What is it?
It is a business model that allows you to sell products online without having actual stock, avoiding warehousing fees and shipping. In this method, basically the product is post into the online store website, the customer will buy it and order from the store, then you will forward the order to direct supplier or manufacturer, who will packed it and ship it to the final consumer.
How to start?
- Find and choose the product: there are infinite products on the market, choose a niche do no sell a little of everything but instead decide on a product line, (like our table lamps :)) . Once you've got a niche, analyze your competitors, research potential suppliers, and understand your target audience.Source high-quality products that people will love
- Choose the right supplier(s). This step is very important as it is a key point for your online store. Look for suppliers with a good reputation, fast shipping times, and reliable inventory management. Order samples from potential suppliers to check the quality of their products and their shipping process. Jianbian Lighting is a reliable supplier with more than 5 years experience in dropshipping and rechargeable table lamps.
- Choose a selling platform (Shopify, Temu, Amazon to name some) It should be easy to use and have the feature you need.
- Create a website: this is the front page of your store, use real and high quality pictures, write the product description and details, and most importantly make it easy to navigate through.
Pros and Cons
- Low Startup Costs, you just paid for what it is order.
- Minimal Risk.
- Location Independence: work from anywhere.
- Huge Product Selection
- Scalability, your business can grow without needing extra spaces for offices or storage (warehousing)
- Lower Profit Margins: the dropshipper won’t offer discounts as when you buy bulk orders, so your profit is not as high as normal retail shop.
- Inventory Management Issues: You may sell a product that is out of stock, so you need to be careful with the supplier’s inventory.
- Supplier Reliability: your business depend on the accuracy and timely shipping from your supplier, if they mess up, it will greatly affect your store reputation .
- Competition: Dropshipping is very popular, you need to find a way to stand up of the crowd.
With the increasing of online stores and dropshipping businesses one the ways to stand up is branding, however, this may require an additional fee (as the supplier requires to have inventory of the products with your brand), do not hesitate to negotiate with your suppliers and analize all the alternatives to master your online business.
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