Drop-Shipping 101
Hi there! I’m spending 30 days documenting my dropshipping journey. I have created a series of blog posts to walk you through my experience. I wrote here a brief overview of what dropshipping is. To check out my entire project, click here.
Have you heard the term “drop-shipping” lately? I have recently taken on a drop-shipping project for one month, but first, here’s a brief overview of what I’ve learned so far on what it means to drop-ship.
What is Drop Shipping?
Dropshipping is a type of business where you sell products online but don’t produce or ship the products yourself. You don’t hold any inventory as the seller. It’s a low-risk business model that allows people to sell products to customers without the incurring running costs wholesale businesses have.
How does it work?
First, find a low-cost product to sell off a website like AliExpress.com. Then make a Shopify store for that product and mark up the price. When a customer purchases the product in your store, you’ll then place an order on AliExpress and send it straight to your customer.
A Drop Shipper is a middle man. — You profit the difference between the price you charge your customer and the price you pay your supplier.
What are the Pros and Cons?
Pros:
- Low starting investment because of no inventory and no overhead for storing and shipping orders.
- Fast cash flow. Get paid out as soon as a customer places an order, making it easy to reinvest profits into more ads.
- Work from anywhere as long as there is the internet.
- E-commerce is the future!
Cons:
- People copy each other’s products. So choose wisely and make sure not to sell a product already attached to a big company name.
- Since you’re not in control of producing the products, you can’t control the quality and can’t ensure customer satisfaction.
- Facebook ads can be complicated to figure out.
But don’t let these potential cons get in the way because there are straightforward ways to get around them and succeed! Find out how in another one of my blog posts.
You only need 3 things to get started:
- A Product
- An Online Store(Through Shopify)
- A Facebook Ads Account
How much will this cost?
Beginners Budget: $100 Total (minimum recommended)
- $29- Shopify(monthly)
- $10- Domain(yearly)
- $12- G-Suit(monthly)
- $49- Ads(amount changes)
E-Commerce is thriving right now and will continue to do so for many years ahead. Now that we know what dropshipping is, the first step I took to start my e-commerce journey begins here.
