Finding the perfect dropshipping product to sell can be difficult, especially if you don’t know what to look for, but in this guide, you will learn how to start a dropshipping business from scratch.
However, it’s important to find a niche that meets your requirements before investing any time or money into your new business, otherwise, you may end up with an unsellable product and no customers. First thing first let’s look at what dropshipping is all about.
Table Of Contents
What is dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a form of e-commerce business whereby a seller does not have the stock of the products displayed on his/her web store, but when a buyer buys from the store, the seller goes on to purchase the required product from the web store of the original seller with the details of the buyer on his own store after taking extra charges placed on the product.
So the original product seller will send the product to the details provided on his website and the buyer receives the product. The image below simplifies this process…
Follow these steps to learn how to start a dropshipping business from scratch.
1. Have an idea
Whether you’re buying or selling, there are some useful things you can do both before and after you launch your business.
If you’re buying and reselling, have an idea of what products you want to sell—both their value and their margins.
If you’re selling, figure out where your target market will be so that in addition to having a good selection of products, it makes sense for shoppers.
And if you’re buying and selling, understand how shipping works with each vendor: how much does the product cost? What services does the vendor offer? Can you use any kind of service for free? How long does shipping take? Do vendors provide tracking numbers with all shipments?
These details matter when running a dropshipping business because they help determine whether or not your customers get their orders on time. In fact, according to research conducted by Profitero (which sells software designed specifically for e-commerce sellers), nearly half of consumers expect their order within three days, while only one in five are willing to wait more than seven days.
As such, knowing as much as possible about shipping times is important if you want to ensure happy customers who come back again and again.
Having an idea of these terms will help you know what you want to sell or how best to sell your offer to your potential customers while they are happy shopping from your store.
2. Decide what you want to sell
As I’ve mentioned before, you have three options: You can choose something that you have an interest in and can spend your time on it daily.
Or, you can choose something based on something you don’t know much about but would like to learn more about it.
Or, you can dropship already selling products . This last option is not for everyone, because it involves selling items on your website for higher prices since it’s already selling products, you’d need more marketing to sell.
If you have experience in buying and selling products online, then starting a dropshipping model won’t be a difficult task for you and so, as you keep reading below you will see the right steps to follow to see that you win with this business pattern.
3. Decide your niche
After you have decided on what you want to sell, you will have to choose a niche(a category where what you want to sell falls).
There are two approaches when it comes to choosing your niche. The first is that you can start out by picking a specific niche based on what you love recommending to people or based on what you think might sell in the market at the time you’re starting your dropshipping career.
If you’re starting a dropshipping business, for example, then you might pick something like teen clothing.
The second approach is that you could focus on starting an e-commerce business totally on every item on the web and then figure out what your niche will be later on down the road(but this is not a good practice as it is best recommended you choose a niche initially).
You can read our post on how to choose a niche when starting an online business to serve as a guide for you to be able to choose te possible business youd love doing.
This latter approach is more common, as most people don’t want to limit themselves too early in their journey. That said, there are pros and cons to both methods—so decide which one works best for you!
Also read: How to choose a niche when starting an online business
4. Choose products with potential
When learning how to start a dropshipping business from scratch, choosing a product that has the potential of selling is a step you must accomplish.
Of course, all businesses sell products, but not all of them drop ship. The most profitable drop shipping companies have built their business around unique, in-demand items that people are buying and selling on a regular basis.
As you put together your plan for how to start a dropshipping business, you’ll want to make sure you’re choosing products with enough demand in the market so that you can take advantage of economies of scale.
For example, if you find an item that has hundreds of thousands of units being sold every month at $10 each, it’s probably worth your time to look into it further.
This is because the metric is showing you that the product is a hot product in demand on a monthly basis and also it is sold for a cheap rate which can give you the chance to add your profit margin.
On the other hand, if you find an item where only 10 units are sold per month at $100 each—even though it looks like a great product—it might be best to move on. There are plenty of high-profit products out there; don’t waste your time trying to sell something that isn’t going to work.
Trying to sell a $100 product that sells at 10 units per month might be hard for you and you will also have a little chance to add your profit to the product.
5. Choose a product source
Before you jump into a dropshipping business, you’ll need to figure out where your inventory is going to come from.
Generally in an e-commerce business, you have three main options: dropshipping, buying wholesale, or manufacturing your own products.
Each of these will come with different profit margins and require different financial investments, so make sure you know what you’re getting into before making any major purchases.
Dropshipping allows you to sell items without purchasing them first while buying wholesale means buying large quantities directly from manufacturers.
Manufacturing your own product requires upfront costs but also allows for more creative freedom in terms of design and pricing. Whichever route you choose, be prepared for some growing pains as you navigate each new stage of production.
So in dropshipping, you will have to choose where your products will come from that is the vendor who will be able to answer you and dispatch products fast as soon as you have buyers in your store. Reading down you will see the top best dropshipping sites that can help you choose a product source.
6. Pick an online store
One of the easiest ways to start a Dropshipping Business from Scratch is by signing up for Shopify’s free online space. The platform allows anyone to set up a store within minutes, which makes it perfect for anyone who wants to get into ecommerce but doesn’t have a lot of technical know-how.
It also has built-in features that make setting up an online business much easier than building from scratch.
For example, you can easily integrate your social media accounts, add payment options such as PayPal or Stripe, and more.
Plus, its user interface is very intuitive and easy to use—even if you don’t have any experience with e-commerce platforms!
All in all, Shopify is a great option for people who are just getting started with their first online store.
But if you already have an existing e-commerce website and want to expand into other sales channels, there are plenty of other solutions out there that can help take your business to the next level.
You can also dropship by creating a woo-commerce store and also by using some other marketplaces and WordPress.
Also read: How to create an online store for dropshipping
7. Pick a payment gateway
When you start a dropshipping business, you’ll need to pick a payment gateway.
Payment gateways allow your customers to checkout with credit cards and can help reduce fraud.
For example, if someone attempted to buy $1000 worth of widgets with their Visa card but only had $100 in their account, your payment gateway could block that transaction until it was authorized by the cardholder.
Not all gateways are created equal, though—some charge more than others, some have higher rates of fraud than others, and some don’t work well for specific countries or regions. It’s important to do your research before picking one. We recommend Stripe and PayPal as solid options for ecommerce businesses. If you want to read about other options, check out our full guide on how to choose a payment gateway.
Also read: How to choose the right payment gateway for your business.
8. Set up your website
After you’ve chosen your dropshipping platform, it’s time to set up your website.
For most drop shippers, Shopify will be your first stop. It offers an intuitive interface that allows you to set up shop quickly and easily, which is important if you want to get up and running as soon as possible.
The site also has a built-in app store where you can find apps that support all aspects of your business, including inventory management and customer relationship management (CRM).
The downside of using Shopify is that they charge $29 per month for their basic plan, plus additional fees for credit card processing.
If you don’t mind paying more upfront but save on monthly fees, BigCommerce might be a better option for you; they offer plans starting at $29 per month with no additional charges. You can also use WordPress and woocommerce to run your dropshipping business.
9. Keep it going!
Running a drop shipping business is all about selling through your store—typically inventory that you don’t physically handle or store.
It can be hard for some entrepreneurs to keep going when sales are slow, so it’s important not only to set goals but also to remind yourself of your long-term vision.
Remind yourself how far you’ve come in reaching your dropshipping business goals, and where you want to go over time.
If you need inspiration, think back on what inspired you to start your own dropshipping business in the first place. What do you love? Also, ask yourself what do I know? What have people told me they love? If it’s working out so far, why stop now? Keep pushing forward!
10. Get ready for sales!
After you’ve launched your business, you’ll want to think about how you’re going to attract your first customer.
As an entrepreneur, there are many ways to do so. You can post flyers around town, attend networking events and make connections with local businesses, or even try cold calling companies in your area.
There are plenty of options out there; it just depends on what kind of customers you’re looking for. But don’t be discouraged if it takes some time—after all, building relationships takes time!
The important thing is that you keep trying until someone bites. And when they do, don’t forget to follow up.
Don’t give up after one sale either: If you continue following up with clients, they might come back for more (and tell their friends). Even if your business starts off slow, it doesn’t mean it won’t pick up later down the road.
Also read: How to generate traffic to your web store
Top 10 best dropshipping niches to sell online
- 1. Health products (weight-loss and fitness, sexual wellness, personal care, relaxation, oral care), etc.
- 2. Beauty products (skincare, personal care, makeup, haircare, shave, and hair removal), etc.
- 3. Fashion products (men’s wear, women’s wear, unisex wear, watches, baby wears), etc.
- 4. Household and Kitchen products (household supplies, kitchen tools, and equipment, room decorators), etc.
- 5. Pet supplies products (dogs, horses, cats supplies), etc.
- 6. Sports and Outdoors products (outdoor recreation tools, camping equipment, sports tools), etc.
- 7. Electronics and accessories products (phones, laptops, accessories, photography, wearable technology, cars), etc.
- 8. Softwares products (accounting, digital, photography tools, utilities), etc.
- 9. Office tools products (office equipment, office electronics), etc.
- 10. Gaming products (arts and crafts, party supplies, dolls and accessories, kids supplies), etc.
Top 10 best dropshipping websites
- Aliexpress: This is an online retail website for small businesses most especially for Chinese and this remains one of the most used websites for dropshipping items, it makes it easier for users with its dropshipping center feature to see top selling products on their platform.
- Amazon: This is an American-based website that is mostly used by USA personnel to shop for products and this website has over the years turned to be one of the dropshipping platforms used by dropshippers.
- Alibaba: Want to dropship items in bulk, then Alibaba is suitable as it promotes wholesaling to its users.
- Ebay: An American website that facilitates c2c(consumer to consumer ), business to consumer e-commerce business.
- Etsy: Deals mostly about arts and crafts. Looking forward to dropship arts and crafts? then Etsy can be a good one for sourcing and dropshipping such products.
- Banggood: Similar to aliexpress and can be a good fit for dropshipping products.
- Zara: Need to concentrate on dropshipping products in the fashion niche? then head on to use Zara.
- Dhgate: This website is one of the business-to-business platforms recognized internationally for e-commerce business.
- OnBuy: A Uk marketplace for shopping and selling and can serve for dropshipping purposes most especially for countries within the UK state.
- Printful: this website lets you design and sells what you have designed just as the name implies, you can create designs and dropship them to your potential customers.
Frequently Asked Questions on How to Start a Dropshipping Business from Scratch
How much should I start drop-shipping with?
There is no specific amount you are expected to have before starting a dropshipping business.
However, you need to have the fund to pay for a domain and hosting platform.
If you consider using the Shopify platform, you need to have about $10 for the domain name and $29 for the Shopify monthly payment fee.
If you choose to use the WordPress platform, then also you need a domain and hosting fee.
Simple advice: No matter the platform you choose, you need to host your website for at least 2 years. That is to say, in total, you may need about $500 to start a dropshipping business.
You can read our post on how to generate free traffic to your website.
Is dropshipping easy?
The simple answer is NO!
There is no easy business and so dropshipping cant be considered to be easy, but with the right guide, it may look easy. Just know that it’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
What is the easiest thing to dropship?
There is no easier thing to dropship as you can’t guarantee the choice of the buyers, but here in our article, we have listed about 10 best dropshipping niches you can look up to select your desired selling product.
Is dropshipping passive income?
Yes, dropshipping can guarantee you passive income, and this is mainly possible if you engage in an organic form of dropshipping.
Can I start dropshipping with no money?
Yes, if you can learn how to use free marketplaces, know how to use free web pages, and also be able to drive organic traffic to your page.
But to start a professional dropshipping business, you need a little funds to get going.
Do you need Shopify to dropship?
There are many platforms you can use to start your dropshipping business Just find the one that suits you based on your budget and functionalities and start with that.
Can you combine dropshipping and affiliate marketing?
Yes, you can combine both, and the best part is that it may not be noticed if you have knowledge on how to use blog posts to drive free organic traffic to your website.
Conclusion
Reading through this article you will get to understand that starting a dropshipping business is something you need to plan and take a necessary step to avoid being frustrated along the line.
Learning how to start a Dropshipping Business from Scratch can be said to be simple, but putting what you’ve learned into action is another huge task you must endeavor to do.
So you can take this post as a guide to plan out and start your dropshipping business and let us know how far you’ve gone with your steps, also let us know if you have questions about any of the steps above in the comment section below.
Related post: How to start and run an e-commerce business.
Related post: What to sell online to make money.
