Now you can find many ways to earn money on the Internet. Someone starts freelancing and takes orders at home, while others run their own business. Now to open a store for many is an unrealistic enterprise. Much easier to start selling online.
Drop shipping
Before you figure out how to get started with dropshipping, you need to understand what it is.
Dropship is also called dropshipping. Often this method is used for online trading. In this case, the intermediary implements the supply of products so that the goods are not stored in its warehouse. This method of supply chain management can save a lot of time, space, and even money.
The buyer receives the goods directly from the warehouse of the manufacturer, dealer or wholesaler. How then does a dropshipper profit? Often this is the difference between the wholesale and retail price, and commission payments can also be affected, some earn income from the difference in shipping costs.
Suppliers
But dropshipping is often done by the supplier himself. In this case, this way of trading is very similar to outsourcing and franchising. In this case, the supplier is not distracted by various tasks, but is only engaged in the production of quality products.
This is why many suppliers outsource sourcing and other tasks. In this case, he is introduced to dropshipping.
Scheme
You need to understand how the circuit works. And only then figure out how to start working with dropshipping. So, a large company produces a certain product, but decides not to engage in retail sales. Thus, there are partners of the company who are responsible for a lot of tasks:
- providing the "showcase";
- marketing;
- promotion;
- customer service;
- deal processing;
- getting paid.
Next, the partner generates reports and sends everything to the manufacturer. He, in turn, begins to pack and ship the goods to the address. By the way, the buyer will receive a purchase from a partner who did not have a hand in sending it and does not even have a warehouse with goods. In this case, the profit consists of the difference between the retail and purchase prices.
Start
So, now that you understand the essence of dropshipping, how to start working with it has become clearer. However, there are still steps that anyone who is just getting started with direct shipping should go through.
So, what is needed:
- At the first stage, you needfind suppliers who would be willing to work under such a scheme. You need to be prepared for the fact that everyone will not immediately run indiscriminately to work with you. You will have to spend a lot of time to find partners. This is due to the fact that such an enterprise has risks and difficulties, so not everyone wants to get involved with such.
- Work on the online store - the second stage. This is also a difficult process, because it requires both knowledge and skills, and good friends. If there is no money to create a website, you can start working in social networks by creating thematic pages. Then it will be possible to start placing product catalogs, indicating the cost with an extra charge.
- Working with advertising is an integral part of the development of any online store. It is extremely important to talk about your products through all available channels: contextual advertising, social networks, affiliate programs, search engine promotion and much more.
- After the first people come to you, you can start placing orders. After a couple of registrations, you can contact the supplier, transfer the order and the address of the buyer to him. Then it remains to pay the wholesale cost, and leave a margin for yourself.
- Next, the supplier sends the order without your intervention.
- Be sure to track the receipt of the goods by the buyer. Study feedback whenever possible.
Search for partners
So, the first step is to find suppliers for the online store. Not all manufacturers like dropshipping, so you will have to look for reliable partners. Prepare for what you will need to constantly look forsuppliers. They will change for various reasons, so it is important to be prepared for such situations.
It is essential to keep working and actively moving forward. Don't stand still. If you already have suppliers, still try to constantly look for more favorable terms of cooperation.
The right choice
How to get started with dropshipping? We are looking at suppliers. They may differ from each other not only in the conditions offered, but also in the goods. Therefore, you should immediately understand what you are going to trade: clothes, tools, stationery, household goods, etc.
If you still do not know what you want to offer the buyer, you can pay attention to the pricing policy of the supplier, the demand for a particular product and the offers of competitors. Thus, you will be able to notice that it is clothing and household goods that are most actively offered on the market. Perhaps this is your niche.
You can choose a supplier using the Internet. Of course, you can immediately turn to the ratings of the best, but not always those who are in the top can really be useful to you. Also remember that vendors may not have a quality product but work with the best SEO specialist. That is why they will be at the top of the search results.
You can also go to specialized exhibitions for suppliers. This is where reliable suppliers advertise their production. Such organizations are confident in their products, which means they are not afraid to show them to the world. Besides,exhibitions are a great visual example where every dropshipper can take a closer look at potential partners and their work.
Internet selection
So, we should separately consider how to find a supplier for an online store. Dropshipping is not always reliable, and searching for a partner on the Internet is not the best option. Nevertheless, you can try, besides, such searches take less time.
The luckiest are those who have a site with a large turnover. In this case, you can directly contact the supplier and agree on individual deliveries. In this case, you will definitely be able to attract customers through a unique selling proposition.
You can leave an ad on special sites on the Internet, in which you indicate all your conditions for cooperation. As you look for partners, so they can look for you. It is only important to state it. The main thing is that the announcement is competent and accurate.
If you know English well, you can apply for a dropshipping job with foreign clients. In this way, you will be able to bring unique products to your country that will attract even more buyers.
Finally, databases of wholesale suppliers can be found on the Internet. There you can find all the necessary information about potential partners. On these sites, it is usually easy to filter out those who do not suit you by searching by country, product offer and cost.
Search rules
So there are some rules that weredeveloped by others who have been in the field. Some of them may not be useful at all, while others can be of great service in finding partners.
So, it is extremely important to constantly negotiate with future partners. It is best to meet in person, and even better - in person with an official representative. Do not use phone calls or correspondence.
When communicating, specify as many nuances as possible. It is extremely important that you know all the questions before the meeting and remember to ask them. Questions can be different, among the main ones it is worth mentioning the minimum order, the conditions for sending goods, the possibilities of a distributor and much more. Don’t be scared right away, this doesn’t mean at all that there are a lot of little things in business, there are just nuances that are best discussed right away.
Dropshipping will teach you the importance of constantly sourcing. The market is very volatile, so you have to adjust to its activity.
It is also better to do business with local firms. First, it will be easier for you to meet with the management and discuss the details. Secondly, the delivery of goods will be lightning fast, which means you will be able to get ahead of all those sellers who have been waiting for weeks for delivery from abroad.
Remember that the contract is an integral part of cooperation with suppliers. So it is extremely important for you to read it carefully, certify it legally and generally have an assistant in this matter.
Finally, remember that this area is very demanding on any employees. No need to save time or labor in order to study the market and offerspartners.
Types of partners
Of course, there is no established classification of suppliers. Perhaps, with experience, you will select your groups for yourself, but, one way or another, almost all partners are divided into:
- Those who will agree to send single items. In this case, working with them is great for beginner dropshippers who do not have large funds at the initial stage.
- Those who will send goods in small wholesale or starting from a certain number of orders. In this case, such a partner is more suitable for already experienced dropshippers who have financial independence.
Who should I contact?
Dropshipping platforms are developing rapidly, so there are many suppliers now. Among them, you can find high-quality partners who can cooperate with you on favorable terms for you.
Among Russian suppliers, Dropo, Mega-M, MarketHot, Altermods, etc. are popular. You can find a lot of information and reviews about them. These are large manufacturers who deal in different types of products, so you can choose the niche you need.
For example, Mega-M deals with office equipment and also provides mobile phones and tablets. In MarketHot you can find goods for children, houses, cottages, various gadgets, etc.
Ukrainian suppliers are also popular. For example, Vilomi provides conditions for dropshipping, and also promote their products themselves. The company deals with women'sleather shoes.
Endorphone also works on a profitable dropshipping scheme. It is the official distributor of Apple smartphone cases.
Online store
So, the first step was to find a supplier. After you have actively started to engage in it, in parallel, you can start creating a website. To begin with, you will need to decide on product categories and check their availability with suppliers. Then you can start working on the online store, its optimization and promotion. Next, it remains to run ads.
Creating an online store
How to open an online dropshipping store? If you do not understand anything about this, then it is best to seek help from a specialist. At this stage, the first step will be to purchase an engine for an online store. Of course, you can try to find a free option, but it is more suitable for a blog. But online trading is better to do on a more reliable platform.
Next, you will need to register and buy a domain name, and then pay for hosting. All this will help your resource stay afloat. But this is only a third of the work at this stage.
If you want to start a serious dropshipping platform, pay attention to paid SMS. You will be able to get technical support and advice, get basic store optimization, save personal data, and more.
You can also work on the design yourself if you have any ideas. True, in this case, you still have to turn to a programmer who will make you a self-written site. Maintaining such a resource will be expensive, so consider this right away. In addition, you will need the services of this programmer in the future.
You can buy a ready-made template and modify it a little. You can figure this out on your own, and this method seems much cheaper.
Optimization of the online store
To avoid problems with dropshipping, an online clothing store or any other product should be properly optimized. Usually SEO specialists who are trained in this business work on this. But you yourself can also try, however, you will have to study a lot of literature, perhaps even sign up for courses.
This stage directly depends on the requirements of the search engine. After creating a site, it is important that it starts to appear in search results if, for example, a buyer enters the words “buy clothes” into the search box. The higher the position of your online store, the greater the success.
Optimization requires knowledge of many technical aspects. It is also important that the site is attractive and stylish, while also being fast loading and easy to use. It is necessary that the client finds what he needs in just a couple of clicks.
Next, you will have to spend a lot of time filling the site. You must know all the dropshipping products and place them logically. At the same time, the content and content of the resource plays an equally important role. For example, if you are selling shoes, then try to provide more complete information about the models. At the same time, the texts should not only be simple andlogical and keyword-filled to help shoppers find what they need.
Promotion of an online store
This stage is difficult and time-consuming. If you can still figure out the creation and content of the site on your own, then this process will require knowledge and skills from you. It is extremely important to understand Internet marketing, to understand the principles of advertising, its types and possibilities. You will also need to understand web analytics in order to correctly understand the audience and contact with it.
During the promotion, you need to raise your store as high as possible in the search results. To do this, you need to use advertising that will attract customers, and they, accordingly, will increase site traffic, and then increase orders and profits.
Use for promotion:
- search engines and advertising networks from Google and Yandex;
- social networks for working with groups or pages dedicated to the store;
- links to third-party resources, etc.
The preparatory stage of promotion includes setting goals. Next, you need to decide what is profitable to sell with dropshipping. To do this, you will have to study the market, evaluate the starting budget, look at the competitor and learn all about marketing strategies.
It is extremely important to use analytics and services to check positions. You can choose to connect Yandex. Metrika, Yandex. Webmaster, Google Analytics and Google Webmaster. Thanks to these resources, you will be able to collect all the analytics from your site, monitor traffic,analyze the audience and mark goals.
Next, you will need to work with product advertising in dropshipping. You will have to use contextual and social networks. It is much easier to work with the first one, since it is enough to correctly set it up to show the target audience. But with advertising on social networks is more difficult. You will have to spend time learning SMM or hire a specialist to write interesting and bright posts.
You can use e-mail marketing for promotion. But for this you need to acquire a client base, which, after a deal with you, will receive profitable offers and promotions.
What to sell?
Dropshipping clothes is perhaps the most popular. But this does not mean at all that this niche will suit you. The fact is that a lot depends on your region. If you live in the capital, then you have much more opportunities. You can find a variety of partners who offer the supply of any product. In addition, there are many buyers around you who are almost always in need of something.
Practice shows that most online sites sell the same products. Often these are shoes, clothing, household and family goods and appliances. Dropshipping cosmetics is less common, as it has more problems, and food.
Nevertheless, everything is on sale now, and there is always a demand for everything. Therefore, further you will have to build on what potential partners offer you. There are a lot of clothing suppliers, so you can always fall into this niche. Butthere's a lot of competition here too, so your markup might be so small that it won't be worth it.
It is best in this case to pay attention to certain brands or groups. For example, you can try selling Nike sneakers or you can start selling children's clothing. Dropshipping makes sense in this case, since you are focused on one thing. In addition, the audience in this case will be easier to study.
You should also follow trends. Periodically, the popularity of a particular niche may increase. You will be able to embed it on your website. For example, Korean dropshipping is especially popular right now. There are a large number of suppliers who deliver cosmetics and other goods to the country.
Of course, in this case, many people start a page on Instagram or another social network, but you can add the corresponding section to your site, if it, of course, fits the topic.
Pros of dropshipping
This trading model is considered quite successful and especially beneficial for beginners. It has many benefits for small business owners:
- Large selection of products. There are many suppliers, which means that there is also access to a variety of goods.
- Easy start. The peculiarity of this business is that almost no investments are needed to start. You are only an intermediary and will not be able to receive the goods from the supplier until the buyer pays.
- Saving time. In this case, the supplier saves time for receiving and processingorder, and you, in turn, do not worry about the storage and delivery of goods.
- Independence and flexibility. You are not tied to a single production. It is possible to constantly change areas of direction, purchase the desired assortment and find new suppliers.
- No stock left. No stock - no stock left.
- Cost reduction. Many expenses pass you by - customs duties, storage of goods, relevance of contracts, etc.
Disadvantages of dropshipping
It's hard to imagine a perfect business, therefore, despite the many advantages of dropshipping shoes and other goods, there are also disadvantages:
- Difficulties with entry. Since starting this business is not difficult, thousands of people have definitely tried it before you. Therefore, the competition is strong, which means that the cost of advertising will be high.
- A lot of work. Despite the fact that the scope of work is being reduced by shifting delivery to other shoulders, there will still be a lot of work. It doesn't matter if you're dropshipping underwear or children's toys.
- Special income. Dropshipping requires a special model of behavior, since the income consists of the difference between the wholesale and retail prices. In order for the markup to be truly profitable, it is important to choose products with a good margin.
- Reputational risks. It all depends on the reliability of the supplier. They are not always reliable, and a delay on their part will entail the wrath of the buyer in your direction. Therefore, it is better that you have a “Plan B” for such cases.
Conclusions
Dropshipping shoes orany other product is not an easy task. At first glance, it seems that you can quickly start in this business and get a lot of money. But beginners forget that free cheese is only in a mousetrap, and online shopping, although already familiar, still arouses suspicion among buyers.
Difficulties begin with the choice of supplier and niche. Selling shoes is not easy, because there can be many returns, and this is an extra hassle and a waste of time. It is easier to deal with goods for home and family, as well as children's toys. But it is worth remembering that checking the quality of the goods is your duty, since it is you who will be contacted by a dissatisfied buyer, while the supplier will remain on the sidelines.
