bottle. The lists change often, so check Amazon's page for today's and use this one for the pattern.

What is the number one best selling item on Amazon?

There isn't a single one: Amazon ranks items within each department and subcategory. The most-rated item in my 12 lists, the Amazon Basics AA batteries (669,186 ratings), was #5 in its own, because ratings are not sales.

How often does Amazon update its Best Sellers?

Often enough that today's list won't match this one. Amazon ranks the lists by sales and they change regularly, but I have no published timetable I could check, so I won't quote one. Compare two readings a few days apart before acting. Our BSR guide covers the rank on a single product.

What sells best on Amazon for a new seller?

The lists can't tell you. The top spots belonged to Amazon's own lines, platform brands and listings with tens or hundreds of thousands of ratings. A new seller has better odds where the leaders have few ratings, where a season is moving, or in a narrow subcategory with a specific buyer.

Can I sell t-shirts on Amazon without inventory?

Yes. With Merch on Demand you upload designs, Amazon prints and ships each shirt when it sells, and you earn a royalty, after applying and being accepted. The other route is your own Seller Central listings with a print partner such as Printful or Printify. Our Merch on Demand guide covers both.

Are Amazon best sellers a good thing to copy?

No. Copying a product puts you against the brand that built the ratings, and copying a design can infringe a copyright or trademark. Take the buyer instead: what they wanted, at what price, for which occasion. Make your own version for the same buyer and look up its phrase with our free trademark checker, one click on the USPTO register.

Conclusion

On 9 November 2026, the best selling items on Amazon were mostly things people use up, plain basics, one toy craze and a few seasonal pieces, with the top spots held by Amazon's own lines, big brands and huge review counts. Read the lists for buyers and seasons, not as a shopping list. For print-on-demand sellers, the open lane that day was the holidays. Take the buyer and the timing, and make something of your own.

Which Best Sellers list do you check before deciding what to sell, and what did it show you this week?