5 Must-Know Dropshipping Tips for New Entrepreneurs

As the online shopping market increases so also does the opportunity to get in on the action. Dropshipping is a relatively new online shopping method compared to the standard online shopping method, which just replaces a brick and mortar shop. 

With dropshipping, a middle man takes orders from clients and relays those orders to a wholesaler who then ships the product directly to the customer. An effective warehouse management system is critical to the whole operation seeing that the clients and wholesalers never really get into contact with each other. 

Getting into the game is slightly more challenging than opening a traditional online store, but the returns are much greater. Here are 5 must-know tips for future dropshipping entrepreneurs. 

Do your research on your suppliers

Before you put anything in your catalog, you need to ensure that the supplier can deliver. When you are the one standing in the gap for a supplier, it is your name that is going to be tarnished if the supplier screws up. It is of the utmost importance to do some homework on the suppliers before committing to their products. 

When doing the recon on a supplier, it is not the time to be polite and accept any excuses or half-answers. When a supplier skates around issues and cannot give direct answers, the chances that they are a fraudulent company is good. 

On the other hand, their products might be dodgy and you end up selling something that is not worth the money. If the wholesaler is in any way evasive, then it is best to take your business elsewhere. 

Jack O’Connor works as a management assignment helper for one of the best academic writing services that connect students with professional essay writers. He mostly covers topics that include supply chain and logistics, freight and shipping and warehousing. 

In his opinion, one way to make sure that you are dealing with a reliable source is if they can provide you with a guarantee. Furthermore, taking a look at their ratings gives a pretty good indication of whether they are a legitimate company. 

Most of the dropshipping suppliers come from China so it is important to know that they have a good command of English, lest there be any translation issues. 

Choose your niche wisely

Seeing that more and more people are starting to see the potential in dropshipping, picking the right niche will be crucial if it is going to be profitable. The key is to be flexible and know that the markets are constantly changing. 

Focusing on dropshipping trends and news indicates where the markets are heading towards. It’s a lot easier to predict than the stock market because there is always a good indication of what people buy. 

Once the niche is established, the second phase of the research should be done. This will involve going to other online shops and physical shops to see which items are hard to come by. 

People are impatient and will still get in their cars and go to a shop if it means that they will not wait a couple of days for their stuff. After you know what products are in short supply or hard to come by, then only can you expand your catalog to include those items that they will not easily find somewhere else. 

The last thing you need to decide is whether the products are worth it. Comparing their prices to the local ones will indicate whether it is an affordable product to ship over. 

Use the tools of the trade

Never overestimate what your customers know and what they do not know. People are more concerned about their comfort and gratification than the details of their shopping. If they see something they like at the right price, the chances are that they will buy it. Then again, it does not hurt to add a couple of plugins to your website that will entice a customer to hit the buy button. 

As mentioned in the research paper writing services review, a countdown timer is perfect for those impulse buyers who do not do their research before they buy things. When a timer is used to show that an offer has a limited time before it expires, the impulse buyer will crack under pressure and buy. It drives up traffic and increases the conversion rate at your store. 

The AliDropship plugin is a professionally designed plugin that you can add to a website to make business with Ali Express easier. It is packed with tools to monitor shipping updates and to send notifications to the customers. It also comes with filters to help find the relevant products on AliExpress. 

But to get customers to go to your site and order stuff, they need to get there. That is where a plugin like Social Rabbit comes in. With this tool, advertising on popular social media networks is as easy as it can be. 

Never underprice your products

There are two reasons why you should never underprice your products. Firstly, when you consider the profit margins of the products. It has to make sense on the whole. The total cost of ownership should be calculated first to see that all the expenses are catered for at the advertised price. 

Gareth Bailey, a retired economics professor who trains dissertation writers working for thesis writing services, says that although it might be tempting to undercut the prices because of your competitors, do not give in to those temptations. The chances that the competition is selling a low-quality product are very likely and they will eliminate themselves from the game in due time. 

As per business writer at College papers, you want to sell products with a high-profit margin, but it could be worth it to buy larger volumes of IT equipment that does not have the biggest profit margin. Here, money is generated by mass selling. The IT industry is flourishing and getting quality products in bulk can make an effort all worth it. 

The second reason why you do not want to undersell is that it makes your products look cheap, and not in a good way. People associate excessive low prices with bad quality and that is not the stigma you want hanging around the products in the inventory. 

Sample the goods

The only real way to know if a product is worth putting on your website is to test them out. The wholesalers want to do business and will generally be glad to send a sample of two if it means that they have a future long-term buyer. 

It doesn’t hurt to ask for samples and although you might not pay for the product, they might ask you to pay for shipping. It is a small price to pay when you consider that the integrity of your site is on the line. 

The other added bonus of samples is that you can assess the delivery time, packaging, and general service of the supplier. They are generally open to suggestions for improvement from their side because it means more stable business. 

Conclusion

Dropshipping can be a very lucrative business and although it can take a while to get into the game, it is worth it in the end. If you want to test the waters and do not want to make a major financial commitment, then you can do it on a small scale at first and sell items on eBay or other bidding websites. You will soon realize the potential of the business and can start with a business plan to up your game.