It’s no secret that owning a business brings in much more income than working for someone else. But everyone knows the axiom that starting a business requires money. And what about those who have all the makings of a successful entrepreneur, but do not have sufficient funds to purchase goods, rent warehouses, hire staff, etc.? The answer is simple – dropshipping!
Dropshipping is a relatively new way to make money online. Its appearance has greatly expanded the opportunities for start-up entrepreneurs, allowing them to launch their business on the Internet with minimal capital investment. And supplier firms can thus increase the number of sales of goods from their warehouse and also receive additional profit without making much effort.
This article is for those who are not yet familiar with the dropshipping system, and in it we will explain in simple terms what it is and give a detailed description of how to start this type of activity.
What is dropshipping in sales
Like most modern terms, the word “dropshipping” came to us from the English language. The phrase “dropshipping” literally means “direct sales”.
How it works? Quite simply, dropshipping suppliers are an intermediate link between producers and consumers. By advertising and offering a certain product on your site, you receive orders from users, redirect them to suppliers, and have your own percentage of sales. At the same time, you do not need to purchase, store and deliver anything – all goods are in the warehouses of manufacturers, and delivery is also carried out by them. Halla systems firma are ready to share their success in dropshipping.
Depending on the agreement with the suppliers, they will either charge you a commission, or you will sell their goods with your markup.
Pros and cons of dropshipping
The dropshipping system in sales has a lot of advantages:
- Saving money. In order to start working in dropshipping, you do not need to invest a lot of money in renting warehouses, purchasing a product range and hiring staff.
- Saving time. You do not need to take care of timely deliveries to warehouses and deliveries of goods to customers, or maintain receipt and expenditure warehouse documents.
- The freedom of action. Without being tied to a warehouse and an office, you can do your business anywhere, freely traveling anywhere in the world where there is Internet. Also, it will not be a problem for you to switch to a completely different assortment without worrying about where to put the rest of the purchased goods.
- Wealth of assortment. Because with dropshipping you don’t have to spend money to purchase an item and worry about placement, you can offer customers a lot more choice than a regular online store.
But there are also some risks:
- Since the buyer contacts only you, you, and not the manufacturer, are responsible for the quality of the product, its availability and timely delivery. So you need to be very careful when choosing partner suppliers.
- Due to the high competition, you will not always be able to set a high margin on the product, and you will have to sacrifice your interest in favor of attracting buyers.
How to get started in dropshipping
Dropshipping work brings tangible income, but only if you treat it as responsibly as possible. To engage in this type of activity, you will not need large capitals, but you will need to foresee all possible risks and take into account the nuances of this system.
Knowing what it takes to dropship will give you a better idea of where you need to start in order for this business to be successful and bring you the income you want. Therefore, we bring to your attention a detailed description of the first steps for a beginner dropshipping supplier:
- Range selection. First of all, you need to decide on the product. It should be promising and in demand among buyers. Try to analyze the market and find a niche for yourself in which you will not have too much competition. If you plan to work with foreign companies, then be sure to check whether the import of the goods you have chosen is legal, or you will have to additionally issue a special permit. It is advisable to choose a product in which you yourself are well versed. Otherwise, it is necessary to thoroughly study its features and technical characteristics. It is better to start working in dropshipping with a not very large assortment, and gradually expand it.
- Supplier search. There are paid and free directories of companies, as well as platforms for wholesalers interested in dropshipping services. Remember that the efficiency of your work will directly depend on the reliability of suppliers – delivery delays or low-quality goods will nullify all your efforts and scare off buyers. Therefore, you should choose partners carefully, and be sure to read the reviews of their partners and customers. You can hold preliminary negotiations, during which to clarify the working conditions and assess the seriousness of the proposals of this company.
- Creation of a trading platform. Many companies will only consider your offer to work with them as a dropshipping seller if they already have a ready-made marketplace. Therefore, before getting in touch with suppliers in order to sign an agreement, you need to create your own online store. Easier and cheaper options are creating groups on social networks or registering on dropshipping platforms, but they will not be as effective.
- The conclusion of the contract. If you plan to work with prepaid wholesale dropshipping suppliers, contracts may not be necessary. But in order for manufacturing companies to provide you with wholesale prices, it is necessary to sign it. The sales department may offer you a standard contract, or you will have to draw it up yourself. In any case, make sure that the contract clearly defines the rights and obligations of the parties, the terms of payment and delivery, payment schemes and the necessary guarantees. For negotiations and signing contracts with foreign companies, it would be appropriate to use the services of an interpreter – this will help you keep the situation under control and not become a victim of misunderstanding.
- Promotion. Without this, you will not be able to count on traffic to your site and high profits from dropshipping. Use various ways to attract traffic, for example, active maintenance of the page in social networks and SEO-optimization of the site. Although this will require some investment, but the result will certainly pay off in the near future.
Now you know what dropshipping is, how it works, and how to start such a business.