Before you fall for headlines promising easy money by starting a dropshipping business, there are a few things that need clarification in order to prevent yourself looking through rose-colored glasses. If we were to describe dropshipping in one sentence, it’d be that it’s like a physical retail store where no products are in stock, but rather the customer chooses from a catalog and has the product delivered to the door. In other words, the merchant never actually keeps an inventory but instead purchases it on demand from a third party, who will then ship it directly to the customer with the logo and brand of the retailer. The third party fulfilling the order is usually a wholesaler or a manufacturer.
While the dropshipping business model has various benefits such as the need for less capital, the ease of getting started, and a flexible location, selecting the best hosted ecommerce software is key to your success. That’s why we’ve selected three platforms to match the needs of any dropshipping business.
There are some instances where size really does matter. When an ecommerce platform covers 120 countries and has more than 500 employees behind it, that’s when size matters. BigCommerce started as a two-person startup, but has rapidly grown into a vibrant ecommerce platform as a service; a true success story born from the company’s clever decision to tap into a segment of ecommerce services that remains fairly unexplored by competitors. BigCommerce offers the most comprehensive tools and services to customers looking to move their store from offline to online for a starting price of $29.95 per month, which mostly matches competitors offering lesser services. Those eyeing this versatile platform can sign up for a 15-day trial period, during which they can test all the features to help make a decision.
Chosen by more than a million users, Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms and powers 600,000 businesses worldwide. You’re probably left pondering precisely how one company can gain so much traction, what exactly is it that has made it such a well-known and common name in the industry? Likely it’s to do with its well-designed, easy-to-use, and versatile platform that comes packed with a long list of essential features that merchants looking to grab their slice of the online retail business can make the most of. But since this impressive package is available for as low as $9 per month, there’s aren’t many reasons to overlook Shopify, least of all because of the 14 day free trial period where it’s possible to see for yourself what is on offer.
Whether it is an awesome product that you designed yourself or your hard work goes into selling a variety of goods from other people, the power of ecommerce is unstoppable. Online sales are rising every year, creating a great opportunity to increase sales by moving from brick and mortar stores to mobile-optimized online platforms. Austin, Texas-based Volusion, LLC is among the early ecommerce service providers having launched in 1999, and now powers the online stores of more than 30,000 merchants.
By focusing on simplicity, one of Volusion’s key selling points is that anyone can build an elegant online storefront, even without technical knowledge. So if you have an eye for detail, you’ll definitely be able to set up an appealing store online and start earning money selling physical goods. Volusion has a variety of options to help with this but even before opting for the cheapest $29 per month plan, users can test the service risk-free for 14 days.
There are a few critical steps to consider when starting a dropshipping business. Since wholesalers or manufacturers make or break this business model, it’s important to have the right setup from the very first moment of launching the online storefront. You’ll likely come across fake wholesalers, so that’s our first tip: to keep your eyes open and work only with genuine wholesalers. It’s something that’s a bit harder to accomplish, but it’s doable.
By applying a handful of simple tactics, you’ll be able to spot non-genuine wholesalers or suppliers way before you sign the contract. For example, fake wholesalers are eager to charge a monthly fee only for the privilege of ordering from them. That’s not the case with supplier directories, which charge a fee for access. This is a good investment, because supplier directories screen suppliers and list only legitimate ones. If a wholesaler offers products to the public at ‘wholesale prices’, that’s another good sign that you are dealing with a retailer offering products at inflated prices instead of a genuine industry player.
Keeping the above in mind, there are certain expectations you will encounter such as pre-order fees and minimum order size.
While it is possible to make a sale without any help from software, it isn’t without a product or service. And since you are aiming to get into dropshipping, then it has to be the former that you’re looking to sell. The best way to do that is by getting right to the source, the manufacturer, because this enables advantages such as ensuring a legitimate wholesaler or, if the manufacturer doesn’t deal with dropshipping, then they can at least introduce you to the wholesaler that they work with.
Working with a legitimate wholesaler brings several benefits such as gaining access to customer service with knowledge in the field that you operate in and, secondly, since most wholesalers have products from a variety of manufacturers, this will allow you to sell all the products from the supplier’s catalog. If you have your own design, we recommend using Gelato to produce, store, and ship your goodies.
Gelato is a print-on-demand platform that focuses on fast delivery and reduced carbon emissions. Users can design, order, and sell a variety of items, including wall art, clothing, mugs, and photo books. All of the products are made locally, ensuring faster shipping and lower carbon footprints. Its photo book editor offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface with customizable layouts, fonts, and backgrounds so users can bring their creativity to life.
Pricing starts at $11.85 for softcover books and $20.75 for hardcover books, with discounts of up to 25% off available for Gelato+ and Gelato Gold subscribers. A 30-day free trial is also available, allowing people to explore premium features before committing.
Before contacting any supplier it’s a smart idea to have a legal entity, because most wholesalers and manufacturers will ask you for legal proof of the incorporated company that they will be working with. Also, it is wise to keep in mind that, like many other businesses, dropshipping requires significant commitments and a long-term perspective, so don’t expect to have a five-figure income after two months of part-time work on the business. If that is what you had in mind, think again, because you’ll likely be disappointed.
A successful dropshipping business requires investment both in terms of time and money. Time investment could mean a lot of things, but focusing on essentials such as learning how the dropshipping business works inside and out, preparing for sales scenarios (even for the worst-case situation), and collecting information about the market and the customers you are targeting will all give you the understanding needed to succeed.
It’s easy to say that you should invest a lot of money in the business right from the start because the ROI is good, but the reality is that this type of business requires less monetary investment than knowledge. If you aren’t familiar with how things work on every level, then you’ll likely be at the mercy of a variety of service providers such as designers and programmers, and this will cost you a lot. By opting for an ecommerce platform subscription, it is possible to start a dropshipping business with low investment and then gradually grow as the business evolves.
Once you have an account with the wholesalers and the list of products you are going to sell is ready, the only thing that is missing is the online storefront that customers will use to make a purchase order. To fill that gap you’ll want to pick an ecommerce platform to help, and with this you’ll want either a hosted or self-hosted platform. The latter provides the advantage of offering all the necessary tools to set up an online store in just a few days, without requiring any coding skills.
Every ecommerce platform has a number of free templates to choose from that can be customized to reflect your brand. They all give users access to a variety of payment gateways and payment processors that are integrated well into the platform, so you don’t have to worry about accepting payments or collecting taxes because that’s also included in the software. All you need to do is customize it based on the tax requirements of the targeted area of operations.
Since all ecommerce platforms offer a free trial version, the best way to decide which one is the most suitable for your needs is to sign up for a trial account. This way it’s possible to determine whether help is needed to start the dropshipping business. It’s that simple.
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