What is dropshipping in simple words? How to find a supplier for an online store? How does dropshipping collaboration work to sell products?

Hello dear friends! Welcome to Alexander Berezhnov, one of the founders of HiterBober.ru magazine.

How to sell a product without even having it in stock? My answer is simple - with dropshipping!

In this article, I will tell you in simple terms how to organize the dropshipping sales process, where and how to find a reliable supplier, and what products are good to sell using this model.

So let's go!

1. What is dropshipping - definition and scheme of work

English word " Dropshipping"means" direct delivery". The meaning of this system lies precisely in the direct supply of goods from the manufacturer to the consumer.

Dropshipping- This is an online store sales system in which the goods are sent directly from the manufacturer to the buyer, that is, in fact, mediation.

The organizer of the business acts as a transmission link: he is looking for demand and implements the offer. In other words, the intermediary finds the client, the goods and ensures their meeting.

Dropshipping example in plain language

You create a website on the Web, for example, in the format of an online store, and in fact you are just an electronic storefront. You don't have to buy the items yourself!

The main advantage of this scheme is the absence of costs for the purchase of goods by the entrepreneur. He does not need start-up capital to purchase the initial batch of products: he immediately pays for it with the client's money, and puts the difference between the purchase and final price in his pocket.

In theory, everything sounds simple, but in practice, in order to make a profit, the scheme must be worked out to the smallest detail.

What is the main obstacle when opening your own online store with a standard approach? - in the absence of start-up capital and ignorance of the specifics of this business.

A dropshipping business allows you to do without initial investments and with almost zero initial capital.

Suppliers with this way of doing business, of course, do not work for nothing and do not do charity work, but a well-functioning scheme of work allows entrepreneurs to make direct deliveries of goods to customers, bypassing the purchase stage.

Dropshipping has appeared relatively recently thanks to the development of Internet communications. Currently, there are hundreds of resources - suppliers of goods from China (or other countries) to online stores around the world.

For customers, the difference in price is small, especially since not all buyers have the opportunity and time to independently find Chinese sales sites and interact with them. This function is taken over by the online store of the intermediary, where you can shop comfortably, communicating with the seller in your native language.

The customer makes a purchase as quickly as possible:

• an order is placed on the website of the online store;
• courier service or mail delivers the goods.

The buyer does not care where the product came from in the seller's warehouse and how long it was there: the main thing is that the product is of high quality.

An entrepreneur (like you) places an order with a dropshipping supplier only if the customer places an order in his online store. This guarantees payment and eliminates the risk of investing. The client does not even realize that he is purchasing the goods from someone else: he does not need this information.

The goal of the owner of an online store is to attract customers by convincing them to purchase goods from him. Commissions of intermediaries in this business scheme are from 20% to 100%. Quite a decent income in the absence of start-up costs. At the same time, the entrepreneur does not worry that the goods he bought will gather dust in the warehouse for months.

The main thing is to find a reliable and profitable supplier!

Dropshipping suppliers from China and Russia offer an almost unlimited range of products: clothes, shoes, accessories, household appliances, communication devices, exclusive products.

Large manufacturers who do not want to engage in retail sales sell their products through online stores that act as a kind of showcases.

Along the way, online stores are engaged in marketing, advertising, processing transactions, accepting payments: everything that regular outlets do. Dispatch and delivery is carried out either by the manufacturer or by a partner company, if there is a preliminary agreement.

2. Advantages and disadvantages of dropshipping

Like any business, dropshipping has its pros and cons. Below in the table, we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of dropshipping compared to an offline business.

№	Comparison criteria	Dropshipping	Offline business
1	Start-up capital	Not needed (+)	Need (-)
2	Warehouse availability	Not needed (+)	Need (-)
3	Product quality assessment	Difficult (-)	Just (+)
4	Office rent	Not needed (+)	Need (-)
5	Profit Percentage	Large (+)	Various (±)
6	Competition	Large (-)	Large (-)

Starting your business, carefully analyze these criteria for your business.

Key Features of Dropshipping

Now more on the points about the 4 features when working on the dropshipping system.

Feature 1. No large initial investment required

Large start-up capitals are really not needed, but funds will still be needed to open an online store and promote it online.

In one of the previous articles, we already talked in detail. I recommend checking it out.

The main thing to focus on is the level of customer service. Dropshipping stores should provide as much information as possible about the product in a favorable light. High-quality images and photos of products must be present. This is especially true for dropshipping clothing and accessories.

Feature 2. Transparent and reliable operation model

This business model is trusted by consumers. This is a well-established sales strategy. A huge number of well-known chain stores in the world and in Russia operate on a dropshipping system - for example, a store such as Ozon or Ulmart 24.

Dropshipping products do not require warehousing, large purchases and allow you to offer customers a wider and more diverse range.

The product does not deteriorate, does not stale, does not go out of fashion, as it is constantly updated. No need to hire additional staff to pack products, check for defects.

All that is required of the owner is to monitor the attendance of his own trading platform and strive to increase the number of active customers. In fact, he acts as an intermediary between the manufacturer and the buyer.

Feature 3. Difficulties with price and competition

However, dropshipping is not an ecommerce paradise. As in other areas of business, there is competition and other pitfalls. Price cuts by large dropshipping companies, dumping, unscrupulous suppliers - all these factors reduce the financial profitability of your enterprise.

To succeed in the dropshipping business, you need to learn how to work with the offer and persuasion of customers. You can't base your firm's competitiveness on low prices alone.

Buyers are attracted not only by the low cost, but also by promotions, bonuses, special services that are not available in other stores.

You should work with several suppliers at once for an online store. This will avoid situations with the absence of specific goods in the manufacturer's warehouse at the moment (if one does not have it, the other will probably have it).

Feature 4. Interruptions in delivery times

Another disadvantage of dropshipping (if you work with China) is the delivery time. Sometimes goods from China take a very long time. You promise the client a delivery time of 2 weeks, and the package is delayed by 1.5-2 months.

As for the trade in products that you have not seen, this problem is completely solvable. Some manufacturers may send you a test sample of the product or give you the most detailed description of its functional characteristics.

Dropshipping platforms deal with a lot of orders and often make mistakes in logistics, delivery and other points. Reliable vendors are usually willing to pay damages at their own expense if their mistake is proven, but unscrupulous companies may ignore your claims.

In this case, it is better to shell out money to the client from your own pocket - a reputation in business is more expensive than momentary profit. Always focus on the customer: Firms that thrive in online retailing are those that place the customer at the center of their business model.

The main driving forces behind successful dropshipping in Russia are:

• effective advertising;
• customer orientation;
• selection of original marketing tools;
• creative approach to the implementation of business ideas.

Yes, the competition is great, finding your own niche is difficult and troublesome, but this does not mean that you need to give up in advance. In business, not only the most talented survive, but also the most patient and persistent. Keep moving in the given direction, and the result will definitely be.

3. How to start cooperation - 7 steps to open a profitable online store using the dropshipping system

In this section of the article, I will tell you how to start making money using the dropshipping system and share some of my experience on this topic.

Let's start with a practical example:

Now one of the most popular topics for making money on the Internet is "Business with China". Its essence lies in the fact that you buy cheap goods in bulk: for health, souvenirs, household appliances, and so on, and sell them at a higher price. Typically, the markup on goods from China ranges from 100% to 1000%. Think for yourself how much profit you can get here.

It is curious that at the initial stage it is possible to organize such trade without the direct purchase of goods through the dropshipping system and, having gained the necessary experience, already engage in wholesale purchases, earning more.

Business with China is a promising and profitable direction, but everywhere there are nuances. And if you want to avoid typical mistakes and earn your first money in the near future, you need a mentor.

Zhenya has already achieved great results in his business and at the same time teaches others. The team of our site is personally acquainted with Evgeny and we can vouch for the quality of his training.

For clarity, watch the video in which Evgeny's students talk about their success after completing the training:

Step 1. Study the market and define a niche

Perhaps your strategy is not to direct energy into an area where there is already maximum competition. Then try to offer customers something really new.

A preliminary and comprehensive analysis of the market is needed in those areas where competition is not yet so great or there is a possibility of improving the current schemes of interaction between the seller and the client.

In our opinion, a promising niche for dropshipping is not one that most flourishing online stores are engaged in. At first it will seem that absolutely all the places are occupied, but in fact there is always room for maneuver, you just need to look carefully.

Example

More and more young, middle-aged and old people want to live a healthy life and quit smoking.

At the same time, several large companies - manufacturers of electronic cigarettes and accessories offer cooperation on the dropshipping system to physical and legal partners. Why not try your hand at such a promising business?

You can make a list of your own interests and skills to narrow down the activities you want or can do. If you understand Chinese teas, modern iPhone gadgets, sports nutrition supplements, try converting your knowledge into profit.

Step 2. Create an online store

Creating an online store is a fairly popular business line at the present time.

4. How to find a supplier for an online dropshipping store?

We talked about the search for suppliers in general terms above, but here we point out that there are sites on the network with open and paid access to lists of suppliers.

For example, free lists can be found in communities on the social networks VKontakte and Facebook, or simply in search engines. Do not rush to use addresses from the first positions of search results: wholesale suppliers are not always strong in SEO promotion.

You can also work with large Russian-language dropshipping portals, for example, Ulmart 24 or textile company "Neotech" .

In Ulmart-24 you can find almost any consumer goods - from children's toys to computers and accessories for them. True, the store sells only wholesale lots and works exclusively with legal entities. In "Neotech" you can buy large quantities of any clothing for all ages.

Dropshipping options

There are 2 working schemes for selling goods through dropshipping:

• In the first In this case, the dropshipper independently finds a client, concludes a deal with him, takes an advance payment and settles with the supplier.
• In the second – the dropshipper simply finds a buyer, and the supplier accepts the payment. After that, the intermediary is deducted a certain percentage of the profits.

The first option is less risky. In the second case, your profits will depend on the integrity of the supplier. However, if you work with a reliable and well-known company, it is unlikely that he will risk his reputation and profit from ordinary sellers.

There is another option for dropshipping - you yourself find a major manufacturer of any goods in your region and offer him your services as an intermediary.

You can even conclude a full-fledged contract, which will spell out the key points of cooperation.

I will reveal a secret

Manufacturers are often interested in the services of distributors themselves, so do not think that you will be imposed on someone.

There is another, not entirely correct way to find a supplier - to find out who your competitors work with and offer your services to these firms at a lower price.

For successful work on the dropshipping system, it is advisable to involve modern services to increase income and facilitate the process of selling goods.

I recommend a useful resource in many respects www.apishops.com, which has its own database of ready-made one-page sites, a wide range of products and powerful order processing functionality.

I myself worked with Apishops for some time, but now I am engaged in a different business - creating and making money on information sites, I like it better.

5. Conclusion

So, let's sum up. I hope that after reading this article, dropshipping will no longer be an incomprehensible word for you, but will turn into a real opportunity to increase your own income.

As you can see, this way of earning money, or even better to say, starting a business has many advantages, especially for aspiring entrepreneurs. The main one is the absence of high costs for starting a business.

This method is not without drawbacks, for example, there are risks of running into unscrupulous suppliers. In general, the dropshipping model is very relevant and will continue to develop in the future.

Dear readers, if you have thoughts on this topic or experience in doing business according to the outlined scheme, do not hesitate to leave comments and feedback on the article.

For us it is very important. Thank you in advance!

What is vending - a complete overview of the concept and types of vending machines + instructions for starting a business on coffee machines

How to make money on dropshipping WITHOUT INVESTMENT - is it really possible or not?

This article will talk about how to make money on dropshipping. What it is and how to make a profit on it, you will learn on this page. First you need to understand what dropshipping is. This is a system that carries out direct deliveries of goods from the supplier to the buyer. In this case, you will act as an intermediary. You must find a buyer, then transfer the order to the supplier, who will send the goods to the buyer. You don't need to buy a product. You only submit an order for a supplier who has the required item for the buyer.

Earning benefits:

• 1. You can work in this area without any investment;
• 2. Before you start earning, there is an opportunity to test niches, and then choose one that suits you;
• 3. An unsold item will not stay with you;
• 4. There is no need to bother with delivery, the supplier will take care of this.

Disadvantages of earning:

• 1. You will not be able to control the balance of goods in stock;
• 2. You also cannot control the quality of the goods;
• 3. You will not be able to control the delivery time of the goods.

How much do you earn from dropshipping?

Many are interested in the question - what is profitable to sell today? You must determine the demand. As a rule, many companies sell products that are currently in trend. The most popular products today:

• Men's and women's clothing;
• Kids toys;
• Children's clothing;
• Sport equipment;
• Items for the interior;
• Cosmetical tools;
• Electronics;
• E-Sigs;
• Spare parts for cars;
• Phone cases.

As you can see, it is possible to make money with dropshipping. The main thing is to have a desire, a little patience and analyze the goods correctly. Then you can get a good profit, but at the same time you do not need to make an initial investment for this.

• Scheme of work
• Pros and cons of earning
• Search and sale of goods
• Suppliers in Russia
• Helpful Tips

On our site you can find many articles about how to make money online. Today I would like to consider another popular and sought-after type of earnings in 2019. Let's get started with dropshipping. Consider suppliers who work in Russia and determine how to make money on dropshipping without investment.

Scheme of work

To begin with, I would like to define dropshipping. This is a scheme for the delivery of products from the supplier to the buyer. You work as an intermediary, initially you are looking for a buyer, then you send an order to the supplier, and he, in turn, sends the goods to the buyer on your behalf. The supplier can be either a single manufacturer or a wholesaler. The supplier receives his income for the goods that you bought from him in bulk, and you can earn on the margin you set (the sale price you specified minus the wholesale price of the supplier). The difference you receive will be earnings. The scheme shows that such a business does not require your investments, and you can easily determine how much you can earn from each order.

In order to make money on dropshipping, you do not need to make a purchase and spend money on a warehouse or storage space for clothes.

Consider the example of selling covers on the Internet, the scheme of dropshipping:

1. Supplier search. There are a lot of them on the Internet, but you need to choose those who work on the dropshipping system. Familiarization with the proposed products, catalog and wholesale price.
2. Creation of an online store or group in social networks. Placement of your chosen items from the catalog and setting the price. The cost must be higher than in the catalog so that you can earn on dropshipping.
3. Filling the store and launching advertising.
4. Next, buyers get acquainted with the assortment, choose and order things, and make payment.
5. Place an order for your chosen items. Specify the address of the buyer and arrange delivery to this address. You pay for the order at the wholesale price. Thus, you can earn on the difference between the wholesale price and the sale price, that is, the margin that you indicated.
6. The supplier sends the order to the customer.
7. The client receives his order, the dropshipping supplier receives his money, and thus you can earn on the difference in price. Here is the answer to the question: how can you make money on dropshipping.

Pros and cons of earning

Dropshipping certainly has its advantages:

• Things that you could not sell are not stale with you.
• There are no problems with delivery, since you do not deliver.
• Business without investment.
• You can rank the best selling items and put them in
  priority, thus you can earn more.
• No need to "bother" with the search for goods, as it is already in
  directory.

Disadvantages of earning:

• You do not have the ability to control the dispatch of the order and the delivery time. If the supplier makes a mistake, the client will file a claim with you.
• You will not be able to determine the quality of things, since you do not have them on
  hands.
• It is impossible to control the rest of the goods in the catalog.

Search and sale of goods

You need to look for goods from dropshipping suppliers, or you can find a wholesaler and work with him individually. Suppliers can be searched both in Russia, Ukraine, and in China. You probably have a question: “What can be profitable to sell in order to make good money?” Everything can be sold! Research the demand first. Most companies buy products that are in high demand, are popular and can make good money on them. Sample list of popular products:

1. Clothing and footwear.
2. All for children.
3. Vapes, electronic cigarettes and hookahs.
4. Cosmetics.
5. Everything for the holidays (balloons, pompoms, props, etc.).
6. Bed sheets.
7. Accessories (watches, bags, etc.).
8. Phone cases.

Suppliers in Russia

Consider a couple of companies that are well-known and have positive reviews.

RusDropshipping

The company has no complaints, it has been operating on the market for a long time. Performs work in Russia and other CIS countries.

aliexpress

Aliexpress works on a dropshipping system. This is a large and popular site for the sale of Chinese goods. The big advantage of earning with Aliexpress is a huge range of products, an accessible description and a large number of reviews. Minus - long delivery.

May be of interest: How to earn on referrals on the Internet?

ApiShops

The company works with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The advantage of this company: they have ready-made groups and online stores on their site, thanks to this you have the opportunity to start selling right away. The company's website contains a large number of instructions that will help you make money on the sites provided. The company has positive reviews and has been operating in the market for a long time.

The first thing you need to do to start earning is to choose which dropshipping supplier you will cooperate with. It is necessary to study the assortment and working conditions of the supplier. To evaluate the quality of products and delivery times, order some item for yourself initially. So you can evaluate the purchased item and check how quickly you will receive it.

Today we talked about how to make money on dropshipping and covered all the important issues. We wish you an easy start in introducing your business. Try to delve as much as possible and study this topic before starting work. Prosperity and good luck in your endeavors!

Also read:

• How to make money on the VKontakte online store
• Earnings on the sale of Chinese goods on the Internet
• Earnings on Amazon - myth or reality

Dropshipping. This sales system is a magnet for novice online sellers. It is believed that dropshipping allows you to open an online store without investments, since money is not needed for the purchase of goods and its logistics. There are other advantages: creating a brand without a product, easy expansion of the range, and so on. But is it? Is dropshipping really beneficial for a novice webmaster? In this post: All the pros and cons of dropshipping, who really benefits from dropshipping and more.

The word "dropshipping" in translation means "direct delivery". This system allows you to sell physical goods without owning them. The seller (webmaster, let's call him that) attracts customers to his online store, takes the order and sends it to the supplier. The supplier, in turn, sends the order to the customer. Simply put, with dropshipping, you are actually selling someone else's products.

Beginning webmasters, everyone who wants to make money on the Internet, is promised that dropshipping allows you to enter sales “free of charge”, since money is not needed to purchase goods, store them, and logistically. Novice webmasters (more experienced ones are unlikely to do this) willingly believe in the promises of suppliers and all those who promote this system. However, is dropshipping really that good?

Let's start with the benefits of dropshipping.

• You don’t need a product, which means you don’t need investments in the purchase, you don’t need warehouses and logistics. I agree with this, and this is the only rational grain of this scheme.
• You can sell other people's products under your own brand;
• It is easy to expand the range.

That's all. And then, as we will see later, some of these alleged advantages hide a serious headache.

Now the cons of dropshipping.

The main disadvantage of this system is that all the difficulties of the scheme begin to appear only when you dive into it and begin to collect all the pitfalls on your fragile stern. I'll start right with the third "plus" - the expansion of the range.

I do not argue, there is nothing easier than expanding the range with dropshipping. You just need to select a new product and add it to your store. But it may happen that the new product will already be with another supplier, which means you need to negotiate again, choose the best one, and keep your finger on the pulse, since now you no longer have one supplier, but two. And imagine if you have a large store with a bunch of goods, most likely this will mean working with different suppliers and monitoring their actions. But this is already wilds, let's start with the more obvious disadvantages of this system.

1. You are to blame for everything.

By accepting an order, you will promise the client that you have excellent quality, fast delivery and excellent gift packaging. But the trouble is that with dropshipping you do not see the product, as well as the supplier himself. And if the supplier sends a defective product, then you, as the seller, will be responsible for this. The buyer will call you.

2. You don't know what the supplier will put in the order.

3. You don't have the ability to upsell.

Upsell allows you to significantly increase the profit of an online store. A customer placed an order with you, and you offer him an additional product at a discount. About 30% of clients willingly take up and upsell. Thus, you attract one client, but sell two products, and the second sale is free for you, since you do not spend money on advertising this product. With dropshipping, it is either difficult or impossible to implement an upsell system, since it happens that the second product needs to be looked for from another supplier.

4. You are not valuable to the market.

A serious point that novice webmasters do not know about. The task of a good seller is not to sell goods, anyone can sell, and there are millions of them. A good seller strives to become an exclusive seller, even if he sells the same as everyone else. To do this, he tries to come up with any chip that will allow him to stand out and stand out from his competitors. That is, in the language of marketing, it is trying to create its own USP (Unique Selling Proposition). It can be anything: special packaging, an additional gift to the client, or even a handwritten postcard.

You won’t surprise anyone with simple trading. Ordered, delivered, paid. Everyone is used to this, so a good seller always tries to give a little more. And if he succeeds, then the client is happy. And if he is happy, he tells his friends about the seller, posts photos on social networks, since he did not expect such care. And this, in turn, leads to a viral effect and brings in new customers, which means that advertising is reduced significantly. And these clients become his clients for life. And when a good seller buys a new product and makes a mailing to his database, they are the first to buy it, because he is great.

But, you can’t achieve this with dropshipping, since you don’t have a product interaction with the client. You are not the owner of your product, which means that all of the above can be done by your supplier, not you. And he will do it at your expense, but more on that below. With dropshipping, you are not valuable to the client, nor to the online market as a whole.

5. Pricing.

With dropshipping, in addition to the price of the goods, you must make yourself an extra charge. This markup should cover the cost of advertising and leave you with a profit. But the trouble is that now, with the developed technologies of context and retargeting, after visiting one site, you start seeing ads for similar sites and products in an hour. In this case, it is highly likely that your client, having placed an order with you, will see your competitor's store, only at the regular price, without the dropshipping markup. Guess he will redeem your goods from the post office after that? And if one of the competitors dumps, that is, frankly lowers the price. What can you do to counter it?

6. Your customers are not yours at all.

With dropshipping, you essentially give the supplier your customers, because this is the essence of this system. It turns out that your entire customer base is collected from your supplier. Moreover, he collects it for free, and will be able to start interacting with them directly at any time.

7. Costs are inevitable.

This minus is not obvious if you are a beginner webmaster. After all, they are luring you to that, promising a “free” entry into dropshipping. And I agree that you don’t need money for a product, but who told you that advertising on the Internet is free. Or do you already know how to massively attract targeted free traffic? If so, why are you dropshipping?

But it is also desirable to test the product in order to understand what type of advertising is best suited for it. In the end, it turns out that dropshipping is a scheme with investments, and possibly considerable ones.

And I'm not talking about dropshipping from China. If you intend to deal with this variety, then I advise you to think three times, since in addition to all of the above, a couple more serious minuses will be added.

First, the timing. People are ready to wait for delivery from China, but only when they know that the goods are coming from China. But you will have a Russian-language store, and the fact that the goods will come from China may come as a surprise to the buyer. Will he be willing to wait? Is not a fact.

Second, prepayment. With "Chinese" dropshipping, you must take a deposit to at least cover the cost of the product and its shipping. But the whole Internet is used to giving money when receiving the goods, that is, after its delivery. This is how most Runet sellers work, and most buyers are accustomed to this. It's like the default settings. Who are you, sorry, such that I give you an advance payment? - will not say, but your buyer will think. And if you do not clearly answer this question, then consider that you have lost a client.

As a result, we come to the conclusion that the dropshipping system is beneficial only to one side - the supplier. He buys goods, he does not spend money on advertising, he is not responsible for anything, plus he has your entire client base.

Dropshipping is possible, but it can only be full-fledged if there is a large organized service, the departments of which will process orders, monitor the assortment, make settlements with suppliers, and provide after-sales service. It is impossible for one person, especially a novice webmaster, to do this.

If you sleep and see yourself in dropshipping, isn't it easier to get into affiliate programs (AP)? After all, dropshipping is essentially the same thing. Affiliate programs also do not require goods, purchases, warehouses and logistics. But unlike dropshipping, PPs have a number of powerful advantages, such as:

• you don't need a store;
• you do not bother with taking orders;
• you are not responsible for the quality;
• you get a simple fixed remuneration, without increasing the price of the goods.

All you need is a computer and the ability to attract targeted traffic, the cheaper the better.

Thus, we can conclude that dropshipping is not only not recommended for an ordinary webmaster (and even more so for a beginner), but it is also directly contraindicated. Starting your online business with this old-fashioned scheme, you may become disillusioned with online marketing in general, and never find out that there are hundreds of other, more enjoyable and ambitious schemes for making money on the Internet than selling other people's products, taking full responsibility for them. !

That's all, see my new video for details.