Are you a business enthusiast and in plans for owning your own business?
There are multiple options available out there. As a beginner, most of the ones will be a little confused about choosing to begin their business journey.
And one such option is the Dropshipping business.
Dropshipping businesses do not need much investment. It’s the process of playing the mediator role in the online selling business.
Well, we will deal with the same in this blog.
Keep scrolling down!
What is Dropshipping?
Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method that does not require any huge investments. Only you will be setting up a WooCommerce store and add products from wholesale retailers like Amazon, AliExpress, Flipkart, or eBay. The prices you will be setting up for those products will be with a slight margin.
Once a customer purchases a product from your site, you will select the order’s details and create an order on the wholesaler website. The wholesaler will be responsible for delivering the product to the customer.
Your Dropshipping store will be earning a margin on every single product purchased by the customer.
Let’s see an example of how it works. Consider you have listed a bunch of keychains on your Dropshipping store that is sold through Amazon. The price listed on Amazon’s website is 2 US Dollars (including shipping charges). You will be setting the product 3 US Dollars in your shopping store. The margin you will get on the same product will be 1 US Dollars.
Benefits of Using Dropshipping
The benefits that a Dropshipping business offers are plenty. Some of them are discussed below:
Low Investment and Overhead expenses: The investment and overhead costs involved in starting a Dropshipping business are pretty much lower than traditional forms of interaction. They do not require any place to store the products or warehouse. The only charges included are the hosting charges of your WooCommerce store and the marketing costs involved.
Easy to Begin: Another significant advantage of Dropshipping business using WooCommerce is that since the initial costs involved are less, the risks involved are almost negligible. So it’s effortless to begin the business. The complexities involved are much lesser.
Location Independent: Dropshipping businesses have no worries about the locations. You will be only acting as a mediator between the WooCommerce company and the customers.
Scalability: Dropshipping businesses eliminate the need to scale your business regularly. Since you’re an intermediary between the customers and the eCommerce business, there is absolutely no necessity for scaling your business. The scalability factor becomes beyond your need.
Best Dropshipping Suppliers
There are various Dropshipping suppliers out there. Everyone has their advantages and disadvantages. Let us check out some of the well known Dropshipping suppliers.
Spocket: Spocket is a Dropshipping marketplace that enables retailers to start their own Dropshipping business. They are best for connecting the retailers to thousands of suppliers, most of which are located in the US and EU.
AliExpress: AliExpress is a well known Dropshipping platform that connects suppliers and products. They offer many products from suppliers in multiple niche categories, including electronics and articles of clothing. They even provide free sign-up.
SuppliersData: Suppliersdata.com lists some of the hidden US-based suppliers. This platform is best suited for shifting your Dropshipping business to the next level. They charge an amount of about 30 US Dollars per year.
SaleHoo: SaleHoo is another wholesale directory that connects the Dropshippers to suppliers. Sign-up costs an amount of $67 per year. Also, they assure a 60-day money-back guarantee policy.
Doba: Doba is a marketplace that connects the manufacturers and suppliers into one place. With the help of Doba, you can search for the products in your industry and consolidate them into custom lists. They charge an amount of 29 US Dollars per month with a set of more plans available.
What to Look for When Choosing Dropshipping Products?
There are certain things to be taken into account while choosing your product niche for your Dropshipping business. It’s never advisable to choose your product niche based on the gut feeling or your personal preference.
The world of Dropshipping is continuously evolving, and it’s competitive. So choosing your Dropshipping products must be only after thorough research and or under the guidance of experts in the field. Never try your guessing strategy here.
Some of the best products you can select for listing in your Dropshipping store are the ones that most customers prefer to buy. These items are coined under the term “impulse buys.” The products that come under this category are usually cheap and require our daily purposes. The products that come in the price range of below 40 US Dollars are the ones that customers will buy without thinking twice. They will do their research only if the product is costly, like electronic equipment or other accessories.
Minor Classification of Dropshipping Products
Dropshipping products can be classified into two categories. They are as follows:
- Colorful and fun items that are affordable
- Everyday essentials that the customers use regularly. These may be either cheap or costlier.
Colorful and fun items are not necessary for fulfilling daily needs. These are mainly used for decorating the home or showcase items.
Everyday essentials are the products that generally help the users to solve their daily complexities. It might be used in the kitchen or items like something that helps to solve your everyday chores.
Listing products that are not available in the local market will also be worth it because everyone will be looking for products that are not ordinarily available on the local market.
Examples of Best-selling Dropshipping Items for 2020 Include:
- N95 Respirator Mask
- Hand Sanitizer
- Play slime
- Mobile phone neck holder
- Magnetic / wireless phone chargers
- Waterproof mobile phone cases
- Car phone holder
- Posture corrector
- Portable blender
- Spider nail gel (for customizing nail designs at home)
- Eyeshadow stamp
- Inflatable pet collar
- Fitness Tracker
- Ear Plugs
- Melatonin Tablets
- Slime
- Neck Phone Holder
- Magnetic Charging Cable
- Rice Cooker
- Posture Correction Belts
- Waterproof Floating Phone and Tablet Cases
- Moon Lamp
- Mirror Alarm Clock
- Portable Mini Air Conditioner
- Waterproof Shoe Protectors
- Mineral Rich Magnetic Face Mask
Things Needed for Starting a WooCommerce Based Dropshipping Store
The essential thing required for starting your Dropshipping store is a self-hosted wordpress.org website. We all know about the famous e-commerce plugin by the WordPress team – WooCommerce. Install and activate the same.
Now your WordPress website becomes a power packed e-commerce platform with multiple functionalities.
To start a WooCommerce based Dropshipping store, you will require the following items:
- A Domain name
- Web hosting account or Server space
- SSL certificate
A domain name is the website address that the customers type into their browser’s address bar for reaching out to your site.
A domain name costs about $14.99 per year, and obtaining an SSL certificate requires an amount of $69.99 per year. Web hosting starts at $7.99 per month.
BlueHost is the most popular hosting provider for WordPress users. It’s not that they are the best. There are also various other hosting providers. You can select according to your choice.
After choosing the hosting provider, you will need to install and activate the WooCommerce plugin. Then the rest is easy.
How to Choose the Great Dropshipping Products?
There are various methods for selecting the best Dropshipping products. One approach is manually searching the term “top-selling products” on popular e-commerce websites like AliExpress, Amazon, etc.
You can also use a product research tool like Niche Scraper, which is best used to analyze products with the best Dropshipping potential.
Frequently Asked Questions about Dropshipping
As a beginner in the DropShipping arena, the majority will be a little doubtful on the various aspects of the same. This section tries to solve some of the frequently asked questions about Dropshipping for beginners.
How does Dropshipping work?
Dropping shipping is the process of acting as a mediator between the online seller and the customer. Your website will be listing out the various products. Once a customer buys a product from your WooCommerce store, you will pass the sales order to the supplier. It’s them who then fulfills the order.
The Dropshipping vendor will not be responsible for storing the inventory or shipping items directly. They will be only focussing on marketing, advertising, and managing their online presence.
Is Dropshipping Legal?
Yes, Dropshipping is legal.
It’s always advisable to make a Dropshipping Agreement Contract with the wholesale supplier you plan to coordinate with.
What is the initial investment required for starting a Dropshipping business?
The initial costs that you have to spend will be somewhere between $ 0 to $ 1,100, according to the various plans provided by the wholesale dealer.
Is Dropshipping profitable?
Yes, Dropshipping is highly profitable for mainly the merchants. It’s a low investment business model that helps you earn some nice Dollars without much headache.
Conclusion
Summing up, setting up a Dropshipping business using WooCommerce is a simple idea for expanding your business in the online world.
Installation of a WooCommerce based store is pretty simple compared to other methods. But always make sure you list the in-demand products on your store and do market them correctly.
If executed properly, you can earn good revenue from the same!
THANK YOU!