Within e-commerce, there are many ways to sell products. The most common, and the one that always comes to mind, is to have a small warehouse at home, or in a local, where we have the products that are bought from us online in such a way that, when they place an order, we can have stock to send it. But there is also another method, cheaper and easier. Do you know how to dropship?
Next we want to show you what what is dropshipping, what are the advantages and disadvantages, the types that exist and how to easily dropship. Shall we start?
What is the dropshipping
Dropshipping is a technique based on which an online business does not need to have a stock of products. Not only that, but you also don't have to have a physical space to store merchandise and you don't even have to worry about shipping the products, because that's what others take care of.
In other words, It is a way of having an online store but where part of the sales process is carried out by another external company that it does have the means to send customers the merchandise they have ordered in exchange for a "subscription" on your part to sell the products they have.
This business possibility has multiple benefits for an entrepreneur, especially if you are a beginner in the online business and do not want to invest too much money. But it also has a number of downsides. We know them.
The good and bad of dropshipping
If you've already read a lot about dropshipping, you may know the good and the bad about this form of business. One of the good things is undoubtedly the not having to make a huge investment to find a place where to keep the stock of products or to have to take care of shipments, since that is done by others. Shipping is guaranteed in 24-48 hours in the vast majority of cases and you have control to know how many orders have been placed and how much you are going to earn.
But, in exchange for that service, you will have to pay a monthly fee for it, which is often not as cheap as you may think. To this we must add that the prices of the products are not so competitive, due to the fact that they are sold somewhat more expensive than in other stores. And many times you cannot set those prices, so you do not play with that trick when offering offers (you have to comply with what is established in dropshipping).
It is important to weigh the pros and cons of dropshipping to make the right decision. But if you want to move on, we now tell you the types of dropshipping that exist.
Types of dropshipping
You know what are there two types of dropshipping? It is something that few know and do not discover until they begin to investigate. But in general, you have two types:
- With intermediaries, which are companies where they offer you, not just one product, but many, and many brands, so that you can create a store with a wide catalog for your customers. The only problem is that you do not contact the manufacturer itself, but someone else is the one who mediates between the two.
- Without intermediaries. In this case, going to the "source", to the company that is responsible for making these products to sell in your store (taking care of the final sales process (product shipment)).
Choosing one or the other will largely depend on what you want to sell in your online store and what you want to spend, since the rates will be different.
How to dropship
If after everything we have told you, you are determined to give it a try, it is time for you to know how to dropship. It is quite easy, but at the same time you must take into account some aspects that can affect your business.
Choose the product you want to dedicate yourself to
In this case you will not have to think much, since When you see the suppliers that offer dropshipping, you have to make the decision based on what exists: erotic toys, clothing, technology products ...
Our recommendation is that you do an analysis of the trends, of what you like the most, and that you choose those products that you are really going to sell.
Analyze the competition
Yes, it is inevitable; You need to know who you compete against and what they do to see how you can overcome them and thus make their customers become yours.
For this try to see their social media, customer reviews, SEO, page positioning, etc.
All of this will help you see how they interact with customers. It's not about copying them, but about improving that.
Choose a supplier to dropship
Once you know the product, You can't go for the first provider you find. You have to look at several to know the conditions they offer you: shipping times, subscription forms, rate, etc. All of that will influence your decision.
In fact, many what they do is place an order to see what the process would be like for a client.
Create your dropshipping store
This can be easy, especially if your dropshipping provider helps you. For this, we recommend that you have your own domain name and create your online store in it. Many use platforms like Shopify (one of the best known and most complete on the market).
Promote
Suppliers will take care of shipping the products you sell. But you will have to devote yourself fully to a marketing strategy. Yes, you have to start improving your positioning, SEO, the relationship with customers ... The products are not going to sell themselves; you have to move them and that only you will do.
The more you sell, the more profit you will make. In addition, your first objective should be to cover the dropshipping fee you pay with monthly sales. If you achieve that, little by little you will go up and, then yes, you will obtain benefits.
Really dropshipping is quite easy, and many businesses bet on it despite the drawbacks of this practice. Although there is more and more competition in this, it can be a way to enter electronic commerce without investing too much and, once you see how the process is and if it is worth it, end up separating yourself from those providers to do it yourself.