Drop Shipping For Beginners: The Ultimate Concise Guide

Imagine selling a product to your customers that you neither make nor stock. The only part of the process you are involved in is the transaction and getting paid. That is precisely what drop shipping is, and you can make some serious money from it. Find out how below. 

Pick your area

First of all, you need to decide what area you drop shipping business will work in. The best choice here is to choose a niche where you already have an interest and some knowledge, which can be invaluable later on. 

For example, if you are a car enthusiast and love nothing better than cleaning your vehicle at the weekend while not starting a car cleaning products drop shipping business? Similarly, if you love home decor, you can use your eye to pick out the latest trends and ship them to your customers. 

You may even wish to combine your other talents with drop shipping. For example, artists can get prints, and other items like tea towels and clothing with their work printed on drop shipped very quickly, now. 

See what is selling 

To be successful in drop shipping, you need to be ahead of the trends. This means doing plenty of research into your closest competitors and the prices they are offering. 

Additionally, staying abreast of social media in your area is also a smart idea. This is because you can start to get a feel of what is begging to trend and get in on things on the ground floor. 

Supplier

Once you have a good idea of what is selling, you need to locate a supplier. Fortunately, there are many drop shipping businesses and platforms that have now been set up. Something that means finding a manufacturer that can deliver direct to your client at the right piece is a great deal more simple than it used to be. 

Website / platform

After securing your supplier, it’s time to decide where you will sell your goods. You have two main options here, to start up your own website, or to use a platform that is already in use like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy. 

Of course, the option that you choose will affect your sales and profits. The advantages of the big-name platforms are that they offer easy visibility and marketing. However, they will also take a significant cut of your sale price. 

Alternatively, setting up your own website can be used to retain all of your profits from each sale. Although, as a small fish in a big pond, you will need plenty of marketing to drive enough traffic. 

Evaluate and evolve

Drop shipping is not a static way of selling things. In fact, if you expect to only set up a few products to sell, then you won’t get very far. Instead, the approach you need to take is one of volume, which accounts for the ever-changing trends in the market. 

That means keeping a close eye on your analytics, and focusing on what is doing well before the bubble breaks is the best approach.