Dropshipping: what is it? Dropshipping system, cooperation and feedback

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Now many people are transferring their business to the Internet. You will not surprise anyone with an online store. But few people know and have tried another way of trading - dropshipping. What it is? What are the benefits of this sales scheme? What should you be prepared for when starting your own project?

New online business

Dropshipping is based on the familiar idea of an online store. That's just you do not rack your brains over the question of where to get money for the purchase of goods. You do not solve the problem of how many of these same goods to purchase. Where to locate the warehouse, how to carry out delivery - these problems do not bother you anymore.

And all because you work on the dropshipping system. What is this sale - let's figure it out.

In general terms, the idea is to open a store through which you will sell goods directly from the supplier. You are a kind of intermediary, dealer. Your responsibilities include promoting your store, making it popular, taking orders for items displayed in the store, and transferring those orders to the item holder. Usually asthe latter are either manufacturing companies or wholesalers. The supplier, having received the order, decides the issues with packaging and delivery.

Dropshipping system

Now let's take a closer look at the sales scheme for the new system. And at the same time, let's see what makes up the profit.

Suppose you decide to sell jewelry. But you do not have the funds for the initial purchase of the goods, the lease of the warehouse, and there are also problems with delivery. You should not take loans, get into debt.

On the internet, you look for sites that don't mind working with dropshippers. From the list of potential suppliers you receive, you find those who offer the product you need (according to the criteria you outline) at the lowest prices.

After that, you contact the owners of the resource and apply. Usually, it turns out to arrange cooperation without any problems.

You are now starting to place the product on the pages of your store. You set the price in the positions yourself. Of course, they will be higher than those offered by your supplier. But don't overdo it. Focus on the average offer for your category of goods. Otherwise, you will not attract a buyer.

Pictures are used either from the supplier's website, or from any available resource that has the necessary illustrations. Product descriptions are best written by yourself. If you are not good at creating sales texts, then find a good copywriter.

The better you advertise yourself, your store, the faster youstart making profits.

Working with a customer

If we work on a dropshipping system, then we process all incoming orders and redirect them to our supplier.

The supplier already decides the issues with packaging and shipping. Here you have almost nothing to decide. The quality and speed of delivery depends on your partner. But in order not to let everything take its course, connect the tracking service. This is an individual order number, it allows you to track the path of the ordered goods. This number does not interfere with voicing to your customer. This will be a plus for you. You will prove your reliability and earn a reputation.

It will not hurt to discuss with the supplier in advance the condition not to indicate information about the original cost of the goods on the package.

Dignity of the scheme

So, our first step is made in dropshipping. What is it in terms of benefits?

The advantages of this business are:

• Lack of start-up capital. You are spared from the costs at the stage of launching the store. You will have to invest money, without this you will not open your own selling site, but this will not require large expenses from you.
• You do not need to rent a warehouse and organize a delivery service. These duties are taken over by your supplier, you just need to find and attract as many customers as possible.
• The risk of miscalculation with the price is minimized. You are not purchasing a product. Therefore, the situation in which you bought a product at one price, and managed to sell only at a lower cost, is notyou.
• You are not tied to an assortment. You don't have stock. Therefore, at any time you can leave electronics for the toy market. You just need to find new suppliers and change catalogs on the site.
• You are free to choose your partners. One partner did not live up to expectations, find another, more reliable one.

At first glance, the scheme is reliable, you work as a dealer. Your supplier is satisfied with the constant orders, you are satisfied with the stable income that your store brings.

Cons of the system

The benefits are there, but what about the downsides of dropshipping. What is it from the standpoint of the shortcomings of the system:

• You can't influence the speed of delivery of goods in any way, so all the shortcomings on the part of your supplier negatively affect your image. You must be ready to quickly deal with the situation when you placed an order, accepted money from a client, and he did not wait for his goods. Think ahead about your actions in such a conflict. In any case, the customer will demand the goods from you.
• The quality of the goods can also be very "limping". Try to check the reliability of your future partner at the stage of concluding a contract.
• Packaging, delivery of goods to the client, again, does not depend on you. Therefore, you will have to rely on the integrity of the supplier.

Suppliers

As you already understood, a lot in this business rests on the reliability of suppliers. Unfortunately, scams are very common. Therefore, carefully check your potential partners. Dropshipping suppliers have a responsibility to ship and ship responsibly.

Do not be lazy and conclude an agreement with selected companies. This will make it easier for you to build business relationships.

Say goodbye to all unscrupulous suppliers immediately. You will be constantly in suspense, your reputation will suffer, customers will start to leave you. Don't expect problems, look for other suppliers.

Russian perspectives

Russian dropshipping is not actively developing yet. Many are still worried about this business scheme. The point, most likely, is that there are too many unscrupulous suppliers, delivery mechanisms are too poorly debugged, and Russian customers are too distrustful.

To successfully promote a new type of trade in the domestic sector of the Internet, find yourself reliable partners among European, Chinese or American sellers. Now there is no problem to contact them directly. Some advanced users themselves use the possibility of ordering goods from these sites. You can serve as a seller for those who do not want or are afraid to buy on their own from the largest marketplaces.

You are creating a convenient store in Russian. With clear navigation, comfortable tools and act as an intermediary.

Reviews

If you chat with those who have tried dropshipping, you will get a variety of reviews.

Some are happy with the simplicity of the scheme. They note that with minimal investmentbusiness pays off very quickly. Many people like that they don’t have to worry about stock, purchases, posting leftovers, dollar fluctuations.

Others are disappointed and talk about the futility of this type of trade in Russia. There are too many unscrupulous suppliers with whom it is impossible to build reliable partnerships.

Perhaps, a novice dropshipper needs, first of all, to carefully weigh their options. You need to understand that the success of your store will depend on its active promotion. And with this, many have problems.

To reduce the risks to a reasonable limit, you need to familiarize yourself with the pitfalls of this business. Learn the legal framework that dropshippers rely on. Cooperation in this area should be supported by certified contracts. Maintain a complete database of suppliers and customers. Beware of fraud. Study information on specialized forums.

Start your own business

You already know the scheme of work. But where to start?

You should start by creating a selling site. You can go the proven route and find a resource that offers ready-made templates. You get a working online store. It has already implemented search tools, a catalog. You do not pay additional hosting. This is taken care of by the company that creates your site.

The finished template already has an order form, feedback. There is also a scheme for transferring payments. You are free to choose the design options.

If you yourselfIf you successfully create websites, you can develop your project from scratch. Giving it a unique look. Just do not forget in the pursuit of design about easy navigation and practicality.

Promotion

It's not that hard to create your own website. The hardest part is making it popular. Only competent promotion will give you the number of customers that will allow you to receive a decent profit.

It is necessary to promote the store in standard ways. A well-thought-out SEO policy is important here. Regularly fill the site with content. Write yourself or order selling texts.

Pay attention to contextual advertising. Lack of own knowledge? Seek help from a marketer. Let them write out your promotion strategy for you.

Only a hyped store boasts an abundance of orders. Make it a rule to review your promotions every month. Look for new ways to promote.

If you decide to realize yourself in this business, read the experience shared by other dropshipping companies. This will allow you to avoid mistakes and build a clear system for the development of your business.