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If you’re in the online sales business, you probably know that the future of eCommerce is dropshipping. In fact, the dropshipping market is projected to reach a whopping $476 billion by the end of 2026!

While that’s good news for small businesses and eCommerce hopefuls, it also means competition will likely increase. In other words, customer satisfaction will have to be your priority if you hope to stand out among the dropshipping crowd.

Keep reading to learn more about increasing customer satisfaction by keeping your delivery promises as an eCommerce business.

Dropshipping as the online store solution

As an eCommerce seller, you’re responsible for completing a long list of tasks. But, as you know, the solution to allowing online stores to operate with fewer production costs has been dropshipping.

Some of the best examples of this business model include Amazon, eBay, and AliExpress. What’s more, the right dropshipping tools free you of the financial and time-consuming aspects of labeling, shipping, and stocking.

However, not everyone considers that with dropshipping, customer service is still squarely on the seller’s shoulders.

What makes good dropshipping customer service?

If you want your eCommerce business to thrive, customer service will need to be your top priority. As a dropshipping seller, you must maintain good relationships with customers by any means necessary while simultaneously managing suppliers.

Ways to improve your customer service:

• Keep response times fast: Have you ever waited on a response from customer service reps? If so, you know the frustration can make someone second-guess their purchase. If you want return customers, having a quick response time will help.
• Invest in a content platform: Juggling marketing, customer service, and an online store is hard. But investing in a content platform can help you stay organized. It also helps you limit the amount of time between orders.
• Follow up with customers: Want to establish a trusting relationship with your customer base? The best way to entice people to keep buying from you is to reach out. Follow up when the order is being processed, when the order ships, and again after they’ve received their package.
• Make sure packages get delivered safely: Believe it or not, you’re also responsible for ensuring that packages get delivered safely. Below, we’ll go into more detail about this aspect of dropshipping customer service.

Here are five things you can do to make sure the package delivery process is smoother:

1. Test shipping times

   We know it’s exciting to start your eCommerce journey. But if you want your orders to arrive without incident, tests and experiments are well worth the opening delay. Testing the ordering, shipping, and delivery process of your own product gives you an inside look into what customers can expect. If one supplier doesn’t fulfill your order on time, keep trying until you find one that’s more reliable. You’ll thank yourself later when your customers aren’t complaining about faulty deliveries.Also, choosing a pre-qualified supplier can help reduce potential fulfillment complications.

2. Be transparent about shipping times

   The worst thing you can do with your online store is hide expected shipping times. If you have a product that people want, you won’t need to rely on bad messaging. Being transparent about shipping times can help manage expectations. Moreover, when customers have a timeline for the fulfillment, they’ll know when to expect their order and can plan to intercept it.

3. Be thorough and organized

   When it comes to fulfilling orders in a timely, organized manner, the best thing you can do is be thorough. Some of the biggest time-wasters in shipping are wrong addresses, misspellings, and half-filled forms.Make sure you double-check all information before finalizing orders. Second, don’t be afraid to reach out to customers if something doesn’t look right on their shipping form. They’ll thank you for following up if it means their order arrives safely.

4. Choose reliable shipping methods

   Depending on which supplier and dropshipping company you partner with, choosing a shipping method may be the best way to control outcomes. If you can choose the final delivery expert, choose a well-known handler like UPS, USPS, or even FedEx. These handlers will know their neighborhood, access a customer’s package locker, and even have real-time delivery updates.While you can’t control all aspects of the final delivery, you can at least rest easier knowing you used a reliable handler.

5. Take responsibility
   

   Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, shipping delays and package loss happens. It’s not the end of the world, but as a top-notch seller, taking responsibility for these mishaps could make all the difference.

Some good ways to make up for unforeseen order issues:

• – Be open to fixing the issue
• – Keep communication lines open
• – Issue refunds when needed
• – Follow up after resolving an issue
• – Offer to replace broken or lost itemsUltimately, you must decide what’s more important: saving money or saving your reputation as a dependable seller.

Takeaways

Dropshipping is quickly becoming the best way for eCommerce businesses to sell on a limited budget.
This type of online business is the solution to making it easier for sellers to focus on more critical aspects of selling.
Dropshipping customer services is what will set you apart from competitors.
Five ways to ensure packages arrive safely include testing shipping times, maintaining transparency with customers, keeping addresses organized, choosing a reliable package handler, and issuing refunds when necessary.

The post How to Make Sure Your Dropshipping Delivery Will Get to Your Buyer Safely first appeared on Modalyst.

The post 20+ Tips to Find Trending Products to Sell Online in 2023 first appeared on Modalyst.

The holiday season is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to take advantage of increased web traffic to online stores.  Consumers also have an elevated intent to purchase, so conversions on websites increase dramatically.

With several big shopping occasions such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, your chance to successfully launch a dropshipping business is finally here!

Starting a dropshipping business during the holidays

According to a report on Holiday Shopping Predictions by Salesforce, overall online sales are expected to grow in 2019 by 13 percent to $136 billion. That report is based on a survey of more than 10,000 consumers and major e-commerce sites.

If you’re looking to start your own online store and want to take advantage of the holiday boom in eCommerce, look no further.

There is no better time to start an ecommerce website and jump on one of the fastest-growing trends in 2019 called dropshipping.

If done right, starting a successful drop ship business can be very lucrative and scalable.

It is no surprise, then, that new entrepreneurs are starting online businesses as a way to make money online in 2019.

What is the dropshipping business model?

The dropshipping model is a fulfillment strategy where an online website can sell products without owning the inventory or shipping orders themselves.

Instead, when a customer purchases the item on your store, you place the order directly with the original wholesaler. The wholesale supplier owns the inventory and will send the order directly to your customer.

The main difference between a drop ship business and a traditional eCommerce operation is that drop shipping doesn’t require you to stock or own any inventory in advance. You also don’t have to deal with shipping or handling logistics.

When a product is sold through your storefront, you simply forward the purchase order to a wholesaler or manufacturer who fulfills it.

Due to the low operating cost and relatively out of the box setup, dropshipping has become a global trend across the ecommerce landscape.

This business model has a few pros and cons that you need to keep in mind before getting started.

How does dropshipping work?

There are three primary components:

1. Dropshipping Companies
2. Online Business Owners
3. Online Shoppers

What is the role of drop ship suppliers?

Suppliers are responsible for the following:

• creating products
• warehousing inventory
• shipping products to your customers
• accepting returns and replacing defective products
• selling items to you at a discount or wholesale price

What is your role as a business owner?

As an ecommerce operator, your first job is to find the right suppliers and items to sell.

Once you do, you list and sell these products on your retail storefront. Depending on your agreement with the wholesaler, you may be able to white label the products and list them under your brand.

Additionally, you’ll also be tasked with delivering customer service, including answering customer questions and collecting feedback.

What is the role of your customer?

Your customer buys the new products directly from your storefront. If questions or issues arise, your customer contacts you. During the entire relatioship, the dropshippig provider you work with is usually invisible to your customer.

What is the difference between starting a dropshipping business and selling your own inventory?

Understanding the difference between how to start an online business and how to manage your own inventory is paramount.

It’s especially important if you plan to start an online store during the holiday season.

While the holiday season presents many opportunities to tap into increased online traffic, it is a relatively short window of time and the competition is fierce. With that in mind, it is critical to learn the key differences between these inventory models.

Let’s start with the zero-inventory model, also known as dropshipping.

Some of the key features of how to start a dropshipping business include:

Vast Inventory Selection

Select from thousands of products to stock in your drop ship store.

Seek out trendy and popular products based on trends and sell-through research to keep your online store stocked and thriving at all times.

No Warehousing Required

No need to store your selected inventory in a physical warehouse or storage facility when operating your own dropshipping business.

Outsourced Order Fulfillment

Making sales is the fun part. Fulfilling orders to your customers is not nearly as energizing.

As a storeowner, you can avoid the fulfillment process and have all of your orders fulfilled and shipped by a wholesale supplier.

Low Start-Up Cost 

When you start an online business, you can usually do so with a low upfront investment and minimal overhead and operating costs.

Typically, you can get around investing in purchasing inventory upfront before you understand the demand.  When you avoid buying inventory upfront, you also avoid having to warehouse that inventory. Instead, a dropshipping business will warehouse those products until you make a sale.

No Inventory Tracking

While working with a dropshipping wholesaler, you can circumvent the laborious task of tracking inventory through manual systems and processes.

Inventory tracking can be done by the wholesaler you work with.

Returns and Shipments

You can outsource the headache of managing returns and inbound shipments.

Just hire a third-party provider to manage any returns to your online store as well as any inbound inventory shipments.

No Restocking Inventory

One of the biggest advantages of running a successful drop shipping business is the ability to sell great products without the hassle of placing reorders for the inventory that stocks out.

Just enlist a third-party vendor to fulfill the responsibility of reordering products and keeping track of stock levels.

While running an ecommerce website offers myriad benefits, selling your own inventory also has its advantages:

Creativity

When you develop your own products, you will be able to exercise more creativity and control over the creative process.

Generally speaking, it’s much easier to set your business and brand apart when you have more oversight and control over product creation and development.

Specificity and Selectivity

When you create your own products, you can be very specific and selective about quality and design of the products you want to sell.

The freedom to be specific and selective in the product design and creation processes can be a pivotal factor in your success.

When the design and quality are under your purvue, you can better communicate the value of the product to your target audience.

Markup Flexibility

When you run a dropshipping business, you may not have the latitude to dictate the pricing that is best for your business and customer. Working with dropshipping suppliers can limit your ability to set certain profit margins, as well as provide your customers with incentives or discounts.

Furthermore, the revenue split you set with your dropshipping supplier will have many more constraints. Typically, dropshipping business owners receive 20-40% of each sale they make, while the dropshipper gets the remaining percentage.

When you own your inventory, you have much more flexibility to determine the markup as well as the profit margins you earn on each sale.

Needless to say, choosing the markup of your products is much easier to do when you own the inventory.

Return on Investment

Entities who sell their own products and manage their own inventory may find they have a higher ROI.

Using a third-party service to manage the inventory, ordering, shipping, and fulfillment of owning an eCommerce store can cut into profits while providing a stress-free dropshipping business solution.

Disadvantages of Selling Your Own Inventory

Owning your own online store and selling handmade or individual items you have created is extremely tempting when launching a business or brand for the first time.

However, it is important to keep in mind that managing your own inventory and selling merchandise without a dropshipping solution can become laborious and overwhelming.

This is especially true if you are not fully prepared to take on the task.

Some of the disadvantages of selling your own inventory include:

Upfront Capital Requirements

The capital needed to launch your very own online business with unique inventory and products is high. You will find this to be especially true if you plan to create custom or bespoke product lines.

Inventory Risk

It is quite risky to launch an online store while purchasing all your inventory in advance. If the inventory you buy upfront does not sell, you will lose out on the money you invested in the products.

Managing Inventory and Stock

When you choose to own and sell all of your promoted merchandise, you are fully responsible at all times for managing the inventory of your online store.

Keeping track of sales, inventory, and products that are in high demand can quickly become an exhausting exercise.

Doing your own Accounting and Finances

When you own your inventory, there is even more emphasis put on you to keep track of cash flow, revenues, losses, product sales, and overall earnings. These line items will become your full responsibility in addition to doing other activities that keep the business afloat.

Some of those other activities include building and cultivating relationships with manufacturers, negotiating wholesale pricing, and hiring additional staff to monitor trends and keywords. Each of these is core to running a successful online business.

Manually Adding New Product Information

With a dropshipping business, you are often provided with a complete overview and description of the products you stock.

When you are the owner and operator of your own online store and stock individual items, you are responsible for inputting proper copy and messaging for each new product you plan to merchandise.

Dropshipping works especially well for solopreneurs with limited time and capital.

If you have both, then you already have an edge, but you don’t require either to launch a successful dropshipping company.

This post sheds light on everything that goes into starting a dropshipping business, from finding trendy suppliers to choosing an eCommerce platform to sell on.

To make the process easier to follow, I’ve broken it down into 5 super-simple steps.

1. Find Dropshipping Suppliers

You need to explore multiple avenues to find the best dropshippers for your needs.

A good place to start is the Modalyst website which connects you with reliable suppliers, including USA dropshippers, stocking a wide range of items from designer handbags to kitchen appliances.

Modalyst drop ship suppliers and wholesale distributors offer millions of profitable products, all of which can easily be found on our platform.

Also, you get to see the potential profit for each dropship item, which can be factored into your product selection.

In addition, Modalyst users enjoy the following benefits for online stores:

In addition to researching Modalyst, you should spend some time on the below steps when looking for drop ship suppliers:

Research and plan your ecommerce goals

You need to spend time doing your research.

You need to understand your own business, establish goals and objectives, as well as evaluate the needs of your customers, and the types of products that you would like to sell.

This can help you narrow down your options when it comes to finding the best suppliers and dropshipping companies.

There are dropshippers for pretty much anything you can think of, no matter how niche it may seem.

Understanding the particular niche or market that your business fits into can make it easier to find a dropshipper that you can rely on.

Finding American dropship suppliers

There is a strong likelihood that your initial research on drop shipping suppliers will yield a long list of Chinese wholesalers.

The conventional formula most online entrepreneurs use looks like this: find cheap products from Chinese dropshippers and sell the products for massive profits.

This formula still works today. However, it’s becoming less effective and profitable as more and more online stores use the same product sourcing strategy.  While more Chinese products flood the market, the more competitive pricing becomes, making it more difficult to reap a profit on the sale of an item and differentiate your business from others.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, though. It has helped create interest in a new market: USA dropshipping suppliers.

One way that you can differentiate is by working with suppliers who are based in the United States.

You don’t have to be located in the US for this to be a viable option.

So long as you have a strong customer base in the USA, or you’re looking to break into the American market, then using US dropshippers makes a lot of sense.

Why dropship from the US?

There are thousands of wholesalers and manufacturers in the United States.

The good news is that many of them are starting to offer dropship products and services. If you’re selling.

What to look for in American dropshipping suppliers

While partnering with American vendors is compelling, you still have to do your due diligence.

A dropshipping company in the US isn’t automatically qualified just because they are based in the United States. These dropshipping companies need to be vetted, just like any other supplier you want to work with.

You should follow the same process that you would when vetting any supplier. After all, your supplier is one of your most important business partners. You want to choose the best one.

The best ways to vet potential dropshippers is to do the following:

Review suppliers’ business practices

While you may be the one advertising and selling products to your customers, your supplier can still affect your business and how its viewed by the general public.

You need to figure out as much about a potential supplier as possible before you decide to work with them. Figure out how they do business and see if it works with your company’s needs.

A dropshipping supplier might look good on paper. However, digging a bit deeper into the fine print of their service may show that the company has less-than-ideal ways of handling things like refunds or shipping disputes.

Understand suppliers’ fees and minimum order policies

Drop shipping providers make their money a couple of different ways.

It’s important that you understand how suppliers’ fees work so that you can rest easy knowing that you’re getting a fair deal.

Some dropshipping companies charge a monthly fee.

This usually means that they are a directory that can connect you to hundreds of suppliers at once.

Examples include Doba, Oberlo, and SaleHoo. In addition to the monthly fee, you may have to pay a service fee to each individual supplier. It’s something you should clarify before making a commitment.

Another thing to consider is the minimum order size.

One of the most attractive reasons to work with a dropshipper is to avoid investing in a warehouse.

Unfortunately, minimum orders may prevent you from taking advantage of such a benefit.

If the dropshipper has minimum order requirements or fees, you should make sure that they will still hold onto your product. This is a very popular way of doing business.

You would pay the minimum order fee and the manufacturer will simply fulfill orders as they come in until the minimum is met.

Reach out to drop shippers and get references

Once you identify some solid candidates to be your dropshipping suppliers, you should reach out to them.

Use your first contact to establish a good working relationship. Be friendly and ask all the questions that come to mind. You should also be clear about your business goals and objectives. Starting a relationship with a supplier should be about the mutual benefits of working together.

Also, if you have time, you should ask for some references.

Many dropshipping suppliers are happy to give you contact information for current or former retailers. You can then give these references a call and learn more about how working with the supplier really is.

Place sample orders with suppliers

The most realistic way to understand how a dropshipping company performs is to simulate the buying experience yourself.

By placing an order with the vendor, you’ll be putting yourself in your customer’s shoes.

Make a few of sample orders.

Not just from the suppliers you’re thinking of partnering with, but also from their competitors. This will give you the opportunity to compare and contrast service quality firsthand.

Pay close attention to every detail. Make note of delivery times and scrutinize the packaging. Remember, this is the same experience your customers will have when they order something. So, if there are any big red flags, don’t ignore them.

Consider working with multiple dropshipping wholesalers

Even after you have found one or two suppliers that you want to work with, you should continue to search for additional suppliers.

Diversifying your supply is always a good idea.

Working with multiple dropshippers gives you the opportunity to expand your product categories significantly.

You may also be able to take advantage of additional services, such as private labeling. Not all dropshippers will sell you private label products. Private label is a unique opportunity to sell the suppliers’ products with your own branding and labeling.

Another reason to work with multiple suppliers is to get peace of mind.

While most dropshipping providers in the USA are reliable, dynamics can change in an instant, forcing you to find a new supplier with very little lead time.

What would you do if your only dropshipping company decided to shutter their business?

Your dropshipping business would likely be in a pinch overnight. Having multiple dropshippers ensures that your entire business is not instantly in a crunch and customers always have something to buy.

Online sources of dropship wholesale suppliers 

One of the largest barriers new dropshipping business owners face is finding suppliers.

These companies are not easy to discover, especially if you’re a new online store.

Here are a few providers to get you started on your search. These sources connect you with thousands of different suppliers and millions of products.

AliExpress: AliExpress is one of the most popular websites to find individual dropshipping suppliers. It’s an international marketplace that offers access to millions of products. You can find suppliers based on the particular product you’re after. Simply perform a search and you can connect with the supplier from there. The best part of AliExpress is that there is no monthly membership fee. It’s free to sign up and get started.

Inventory Source: The site connects you with 150+ suppliers and even offers an option to add your own private supplier. Its features include optimized inventory sync, full product data integration and worry-free order automation.

Worldwide Brands: This is one of the oldest and most popular supplier directories with over 10 million products. It says it only includes suppliers that adhere to a set of guidelines to ensure quality wholesalers.

Doba: Doba boasts a selection of over 2 million items ranging from books to apparel. The site also lets retailers export products into their stores and ensures that the products are shipped in a timely manner.

If you’re on the lookout for local dropshipping suppliers, go through the Suppliers section in your Yellow pages.

Consider ones who have prior experience in dropshipping and understand the importance of delivering products to your customers on time.

You might also want to inquire about their quality control system i.e. how they deal with sub-standard products and return requests.

This will help prevent headaches down the road.

2. Take a Cue from Amazon Best Sellers

We recommend browsing top-selling items across other marketplaces, especially Amazon best sellers.

Browsing popular items in online marketplaces

You can search online marketplaces to discover which of your selected items have the potential to become top sellers.

Check out sites like Amazon, eBay and Alibaba to gauge the demand of your product mix.

• Amazon best sellers
• Alibaba best sellers
• eBay top sellers

If you find the products you want to sell (or similar ones) in one of the lists, you’re on the right path.

However, you’ll have to spend some time looking around as there’s currently no option that allows you to search for specific items.

Use Google trends to speed things up

If your product selection doesn’t match any of the best selling items, you’ll likely start questioning its viability.

However, a product not making Amazon’s best sellers list doesn’t mean it’s not in demand. You can study the popularity and trendiness of any product by typing its name in Google Trends.

Using this tool, you can easily and quickly see search volume trends over a period of time to know whether or not your selected item is in demand. For instance, let’s say you want to sell drones.

To get started, go to Google Trends and type in “drones” to see what the search volume looks like. At this time of writing, here’s what I see:

As you can see here, there is an upward trajectory for the month of December, which possibly implies that this is a viable product to sell during the holidays.

It’s also worth mentioning that its demand has been somewhat stagnant during the second and third quarter of 2017, which isn’t a good sign. Hence, the search volume trend can also be an indicator that it’s time to modify your product selection.

3. Choose the Best Ecommerce Platforms to Dropship Products Online

There are hundreds of ecommerce platforms and shopping cart solutions to sell products online.

As such, we encourage you to do your research in advance. There is a good deal of overlap in the use of platforms, so you should also think about how you plan to differentiate your brand and online store.

Creating a branded store is one of the best ways to present yourself to prospective customers.

It is a tangible extension of your business that defines the purpose of your existence, what you like and don’t like, what makes you stand out, and if customers are able to resonate with your brand, they’ll buy your products with confidence.

Shopify and Wix are the most recommended eCommerce solutions for dropshipping.

They are inexpensive, easy to understand, and intuitive for the services they provide. On top of that, they’re very scalable platforms.

Note: If you’re using Modalyst to source products, you’d be glad to know that it automatically integrates with Shopify and Wix and has .csv files for you to easily import items to stores hosted on other ecommerce platforms.

The other option is to sell via a marketplace.

The most obvious choice is Amazon but there are plenty of other online platforms out there which get a lot of traffic.

Check out sites like Etsy.com and Bonanza.com and find if there is a market there for your product selection. It’s smart to diversify when it comes to online selling platforms as each one has its own unique audience.

4. Create Beautiful Product Pages

Your product pages are your opportunity to impress prospective buyers.

If you want them to choose you over your competitor, you need to build compelling product pages.

Here’s what goes into an amazing product page:

• Original product image
• Enticing product description
• Easy access to shipping details and return policy
• Transparent pricing

A lot of suppliers will provide you with product images, which should be integrated into your listings in their original state. Consumers will appreciate the fact that they’re getting exactly what they saw in your product listing (edited images often raise expectations and result in disappointment later on).

In addition, several suppliers will give you pre-made product descriptions. Awesome, right? No, not in this case. I don’t recommend using pre-made descriptions because everyone else is using them. How can your products stand out when everyone else has described them in the same way?

That’s where your copywriting prowess comes into play. Carefully construct copy for your products to resonate with your audiences’ personalities/interests/demographics, and you’ll be in the driving seat.

5. Get Rest of the Things in Order & Launch

The last step pertains to adding the final touches to your store and then experiencing that big moment: the launch!

Some of the things you need to set up at this stage are social media accounts and any third-party applications that will add to the experience of shopping from your store.

Most online store owners should focus on important social media platforms, namely:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Pinterest

You can reach the audiences on these platforms by posting about your store in general as well as by promoting your product listings.

As for the applications, only install the ones that’ll really make a difference for your prospective buyers. Install too many and you can face problems like slow-loading product pages. I suggest installing a couple, and once you know how to use them well, you can consider installing new ones.

Some apps I recommend:

Abandonment Protector: This Shopify app retrieves those who abandon your cart and encourages them to come back via email. Similar apps are available for BigCommerce and other ecommerce platforms.

FOMO: This Shopify app creates urgency and social proof by showing how many products other people are buying (makes a great add-on for hot selling items). Orders are displayed in real time via a small popup.

Boost Sales: This app does a great job at lifting up sales by increasing order value per customer. It does that by collecting sales data and creating offers that will make people more likely to buy.

Finally, once you get these things in order, you can launch your dropshipping business.

Conclusion

We’ve reached the end and, by now, you should be well on your way to starting a dropshipping business in just 5 easy steps.

Once you do, continue to update your product listings, learn how to make them more beautiful, continually post on social media and maintain a good relationship with your suppliers. With persistence and hard work, you’ll craft your way to dropshipping success!

Additional Resources 

Below are additional resources which can help you build and launch your online store.

These will help you choose a website builder, find eCommerce design inspiration and discover ideas for trending products to sell.

• Finding The Best Ecommerce Website Builder For Your Particular Use Case (Platform Comparisons + Things To Consider When Choosing)
• How to (Realistically) Start an Online Ecommerce Business That Actually Grows in 2019
• Top Trending Products to Sell in 2019

The post 5 Ways to Start a Profitable Dropshipping Business Before the Holidays first appeared on Modalyst.

Creating a dropshipping business continues to be a hot topic in e-commerce circles.

I’m sure you’ve already heard through the blogosphere the story of Justin Wong. He is an internet entrepreneur who made $12,000 within a month of launching his online store. He started his drop shipping business with zero investment and hit the proverbial jackpot in less than 30 days.

The remarkable thing is that Justin’s story is not unique. There are literally millions of other entrepreneurs who have started eCommerce stores without any upfront investment. In fact, at Modalyst, tens of thousands of new online stores come to market every month, each emboldened by the dream to build a legitimate and lucrative dropshipping business.

The question is how do you join this party? First, you need to understand what is involved in launching a dropship store and how it works.

What is Dropshipping?

Dropshipping is a retail method for online stores to sell products and have the suppliers ship the items directly to their customers.

This eliminates the challenges of holding inventory and allows you to focus on things like marketing and sales. The key difference between dropshipping and the standard retail model is that the selling merchant doesn’t warehouse or own any inventory.

Instead, the merchant purchases inventory as needed from a third-party — usually a brand, supplier, or wholesaler — to fulfill orders. So, the online seller never actually sees, holds or ships the item, they are effectively advertising it for the supplier and marketing up the price of the product so they can make a profit.

How does the Dropship Model Work?

In simpler terms, this is how dropshipping model works:

• The eCommerce merchant “stocks” products on their website or marketplace.
• The eCommerce merchant doesn’t actually hold these products. The products are warehoused by the supplier or wholesaler (who could be anywhere in the world). These products may cost $1 per unit from the supplier, while the eCommerce merchant lists them at $3 each (making a profit of $2 from the sale).
• When a customer orders a product from the eCommerce merchant’s website, the merchant receives a notification. The merchant then forwards that order to the supplier, either manually or automatically.
• The supplier fulfills the order and ships it directly to the customer under the drop shipper’s name.

Understand the Pros and Cons of the Dropshipping Business

Dropshipping offers the ability to start an eCommerce store without the inherent risks of owning inventory.

This is incredibly appealing to entrepreneurs who want to quickly launch a business without the hassle of overhead cost and shipping logistics. That being said, the drop shipping business comes with its own challenges that are often overlooked.

Every business model has its challenges and drop shipping is no different. In order to be successful, you should prepare yourself for some of the challenges you will likely be facing.

Customer Support

You are the one dealing with the customers. That means any issues that your suppliers have with shipping on time or delivery, in general, will fall on you. Make sure you are prepared for many hours of customer service. This is not necessarily a bad thing as any time you have direct communication with a user is an opportunity to retain or upsell.

Shipping

With shipping costs, you win some, you lose some.

Deciding on your shipping policy can be daunting since your suppliers will all be charging you different rates based on their location. While your inclination may be to focus on covering your costs, instead focus on your customer’s experience. If they are about to check out and find the shipping cost overwhelming, they will more than likely abandon the purchase.

Try offering flat rate shipping with a threshold for free (for example, after reaching $49, free shipping).

Check out: Shipping 101: Finding the Model to Match your Business

In general, approach shipping as “you win some, you lose some” mentality knowing that if you do your calculations properly, you are likely to even out at the end of the day suppliers may be a pain.

Remember you are relinquishing your control over inventory so you can only hope the suppliers have the same standard of customer service and professionalism that your store promises its customers.

This may not always be true so prepare yourself for constantly updating your product selection until you find the most consistent and reliable suppliers.

Modalyst, however, has implemented a vetting process for suppliers so the network is composed of reliable, high-quality brands.

Find the Best Shopping Cart Technology for You

Once you are committed to all the challenges (and excitements!) that come with drop shipping, it’s time to find a platform to start your e-Commerce store. There are a lot of options out there, so find the one that best meets your needs.

Do you have experience in designing and want something very customizable? Is this your first business and need something not too expensive?

First, decide on your priorities and use a version of the checklist below to evaluate the different options.

1. Cost
2. Website Hosting
3. Website design
4. Customization options
5. Payment gateways offered
6. Marketing tools
7. Access to additional integrations/apps
8. Analytics and Reporting
9. Customer Service

Create an excel sheet or a simple list to help you compare and contrast the options.

Decide on your Intended Customers

If you haven’t already, now is the time to decide on your audience. As much as you would like to target users on a universal scale, the best place to start is with a niche user segment so you can focus your marketing efforts effectively. Once you know who you want to visit your store, you can apply better branding, messaging and find the best products for those particular customers.

Find Dropshipping Suppliers

Time to fill your store with products from the best dropshipping suppliers.

The times of Googling cool new wholesalers and brands are over thanks to the many dropshipping marketplaces out there that will provide lists of suppliers for you to choose from.

Depending on what you are looking to sell, there are dropshipping platforms offering mass-produced products at lower prices and some that are more curated with independents.

Modalyst, for example, offers fashion accessories, apparel, and home goods from a selected group of suppliers interested in building relationships with e-boutiques all over the world.

Our dropshipping app makes it easy for retailers to click to add products to their stores. Where it used to take an average of 38 days to develop a dropshipping relationship, with new technology like what Modalyst offers, it literally takes seconds.

Online stores can sign up for their free forever plan for full access to the dropshipping marketplace and experience the app that automates not only sourcing but also order fulfillment and inventory levels as well.

As a new eCommerce entrepreneur with several overlapping tasks to conduct, tools like the ones mentioned above can assist you to manage hundreds of suppliers and vendors in one centralized place.

Set up Social Media Accounts For Your Online Store

I should not need to convince you about the benefit of social media when developing a brand image for your dropshipping and eCommerce business.

You want your customers to understand your personality and feel like you are a friend they can trust, therefore making them more inclined to purchase from you.

Social media is a crucial asset for this not only as a way of communicating your brand’s message through graphic aesthetics but also as a channel for customer service.

Try not to be daunted by which channel to use.

Find the one that you are most comfortable with and give it a try. You can expand and branch out to multiple channels later on, but it is important to first experiment with the platform you believe is going to be most profitable for your specific clientele, hence the most worthwhile to spend a considerable amount of time on.

Instagram is known as a platform that has worked well for advancing various eCommerce stores due to its vast variety of visual templates and displays for business profiles, so you may want to start there. However, something crucial to note about Instagram as a platform is the matter of timing – If you can present a product to your potential customers through a dedicated Instagram post and follow up with a seamless user experience and product flow, you will likely capture that sale.

Make sure that you know the best time to post on Instagram as this will be the key to targeting the right audience for your product which will eventually lead to your followers and customers as well. Try to publish an Instagram post at a time in which you predict that most of your user segment is already scrolling and browsing on this social media platform.

Find Helpful Apps

In this day and age, you don’t have to hire a team of people to customize your store. There are third-party developers, as well as website builders and apps, that will help you for that!

Take advantage of all the eCommerce apps out there that you can use to create things like better user flow, email capture, rewards programs, etc.

All these things can greatly increase your chances of sales and are typically relatively easy to set up.

The Wix App Market in particular could be a highly beneficial place to explore for starters. The apps you want to focus on to start with are those that help you retain customers.

This can include things like pop-up boxes to learn more about the customer browsing your site so you can reach out with specific suggestions; discount offers after certain user behavior like adding an item to the cart and then abandoning; adding product reviews to encourage sales.

Create an eCommerce Marketing Strategy

Every online store must have a marketing strategy. And it cannot be that you will offer better pricing. Almost everything can be found on Amazon or eBay these days so that is a battle you will likely lose since they will always be able to offer lower prices. Instead, try reaching your customers before others do.

If you can present a product to them through a marketing email or Instagram post and follow up correctly, you will likely capture their attention and trust.

Focus on an audience that might not be looking for better pricing but more novelty, niche products, and personalized shopping experience. This is where you can win their trust, and complete the sale.

Lastly, be aware that retaining a customer is more cost-effective than finding new users. Once you capture a sale, spend time on nurturing that relationship because in the end, it is better for your bottom line.

Deploy Marketing Strategy
(Learn and Adjust)

The best lessons can be learned from the mistakes you make so don’t be afraid to try different tactics. There are so many things to choose from like Pinterest boards, Facebook ads, SEO, Snapchat etc.

Interestingly, studies show that email marketing is still the top way to drive traffic to your site. I would start there and slowly add on different channels.

The most important thing is to study the results so you don’t keep wasting time on something that isn’t working. For example, if you post a product on Instagram, make sure you have a link to the product in your bio so that people can easily click through to your site. You can then look at Google Analytics to see how much traffic originated from Instagram.

This is very valuable data for your business. If there are a lot of clicks and no sales, or if the bounce rate is too high, maybe this product is not right for your intended audience.

Make your First Sale

Once you can get people to your site, it’s time to focus on how to encourage sales to your online store. This is when website design, particularly the checkout experience, can greatly influence a purchase. Try studying other sites where you like to shop and take screenshots of each step in the check out process.

The key is to eliminate friction points so one doesn’t feel distracted or worse, frustrated when trying to buy something.
For first time buyers, this is an opportunity to capture their preferences.
For example, if the customer is buying a swimsuit, you may want to offer a discount on a beach towel in a few days since you can assume they are in the market for summer gear.

This doesn’t require anything high tech. Simply review your purchases every few weeks and look for ways to re-engage your customers in a personal way.

Retain Customers

As long as you provide a favorable experience for a customer’s first purchase, you should spend more time on ways to get them to come back to your site than finding new customers.

The reality is that returning customers are likely to spend more money than a new user, since you’ve retained customer satisfaction in their first purchase.

If you can build up a loyal customer base you can use them to help gain new users. For example, provide discounts to your customers that invite their friends to shop. Think of your best customers as your sales force. This could serve as an effective and efficient approach to finding new shoppers.

5 Best Ways to Retain your Customers Online

Analyze and Adjust

Running a business is a great and crucial learning opportunity. Consider the first few months a discovery phase when you are constantly trying new tactics, analyzing the results, and re-adjusting. While you might start with a specific vision for your store, always be prepared to pivot based on customer feedback. Early on illicit feedback from the users that successfully purchase but also those that abandon during checkout.

Don’t be afraid to ask why they left the site, you may be surprised to hear their answer.

Most importantly, embrace that learning how to start a dropshipping business is a tricky and competitive field. If you focus on measurable tactics, you’ll be able to hone in on what really works for your customer base and drive sales. If you would like to start a drop shipping business, sign up for Modalyst here or read more about eCommerce and starting a dropshipping store on our blog.

The post Your Dropshipping Business Plan: 11 Steps to eCommerce Success first appeared on Modalyst.

Many eCommerce businesses after only a few months fizzle out and never amount to anything special.

There are several reasons why these businesses fail fast, and one of the major culprits is the inability to find profitable products to sell online.

Finding just any kind of product to sell isn’t the hard part.

There are millions of products available in the marketplace. However, it’s not always clear which products are trending or are best sellers. Before you get started with dropshipping it’s important to understand how to find trending products and niches to sell.

Characteristics of Trending Dropshipping Business Ideas in 2022

Hot products

You should stay current with the trends and the products which are winning in the market.

Use Google Trends and real-time social networks like Twitter or Instagram to discover what products are bestsellers.

With that idea, carve out a place for your brand or product offering in the market.

Launch your eCommerce website at the right time to capitalize on the sentiment of consumers in the marketplace.

Products with unique appeal

You have to make sure that the products you sell have unique appeal and are eye-grabbing.  If comparable products are available, consumers will research those products as well. When a consumer does comparison shopping, they will usually buy from the seller with higher ratings and better pricing.

That gives you the advantage with it comes to sourcing the best dropshipping products to sell.

Low visibility in Search Engines

If the product is unique, people will definitely try to search for it.

This means the demand will be high. Many ecommerce store owners will try to introduce the product on their stores. Now, you have to take the lead and start marketing it.

Unavailable in your target market

You should make sure the product is not available in the market you’re targeting.

If the product is available in the market you’re targeting, you’re going to face more competition when you sell it.

Actual price is hard to find  

Ensure that the actual price of the products you are planning to sell is not easily discoverable on Google Search.

Many drop shippers source products from sites like AliExpress and Wish.

To avoid any loss of trust, you should verify that the prices are not easy to find.

How To Find Trending Products To Sell

You should follow these steps to find popular products to sell online:

• Research product and dropshipping business ideas in Google Trends
• Find market data to understand the trajectory of the industry and if dropshipping will be worth it
• Narrow down the product categories to explore based on Google search volume
• Review blogs and influencers to find topics people are passionate about
• Use product sales tools such as  JungleScout Sales Estimator

Scope out your competitors, suppliers and manufacturers before spending any money. Look at their prices and inventory levels from day to day to see if they are successful.

When selecting products, keep a narrow focus and identify the sweet spots.

But make sure you have a good mix of low, medium and high price points. Depending on your niche, you might need to have a “loss leader” to bring in customers then upsell them later.

Top Dropshipping Business Ideas on Modalyst

Before you start considering individual products, it’s good to pick a specific niche.

This way, you’ll know what kind of products to look for.

On Modalyst, some of the most successful dropshipping niches are:

• Women’s clothing
• Fitness gear & activewear
• Phone accessories
• Gadgets
• Hobby products

Hand-knitted Sofa Blankets

For the majority of people, grabbing a blanket and snuggling up to Netflix is the idea of a great Friday night. It’s no wonder that blankets and ponchos are popular products to sell.

 

If you use Modalyst, you’ll even get access to numerous suppliers providing hand knitted blankets.

To find products like this one on Modalyst, please click here:

dropship blankets with Modalyst

Solar Adapters

With the increasing importance of solar energy and renewable resources, solar adapters and similar gadgets can be a great way to attract more customers to your store.

You won’t just be doing your part to save the planet; you’ll be improving your profitability, as well. Going green makes for profitable eCommerce!

Greeting Cards

In the digital era, more and more people are turning to paper to preserve the magic of the written word. Greeting cards are definitely making a comeback, and right in time for the holiday season!

Source beautiful artworks from independent artists and spread the joy!

Mouse Pads

We can’t really customize the look of our computers, but we can go wild with mouse pads.

The best part is: complementary tech products like mousepads are really cheap to source!

Wall Clocks

There’s nothing like a clock to remind us that we’re late for work. You know the type, white background and black letters.

Boring.

People want fun clocks and fortunately, wall clocks are one of the best drop shipping products.

Aromatic Shaving Soap

Why bother with perfume if you can start your day right with opulent shaving soap?

Never underestimate your customers’ desire to smell and, consequently, feel good. It’s time to source aromatic shaving soap for as little as $5 on Modalyst!

Beach Towels

When June rolls around, it’s time to have fun. Summer is the perfect time to source unique beach towels and help your customers show off on the beach.

You can get high-quality, Turkish cotton beach towels on Modalyst starting from $29.

Leather Journals

Journaling is an incredibly soothing practice. More and more people flock to it in search of some peace and quiet. How are you going to use that need to build a profitable dropshipping business?

By dropshipping beautiful leather journals, of course!

Backpacks

No one can actually pack into a small suitcase, can they?

Everyone needs a sturdy and stylish backpack in their lives; from adventurers who don’t mind camping, to fancy-pantsers who prefer glamping.

Designer Clothing

Reselling designer apparel makes for a really profitable dropshipping business idea.

From Gucci dresses to Versace sneakers, customers are always on the lookout for a great deal.

And with Modalyst, you’ll have access to suppliers with unparalleled discounts!

Tea Blouses

There’s nothing that says elegance more than a tea blouse.

From garden parties to a day spent brunching with their friends, your customers are going to need something stylish and unique to wear.

Earrings

Earrings are so easy to ship, reducing your costs, and they provide excellent markup opportunities.

Modalyst’s supplier marketplace is full of vendors with products your customers are going to love! Don’t forget to add these to your store to set your dropshipping business apart from others.

Bowties

Bowties are making a comeback and we love it!

Your stylish customers are going to love the accessories instantly lifting their outfits; regardless of their gender.

Bowties were made to be worn by everyone.

Leggings

From fitness and yoga to leisure, leggings are everywhere. They’re comfortable and loved by customers everywhere, making them one of the best products to add to your dropshipping business.

They come in a variety of colors and present a great markup opportunity!

Fitness Sets

Come New Year, everyone will be on the lookout for matching fitness sets they can wear to their first gym sesh.

As an owner of a dropshipping business, you should make use of it by adding a few sports bra & leggings sets to your Modalyst import list.

Straw Bags

Straw bags started taking the world by storm in 2017, and they haven’t stopped ever since.

Influencers are proudly posing with them, and your stylish customers will appreciate you giving them the chance to be as trendy as their idols.

Sports Bras

Fitness apparel is one of the most profitable dropshipping product ideas. Everyone needs to work out every once in a while and they want to do it in style.

With relatively low sourcing costs and plenty of ways to be customized, sports bras are the right product option for your dropshipping business.

Self-Tie Skirts

Speaking of trendy product ideas, self-tie skirts are both stylish and practical.

They can even tie into your fitness dropshipping business!

When your customers lose weight, they don’t want to lose their clothes. An adjustable self-tie skirt is a great option.

Bodysuits

Is it a shirt, is it a corset?

No, it’s a bodysuit!

Bodysuits are the ultimate versatile pieces every woman needs in her closet. Help your customers look more fashionable (and your business become more profitable) by adding bodysuits to your store.

Snapback Hats

Regardless of whether your customers want to go outside without getting sunburnt, or channel their inner bros, snapback hats are a great solution and one of the best dropshipping business ideas out there.

Snapback hats are profitable products for your dropshipping business because they’re universally loved (and needed).

Jogger Pants

Joggers no longer even wear jogger pants, but they sure are comfy!

When you add a few pairs of jogger pants to your store, you’ll see them flying off the shelves. Everyone wants something comfy and practical!

Two-Piece Sets with Skirts

Ever since Kim K started rocking them, the world has gone crazy for hot two-piece sets with skirts.

Choose animal prints or solid colors, knowing that all your stylish customers who follow popular influencers will whip out their credit cards in an instant.

Two-Piece Sets with Pants

For all of your customers that don’t want to sacrifice comfort for style, offer them the best of both worlds with two-piece sets with pants. 

On Modalyst, two-piece sets with pants start at $29, giving you ample markup opportunity. Your dropshipping business will be profitable in a second!

Bodysuits for Kiddos

Stylish mommas want their kiddos to be stylish, too! Fortunately, you can both improve families’ style scores and your dropshipping profitability by selling infant bodysuits.

You don’t even have to worry about communicating with vendors; it’s all so simple on Modalyst!

Peaceful Jewelry

In these fast-paced times, your customers want a reminder that things will calm down. Why not provide it with beautiful jewelry reminding them of ocean waves and cotton candy skies? Jewelry is one of those dropshipping business ideas that always stands the test of time.

Puppy Care Products

Everyone has a soft spot for the furrier members of their family. Dog owners are passionate about providing their pets with the best care products, including herbal shampoos.

Give your customers a chance to spoil their pets rotten!

Elegant Scarves

A scarf is the perfect addition to every outfit, casual and glamorous alike.

And with the majority of customers being more likely to whip out their credit cards for an accessory than a full-blown clothing item, scarves are great products for your dropshipping business.

Dresses

Which woman hasn’t spent her Friday night shopping for new clothes that will help her be the boss lady she wants to become?

Clothing shapes the way we perceive ourselves, and it has the power to improve your customers’ lives (while improving your revenue). Selling clothes is one of the most versatile, evergreen dropshipping business ideas we can think of to get started with.

Socks

When we were kids, getting socks as a present was the worst thing. But as we grew older, socks became the best possible gift.

From zebra-striped to dotted socks, you can’t go wrong with selling products that keep your customers’ feet warm. And since they’re cheap to source, socks provide a great markup opportunity for your dropshipping business.

Warm and Cozy Jackets

People may be able to tolerate discomfort in summer but during the winter, staying warm (and stylish) is a priority.

Parkas are a great, profitable dropshipping business idea and product choice since they’re indispensable. And if they’re stylish at that, you’ll have struck gold!

Complete Hedonism

The money isn’t just about selling practical products. Gifts are a great way to attract a lot more customers to your website.

This whiskey glass & ice cube set is a great gift for the hedonists in your customers’ lives.

Charging on the Go

We’re all using our phones more than ever, your customers included. So when the battery runs low, wouldn’t it be great to charge it on the go?

Practical tech products such as this bag that comes equipped with a charger are absolute winners in 2022!

Necklaces

Gifts, treats, or just indispensable items to enhance an outfit… Necklaces can be used in every situation. It’s time to add them to your product list.

With a significantly lower price point and the ability to make or break an outfit, necklaces are extremely profitable eCommerce products.

BB Creams

You don’t have to have anything in your makeup bag, but you’ve got to have a BB cream.

Unfortunately, finding the right one is pretty hard.

Chances are, your customers have often wanted to buy a BB cream that wasn’t readily available in their local department stores. Cue, dropshipping popular cosmetics.

Wireless Speakers

Life is better with music.

Portable wireless speakers are one of the most profitable dropshipping products today. As tech gadgets, they’re absolutely indispensable to any store that wants to attract a millennial or younger audience.

Extravagant Jumpsuits

With the holiday season approaching -isn’t it always approaching?, your customers will be looking for the perfect outfits to spend their Christmas and New Year’s Eve in.

Jumpsuits are an exquisite choice; timeless and elegant for your customers, and profitable for your dropshipping store.

Sweater Weather

Everyone needs a comfy sweater. If you’re selling apparel, it’ll be a perfect fit for your ecommerce store. If you can also incorporate some brand identity to it, you’ll have plenty of new customers looking for your products.

Facial Oils

There’s nothing that says “treat yourself, you deserved it” like an aromatic facial oil. Adding these products to your health & beauty store can go a long way towards increasing your profitability!

Pajamas

Products like pajamas are always profitable; everyone needs them. A comfy pajama or onesie to wear at home is going to be the perfect product for your customers to put in their carts.

Headbands

Headbands aren’t just stylish; they’re in demand.

Accessories, which are always at a lower price point and thus more likely to be purchased, are a great dropshipping business option if you’re selling to a female audience.

Plus Size Apparel

There’s a serious shortage of cute plus size clothing on the racks of high-street brands.

Fortunately, women and men looking for stunning clothes in their size make up for a significant portion of all our audiences.

Intimates

From briefs to seductive lingerie, intimates are always in demand.

Since we love knowing that we’re wearing cute underwear under amazing outfits, intimates are a must for any dropshipping store that sells clothing.

Faux Leather Clothing

Leather looks stunning on everyone. And even if a lot of contemporary consumers don’t want to wear real leather, faux leather items are a great solution.

If you want to create an extravagant brand, add faux leather pieces to your Modalyst import list.

Cute Workout Shirts

Support your customers’ upcoming or current New Year resolutions (who are we kidding, aren’t resolutions an all year round thing?) by offering them a wide selection of cute and funny gym shirts. Everyone’s on the lookout for great fitness gear, so why not add a few select pieces to your store?

Signature Pieces

Increase your store’s exclusivity by shopping for the most unique products. Signature pieces like extravagant dresses or even statement necklaces are one of the best dropshipping ideas.

Party Dresses

Some of the most successful dropshipping brands have been built on providing stellar clothing for special occasions.

From proms and weddings to nights out and New Year’s Eves, your customers will recommend your store to all of their friends!

Puma Products

Puma is one of the best known sports brands out there.

And just because you’re dropshipping doesn’t mean you can’t source products from name brands.

With Modalyst, you’ll get access to dropshipping business ideas including name brands like Puma, Gucci, and many more.

Embroidered Items

Embroidered items always come with an aura of luxury, and your customers are craving it. Add a few signature pieces to your store; it’s profitable eCommerce like no other!

Jeans

Finding the right fit is the dream. Help your customers choose a pair of jeans that fit in all the right places, and wow with their design.

From trousers to jean jackets and more, you can find plenty of profitable products on Modalyst.

Timeless Ruffles

If you’re selling trendy pieces, you should absolutely add clothing with ruffles to your list.

They’re both feminine and elegant, and present a great markup chance when you source exclusive products.

Elegant Coats

Our customers are always looking for elegant coats – wether something warmer for the winter, or something lighter for spring and autumn mornings and evenings.

Browse Modalyst’s selection of coats and find the best dropshipping business ideas for your store!

Suits

It’s so hard to find an elegant suit that fits. Help your customers by expanding your selection and including suits from well-known brands such as Manuel Ritz.

Knitwear

Knitwear is both comfortable and stylish, your customers will always be on the lookout for the best pieces.

Gowns

Gowns never go out of style; every woman has at least one to wear, should she be whisked off to Monaco by a prince. Help your customers live the fantasy with this elegant dropshipping business idea!

Hoodies

Hoodies are the perfect choice for improving your store’s offer. They’re versatile and, what’s even more important, a profitable business idea.

Maxi Dresses

Help your customers channel their inner influencers with boho, chic, and romantic maxi dresses.

Hair Growth Oils

No one wants to say goodbye to their mane. Build up a profitable business by dropshipping the much needed hair care products.

Chapsticks

Speaking of beauty (and who isn’t speaking about it?), chapsticks are great dropshipping products. They’re cheap to source, and easy to profit from.

Browse the selection of health & beauty products on Modalyst.

Oxford Shoes

Perfect for rain and shine alike, Oxford shoes are going to find places in the closets of your customers. The only question is: will you be the one making money from it?

Men’s Watches

No one really knows what to get their significant other when it’s his birthday. But a watch is a timeless gift. Expand your assortment with a few elegant, manly watches.

Culottes

The world has gone culotte-crazy, and for a good reason. These pants are versatile, both practical and elegant.

If you’re serving a female audience, make sure you add culottes to your Modalyst import list and differentiate your dropshipping business!

Fashionable Sunglasses

Sunglasses are one of the best ideas for your dropshipping business. Help your customers protect their eyes, and stay stylish as they do it.

They also provide an excellent markup opportunity!

Silk Pashminas

If you want to brand your eCommerce store as luxurious, look no further than pashminas. With classic design and extravagant silk blend materials, your customers will go go-go for them!

All Lace Everything

Not only is lace romantic, but it also looks good on everyone. Regardless of your customers’ style preferences, a lacey piece will be the much-needed addition to their closets.

Rings

Rings don’t just look good, they’re also significantly cheaper to source than any other jewelry. Choose from a variety of stunning options on Modalyst!

Tiger Eye

Tiger’s eye is a beautiful gemstone recognized for its symbolism. Enhance your customer’s courage and willpower by offering beautiful tiger’s eye jewelry.

Beanies

Beanies are perfect products for customers who prize comfort and casual elegance. Choose from a variety of customizable designs on Modalyst.

Burberry Items

Branded items are a great opportunity to earn extra revenue for your dropshipping store. Find some of the most elegant Burberry designs straight out of London!

Mini Dresses

Every woman needs a mini in her wardrobe.

If you’re running a fashion store, make sure you add them to your product list.

Midi Dresses

Mini, midi and maxi are all perfect variants of every woman’s favorite pieces of clothing: dresses. And if you’re hoping to attract a stylish female audience, make sure you add them to your dropshipping ideas.

Pocket Squares

Accessories are extremely profitable dropshipping product ideas, but they’re not only meant for women.

Elegant men will love customized pocket squares made in the US. And the best part is that you can source them at a great price on Modalyst.

Bags for Men

We’re all carrying too much stuff around. However, men need a bag that shows off both their manliness and their practical nature.

Find the perfect products to dropship on Modalyst.

Foldable Solar Panels

Renewable resources are the future.

A lot of people want to go green, even if they’re living in small houses or rented apartments. This is what makes foldable solar panels a great dropshipping idea.

Smart Watch Straps

A smart watch becomes even smarter with an elegant strap. It also makes for a smart dropshipping business idea – sorry, we couldn’t resist.

First-Class Mascara

Another profitable eCommerce product is certainly mascara. With plenty of options, customers are always on the lookout for the next best product. Be the store owner who gives it to them.

Blazers

Blazers are the perfect addition to almost every outfit; elegant and casual alike. Modalyst vendors offer plenty of options for even the pickiest of customers.

Retro Garments

In an age where furry sandals exist, some customers just want a blast from the past. Integrate 70s, 80s and 90s inspired products and collections in your store offering, and watch your profitability increase!

Wireless Headphones

Who wants to put a pause on their favorite song just because they’re going out? Wireless headphones are a great choice for techies and regular customers alike!

Himalayan Salt Lamps

Renowned for their healing and calming properties, Himalayan salt lamps are a great addition to your health & beauty store.

Top & Bottoms Sets for Kids

Getting kids dressed properly can be a nightmare.

Make sure your customers’ tykes are stylish and comfortable with top and bottom sets for kids.

Natural Body Mists

There’s nothing like a drop of lavender to instantly calm down even the buzziest minds.

Help your customers unwind with serene body mists.

Beard Oil

Beards are back in style and with them come the products necessary to make them look good.

Among other products, you’ll find some of the best beard oils for your stylish male customers on Modalyst.

Solar Panels

Speaking of going green, more and more people are thinking about installing solar panels.

And the best part is: no one expects them to be cheap.

However, you (as the store owner) can source 100W panels for as little as $72. The rest of the profits are all yours.

Elegant Boots

What is better than Oxford shoes and ankle boots? Oxford ankle boots!

Endlessly classic and timeless, they’re a great addition to the closets of female and male customers alike, making them a great dropshipping product idea.

Skincare Collections

Your customers’ skin withstands so much. Why not give it a little love by helping them buy incredible skincare products?

Byronic Velvet

There’s nothing that says “luxury” as much as velvet does.

The products made out of velvet are flying off the shelves in high street stores and online stores alike. Why not capitalize on this with your store?

Armani Jeans

Armani Jeans is one of the most popular casual brands for customers that want to wear the best Italian fashion has to offer, even when they’re grocery shopping.

Men’s Grooming Kits

It’s men’s time to shine.

Equally passionate about aesthetics, the manlier parts of our society are constantly on the lookout for grooming kits that suit their style and their skin.

Kimonos

Boho is the new chic.

Help all those potential customers looking for ways to emulate their favorite influencers’ aesthetics with effortlessly elegant kimonos.

Vases

Vases are the perfect additions to your customers’ homes, and they provide an excellent markup opportunity!

Pugs & Mugs

There’s no gift better than a cute mug. Bonus points if it’s with a pug!

Bag Straps

Women can’t part from their favorite bags.

Unfortunately, bag straps are prone to breaking apart from the wear and tear.

Add stylish bag strap options to your store; on Modalyst, you can even get Fendi bag straps for your fashionista customers!

Bath Bombs

There’s nothing like coming home and sliding into a bath smelling like your favorite aromas.

Add bath bombs to your offer, and you’ll instantly increase the potential profitability of your store!

Temporary Tattoos

Temporary tattoos have always been fun, but they’re all the rage nowadays.

They’re really cheap to source, and they’ll fly off your virtual shelves!

Vanity Products

Sometimes, your customers just want to flaunt their lifestyle.

Give them the opportunity to do so tastefully, with this dropshipping business idea they’ll love forever.

Regal Wear

If you’re catering to an audience that loves looking like they came straight out of a movie, you’ll love the selection of exclusive European dropshipping products on Modalyst.

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

Get ready for pumpkin season! Stock up on pumpkin-spiced candles, and help your customers create the perfect autumnal fantasy, or just get that halloween feeling all year round.

Messenger Bags

There’s nothing that says “I’ve got places to be” like a messenger bag.

They’re customer favorites, and they’ll increase the profitability of your store in an instant.

Beauty Blenders

Finally, if you want to source a cheap product and get a great markup opportunity to jumpstart your success, look no further.

Beauty blenders are the key to a great dropshipping business idea.

From makeup artists to women wanting to emulate them, beauty blenders are everything you need to increase your profitability.

Browse the selection on Modalyst and start sourcing products for free.e

The post 100 Dropshipping Business Ideas for 2022 first appeared on Modalyst.

While the principle of dropshipping is simple — you don’t need to pay for inventory before selling it — many people are confused about many aspects of starting an online dropshipping store. 

If you’re interested in the dropshipping business model and are tinkering with the idea of running your eCommerce business without any significant startup capital, this dropshipping FAQ will answer all the questions you might have about this popular business model. 

Dropshipping for Beginners FAQs

1. What is dropshipping and how does it work?

2. What are the benefits of dropshipping?

3. Is dropshipping legal?

4. Is dropshipping a profitable business model?

5. Is it necessary to have a registered business for dropshipping?

6. How much money can you make dropshipping?

7. What are some common issues with dropshipping?

8. Is fraud something to worry about with dropshipping?

9. How to make sure the dropshipping products customers order are in stock?

10. How to find dropshipping suppliers?

11. Why start dropshipping with Modalyst?

12. What kind of products are available through Modalyst?

13. What are the main benefits of using Modalyst for dropshipping?

14. What platforms does Modalyst integrate with?

15. How much does it cost to start dropshipping with Modalyst?

16. Is Modalyst customer support good?

1. What is Dropshipping and how does it Work?

To put it simply, dropshipping is a business model that doesn’t require a store to keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, the online retailer purchases the products from a third party supplier and has it shipped to the customer, but only after the customer has made a purchase. This means that the store owner never handles the actual product. 

The dropshipping business model works based on having a low start-up cost, and it eliminates the risks and costs of holding inventory completely. This doesn’t mean that it’s an easy business to succeed in, as it still requires day-to-day management. It is definitely not a get-rich-quick scheme, but it can be quite profitable with hard work. 

Drop shipping comes with lots of challenges as well, ranging from dealing with stocks to screening orders to avoid credit card fraud, but overall, it’s one of the easiest ways to launch an ecommerce store that can become profitable over time. 

2. What are the Benefits of Dropshipping?

One of the key benefits of drop shipping is that the store owner doesn’t have to pay for the product until the customer pays, which means that they don’t risk buying products that won’t sell. Because of the low investment required to start a dropshipping business, this is a business model suitable for novices who want to run their own online store.

Another benefit of drop shipping is that the seller doesn’t get involved with the physical process of packaging and shipping products. That is one of the most tedious parts of selling products online, but sellers essentially outsource it to someone else. Dropshipping companies are more often than not large companies that deal with thousands of orders a day, which means they have negotiated shipping rates that are much lower than a small seller can get. 

3. Is Dropshipping Legal?

Yes, dropshipping is a completely legal business, but there are, of course several elements you need to take account before starting. It’s crucial to pick a reliable supplier, as you would be liable for sales if the supplier sells a counterfeit product. Those who are dropshipping on Amazon or eBay risk having their accounts banned for selling counterfeit products, and it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to recover from that. 

Many people ask if they need to inform the buyers that they are doing dropshipping. The answer is no — there is no legal requirement to do so, as long as the customer receives the product as described. Dropshipping is perfectly legal, and by choosing to work only with reputable suppliers, sellers can avoid possibly emerging issues. 

4. Is Dropshipping a Profitable Business Model? 

Digital entrepreneurs often ask whether dropshipping is still a profitable business in 2020. It is still possible to earn a decent income from dropshipping, but sellers should keep in mind that it’s not generally possible to make lots of money in a short period. For dropshipping to be profitable, sellers need to invest time, money, and effort. As a rule of thumb, focusing on a profitable niche can make a new dropshipping store successful quicker. 

5. Is it Necessary to Have a Registered Business for Dropshipping?

This depends on the country where you live, but generally, you do need to register your business once you start making sales. Most payment providers, including PayPal, require proof of a registered company once you start making consistent sales. The rules for obtaining business licenses vary from one country to another. In the U.S., for example, the process is rather straightforward, and you can do everything online.

6. How Much Money Can You Make Dropshipping?

This is not a question with a straightforward answer, as it all depends on the niche you pick, the number of visitors you can drive to your website, and your profit margin. The good news is that there are no limits on profits when dropshipping, with some sellers making full-time incomes and others managing to earn six-figure incomes from dropshipping.

7. What Are Some Common Issues with Dropshipping?

Since retailers have no control over stocks and shipments, problems are bound to arise with the dropshipping process. Some of the most common issues are related to items being out of stock, delays with the processing of orders, wrong item or quantity sent to the customer, and items arriving damaged.

Most of these issues are the same regular online stores with their own stocks have, but when you’re dropshipping, handling them is often more difficult. To protect your business and solve any issues for your customers in a timely manner, it’s essential to keep good records of all orders, shipping addresses, and learn everything there is to know about your dropshipper’s return policies. It’s also a good idea to offer customers discounts for future orders when a mistake occurred with their order. 

8. Is Fraud Something to Worry About with Dropshipping?

As with any online business, credit card fraud is just part of life, and the dropshipping business is not different. The good news is that there are lots of ways to protect a business with basic security measures and, as such, reduce the risk of fraud considerably. Using a gateway service for card processing is always recommended, as this allows the verification of the billing address of the customer so it matches the one on file with the bank. Screening orders with different billing and shipping addresses is another important step to protect against fraud, especially in the case of very large orders. 

9. How to Make Sure the Products Customers Order are in Stock?

Stocks are one of the major challenges of dropshipping, as it is rather difficult to determine if a product is available without actually having access to stock information in a warehouse. Ordering a product only to find out later it is not actually available makes for a very poor customer experience, and it’s not something that bodes well for any business. 

The good news is that sellers who choose to work with reputable dropshippers often have access to real-time inventory feeds. These make it easy to sync the products on the website with the actual stocks available in the warehouses of the dropshipper. If that is not possible, the second-best strategy is to work with multiple suppliers who can provide the same products. As such, if a product is not available in the warehouse of one supplier, chances are the second one will have it. This is not a fail-proof method, but it reduces the chances of having disappointed customers. 

10. How to Find Dropshipping Suppliers?

One of the most important steps to growing a successful dropshipping business is finding reputable drop ship suppliers. While there are thousands of drop shipping suppliers out there, it’s actually not that easy to find certified ones that are not going to cause too much trouble when it comes to fulfilling orders and accepting returns. 

To find the right supplier for a business, it’s essential to understand the distribution channels for the particular dropshipping industry you’re interested in. The main types of wholesalers used for dropshipping include manufacturers, importers and exclusive distributors, and regional wholesalers. 

Those who are just starting may want to look at smaller retailers. Still, it’s also possible to make a good profit by using a bigger wholesaler such as AliExpress from the beginning. No matter which route you choose, it’s always a good idea to get in touch with manufacturers directly for a list of distributors they prefer to work with. 

11. Why Start a Dropshipping Business with Modalyst?

Modalyst is a classic dropshipping service that both beginners and seasoned sellers can use to connect with verified suppliers. The role of the platform is to route orders automatically and notify suppliers about incoming orders. This means that the process is automated as much as possible, and Modalyst also facilitates the communication between the seller and the supplier. 

12. What Kinds of Products are Available Through Modalyst?

The product choice is one of the main strengths of Modalyst, and some of the products available through the platform include shoes, apparel, bags, furniture, electronics, and many others. The platform has a focus on U.S. and European-based suppliers, but also connects business owners to millions of dropship products on AliExpress through its official partnership with Alibaba. No matter what your dropshipping business idea, Modalyst has a wide range of products to make it a reality.

Modalyst is also a goldmine for retailers looking for on-trend products and the best dropshipping products for their store. The platform features a catalog of tens of thousands of trendy fashion products that are guaranteed to reach customers in the U.S. within a week. Products in this section are stored in warehouses in the U.S. and Europe, and they are ready for immediate shipping.

A wide selection of luxury products is also available at wholesale pricing, so ecommerce businesses in this niche can benefit from fast shipping of up to four business to the U.S. and quick worldwide shipping as well. 

13. What Are the Main Benefits of Using Modalyst for Dropshipping?

Besides the wide range of products available via Modalyst, there are several other benefits of using this platform. Modalyst is the perfect choice for online retailers who want to target European and American clients because of the quick delivery times. 

Dropshipping platforms that work with Chinese suppliers may have shipping times of up to eight weeks, and sometimes they use non-trackable shipments. As such, it’s difficult for store owners to know if the client has actually received the products. With Modalyst, the fast shipping times and tracked shipments mean that if something goes wrong, the clients don’t have to wait for another month for their returns to be processed. 

14. What Platforms Does Modalyst Integrate With?

Modalyst integrates with all major e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, Wix, and BigCommerce. Users automate most aspects of the business, from inventory data and orders to customer notifications about the status of their order. Modalyst connects directly to the user’s store, and with the dedicated Shopify App, Wix App and BigCommerce App, it allows users to add products to the store with just one click. This makes it easy for anyone with an ecommerce business to start dropshipping.

15. How Much Does It Cost to Start Dropshipping With Modalyst?

There are three different pricing plans available, and each of them has both monthly and yearly options. Users can easily start their dropshipping adventure for free by opting for the Hobby Plan, which is $0/month, and allows users to add 25 products to their store. There is a 5% transaction fee in place on the value of the orders. 

Sellers who need to add more products may opt for the Start-up Plan, which has the same 5% transaction fee but allows users to add 250 products to their store. The price of this intermediate plan is $35/month.

Finally, sellers who want to go all-in may opt for the Pro Plan, which costs $90/month and lets users add unlimited products from all marketplaces to their stores.

16. Is Modalyst Customer Support Good?

Modalyst offers users a comprehensive FAQ section, and users can easily find answers to most of their questions about the platform via the help center. All the help sections on the website are easy to understand, and it only takes a couple of clicks to find the answer to most questions. 

If the question is more specific and not addressed in the help center, users can get live chat support, which is available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, or send an email. Most emails get an answer within 24 hours. 

If you’re planning a dropshipping store, you need to be as informed as possible to succeed. The answers to the most asked dropshipping questions above can help you get started with your dropshipping business. Avoiding dropshipping problems is not always easy, particularly as a beginner, but being well-informed is the first step to success. 

The post What Is Dropshipping: Your Most Important Questions Answered first appeared on Modalyst.

Most holiday shopping efforts begin after Thanksgiving for most consumers. In fact, America has an entire weekend blacked out for shopping: Black Friday, Small Business Sunday, and Cyber Monday. However, the dropshipping holiday season starts much earlier for store managers.

Gain the Upper Hand with Early Preparation

Retailers tend to offer their best deals of the year during this time. Successful campaigns generate revenue, clear out old inventory, and establish brand awareness with customers.

As competition increases, stores are preparing themselves earlier every year. While some people hem and haw at the thought, it really gives holiday dropshippers the chance to gain the upper hand with thorough planning at the start.

5 Tips for Prepping Your Store for the Holiday Season

So, if you are thinking about how your store is going to prepare for the dropshipping holiday season, then it’s time to get started. Time is upon us, friends!

What should you do to prepare your store for the holiday rush? Here are a few things you can do to guarantee a profitable and merry shopping season for you and your customers:

1. Develop a Strategic Promotion and Advertising Plan

Before launching a campaign to promote your e-commerce store, it’s critical to your success that you strategize and outline how you are going to accomplish your goals. While it sounds like the last thing you may want to do, online stores, whose owner’s run them as a business, tend to be more successful than those who don’t.

Here are a few decisions to make before crafting your actual advertising message:

1. The holidays in which you’ll promote your products or services
2. Your target audience based on your offerings
3. Type of holiday special or sale offered
4. When you are going to launch your campaign

After drafting the strategic marketing communications plan for your online store, it’s time to start executing your ideas. Don’t wait too late, or you may not be able to find the people and resources to assist you in promoting your store.

2. Coordinate with Your Suppliers Far in Advance

It isn’t just your store that’s preparing. Suppliers and manufacturers are gearing up for the season as well. Most suppliers want to fulfill your order needs and can usually forecast what they’ll need to keep their customers well-stocked.

But it never hurts to cross your T’s and dot your I’s.

Contacting your suppliers is a great way to ensure that you have enough material and product to maximize your sales over the most significant shopping quarter of the year. This action is especially vital if you are ordering more than usual.

You never know what’s coming down the pike of dropshipping and things can go wrong all the time. You don’t want missing components or items to put the kibosh on your joy. Give yourself peace of mind by contacting your suppliers to ensure they have enough.

3. Consider Working with a Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Firm

As an e-commerce store owner, you know how critical transportation and delivery logistics is to your organization. From the warehouse to tracking deliveries, it can be a nightmare trying to manage it all.

If anxiety and a high-level of doubt set in after thinking about shipping, you may want to consider working with a third-party logistics (3PL) firm to take over warehousing and order fulfillment. While it’s an added expense, nothing can amount to the losses felt through customer shipment failures.

Working with a 3PL allows you to focus on managing your store while they fulfill, process, and deliver orders. It takes a ton of stress off your plate.

Keep in mind that instead of your supplies warehoused at its typical location, it now has to go to the 3PL warehouse for order fulfillment. This option may not work for everyone depending upon your geographic location and industry.

4. Communicate with Your Customers Throughout the Entire Shipping Process

Customers obsess over their items in transit. Understandably so. They want to know if their items are:

• delivered on time
• in good condition
• in the requested quantities
• able to be returned in the event of dissatisfaction

The most successful e-commerce store reduce this cognitive dissonance by communicating with customers about shipping before they make the purchase and then offering reassurance while the packages are going through the supply chain.

Be sure to point out things like:

• your shipping timeframe guarantees
• terms and conditions of payment
• slowdowns or bottlenecks in production

In this situation, it is better to overcommunicate. Not in an unproductive way, but in a manner that reassures your buyers. They’ll remember how easy—or not easy—the shipping process was for their next purchase.

5. Avoid Making Non-Essential Website Changes During the Holiday Season

While it may sound like a great idea to refresh or rebuild your site for the holidays, we are going to advise holding off doing so. It’s a process that is rife with problems, not to mention the added stress of developing a new store while preparing for the busiest time of the year.

Plus, it’s possible for your website to go down entirely if something doesn’t function as expected. People code websites, but they also make mistakes. Allowing the process to unfold at a different time of the year is far less stressful.

Now, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t update your site whatsoever. After all, you need to create adds, promotions, and list new products. Just avoid any non-essential website changes during this time.

Final Thoughts and Considerations on Holiday Dropshipping Preparation

The biggest takeaway from this article is this: you have an opportunity to make a ton of revenue over the holidays. However, maximizing your chances means preparing your holiday dropshipping store well in advance of the holiday season.

How are you going to make it happen? Comment below with your top tips for a smoother dropshipping holiday season experience.

The post How to Prepare Your Dropshipping Store for the Holidays 2022 first appeared on Modalyst.

If you’ve been mulling over the idea of launching a dropshipping business, then you’ve come to the right place.

Whether you’re just starting out with your online store, or you’re a 10-year veteran looking to add to your current business model, we’ve created the ultimate dropshipping resource for online stores and dropship businesses alike.

In this guide, we’re going to show you absolutely everything you need to start and successfully run a dropshipping business.

From finding dropship suppliers and picking the perfect platform to delivering customer support and marketing, here’s what you need to know!

What Is Dropshipping?

With a plethora of voices piping in to define dropshipping, understanding what it actually is can be a bit complicated.

Here’s the truth, and nothing but the truth:

The Definition of Dropshipping

According to the definition, dropshipping is a retail fulfillment method.

The online retailer in no moment fulfills the orders themselves. Online stores with a dropshipping model hold no stock of their own.

The online stores collect customer orders and transfer the order and shipping details to manufacturers who then directly send the products to customers.

This means that you can avoid overhead costs like storage.

However, eCommerce stores do display products in some way to allow customers to pick which products they want to buy.

In today’s eCommerce world, online stores have replaced brick and mortar storefronts.

Online business owners don’t have to have a single physical product.They just have to display it and its characteristics online, which also allows them to reach more people across the world, which would’ve been impossible with a brick and mortar store.

And when customers buy the products, only then do the online stores order them from the wholesaler (suppliers) and ask for it to be shipped to the customer’s location.

So how do you make money with dropshipping? By finding the profit margin in the difference between the wholesale and retail price.

You buy a product for $5 from the dropshipping supplier (since the majority of them offer quantity discounts) and sell it at a market price.

Some eCommerce stores also agree on being paid a commission percentage from the wholesaler for each product sold, in which case it’s a dropshipping-affiliate marketing fusion.

The Pros of Dropshipping

Reduced Overhead and Startup Costs

If you don’t have to buy hundreds or thousands of products to sell upfront, you don’t need big startup capital. You only pay for products to sell when the customers have ordered them.

And since you don’t have to warehouse those products either, you’re avoiding warehouse costs.

Finally, it’s much easier to have a digital storefront than renting out a brick and mortar store.

You can run your entire drop ship business from home.

Flexibility

If you decide overnight that you no longer want to stock one product but opt for another, you can do it.

If you decide to move across the world, you can. Your business won’t suffer for it.

You can choose your own hours, strategies, and plans. And with today’s automation technology, you can almost passively run your dropshipping business.

Scalability

If you want to scale your business, all you need to do is invest in marketing and sales.

And because you can do the majority of work on your own, you don’t have to hire people, rent a bigger store, or pay for more warehouse room.

You just need to set up an ad or two.

Simplicity

You don’t have to have an MBA to start or run a dropshipping business.

You can find everything you need online and get started in a few days.

After all, you don’t have to worry about anything except for selling your products. Stocking, shipping… All of that is someone else’s worry.

You just process the payments and take your cut.

The Cons of Dropshipping

Now, dropshipping has plenty of advantages but there are a few disadvantages:

Low margins

Depending on which products you sell online, your margins could be slim.

However, dropshipping is a game of quantity. If you take $1 from every sale, you’ll have $100 if 100 people buy a product.

It’s the compound effect.

Additionally, you can stock a variety of products and items to sell. You don’t have to stick to one niche or one type of inventory for dropshipping.

For example, if you sell dog grooming kits, you could also sell leashes, dog toys, and much more.

Hidden costs

You could face a few problems with shipping if a customer orders two products from two different wholesalers or dropshippers. You’ll need to calculate the shipping costs for each.

Inventory management

Inventory management can get complicated if you’re working with multiple dropshippers, as their inventory changes often. 

A good workaround is getting a tool that integrates the suppliers’ quantity information with your sales systems so you can automatically mark which products are out of stock.

Finally, you’ll be responsible for any supplier errors, which is why it’s always good to work with reputable suppliers.

We’ll show you how to find them later on in the guide.

Key Terms

When you start your eCommerce business with a dropship inventory model, you’ll often encounter some of these terms:

• Address verification system – ATS is used to verify that the address buyer provided matches the address of the card to prevent fraud.
• Chargeback – Forcibly issued refund from your customer’s bank. If you have a high volume of chargebacks, it can increase your operating costs.
• Distributor/supplier – Middlemen businesses who stock certain manufacturers’ products. They’re typically faster to work with than actual manufacturers.
• Gross profit – Product sold – Cost of product = Gross profit
• Manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) – The price at which the manufacturer thinks a product should be sold. It’s not obligatory to sell it at that price.
• Minimum advertised price (MAP) – The lowest price at which a retailer can advertise the product.
• Minimum order size – The lowest number of products you have to order for the distributor or manufacturer to ship them.
• Multi-channel eCommerce – An eCommerce business that uses multiple sales channels (e.g. Shopify store and Amazon listings).
• Net profit  – Product sold – Cost of product – Operating costs = Net profit
• Per-order fee – Some manufacturers and distributors charge a fee for handling and shipping the order for the retailer.
• Restocking fee – The fee charged to customers when they return a product.
• Wholesaler – Distributor or manufacturer who offers bulk discounts for ordering large quantities of product.

How to Start a Dropshipping Business

Even though it isn’t hard to start a dropshipping business, there are a few things you should pay particular attention to:

Business Structure of Your Dropshipping Store

Every professional manufacturer or distributor will ask you for proof that you’re a real retailer before they consider doing business with you.

They’ve spent a lot of time negotiating with people who ultimately decided that dropshipping isn’t for them, so nowadays you won’t get further than a quick reply unless you can prove you’ve established a business.

Additionally, once you get the ball rolling, you won’t have the time to think about defining your legal structure.

When you’ve committed to starting a dropshipping business, the first thing you need to do is set up a business entity.

The majority of dropshipping entrepreneurs and internet business owners in the US use one of the following two business structures:

Sole proprietorship – The simplest business structure with a minimal amount of paperwork. However, when you set up a sole proprietorship, you are your business. You only file your own taxes. The main downside of this is that you guarantee for your business with your personal assets.

Limited Liability Company (LLC) – A LLC is the best way to protect your assets. For all intents and purposes, a LLC is treated as a separate entity, which means you get a lot more liability protection. You will have to pay additional taxes and fees, and the LLC will be subject to different filing requirements.

The Costs of Starting a Dropshipping Business

Even though dropshipping is one of the most affordable, cost-effective ways to start a profitable internet business, that doesn’t mean it comes without costs.

Startup costs for Dropshipping Business

The first thing you’re going to need to start a dropshipping business is an online store.

Now, you could opt for a platform like Shopify or Wix, but you’ll still face some costs.

Some platforms charge per sale, while others charge a flat fee.

If you want a separate website, you’ll also have to handle hosting costs. You’ll need a domain in any case. Fortunately, the whole store setup won’t cost you more than $100-200.

Finally, depending on the type of legal structure you choose, you may have to pay set-up fees and/or any business licenses you may need.

It’s best to consult a lawyer for a detailed breakdown.

Marketing

The majority of your investments will go toward marketing your dropshipping business.

You can create estimates of the costs, although you will only know the real figure once you start selling.

Product samples

Even though you can absolutely run a profitable dropshipping store without ever touching the products you sell, that doesn’t mean you should.

It’s always a good idea to order product samples so you know what kind of quality your customers can expect from your products.

This can also greatly inform your pricing structure.

Upgrades

As you scale your online business, you’re going to need bigger plans for eCommerce and wholesale platforms, as well as a few enhancements of your store.

Of course, that depends on the platform you choose so keep reading to find out what the best ones are.

Top eCommerce Platforms for Dropshipping Websites

Software has come very far.

And instead of having to spend hours upon hours on manually setting up your dropshipping website, you can do everything with a few clicks if you opt for one of the most popular ecommerce platforms today.

We’ll show you a quick breakdown of each, as well as their pricing structure.

Shopify for Dropshipping

Shopify is one of the most widely used platforms for dropshipping and eCommerce. 

It’s simple, and it’s affordable.

It has integrations for most major dropshipping integrations (including Modalyst) so you can automate the majority of tasks.

You don’t have to manually send orders to your manufacturer as the integration takes care of that.

And you’re only a few clicks away from importing products from the dropshippers’ profiles.

Shopify as an eCommerce Platform

Additionally, Shopify also has features for:

• Payments
• Sales
• Marketing

Some add-ons aren’t free (for example, bulk sale processing), but they’re well worth the money ($10-$50).

You can also set up manual or automatic collections, which is a good idea if you’re selling different products.

Finally, Shopify also has handy SEO features (e.g. meta descriptions) to help you reach more people with your store and Shopify Lite which lets you sell through Facebook Messenger.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify comes with a 14-day free trial, after which you can choose one of the following plans:

1. $29/month plan – This plan comes with an additional 2.9% + 30¢ online credit card fee per each sale, which is something you may want to calculate into your net profit calculations. 

2. $79/month plan – This plan comes with gift cards enabled, as well as professional reports. The online credit card fee is lower – 2.6% + 30¢.

3. $299/month plan – Finally, Shopify’s most expensive plan comes with a great dropshipping features: third-party calculated shipping rates. Additionally, this plan includes only 2.4% + 30¢ online credit card fees.

Wix for Dropshipping

Millions of people around the world use Wix to power their websites and eCommerce stores.

Wix is used by over 180 million people across 190 different countries.

It’s an affordable, easy and hassle-free way of creating your own website in a matter of minutes.

Wix and Modalyst just launched an dropshipping app on Wix. It is available in the Wix App Market or directly on Modalyst. Even though the dropshipping app is still relatively new to the market, it already has some positive reviews. We encourage you to check it out!

Wix as an eCommerce Solution

Wix is super easy to customize.

Just have a look at these top Wix websites. They’re simply beautiful and optimized for eCommerce to jumpstart your Wix dropshipping experience.

You can do pretty much everything just by dragging and dropping features and widgets you want to see. If you want to manually add code, that’s possible, as well.

You can choose between a few product listing templates, as well as:

• Track your orders
• Process payments
• Promote sales
• Manage tax (and shipping)

Wix Pricing

Wix does come with a free plan but if you really want to accept payments, you’re going to need one of the following premium plans:

1. $17/month plan – You’ll be able to accept payments, and Wix won’t charge a commission other platforms typically charge.

2. $25/month plan – You get up to 35GB of storage, as well as a logo.

3. $35/month plan – 50GB storage, and priority support.

BigCommerce for Dropshipping

Even though it’s not mentioned as often as Shopify or Wix, BigCommerce is a pretty powerful ecommerce platform for dropshipping websites. It supports integrations for dropshipping companies. Modalyst was actually one of their first integrations for dropshipping.

Learn more about the dropshipping with Modalyst and BigCommerce here.

BigCommerce as an eCommerce platform

It’s a full-fledged content management system, created specifically for eCommerce.

And while dropshipping technically falls under that domain, it’s not always easy to find a platform that’s going to allow you to automate 99% of your dropshipping work.

Fortunately, BigCommerce has great features.

It offers app integrations with major dropshipping companies, as well as other apps that simplify order fulfillment and inventory management.

BigCommerce also supports multi-channel retailing.

And because of their partnerships with Facebook, Amazon, Google, PayPal and Square, BigCommerce users get to experience new sales features first.

And if you want to convert visitors without giving them huge discounts, BigCommerce has features for that!

All in all, it’s a powerful platform to fuel your drop shipping business. Especially if you plan on growing it.

BigCommerce Pricing

BigCommerce comes with a 15-day free trial.

1. $30/month plan – Unlimited storage, but few marketing features. You can also have only $50k in annual sales before you have to upgrade. No transaction fees if you use payment gateways. If you process credit card payments, the fee is 2.9% + $0.30¢ per transaction.

2. $72/month plan – Marketing features like customer groups and abandoned cart saver are available with this plan. You can process up to $150k annually before you need to upgrade and the transaction fee for credit card payments is 2.5% + $0.30¢.

3. $225/month plan – Google review integration, custom SSL certificate, up to $400k in annual sales, and a 2.2% + $0.30¢ credit card fee.

Other Options for Setting up a Dropshipping Website

If you don’t want to set up your dropshipping store on any of the major platforms, you could always get a custom website and then add payment and marketing integrations.

For example, if you have a WordPress website, you can get a WooCommerce plugin that will allow you to process payments without switching to an entirely different eCommerce platform.

It’s all a matter of what you need. However, going with an out of the box solution or cloud hosted platform is usually simpler and more affordable.

How to Find the Best Dropshippers

When you’ve decided on a dropshipping platform, you’re going to need the main thing: products to sell online.

Now, as an online store, you’re not going to have or store any dropship products on your own.

And that’s exactly why you need to make sure you’re working with reliable dropshippers who aren’t going to botch up orders and ruin your business’ reputation.

Methods of Finding Dropshipping Suppliers

As a rule of thumb, manufacturers don’t know the first thing about marketing.

Let’s be real: if they’re still in business without marketing knowledge, that means their products are definitely something special.

However, that means it may be harder to find them.

It’s usually easier to find wholesale distributors but as always, be careful. There are plenty of middlemen presenting themselves as dropshippers so you could lose out on profits by accepting their price.

In addition to directly getting in touch with manufacturers and asking them about distributors, you can also find suppliers by:

Using dropshipping platforms

Dropshipping platforms like Modalyst, Oberlo and AliExpress are a treasure trove of all kinds of dropshipping suppliers (manufacturers, distributors, middlemen).

If you want to sell imported products, you can also find exporters and importers.

The majority of dropshipping solutions offer integrations with eCommerce platforms, as well, so you can fully automate your operations.

Googling your way to success

Some dropship manufacturers are extremely hard to find.

They’re usually buried on the twentieth page of Google so you’re going to need patience and the right keywords to find them.

If you’re looking to import a product, try using Google Translate and searching with native language keywords.

Trade shows, directories, and competition

You’ll usually have to pay for access to directories and going to trade shows, but ordering from the competition can be a good trick if your competition has a significantly lower price.

Find Top Dropshipping Suppliers on Modalyst

Modalyst is one of the most powerful dropshipping platforms.

If you sign up for it, you won’t just get access to millions of trending products to sell online. You’ll also be able to integrate the products with your store, syncing all product data and orders.

Everything is streamlined so you can focus on the important things – marketing and selling the best products.

Product sourcing is fast and easy on Modalyst.

It only takes one-click to add a product to your store, and Modalyst takes care of everything else.

Dropshippers in the USA

Modalyst handpicks the dropshippers on their platform, and these dropshippers are primarily from the USA. Having US dropshipping suppliers is especially important since these vendors offer so many benefits that Chinese wholesalers or foreign dropshippers do not.

Modalyst products are different from what you can find on AliExpress and Oberlo. The focus is placed on the quality of the product and how fast it ships. Modalyst believes that these attributes will keep your customers coming back from more.

You can also find plenty of niche products to sell online in the Modalyst marketplace. Access to these niche items means you don’t have to struggle for profits in a highly-saturated industry.

Other Modalyst features for dropshipping that will help you earn more:

• It’s free to add 25 products to sell to your site
• Product detail customization
• You can set pricing and shipping rules to profit no matter what
• Shipping status updates
• Order management
• Shopify, Wix, and BigCommerce APIs
• Inventory level notifications
• Set-up services

Why Dropship From the US?

The conventional formula most online entrepreneurs use to find suppliers is as follows: find cheap products from Chinese dropshippers and sell the products for massive profits.

This formula still works today. However, it’s becoming less effective and less profitable as more and more online shops use the same product sourcing strategy. 

While more Chinese products flood the market, the more competitive pricing becomes, making it more difficult to reap a profit on the sale of an item and differentiate your business from others.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, though. It has helped create interest in a new market: USA dropshipping suppliers.

One way that you can differentiate your online shop is by working with suppliers who are based in the United States.

You don’t have to be located in the US for this to be a viable option.

So long as you have a strong customer base in the USA, or you’re looking to break into the American market, then using US dropshippers makes a lot of sense.

What to Look for in USA Dropshipping Suppliers

There are thousands of wholesalers and manufacturers in the United States.

While partnering with American dropshippers is compelling, you still have to do your due diligence.

A dropshipping company in the USA isn’t automatically qualified just because they are based in the United States. These dropshipping companies need to be vetted, just like any other supplier you want to work with.

You should follow the same process that you would when vetting any supplier. After all, your supplier is one of your most important business partners. You want to choose the best one.

Modalyst Pricing for Access to US Suppliers

1. Hobby Plan – Free – Up to 25 products, 5% transaction fee

2. Start-Up Plan – $35/month – 250 product limit, 5% transaction fee

3. Pro Plan – $90/month – Unlimited product limit, 5% transaction fee

Sign up for Modalyst here.

Choosing the Best Dropship Suppliers

In addition to finding the best dropship wholesale suppliers in the first place, you also have to be careful when choosing them.

You’ll usually spot a scam if:

1. They want monthly fees – Dropship wholesalers don’t charge subscriptions just so you could do business with them. They charge per product. Anyone else who wants to charge ongoing fees is a con artist.
2. They sell to everyone – If these dropship companies sell to private individuals, they’re not wholesalers and you won’t be able to profit off their products.

However, legit suppliers do work on certain principles:

1. Per-order fees – These fees usually cover the costs of packaging and shipping which are different when you order a single product (as opposed to multiple products).
2. Minimum order size – This is completely legitimate. Some drop ship companies just don’t think it’s profitable to ship below a certain order size so make sure it fits your needs. If you really love their products, get in touch with them and see if you can negotiate special treatment.

And when it comes to dropshipping, the reliability of your suppliers is everything.

That’s why you should make sure that your suppliers are:

• Organized – If it takes a dropship wholesaler ages to respond to your query, they probably don’t even know their inventory
• Capable of receiving and processing orders through email or platform
• Efficient
• Professional

Errors can always happen and in a business where so much of your revenue depends on the suppliers, you want professionals capable of resolving problems. Not amateurs who will say they can’t help you.

Communicating with Drop ship Suppliers

As with anything related to your business: be professional and clear about what you want.

This is especially important if you have a special request that they don’t normally fulfill.

Keep in mind that many suppliers will ask you for proof of business, as they’ve communicated with a lot of reluctant online stores who ended up forgoing the idea.

While you will often communicate with dropshipping wholesale suppliers through platforms (especially if you use Modalyst) and email, don’t be afraid to get in touch with them by phone. Especially if they’re smaller suppliers of niche products.

It always pays to be polite and undemanding. Don’t ask for discounts from the get-go as the dropshipper has no idea if you’re serious at the moment.

However, as you build your relationship with the suppliers, they’ll be more likely to grant your requests and help you out in any way they can.

Additionally, double-check the shipping time. It should be like the dropshipping company claims.

If they claim that the product will be with you within a week and it arrives a month later, steer clear. Speed is a priority.

Payment

Your first option is paying suppliers by credit card. Some wholesale platforms also offer options of processing payments for you.

The other, different type of payment is net terms.

This is a form of delayed payment. For example, you purchase a product and the supplier gives you a certain timeframe in which you have to pay them for that product.

If the supplier offers this option, they may ask you for credit references because they’re essentially trusting your word that you’ll pay them.

How to Pick the Best Dropshipping Products

Your dropshipping products are, quite literally, your bread and butter.

And if you’re not going into business with a clear, validated idea of what you want to sell online, you’re going to need to conduct extensive research.

Fortunately, even if a product doesn’t sell, you won’t be losing much but time. That’s the charm of starting a dropshipping business!

However, selecting a good product is the best way to start earning as soon as possible.

Market Research

Market research is a must before you start any kind of business, but even more so when you start a website for dropshipping.

If a product isn’t in demand, you’ll have a very hard time selling it. You’ll incur marketing costs without ever getting your return on investment.

Now, the trick is in actually performing market research.

First comes ideation.

In order to get inspired, you can turn to social media and sites like Wish and Amazon. If you already have a product idea, it’s time to validate it.

The simplest way to do it is with Google.

You can use the oldest trick in the SEO book, the Google Keyword Planner.

It’ll show you the monthly search volume and competition for a certain keyword. Just make sure you focus on the right location, and don’t forget about long-tail keywords and synonyms.

You can also use Google Trends to evaluate interest over time and the seasonality of a product.

For example, a new product might have appeared on the market two months ago, and now the demand for it is steadily growing. It could be a great opportunity for your dropshipping business.

At this point, you should also stake out the competition.

First, you should define the volume of the competition.

How big is the market? Plenty of competitors could undercut your ability to run a profitable business. Too few competitors may mean a niche that looks profitable but isn’t.

At the same time, evaluate your competitors’ pricing.

As a rule of thumb, the best way to start a dropship business is by offering something at a reduced price.However, it can be a race to the bottom if you can’t get decent margins.

Markup Opportunities and Sales Potential

Here’s the thing – running a successful eCommerce store for dropshipping isn’t nuclear physics. There are a few formulas that always work:

Reduced price

If you can offer people something at a reduced price (while still getting decent profit margins), they will buy.

However, the scenarios in which this doesn’t mean a race to the bottom is very rare. You’re competing with small businesses and huge corporations alike. Amazon carries pretty much every product. Plus, once you start lowering the price, so will everyone else.

Even if they’re not making money.

Exclusive access

This is where it really pays off to dig deep, all the way to page 57 of Google.

If you can find a manufacturer you can strike an exclusive deal with, a manufacturer who produces something customers sorely need but can’t get, you’ll be golden.

The most realistic scenario is to drop ship a product that’s not easily available in a certain area or country.

Better quality

Offering high-quality products is one of the most long-term sustainable ways to run a profitable online business.

The quality of your products will be there for you even when you can’t reduce the price to match your competitors.

And it will make people refer their friends to you, giving you more customers and profits.

Offering value with your service

Information is the key to success.

Plenty of businesses sell products, but only some of them are able to inform their customers about which products are best suited to their needs.

This is especially true for complicated products. For example, products with a lot of components or products that aren’t universal fit.

Low competition

If you don’t have competition but there is a demand in the market, you can swoop in and satisfy it. However, keep in mind that this is only short-term success. As soon as potential competitors see you’re running a profitable business, they’ll do the same thing, too.

Niche Products for Dropship Businesses

The money is in the niche – or so they say.

Generally, the narrower you can go with your target audience, the better. This is as true in sales as it is in marketing.

When you run a generalized dropshipping store, you’ll be able to serve all kinds of people. However, ultimately you may serve no one.

Conversely, if you run a dropshipping website that offers products specific to a niche, you’ll be able to personalize more and target people more accurately.

For example, when you sell generic clothes, you’ll be targeting humans. That’s all you know about them.

But if you sell baby-proofing systems, you’ll know exactly who you’re targeting: new parents. You’ll know what they’re motivated by, and you can easily understand why and when they’ll buy your products.

If you are also interested in your niche, that’s even better!

In the beginning, it’s much easier to stick by what you know. You’ll know how to serve your customers better.

Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing Products

To sum it all up, the ideal dropship product is a product that’s in high demand, but there’s not a lot of competition (or there is competition but there’s not enough supply). And its wholesale price (pre-order fees and operating costs included) is low enough to give you a decent profit margin.

As a rule of thumb, try to price your product at or below $200.

This is especially beneficial if you’re starting out.

You’ll need time to build your credibility, and people are more willing to make spur-of-the-moment purchases of products that are not more expensive than $200. Everything above that will require some convincing (and time).

You should also keep an eye on MAP (minimum advertised price). If the manufacturer doesn’t let you set a price that’s lower than their limit, you should factor that into your calculations.

Finally, be aware of how the size of the product can affect delivery to the locations you’re targeting.

Pricing changes depending on the size, so factor that into your margin calculations to know exactly how much revenue you can expect per product.

How to Run a Dropshipping Website

Once you’ve set everything up, it’s time to actually run the business and make it as lucrative as possible.

The Dropshipping Order Process

So, what can you expect to happen once a customer clicks on “Order”?

The customer places an order on your site.

The main prerequisite for this is to know (or automatically update) if the products you’re advertising are available at the moment.

The majority of dropshipping platforms integrate with wholesale platforms like Modalyst to make sure all of your listings are up to date.

If they’re not, your system will process an invalid order for the customer. You’ll need to either notify them that the product is not in stock, or issue them a refund.

You want to avoid that at all costs.

Your store places an order with the supplier.

If you’re doing it manually, it’s going to get tedious and nerve-wracking soon. However, you can use integrations with dropship platforms like Modalyst to streamline the process.

As soon as the customer places an order and pays for it, your system will “ping” the supplier’s system and the order will be processed on their end, as well.

Supplier ships the order to the customer.

Once they receive the order, the suppliers will ship the product to the customer.

Again, it’s good to know how much time it’ll take them to process the order. If it’s shipped within one day, that’s perfect. But if your customers have to wait a week for the order to ship in the first place (and the supplier is thousands of miles away from them), it could become a nightmare.

The customer is notified by the online store.

It’s important for you to know that your business will be handling all customer communication.

Essentially, they shouldn’t be aware that you’re a dropshipping business at all. Your process shouldn’t show it.

You’ll notify them about the processing of their order, about the shipment, and about tracking codes and everything else.

Similarly, if something goes wrong, you’ll be the one who has to handle it so make sure you have reliable suppliers.

Inventory Management

Even though you don’t have physical inventory, you have digital inventory.

And when it comes to any kind of sales, the most important rule is: never go out of stock.

You should always have backup dropship wholesale suppliers in case your main suppliers go out of stock.

And in order to stay updated on their inventory levels, you can use Modalyst and integrate it with your drop shipping website.

You should also understand the dropshippers’ stock rates for the products you want to sell online. Do they carry it consistently, or do they only carry it periodically?

And if you ever get into an “out of stock” situation: don’t panic. Instead, get in touch with the customer and offer them something in return.

Try to preserve the relationship as much as possible.

In most cases, customers won’t mind if you offer them a better substitute, and you’ll save your face.

Be Smart about Routing Orders

Now, you definitely want to have multiple dropshipping suppliers – even if they’re just backup ones.

But as you scale, you’ll need multiple suppliers because of a variety of reasons:

• Different locations
• Different price
• Different availability

And so on.

And in order to avoid having to manually route orders or risk routing orders to the wrong supplier, you can automate the process.

For example, if you’re selling to customers in both Canada and Belgium, and you have suppliers from the US and the Netherlands, you’ll want to route Canadian orders to the US supplier, and Belgian orders to the supplier from the Netherlands.

You can execute the same method for other types of orders, as well.

And it’s completely fine to play favorites – route the majority of your orders to your preferred supplier and keep everyone else on the back burner.

Marketing Your Dropshipping Business

Since running a store with dropship products doesn’t cost a lot in overhead and operating costs, marketing is where you should focus the majority of your investment.

First, know (and understand) your target audience.

This is much simpler if you’re selling niche dropshipping products.

You can create buyer personas for your customers and define what drives them to buy, and which channels they use to get informed.

You should never go in blind.

Second, choose your methods wisely.

The majority of people with the intent to buy will Google what they’re interested in. And since more people click on organic results than paid ads, you should really focus on improving your SEO.

You can use paid social media advertising, but know that you may not always reach the people who are ready to buy.

It’s a long-term advertising strategy.

For immediate results, go with Google Ads.

Third, don’t just attract customers – retain them.

While we all talk about ads the most, you can get plenty of business from referrals of satisfied customers.

Your goal should be to retain customers and maximize their value. The majority of eCommerce platforms offer up-sell and cross-sell add-ons that will help you sell more products to the same people, or sell complementary products.

You should also invest in email marketing to reactivate the people who have already bought from you.

After all, 40% of a store’s revenue comes from repeat customers.

Customer Support

Finally, just because you’re drop shipping doesn’t mean you don’t have to handle customer support.

You’re marketing your online shop like a business, and you should communicate with your customers just like a business does.

Now, when everything’s going great, you can focus on improving the customer experience.

However, when things go wrong, you may wonder if it’s worth it.

It is.

The trick is in staying cool and handling the situation wisely.

First of all, you need customer support tools.

You can use ZenDesk, Help Scout or any of the other tools that allow you to help your customers by phone, email or live chat.

If you’re processing returns, be aware of the process.

Every dropshipping supplier has a different way of processing returns and as an online store, you have to keep both them and the end customer happy.

Make sure you’ve defined the process with the dropship wholesaler so you know what to expect.

For example, some vendors charge a restocking fee.

In some cases, it may not even be profitable to return a product for a few dollars in credit (or no one at all) + shipping fees. It’s much better to send the customer a new product if their previous one wasn’t functioning properly.

If you get a chargeback, respond to it as soon as possible with original documentation.

Sometimes, a customer may just forget that they ordered something. However, chargebacks are typically caused by fraudulent situations.

This is why it’s good to have an ATS (Address Tracking System) that verifies that the address provided is the address on the payment file.

Dropshipping Best Practices

If you’re wondering how to get your eCommerce website off the ground as soon as possible (and make it profitable even sooner), here’s what the majority of successful ecommerce businesses recommend:

Find your niche and build your credibility

If you’re in it for the long run, it pays to specialize and build your credibility.

Things can always happen. You can run out of stock, someone may leave a negative review, and it’s all completely natural. However, once you’ve built up a reputation, you and your customers won’t even notice it.

Now, this is easiest to do if you’re operating within a niche. When you’re a generalist, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd.

Focus on cost-effective marketing

Paid ads can be great, but they’re not sustainable in the long term.

If you’re getting a spike of traffic when you’re advertising your products, and then nothing when you stop running the ads, it’s a problem.

This is why it’s much better to invest in SEO for the long run, as well as email marketing, and use paid ads as a “booster” to your standard methods.

Offer Excellent Customer Service

People buy for the products, yes. But they also buy for the experience.

Even if you have a lot of competition and a higher price, people won’t mind as long as they love the journey.

If you draw them in with useful resources, encourage them to communicate with you, and invite them to recommend your business to their friends, you won’t just be a business to them.

You’ll be someone they can rely on.

And that’s the best way to build a profitable e-Commerce business with dropshipping.

Additional Resources

How to Start Selling Online by Salehoo

The Best Web Hosting Providers by Quicksprout

The post The Ultimate Dropshipping Business Guide for Beginners first appeared on Modalyst.

The success of this business model, just as traditional onsite retail models, isn’t always guaranteed. Businesses looking to jump on the dropshipping bandwagon have to dedicate a lot of time and effort to create a store that can deliver great shipping experiences to their customers.

According to a 2018/19 report by NRF, retailers’ investments in technology, fulfillment, and store experience paid off well and left consumers wanting more. This article covers ten free shipping strategies that can help retailers maximize their growth potential regardless of what your dropshipping products are.  

1. Borrowing a Leaf From Competitors’ Free Shipping Strategies

The presence of stiff competition in dropshipping operations indicates that the selected niche is profitable and sustainable.

Observing what competitor brands are doing on their online stores, blog articles, or social media posts can be a good starting point. For example, businesses can pay close attention to the wording of rival campaigns to see what works for them. 

Keeping abreast of competitors’ strategies can help a business to create free shipping campaigns that drive high conversion rates by capitalizing on any gaps other sellers leave when they’re optimizing their stores for free shipping. 

2. Ordering Own Product Samples

By ordering samples of products that they sell, dropshipping firms can get a first-hand feel or taste of what customers experience. 

This strategy allows businesses to assess the packaging and delivery time used by product suppliers and make relevant changes aimed at improving customer experiences.

Since dropshipping involves implementing free shipping, businesses should evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the service to the buyers. 

3. Choosing a Suitable E-Commerce Platform for Dropshipping

E-commerce platforms play a big role in ensuring the smooth running of a dropshipping business. Although there are many platforms to choose from, some can make it difficult for customers to enjoy the benefit of free shipping service.

Shopify shipping, AliExpress shipping, and Wix shipping services automate freight and tax calculations to make the checkout process a lot faster.

Automation helps to increase transparency in business and gain customers’ trust. Businesses looking to take full advantage of free shipping should set up their store on an e-commerce platform that powers them to grow with their free shipping demands. 

4. Analyzing the Average Shipping Time for Fulfilled Orders

It’s incredibly difficult for dropshipping stores to set expectations about shipping time when they’re clueless about their average product fulfillment time. 

Suppliers don’t often give reliable information on the ship time estimate for a product. But businesses can calculate the typical order processing time and the duration it takes to deliver a product.

A thorough first-hand evaluation of the dropshipping shipping times allows companies to choose appropriate dropshipping delivery methods for efficient free shipping service. 

5. Letting Customers Know the Average Shipping Time 

One of the important factors that U.S. consumers care about is convenience. Businesses can improve shopping experiences by providing tracking information to their customers. They should be clear about the estimated delivery times.

With transparency, it’s possible to disarm refund requests and complaints submitted by unsatisfied customers.  

6. Creating Appealing Free Shipping Campaigns

A time-bound campaign can be more appealing to impulse buyers than one without a time signature. It’ll help to minimize the abandonment of online shopping carts and convince a customer that free shipping may seem like a great idea. 

A dropshipping business can institute a free shipping campaign that has an expiration date to motivate buyers to make purchases. They should inform the target audience about how long the offer will last. 

They can even attach the campaign to a pop-up that appears on the screen when a customer visits their store or checks out.

7. Employing a Unique Yet Effective Free Shipping Model

Free shipping allows dropshipping companies to attract lots of customers since they stand out from other businesses when employed as either a temporary or permanent marketing strategy. 

It can be a major selling point for online stores when implemented properly.

Shipping costs should always be absorbed when setting prices to generate profit. The dropshipping model should take into account the effectiveness of the dropshipping delivery methods in place.

Customers may enjoy the service on all products or selected products only.

8. Informing All Visitors About the Availability of Free Shipping Service

The visibility of free shipping campaigns can be improved by posting the campaigns on product pages and mailing lists. Businesses should ensure the information can be accessed by both new and existing visitors to increase conversion. 

By including head banners on online stores, they can help lead customers to the pages containing free shipping information. 

The end game here is to strengthen a business’ brand while building a loyal customer base. 

9. Prioritizing Free Shipping for First Time Buyers and Loyal Customers

A retail study found that nine in 10 consumers consider free shipping as an incentive for online shopping. Free shipping is an effective marketing tactic for winning over new customers and increasing sales.  

Online retailers can use free shipping to reward loyal customers and generate referrals. They can run free shipping campaigns targeted to first-time buyers or loyal customers to help grow their business. 

10. Targeting Markets With the Best Shipping Options

Free shipping strategies can only be fruitful when aimed at markets with ideal shipping options. 

One way to reach the target audience is by posting ads on platforms such as AdWords and Facebook, which give advertisers insights on where their ads get displayed. 

Businesses can bank on their knowledge of shipping costs and times to create effective free shipping marketing campaigns. Markets with lower shipping prices and faster delivery times should be targeted by the campaigns to improve the product fulfillment satisfaction. 

Free Shipping Tips for a Successful Dropshipping Business

As many businesses ride on the free shipping wave, they should optimize their delivery methods and shipping times/costs to meet customer expectations. Having out a clear-cut strategy on how free shipping service will be used to grow the business is essential. Businesses should always prioritize customer experiences when developing free shipping strategies for their dropshipping operations. When used properly, the above-discussed tactics can help dropshipping stores to set themselves apart from the competition and see sales and profits.

The post Top 10 Free Shipping Tips to Boost Your Dropshipping Business first appeared on Modalyst.