Everyone knows by now that dropshipping is a legitimate business model and isn’t a get rich quick scheme, yet so many people are making 6 figure income from it (or claiming to be), that an obvious questions arises: How easy is dropshipping in reality?
Yes, dropshipping business (especially Shopify dropshipping and Aliexpress dropshipping) in 2020 is easier than ever before. The biggest reason for this, is perhaps, that there is still an ultra-low barrier to entry, that requires a very small upfront investment of a few hundred dollars in order to get started and with all-inclusive and affordable website platforms like Shopify and reliable product research tools like SaleSource, getting started has never been easier.
Of course, just like any other business model, it has its pitfalls, namely:
- Reduced profit margins, as suppliers will favour big, established buyers
- Not a hands-free as many imagine, you still have to deal with the customer service
Is AliExpress Dropshipping Really That Easy?
It seems to be the common consensus in the ecommerce community that dropshipping is where the money’s at. With ecommerce giants like Amazon, AliExpress and Ebay taking over and leaving offline retailers out of business, ecommerce truly became the fastest growing industry on the internet. In the midst of all of this, dropshipping is considered the perfect stepping stone for those wanting to get into ecommerce.
Everyone knows by now that dropshipping is a legitimate business model and isn’t a get rich quick scheme, yet so many people are making 6 figure income from it (or claiming to be), that an obvious questions arises: How easy is dropshipping in reality?
The stance adopted in this article is that starting a dropshipping business in 2019 is easier than ever before. Whilst, dropshipping isn’t a perfect business model, with its own downsides, those haven’t stopped it from being the number one choice of the new, up and coming online entrepreneurs. The biggest reason for this, is perhaps, the ultra-low barrier to entry that requires a negligent upfront investment of a few hundred dollars in order to get started.
Moreover, if you’re new in the world of ecommerce and aren’t an established seller, you probably don’t have the means to personally fulfil a huge amount of orders, which is a job in itself. Besides, there is no guarantee that your stock will sell – dropshipping removes that risk. For more seasoned retailers, dropshipping can be used as a tool to cut down operating expenses, allowing them to reinvest money in other areas of the business.
Finding winning products via AliExpress dropshipping is the key
It might sound obvious to some, but arguably the most critical part of a successful dropshipping business is to find the right product. So many people focus on ad campaigns and spend a ton of money on social media influencers, etc. Whilst those things are very important, they will lead you nowhere if your product isn’t that good.
Certain categories of products are much easier to dropship than others. Products that are easy to use, lightweight and with the cost of up to $200. The easier it is to use the product, the less returns you will get. Products that require a user manual are a lot more likely to confuse some buyers and lead a higher return rate. Whilst the bigger retailers can handle return rates of 10%+, for a dropshipping business that would be devastating.
Similarly, the product needs to be lightweight, in order to minimise the shipping costs, which can quickly eat into your profit margins.
A price of 100$-200$ is not too high so as to deter a lot of customers, yet high enough to ensure that you get nice profit margins, without the need to sell a stupid amount of units in order to remain profitable.
Finding winning products doesn’t have to be hard: The best place to start is by visiting SaleSource, that has a huge variety of tools that will help you find winning products.
There are also other ways to find products, such as Oberlo, Amazon best sellers list or even directly going on AliExpress and browse through the hot & trending sections.
What Platform Should I Choose (Is Shopify Dropshipping The Way To Go?)
For those on a low budget it is very tempting to use a free platform like WooCommerce, Squarespace or WordPress in order to set up their dropshipping business. That would certainly be a good option for those that are tech savvy and know their way around setting up, building and maintaining websites. If you don’t know much about websites and opt it for the free platforms, what might end up happening is that you’ll incur hidden costs of purchasing extra plugins, templates and other software or you might even have to hire a developer to help you navigate through all of that mess.
On the other hand, a better choice for a beginner would be to use not completely free, yet affordable solution catered towards ecommerce, like Shopify. Shopify offers a two week trial, giving you a good amount of time to set up your store and make a first sale before the trial runs out (*Pro tip: you can always get in touch with Shopify and extend you free trial, by two more weeks, completely free of charge). Moreover, Shopify comes with a lot of free apps and themes, giving you all of the necessary tools to get your shop up and running.
Finding a Good Supplier Using Ecommerce Tools
Due to the nature of the dropshipping business model that’s heavily reliant on suppliers to fulfil and deliver the good, you’ll never succeed unless you find a reliable supplier that will deliver your products on time and undamaged.
Characteristics of a good supplier include:
- ePacket shipping and delivery
- Has good reputation
- Fulfils your orders on the same day
- Takes responsibility for when things don’t go as planned
- Performs regular quality controls
SaleSource is a perfect tool for finding serious and reliable suppliers that are also the manufacturers as opposed to middle men, therefore they’re able to offer the most competitive, factory (as opposed to retail) prices. Another good choice would be to use Oberlo, which conveniently lets you to import products directly from the suppliers AliExpress page into your Shopify store.
Be your own boss
A huge benefit offered by aliexpress dropshipping is that it gives you flexibility in the sense that you can work from anywhere in the world and according to the schedule set by you and no one else.
Another benefit is that once you find the correct audience and start selling products consistently, you can pretty much leave the business on autopilot by doing paid ads which will drive all of the traffic to your store.
A good advice for a beginner would be to avoid any sort of extreme: Setting up a one product store or a broad, general store. These areas are hugely competitive and much harder to market well. Instead, the right solution lies somewhere in the middle: Specific niche store. Niche stores are easier to market, assuming you find the correct audience. Another thing worth mentioning, is that you should focus on products that are already selling well, instead of trying to resuscitate the dead ones – you’re not doing yourself nor anyone any favours by doing that.
All of That Sounds Good, What About The Downsides of AliExpress Dropshipping?
One of the downsides of this business model is that it offers smaller profit margins compared to traditional retailers. Understandably so, convenience comes at a cost. Because of the fact that your supplier will charge you higher fees for smaller orders, this will be reflected in your product pricing, if you are to remain competitive. Another option to consider is company that provides advanced order fulfillment services.
Another thing worth mentioning is that, whilst your supplier handles most of the pressure, that doesn’t mean that you get to sit on the beach, sipping cocktails and do no work. Customer services is still your responsibility, as they’re your customers after all. Because of this, even if suppliers makes a mistake that has nothing to do with you, you might have to take the fall for it. Too many instances like this and you’re out. So there are some risks involves, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, after all it is a trade off – whilst you don’t have to deal with the logistics, you still need to ensure that you have enough information and tools at your disposal to satisfy your customers.
