Dropshipping, the new method of selling online

Dropshipping is growing in popularity and is increasingly seen as a viable way to earn some money without having to invest lots of your hard earned cash. It can, however, be a very confusing prospect and this can often put off potential entrepreneurs.

Perhaps you have considered it in the past but have found that you are not sure where to start? Read on for a guide to the process of setting up your own dropshipping business.

What exactly is dropshipping?

Dropshipping basically involves the entrepreneur selling goods on behalf of another business. This method of selling doesn’t require the entrepreneur to carry any stock or have a physicall point of sale, they just need to ask the merchant business to send out goods once they make a sale.

This method of selling benefits the merchant business, in that they can concentrate on producing top-notch goods without having to worry about selling them or providing customer service whereas the entrepreneur simply has to build a high-quality shop front and concentrate on the customer service and sales side of things. Each party in the transaction are left to concentrate on what they are good at, and so it works for them and the customer alike.

How do I get started?

Firstly, you’ll have to come up with a name for your brand and ensure you are able to purchase the domain name. Once this is done, you can choose an e-commerce platform, such as Shopify, where you can set up your online store.

An e-commerce platform allows you to build your own online store, allowing you to direct a customer through choosing a product on your website to taking them through to a point of sale, where you can process card details. They also give you all the tools you need to track and respond to your orders once they come rolling in.

How do I find products to sell?

Often the best places to go to choose suitable products for dropshipping are wholesale websites. They are more often than not designed to be used by dropshippers and so can offer ready-made solutions. This means you won’t have to worry about approaching manufacturers or other business to set up deals, they are already in place. In terms of deciding which products you would like to sell, start with thinking about where your passion lies.

A salesperson who is passionate about the products that they stock is always going to perform better than the person who is just in it for the money. Passion does come across, even when reading online product-description so always go with products that matter to you and that you would actually wish to own. Having said that, it’s no good setting up a business selling, for example, polka-dot trousers if the rest of the world is not ready for them. Consider your target market, would they like the products that you are thinking of featuring in your store? Maybe do some market research and be sure of what your target market is interested in. You could also visit online trend publications to find out what is popular around the world at the current moment in time and what products are being introduced onto the market.

Once you’ve built the store and chosen the products you are ready to go. Using a reputable e-commerce site will make the process easy and will bring in the customers. So long, as you put in the work in creating a high-quality look for your store and stocking it with the right products your dropshipping experience should be entirely successful.