Most online sellers often wonder what is dropshipping? Is it the latest business idea that can help you make instant money? Or is it a fastrack selling technology that might change the way we look at business? It is wise to let your imagination wonder. After all, dropshipping is such a buzzword in the eCommerce industry.
Dropshipping has proven to be an instant hit due to many reasons. It is eCommerce minus all the worries of selling online. In other words, it takes away the hassle of selling online and at the same time, helps you make profits like never before.
So, you might be wondering, what’s the catch then? There is actually none, if you do dropshipping the right way. If you Google about dropshipping, chances are that you will be disheartened with the failure stories. You’ll find the answer to what is dropshipping, but you might not be too reluctant to give it a try.
Here’s the deal- as lucrative of an opportunity that dropshipping sounds, it is actually difficult. And because the competition is so much, you might find it difficult to complete. However, there’s a way out. If you know the right practices around dropshipping, you can surely make a fortune out of it!
While we’ll also discuss why most people fail, it is important to understand the role of a shipping service in dropshipping business. While you understand what is dropshipping, you also need to choose a good logistics platform like Dash101 that can back your strategy.
So, if you want to make a fortune and truly get to the bottom of what is dropshipping, don’t worry! We’re here to help you at every step of the way! In this post we’ll motivate you to step into the world of dropshipping. We suggest you to take a look at our comprehensive dropshipping guide of 2020 to learn some inside tips and tricks.
What is Dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a business model that can be used to run an online store without inventory maintenance. To run an e-commerce store dropshipping is a unique way to start with little to no investment. Moreover, dropshipping does not require the maintenance of massive inventory for running an e-store. Instead, it lets you outsource the services and fulfillment to third-party suppliers.
This business model helps you in selling products directly from the wholesaler to customers. As a retailer, you don’t need to hold any inventory. It would help if you kept an online product catalog.
Whenever the customer places the order, you will forward it to the supplier. Then the supplier will ship the product directly to the buyer. There is no problem with shipment or packaging. Furthermore, the product details from the wholesaler can be exported to your ECommerce store.
This could be understood by a simple example- A customer places the order for 500 rupees. (the price of the product). The price you pay to the supplier is rupees 400 (wholesale price). The supplier ships the product to the customer, and you keep 100 rupees(profit amount).
Why Do Most Businesses Fail at Comprehending What is Dropshipping? (5 Secrets That No One Will Tell You)
Here’s a simple fact- if you’re in it because you think dropshipping is a piece of cake, you might get that idea off your mind right now. Because when you step into the world of dropshipping, it is anything but a bed of roses. So, if you’re not in it for some efforts, you might not as well spend your money on it. Because, trust me, that is going to waste.
Like any other business idea, dropshipping has to be nurtured right from the start. You have to invest actual time and money into it. And once, like a good cake, once you prepare the batter well, you can watch it rise up in due course of time.
Here’s what most sellers end up doing instead-
Too Less Efforts and More Focus on the Money
When you search for dropshipping on Google, you will find an unlimited number of people telling you that they’ve earned millions of dollars by dropshipping. And like any other person, you will be lured by all the fancy gimmicks and money making promises. I’m not claiming that all these videos are fake.
But, the people who have really earned money have truly understood what is dropshipping. They’ve put years of efforts, made some good connections and obviously adopted smart practices that landed them there. In simple terms- effort is what got them there. No doubt that dropshipping comes across as a simple money making, no hassle business. But, still it requires nurturing.
The sellers who skip the efforts and just try to do everything in haste, fail irrevocably.
Too Reluctant to Earn a Name
‘X Business became a household name within a month using dropshipping.’ Chances are that you might have heard claims and statements like this. While there’s nothing wrong in dreaming that you’ll have such good luck too, chances are unlikely. The best advice is to never think of the best case if you’re just stepping into the dropshipping business.
Have confidence in your idea, but don’t expect to earn a name real quick. Just look at the facts and figures around dropshipping. You’ll find that there are a thousand businesses that come up with an idea and vanish into thin air in the eCOmmerce industry. Even if you have a good business idea, it will take time to become a household name. And for that again, you will have to invest in your marketing efforts.
No Research and Partnering with the Wrong People
One of the most common mistakes that businesses make while dropshipping is that they partner with the wrong people. They enter the market with little or no research and start selling whatever comes to their mind. It is important to remember that dropshipping involves intensive research. You need to find the right suppliers, talk to manufacturers, find the right products to sell and more. And that’s because there is no shortcut to dropshipping.
No Shipping Strategy
If you don’t have a shipping strategy for your dropshipping business, nothing can save you from getting lost in the market competition. A shipping strategy goes a long way in scaling the business and providing customers with an experience. And that’s even more important in dropshipping, because you’re not the one physically handling your products.
Five Reasons You Should Look Forward to Understanding What is Dropshipping in 2021
Dropshipping is simple to start
To start a dropshipping business, you don’t need any professional business guru, and you don’t even need any previous business experience. It will take some time to learn the basics, and you can start quickly, and the rest you can learn along. It requires very little from you, that’s why dropshipping is so easy. You don’t need a team to help you out or don’t need a warehouse to store the products. Don’t worry about stocking and shipping, and not even have to worry about spending an amount of time every day in your store. This means you can start your business today with ease. Within a matter of hours, you can start getting everything up and running.
Dropshipping is simple to grow.
Your business model doesn’t need to change as you scale up. As you grow, you’ll have to put more work in marketing and sales.
When you scale, the cost doesn’t skyrocket, and it is one of the benefits of dropshipping. Just because of this, it’s simple to grow at a fast rate.
You can also assemble a small team at a point if required, but you can do almost everything by yourself. Your product can be displayed by the wholesale customers in their physical or e-store and can be marketed directly to their customers’ line. As an online business owner, you will expand your market and reach more customers indirectly.
Saving effort, time, and money
When you work with wholesale customers, which have a solid customer base, let you save your efforts, time, and money.
The merchants display your product in the online stores, and once the customer purchases your product, they send you an invoice. Once the merchant confirms the order, then the product is shipped from the warehouse to the customer’s reach. In this process, both you and the wholesale buyer save the time to make the sale.
Flexibility
The dropshipping model of business offers flexibility; this is one of the benefits of dropshipping. This benefit allows you to work from home, and you can do at your convenience using a laptop. This is ideal for those entrepreneurs who want a business that works for them. Dropshipping gives you a lot of room to make decisions that work for you. It allows you to list new products whenever you want easily and will enable you to adjust your strategies. While you are away, you can automate everything, such as you are going on vacation.
Dropshipping is simple to manage
Online business doesn’t require you to make commitments to others. Everything can be managed with little difficulties. Once the supply is found, and everything is set up, you are mostly responsible for your online storefront.
By offering drop shipping to wholesale customers, you can establish relationships with the buyers and prioritize them. The burden is balanced between the merchant and the supplier when you have a reliable and dependable dropship wholesaler, who will do the shipping. Make sure you partner with a reliable logistics platform like Dash101 that will help you ship to 26000+ pin codes with rates starting at Rs 23/500gms.