Are you interesting in starting a drop shipping online business? But wonder if it still works?
Similar to Affiliate marketing, you don’t need to physically own the product nor do you have to deal with shipping and handling.
Should you start drop shipping in 2019?
As I was exploring legitimate ways to make money online, drop shipping was one of the top 5 methods.
I’ve even opened my own account to see what it is all about with Shopify. I never followed through though, so the majority of this article is opinion based.
Snapshot from Shopify
Can You Make Money With Drop Shipping And How?
Absolutely! As a drop shipper, you are technically the middleman of the transaction.
You can sell the items via your drop shipping website, eBay, Amazon, etc.
When a customer makes a purchase, you will have to notify the retailer and have them ship out the merchandise to the customer.
Your commission is whatever the amount you’ve marked up on the product minus any applicable fees.
For example, the wholesale price you received is $1.00 and your listed price is $4.00. You will basically profit $3.00 minus any applicable fees.
Drop Shipping Tips To Success
Tip #1: You want to sell multiple products at a time. This is pretty obvious, right? The more products you have, the more likely you will sell something.
Tip #2: You should NOT over-charge your customers. There are many drop shippers like yourself and over-charging might look good when setting the price, but what good is it if you can’t make a sale?
Tip #3: Research your competitors. Your competitors are looking to make money too! If you do your research and sell for even a penny less than what they are offering. Your chances of selling the product increase exponentially.
Tip #4: Automated systems. Once your business is booming, you should consider searching for automated systems that monitor and automates your sales.
However, you should always avoid paying hundreds of dollars for this because there is free and cheaper software available. Click here for Google Search on Drop Shipping Automated System.
Tip #5: Search for a reputable drop shipping company. The foundation is very important. It’s almost like eating Japanese sashimi for the first time. You want to have a positive experience, otherwise, you will never try it again.
What I Don’t Like About Drop Shipping
Ripping People Off
Let me ask you this, have you ever made a purchase on Amazon or eBay?
If the answer is yes, then you have probably purchased from a drop shipper before, but never noticed.
This is why I do my research before buying anything. Often times, the drop shipper’s price is MORE expensive than the original retailer.
The reason why is that drop shippers get the price from the original retailer and marks it up before selling to you.
This to me is very unethical, but I guess they need to make money too right?
I don’t mind paying more than wholesale, but I have a problem when you are straight up ripping people off.
Negative Experience with Shipping and Wait Time
The drop shippers don’t physically own the products, so they have NO control over when your purchase gets sent out.
This leads to prolonged wait time for your purchase and overall negative experience.
I’ve purchased a product from a drop shipper and was told that the company ran out of stock and I could either request a full refund or wait until they are back in stock.
This led me to believe the drop shipper could provide you with a false supply number, just so you can make a purchase.
Overall, these are experiences that I’ve had and left a very sour taste in my mouth. Sourer than sour patch kids candy.
Should You Start Drop Shipping in 2019
Absolutely! The amount of people on the internet is increasing year after year.
People are shopping on the internet more than ever.
Just be aware of customer complaints on longer delivery time for purchases.
Even though you don’t have control over shipping time, you should definitely do diligence and research before adjusting the listed price.
However, you can definitely make more money with the regular drop shipping approach such as over-charging your customers.
Personally, I can’t live with ripping people off. It’s just not my cup of tea.
I’m an affiliate marketer, so I believe in return visitors and building trust.
Even though you won’t make giant profits per sale, but at least you will receive more sales in the long run.
I believe having ONE trusted successful drop shipping website is better than having to create multiple websites due to negative feedback and reviews from your consumers.
Here is why I recommend affiliate marketing over drop shipping. They are both similar, but also very different.
For example, as an affiliate marketer, you are still promoting a product that you don’t own.
However, you’re directing your visitors to a product from companies that offer a fair price and they usually care about customer satisfaction, so shipping is usually on time.
Whereas a drop shipper usually marks up the product to earn a huge profit and shipping is often times mediocre.
This usually results in poor customer experience and satisfaction.
Your customers are your source of income, so why would you want poor customer experience and satisfaction?
As an affiliate marketer, I strive for absolute customer experience and satisfaction, so drop shipping is not the type of business that I recommend, but definitely try it out if it’s your cup of tea.
If you decide to become a drop shipper, you should put yourself in the shoes of a customer.
Check your pricing and ask yourself if you would buy it if you were the customer.
If the answer is no, change it because you want to make more sales, not hoping to make one or two sales and earn a huge profit.
If you’ve had a positive or negative experience with drop shipping, please let me know by leaving a comment below(:
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