Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method in which the seller does not keep the physical product he sells instead transfers orders and shipment details to a wholesaler or manufacturer and goods are shipped directly to the buyer.
As a result, the seller/merchant never sees or handles the product. In other words, the storage and delivery are taken care of by the supplier/manufacturer of the product.
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It would be hard to wrap your mind around the actual numbers the eCommerce sector have. Therefore, you have no idea how much you can be making when you decide to go into it. There’s just a whole lot of money there.
In 2015, ecommerce revenue was at $1.5 trillion, in 2019, it has grown to about $3.5 trillion and in 2023, it is targeted to $6.5 trillion!
That’s a lot of money right? This is a reason to dive into dropshiping already because it has a very great future.
Contents
Difference Between Dropshipping And A Retail Store
With Dropshipping, you have no need for a physical store as you always send all orders to the manufacturer and wholesaler – paying them to ship the product. A typical retail store/vendor will purchase a specific amount of inventory and continuously restock as the product sells.
Although, the item is shipped from a third party, but all labels will be ordered with the seller’s logos and branding.
How Dropshipping Works
- Choose a Niche
- Create a selling design and place it on a product
- A customer places an order on sampleshop.com
- Shop owner of sampleshop.com receives payment from customer and help purchase the product/items from the supplier i.e. the shop owner places customer’s order
- The supplier ships the product/item to the customer directly
- Shop owner (dropshipper) keeps the difference between what they paid the supplier and what the customer paid them.
For instance, You could make up the price by 100% and sell for a bit higher amount and ship with $1 ePacket. As a result, you make some profit, even when you run ads on social media for about $2-$3. You still make profit anyways.
Pros
Dropshipping can be done as a part-time job until you decide to quit your full time job. With the little capital required to start a dropshipping store, there are tons of benefits that comes with the business.
No inventory needed – In Dropshipping business, there’s no need for a dropshipper to keep stock because he/she is just an intermediary – making it a suitable business for everyone.
Mobility – Wherever you are as long as you have an internet connection, you can handle all orders, queries and all customer needs.
Convenience – E-commerce businesses takes a whole lot from their owners. In dropshipping business, you don’t need to focus on order fulfillment as the manufacturer takes care of it. All you do is to focus on marketing as well as customer services.
Little capital is required – The business does not need a lot of money to get started.
Some suppliers like SaleHoo allow shippers to know which product are best selling and can take advantage of
No minimum of order from some supplies like worldwide brands
Cons
Customers may not receive exactly what they saw on advert (what they paid for)
Delivery could be slow
GETTING STARTED WITH DROPSHIPPING
1. Find a Niche
If you once have an interest in marketing or selling a particular product – you can choose that niche. Another way to find a perfect dropshipping niche is to go for products that you have personal experience with – this way you can convince your customers well about the products including telling them what’s not in the manual. This has so far been the best way to get a perfect niche in dropshipping.
All Dropshipping niche is profitable but for a start, there are some niches you should not dabble into when you are just starting out. Check then here.
2. Find a Reliable Supplier
Sometimes, most dropshippers including myself see this as the hardest part of dropshipping. Before choosing a supplier, there are qualities to look out for including; shipping time, response to returns and refunds among others. I have covered all of these in my eBook. See it below.
3. Choosing a Platform
Oberlo
Oberlo is a marketplace for eCommerce products. This platform has tight integration with Shopify, one-click import of AliExpress products to Shopify store, and with only a few clicks they help you ship directly to your customers where they are.
Oberlo account starts with a 30-days free trial. Their plan starts from $5/mo with no credit card required.
SaleHoo
SaleHoo is a wholesale supplier that links drophippers to suppliers. Sign up for SaleHoo costs $67 (per year) or $127 for a lifetime membership and has a 60-day money-back guarantee – you can try it out if it will be your best fit.
SaleHoo can also be used for market research to find trending products and calculate profit margins.
Wholesale2B
With the wide range of suppliers out there, Wholesale2B lets you manage all of them into one platform. This way you don’t have to sign up for every single one of them. Wholesale2B is compatible with platforms like WooCommerce, Shopify, Amazon, and more.
4. Start Promoting Your Store
There are several ways to promote your dropship store including SEO, running Facebook ads, content marketing, etc.
Read also:
6 steps on how to start a business from scratch
40+ free resources to help run your business
Top Rated Dropshipping Suppliers
- China Brands – Hobby, Toys
- Megagoods – Electronics
- Artisan furniture – Furniture
- Born pretty – Beauty products
- Collection fab – Fashion
Get my complete guide to make a successful dropshipping store.
The eBook contains; How to build a dropshipping store from scratch, How to get a reliable supplier, How to find a profitable product niche, Dropshipping automation software, How to optimize your products and store, and many more
Dropshipping Companies
WooCommerce
With over 28% of the total dropshipping of the whole eCommerce stores, WooCommerce is the most popular and widely used dropshipping company and it is also the most widely used eCommerce plugin worldwide.
Woocommerce can be integrated into your WordPress website as a plugin or as an eCommerce option – it is offered by many hosting providers.
Signup for Woocommerce drop shipping here
Shopify
Shopify is another eCommerce company that allows you to host and build your online store. With Shopify you can sell anything you want including products and services from any part of the world.
The platform has a website builder that lets you customize your store with over 100s of themes available for you (you don’t need to know any programming or coding skills to build and setup your store. There are just a lot of benefit that comes with Shopify most of which i have covered in my eBook above.
They offer a 14 day free trial – time to make up your mind whether/ to stay with them. Their Basic plan starts from $29/month, Shopify plan at $79/month and an Advanced plan at $299/month.
As a starter, Dropshipping can be done without a website especially on Amazon or eBay but subsequently, you would need one. Shopify and Woocommerce are the best websites to create your dropshipping store. While Shopify provides free training and resources on every aspect of running an eCommerce business. And finally, Woocommerce has a lot of guides and resources to get you started.
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Thanks for the information about dropshipping.
You’re welcome Gina 🙂