How You Can Start Dropshipping Business ?


Drop shipping is the most popular business model and is making new records.

Ecommerce is Trillion Dollar market and Drop shipping is part of it.

If you are thinking to start Drop Shipping business then read full article and Bookmark this page. Because you will need this in future too.

What is Dropshipping ?


When you run a dropshipping business, you sell goods without buying them first. Instead, you contact with a supplier who will send the goods directly to your customer.

This can be started from home or from one room office.

 To start your own dropshipping business, you should identify the product you want to sell and also find reliable suppliers who are willing to dropship on your behalf. You must register your business with government and obtain all required permits and licenses.

When you are ready to find customers, create a website to sell.


Find Your Niche


There are thousands of dropshipping businesses launched and it can be difficult to compete on price alone. So for that you need to find a niche and decide what sets you apart from your competition.

Niche should be good where you can add value. For Example, You can sell Construction products and also write blog on those products. Or You can sell health products and also write some articles on diet plans and health plans.

Plan on selling products that are hard to purchase locally but can be brought online.

Your products shouldn't be too cheap. A good niche is one where the product cost more. This price point allows you to make a solid profit from each sale without having to provide a lot of customer support. When you charge more, customers usually want to talk to a person before buying.


Find Your Supplier


After choosing your niche, find suppliers who are wiling to dropship with you. What you can do find suppliers.

Search wholesale suppliers and then the product you want to sell. You can find them on various supplier websites. Dig deep on internet or your local market or go to wholesale market in your area.

If you know the manufacturer of the product, then you can contact the manufacturer directly and ask for a list of distributors and products.


Find Your Competitor Supplier


This could also be the way to find your supplier. You can find other dropshipping sellers and locate their suppliers.

You can ask them or check out their website or everything to locate their suppliers. These suppliers would like to be on your platform too. So try them.


Ask Some Questions To Suppliers


After identifying possible suppliers, reach out to them and ask if they can handle drop shipping. Not every supplier will agree.

Supplier might be hard to reach, so plan on sending emails and making regular calls until you reach the right person.

Ask these questions:

How long does it take to ship them after order placing ?

Do they offer warranties on their products? If a product is defective, then you want them to replace it.

What quality control system they use ?

What is their minimum product cost, so that you can place their product online. If your competitor have the same product at low cost, then you can easily compete them.

Discuss Return policies.

Payment they take weekly, daily or monthly?

and Some more question according to your requirement.


Choose Best-Selling Product


Once you've found your suppliers, You should go through their products and check which item you want to sell. Ideally, you want to sell products that are in high demand.

You can do market research on products.

You can find out the most demanded product by using Google Keyword Tools. This tool provide the data number of people searched the term. For example, if you want to sell ear buds, then check how many people have searched for that term.

Check every complete listing on amazon, ebay ,etc. Go to "advanced search" and check the "Complete listing" box. Then enter keyword and category. As you scroll through the pages of listing, check items that sell 60% or more. These items are usually popular.


Terms With Suppliers


You should agree with terms of suppliers, they need you should complete their application terms form. They may also request a copy of your reseller's certificate, business license or other documents, you need to build business relation first.

Also, you should discuss payment terms with the supplier. You can pay upfront or pay on terms. When you pay upfront, you pay for orders that placed at that time. With pay on terms, you pay for orders by the end of month, year or week.

You are just starting out, suppliers might only agree to work with you if you pay upfront. After you establish your reliability, they might be willing to change their billing.


Select Selling Platforms


There are two ways to dropship. You can create your own eCommerce site or you can sell on an existing marketplace. Selling on existing marketplace requires less work but you will be lost in crowd of sellers.

You can create your own eCommerce store with Shopify, BigCommerce or Wordpress.

Another way you can purchase Domain and Hosting from Bluehost and create your own website.

If you want to sell on Marketplace then don't just sell on Amazon, diversify your self, sell on every platform you want.


Set-up Payment Gateway to your Website


If you will be selling on marketplace like amazon etc. then they will process your payment.

If you are selling on your eCommerce site, you will need a merchant account and a payment gateway account so that your client can pay online.

There are lot of payment gateways available you can search online.

Paypal is also one of them. It is easiest way to process payments. I have been using this for my clients If you are Indian then you can use RayzorPay or Cashfree. They both are good for Indian market.


List Your Products on Website


You have product but now what matters the most is price. Right Price is important.

You don't want to price too high and loose your customers to competitors. If you price too low, then you will not be able to make profit out of it. Remember, There are other charges which should be included like Shipping, Transaction Charges, Marketing Charges, etc.

Also, Tell your customer about your shipping and return policies in your product description. Customer need to know before placing order.


Purchase Product from Supplier When you get Order


As a Dropshipper, you wait for customer to order from you. Then you order from your supplier. Make sure not to delay in shipping, because delay cause your customer to wait more.

Pay your supplier some upfront so that he will not delay your order.

If you receive a tracking number, then hold onto it and track the product so that you know when it has arrived.


Update to Customer about Order


You should stay in contact with the customers after they purchase a product. Send follow-up emails telling when the product will be delivered. Also Provide your contact information , so that they can contact you if any problem arises.

You can also send them promotional mails for new products.

You can use services for sending emails and i will recommend you should try GetResponse. Register for free emails, if you like service then purchase for bulk emails.


Customer Support


Problem can arise in every business. In dropshipping, you will face more like a supplier might not be trustworthy and he is  not sending your product Or Supplier doesn't package the product securely and it breaks on the way to your customer.

You can protect yourself by having multiple suppliers for most of your products. This will  act as your Plan B if your supplier can't deliver.

When a product is sold out, You can give your customer reward for free instead of cancelling order talk and give then another option.

Remember to stay in contact with your supplier. You have to build strong bond with suppliers so that they can provide some solutions at your worst time.


Market You Dropshipping Site  


There are many ways to market your site to reach potential customer. You should try different marketing techniques and figure out which works best. You can read The Ultimate Guide on Digital Marketing to understand more.

You can put  Google Ads and Facebook Ads to attract customers.

You can also try social media and connecting with influencers to market your site.

You can also start writing blogs to attract traffic because blog is the best way to attract traffic and build trust with your audience. You can check How to Start a Blog ?



I hope these steps will help you in building great dropshipping business. If you have any questions comment below and i will answer. Best time to start dropshipping in now. Don't waste in thinking start preparing and make it working.