DROPSHIPPING




WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IN DROPSHIPPING


1 Generating Product Ideas Learn how to come up with product ideas.
 2 Evaluating Product Ideas Learn how to filter out product ideas.
3 Launching the eCommerce Store Testing Suppliers etc 
4 Find Suppliers and Add Products to Your Store Learn how to look for suppliers and import products to your store. 
5 Launch Your First Ads Campaign Learn how to create sales

WHAT IS DROPSHIPPING?

Dropshipping is a retail fulfillment method where a store doesn't keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product, it purchases the item from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer. As a result, the merchant never sees or handles the product.

 Dropshipping- known by many. Trending worldwide, Dropshipping has allowedhundreds of people to start with very little money. Amazing right? In the simplest way possible one can describe dropshipping as a type of retail fulfilment method. A third or fourth party fulfils your customers order. You do not stock up products, you collect your order (from your customer), you send it to your supplier and you pay him the amount required and your supplier then ships it out to your customer. Easy right!

Image by shopify.in

Dropshipping demands very little of you. You are solely responsible for gaining, keeping customers and processing their orders (this means you make sure suppliers are paid on time and products are shipped on time.) Apart from all the good stuff like it being a low cost investment or easy to manage, drop-shipping can be pretty nerve wrecking especially if you're not making enough income, it is very important to know that you are probably not going to make a lot of money- in profits. A lot of products in most niches have low (profit) margins.

 It is super heartbreaking if/when you are in a super competitive niche, when you are struggling to get new customers and keep old ones, you can't afford to make the kind of profits you want to. The less competitive niches have better margins but this can also be outlived. What is the solution to this? A lot of dropshipping models are built on just the retail experience, a fancier version of AliExpress maybe?

 It's not personal and nobody cares enough to change that. You could charge slightly more if you are providing value- something your competitors coukd be lacking. Amazing content will allow you to raise your prices. Since you have little control when it comes to changing the packaging, you will have to go out of your way to create "luxe" or out of the ordinary content.

If you cannot afford to do so, try searching through copyright free websites. Look at below's example at how you can upgrade the game.

NOTE

Don't take product images from Aliexpress and put them straight to your website's slideshow etc 
DO: choose images online that compliment the product, then post in on your website. 
Don't overprice your products. Don't be stingy. 
Do make sure you price your products reasonably, give freebies to your customers & add free shipping

Another issue would be tricky and confusing, one problem leads to the other, order processing can become difficult. Why is that? Sometimes your supplier runs out of stock but will fail to mention it to you. 9 out of 10 times, they don't. 

Even though the exact products you're eyeing, and since you have not made any payment, they are not inclined to hold any items for you. How can you solve this problem? Honestly, if you're not paying for it upfront don't expect to be ahead of this, because even when it comes to communication- time differences are a huge factor and you obviously won't find out on time, forcing you to do some serious damage control. 

The best you can do is stay in touch with your supplier because restocking may take some time and you can't keep your customers waiting. Sourcing from different suppliers means that each supplier has one of the following if not all: Different shipping courier Order processing time Shipping cost Billing and processing structures Refund and return policies You carry all liability and you will be held responsible by your customers if something goes wrong. Now listen, when a customer buys from you, they don't know you have different suppliers, they assume you have your sh*t together.

 You have no control over your customers- with that being said when they purchase 2+ products, they expect both of them to arrive at the same time, they expect you to have the same return and refund policy. They also don't want to be charged more for less.

How do you solve this?

 By dealing with 1-2 suppliers and don't list more products than you can handle. Source products from people that have similar regulations. They should both use the same courier even if it is slightly more expensive, they should have similar policies, it helps you deal with unfortunate customers appropriately. As we mentioned earlier, one problem usually births another.

 Dropshipping gives you little to zero control over certain aspects of your business. You can't choose to step in and fix a wrong even if you wanted to. You have to rely on your suppliers to do everything right. Now you know the problems that come with it, how do you solve this one? How do you gain the tiny sense of control? You need to have the right damage control . You're probably asking how?

THEN THIS IS HOW...

1-State in your FAQand be sure to put a disclaimer on your product's description alerting your customers before they purchase. If you can, you can include a brief announcement during checkout. Email them this disclaimer as well. 
2-Keep your customers in the loop. Letting them know that their order is either shipped out or running late goes a long way. 
3-Be honest with shipping time. It is honestly heartbreaking when you do everything right as a store front and have your supplier let you down but thats a small price to pay and rise above it all.