Everything You Need to Know About Drop Shipping

Selling products online today has never been easier – all you need is to decide on a product/service, build an online store, and you’re good to go! 

If you’ve already decided your niche and it’s good to go, we wish you success, however, if you’re one of the many who want to start their e-commerce business but are confused about how to get started or you’re one of those few who have come across the word ‘drop shipping’ but are confused about what exactly it is, then this article is for you.  

In this article, we’ll discuss what drop shipping is, how it works, and why you should consider using it for your business. Let’s get started. 

What Is Drop Shipping? 

Starting an e-commerce business where you sell physical products is more than building an online store. One of the most important aspects of a product-based e-commerce store is sourcing the products. 

Drop shipping is a simple way of placing orders of products to your wholesale supplier and directly selling to customers, without any middleman involved.  

One of the prime advantages of the drop shipping method is that unlike the traditional retail model it allows you to sell products without building an inventory/warehouse. You can directly source the products from your drop ship supplier as and when your customer places an order on your website, and the products are accordingly shipped to the customers. This makes drop shipping easy, affordable, and profitable. In fact, drop shipping is a low-risk way to find out if your business idea is going to work. 

Working of Drop Shipping

The concept of drop shipping is simple – you sell your products, and your supplier delivers the product directly to the customers. 

For simplicity, we’ll break down the flow for you: 

Step 1: Customer visits your online store, browses through the products, and places an order

Step 2: Your store sends the order and customer details automatically to your drop shipping supplier

Step 3: Your drop shipping supplier prepares the customer’s requested order

Step 4: Once the order is ready, your drop shipping supplier ships the order directly to your customer

Drop shipping is an excellent way to grow your e-commerce store without investing much at the start of your business.

Now that we’ve seen what drop shipping is and how it works, let us move on to understanding how you can start your e-commerce drop shipping business.

How to Start Drop Shipping in 4 Simple Steps 

The drop shipping business model allows you to test the viability of your business idea before investing in a product inventory. When it comes to starting a drop shipping business, there is a lot to consider, from selecting a supplier to managing sales, and fulfillment.

Here are 4 steps on getting started with drop shipping: 

1.  Finding a profitable niche 

With several businesses moving online, finding the right niche and products for your business is important. One of the foremost things you need is to choose a product category you would like to promote or sell.  

Marketing your product irrespective of the choice would require the same amount of time and patience. Promoting something you know, and love makes the entire process of promoting it a whole lot easier and much more enjoyable. Moreover, your return value depends on your products, so choose wisely.  

Another thing you need to consider before deciding on a niche is the supplier and their shipping costs. The lower their shipping costs, the more likely your customer is to purchase the product.  

2. Researching the market and competition  

To figure out which products will be best for your niche, you need to know what other people in the industry are selling. There is no better way to determine what products and features your customers are most interested in than by analyzing your competition. 

One key thing that can help you figure out what to sell is to see what products are sold most in your niche. High selling isn’t a saturated market, rather it breeds healthy competition, and you can expect your sales to increase.  

For instance, if you’re starting an Indian clothing store – check what kind of fashion is preferred viz. traditional, western, sarees, dresses, scarves, and more. Along with this, you can also research what material sells the most, and the preferred material as per the climate. Breaking down your niche to suit your customers and the market can make a lot of difference when it comes to promoting and selling your products.   

3. Partnering with the right supplier 

Although this is the third step out of four, this is the most critical step. It is extremely important to find a supplier who you can trust and is reliable. As the right supplier can take your business places, and the wrong one might incur losses. 

A great supplier is easy to communicate with and understand, has a lot of positive reviews, and offers a wide selection of products. If your supplier is local, then you can visit them and check them and their products yourself. Although shipping costs are a major factor impacting your sales, you shouldn’t compromise on quality. Say, you have slightly higher shipping than your competitors, however, if it matches your supreme quality products, buyers will promote your business and continue shopping with you. On the contrary, if your shipping costs are low but the quality isn’t up to the mark, you will eventually suffer losses instead of profit.  

4. Building your online store  

Now that all the groundwork is done, it is time for you to set up your online presence. Building your e-commerce website powered by WooCommerce Hosting is the best way to get started. This allows you to easily build your online store, add payment methods, enhance SEO, and several other customization options to improve your website’s reach.   

Post building your online store, create branded social media accounts on platforms of your choice viz. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and more to promote your website and the products you offer. These tools will help you get your message across and strengthen your brand’s image – all in a single place. 

Benefits of Drop Shipping 

Drop shipping makes it quicker, easier and cost-effective to get a business up and running.  Here are 3 reasons drop shipping is a good startup option: 

1. Eliminates costly hurdles, like inventory rent and warehousing fees. All you need is access to a computer and a printer, a supplier to source your products, and marketing and SEO activities
2. No prior business experience required, in fact, you can even start this business along with your regular job. If you succeed you can make this a full-time business
3. Easy to grow your business, all you need is proper marketing and promotional activities to create a buzz. Moreover, as your business grows you can even expand your niche and the products you sell 

Drop Shipping: The Way to Go 

It’s not too difficult to start a drop shipping business. While there are risks involved, the potential rewards are just as high. All you need to do is properly plan your strategy, find reliable suppliers, and make sure your goals align with your growing business model.  

Do your research and follow the above-mentioned steps, you’ll be well on your way to turning a profit and growing your drop shipping business. So, what are you waiting for? Now is the time to get going with your business! 

For more information and tips on how to build and grow your ecommerce website, head to our WordPress Tutorials.