Your recently discovered interest in dropshipping most probably cannot wait for you to get started. Dropshipping, after all, appears to be a quick method of getting returns. However, dropshipping can be a bit tricky.
The truth is, if not planned carefully, dropshipping could fail your expectations. To avoid such circumstances, pre-planning your dropshipping business is imperative. This ecommerce article below aims to help you with the same. Read ahead to know more and design a reliable dropshipping business plan.
10 Top Things To Consider Before Dropshipping
The following is a list of ten things that you need to take care of before you start dropshipping. Keeping these factors in mind will give you a heads up so you can have great success with your dropshipping business.
1. Monetary Resources
Although dropshipping is supposed to give you money instantly, initially, it does not work like that. For instance, if you are utilizing Shopify, then customers pay using PayPal or Stripe. As a result, it takes about a week or more for the money to reach you. Thus, you must keep money aside to pay your suppliers. Have a credit or a debit card, and take no risks.
2. Shipment Duration And Details
Before you decide to provide worldwide shipping for your products, check the shipping duration. It is advisable to pick countries with an estimated time of delivery of not more than a month, at most. This decision would help you avoid complaints from customers in the future. Online retailers often tend to forget to add shipment details on their websites for specific products. Such a mistake would give a sense of uncertainty, which customers do not appreciate. So, make sure to mention the shipping method and an estimate for shipment duration.
3. Adding products
Customers rarely perceive online stores selling only a few products as trustworthy. So, it is crucial to add about twenty or more products to your store beforehand, even before testing. If you do not, and you begin to advertise your store, you might lose a potential audience.
4. Be Prepared
You need to stay prepared not just for customer complaints but to spend money. As noted earlier, it is crucial to put some money aside in advance. When your store starts running, you would still need funds for marketing, re-building your store, and trying out new products.
5. Amazon And eBay Dropshipping
Although Amazon and eBay are more appealing, they might be as risky, too. Customers purchasing products from Amazon expect three-day deliveries. Prime users expect their products to arrive in a day. However, when you are dropshipping, that is rarely possible. So, refrain from Amazon and eBay dropshipping, and build your store instead.
6. Refund Policy
Having a precise refund policy is vital. The possibility of a refund increases the chances of sales. However, customers could also ask for a refund because they were expecting something else or because of how long it took to arrive. To avoid such situations, clearly mention on your refund policy page that refunding is only possible if the product is broken or defective.
7. Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Although some might not prefer to set up an LLC, it could be used to your advantage. It takes monetary investment, so if you do not have additional funds, you could skip it initially. However, LLC legally protects you, which is why it is something you may want to consider.
8. Facebook Page
If you have more likes on your Facebook page, it gives your online store more credibility. Before you advertise, try to get a minimum of 100 likes or so on your page. That would help to maintain customer interest and reach.
9. Follow-Up Emails
Finally, email marketing for your online store can be quite advantageous. Before the customer gets their products, use follow-up emails to build a customer-merchant relationship. Remind them of the estimated time of delivery, ask them if they have any issues, or send them a link to track their order. This makes you appear as a responsible seller, and customers appreciate that.
10. Endnotes
Dropshipping businesses can be highly successful once approached the right way. Many entrepreneurs have seen success with dropshipping. If all this sounds like music to your ears, then it’s time to start your very own e-commerce business through dropshipping.
Now that you know the various points to keep in mind before dropshipping, all you have to do is start! Attempt to put customer satisfaction first, and remember to double-check product details. Once your brand has established itself as reliable, your business will be successful in no time.
Top Dropshipping Shopify Apps
When you are launching an e-commerce store, one of the toughest things to do is to source products. A dropshipping business model is one of the smartest, profitable, and risk-free ways to get started. To help you source the best products to stock up your dropshipping inventory, we have curated a list of the top 5 Shopify dropshipping apps to choose from! Check out these applications to source top quality products for your inventory!
a. Printful
Printful is an app that offers a wide range of products and provides wonderful service! If you’re looking to create a high-quality inventory for your store, this Shopify dropshipping app should do the trick for you! Printful offers a fun range of items like t-shirts, leggings, sweaters, bags, socks, phone cases, framed photographs, and so much more! It allows you to print whatever you want on any product and then sell it to buyers. You can even customize your products. All you have to do is send your designs and Printful will ship the order to your customer. You wouldn’t need to manually fulfill each order or send the same design again and again. Printful saves your designs so it can fulfill your orders automatically. This is a free app and requires you to only pay for the product when an order is received.
b. Spocket
Spocket is an extremely efficient app that helps you connect with dropshipping suppliers in the United States and the European Union. You can build a great inventory using this app as it offers many items to choose from. All you have to do is select the products from the categories and add them to your store. Sprocket allows you to order samples before you launch a product for sale. It is free of charge for up to 25 products and costs $39.90/month for a standard plan (250 products) and $99/month for a professional plan (unlimited products).
c. Modalyst
Modalyst is an app that supplies high-quality dropshipping products from across the globe. The app provides a huge selection of ready-made products to stock up your store. You can find everything from clothes, shoes, make-up products, accessories, home decor products, and many more. Modalyst links to your Shopify store directly. This helps you add products directly and simultaneously track or edit orders, inventory, and prices. It offers a free 14-day trial. After the trial, members have to pay $35/month for an unlimited plan.
d. Oberlo
Oberlo is an app that sports a smart design that integrates your store with your Shopify account. You can directly add products to your store using the Oberlo Marketplace. The Oberlo Shopify dropshipping app helps you choose from a variety of products like electronic gadgets, accessories, clothing, toys, and a lot more. Oberlo takes care of the shipping process, so you don't have to worry about managing the inventory or shipping at any time. You can directly dropship the products after receiving an order. This makes dropshipping easier, faster, and efficient. Oberlo has a free account that allows 500 products and up to 50 orders/month. There is a $29/month plan that offers 10,000 products and up to 500 orders a month. Finally, it has a Pro Plan that offers 30,000 products and unlimited orders at $79.90/month.
e. Pillow Profits Fulfilment
Pillow Profits Fulfillment is a Shopify dropshipping app that allows you to mainly sell a wide range of shoes. You can sell footwear ranging from sneakers, boots, and heels to flip-flops, high-tops, mules, and so much more. You can even find bags, socks, pillow covers, and bedding products on Pillow Profits Fulfilment. This app allows you to get your designs printed onto their products so you can sell exciting custom products. This app is a dream come true for artists who'd want their designs to be out there. It offers a free trial for seven days and then charges $29.90/month.
Dropshipping Done Right
Dropshipping may seem confusing when you start, but trust us, it gets easier with experience. We hope that the 10 top dropshipper considerations and 5 best Shopify dropshipping apps that we have listed have given you an idea about what you need for your ideal inventory.
Our list is solid on market research, so we are confident that any of these 5 Shopify dropshipper apps will help you. You could be an entrepreneur or a seasoned dropshipper, these helpful Shopify apps and ecommerce tips serve all! Check out these apps to find the one that best fits your dropshipping business model!