What dropshipping means?

what dropshipping seems simple on the surface. It involves you setting up your own e-commerce print on demand store and contacting the dropshipping suppliers who take your orders and ship those orders to your customers. This is slightly different from accomplishing e-commerce.

In short, it is designed so that you don't have to stock any inventory and you don't have to worry about shipping costs or logistics.

Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, not so fast.

Here's exactly how it works:

In the drop-shipment scenario:

(1) The customer pays you for the product.

(2) Only after receiving the money from the customer, you pay the supplier to fill the order.

(3) The supplier sends the final product directly to the customer.

In the classic business model:

(1) You get the materials or components of the product from the supplier + at this stage, you also have to pay the supplier.

(2) The customer pays you for the product.

(3) You send the product to the customer.

As you can see, the most important difference between direct delivery and the traditional way of doing dropshipping business is that you have no product inventory. Instead success with print on demand, you only pay when the customer has already given you the money for the order.

This makes shipping one of the few business models where you don't need to spend money before the customer actually pays you, which minimizes a lot of your risk.

Chapter #2: Advantages and disadvantages of what dropshipping means

Online retailing is over X billion dollars and is expected to reach X billion dollars by 2020. Much of this pie will let shippers down.

What is dropshipping: advantages and disadvantages

Good income potential with probably few barriers to entry. You outsource a large part of your customer satisfaction. Someone else builds and ships the product. This is just a huge part of the overall customer experience. If something goes wrong with your supplier, the customer won't blame you anymore. Usually you lose quality control because you can't see or use the product before it is sent to the customer.

Independent location (for the most part). For small individual businesses, most of the time you just need a laptop and an Internet connection. It's more likely that you'll run into imitators - people who are trying to do exactly what you're doing.

Less capital required for the initial investment. With direct delivery, you don't make anything yourself, so you don't need to invest in inventory, materials, tools or anything else related to creating a product. Returns can be difficult. Depending on your agreement with your suppliers, customers may be required to return products to you, and then you have to deal with the return/complaint process. During this time, it can be difficult to keep the customer happy.

You buy from your suppliers only after you have already earned your money. You lose quality control / speed of delivery. In a company where you do everything from A to Z, you also control (almost) everything. This includes all things related to shipping. With a what dropshipping company, by definition, delivery a part is outside of your control.

It's easier to grow your business. Quite simply, as a direct delivery company, the increase in your sales volume is not so much related to higher revenue/operating expenses. Your suppliers do the bulk of the work in this department... with one exception - more about that in the corresponding cell "As you grow, more sales means more customer support. This is the one area you can't escape. Even if the suppliers process your orders, customer support is always there. It's just simple math. While selling 100 vs. 10 products doesn't cost you more, supporting 100 vs. 10 customers is.

Less overhead. There is:

no storage needed, because you don't keep any product with you,

no need to pack anything,

no need to track your inventory,

No need to hire more staff to manage more products or sales.

Easier to rotate or change direction. If your current direct delivery business model isn't working well, it's easier to change direction and start offering something else. Compare this to the traditional model... where you would need to invest in new tools, materials, processes and more.

Go through the list of advantages and disadvantages above and think about what you think about each one. Is one of them a show or a game changer for you? The goal is to learn something about yourself and your approach to the direct delivery business model. Having your state of mind and a good idea of how you feel about the pros and cons will help you decide if Drop Ship is something for you - which is the subject of the next chapter.

Chapter 3: Is Drop Shipment Right for You?

Did you know that, according to E-DSS.org, nearly 27% of Web retailers have switched to DSD as their primary method of order fulfillment.

The first honest answer you really need to give yourself is whether Drop Ship is something you should actually do, and not so much whether it's something you can do. You need to consider all the pros and cons, and also check if the model fits your vision, your goal and your actual market/niche.

To help you, let's start with the most common misconception in what dropshipping... and probably also the main cause of the failure of many what print on demand companies.

Which drop shipment is not

Let's get one thing clear. Contrary to what this fictitious snake oil salesman told you, what dropshipping is not about sitting on the beach and doing nothing. Far from it!

"what dropshipping = easy money" is a very bad attitude.

Think of it this way:

what dropshipping is mainly about subcontracting the most annoying parts of the production and/or selling a product.

In a scenario like this, you let the professionals take care of what you're not good at or what you can't profitably do yourself.

Just to give you an example - and it will be a recurring example in this guide because it is easy to understand - if you want to sell best designer t-shirt dropshipping products, but you don't know how to setup a print on demand business, you have two options:

(a) Learn how to sew or hire someone who can.

(b) Outsource the entire production process to someone who masters it and take care of other aspects of the business.

In other words, the company is still yours - you are the brain behind everything. The only difference is that instead of managing everything in-house, you outsource product development/assembly and order fulfillment.

what dropshipping sounds like a great concept when you look at it, but to really take advantage of it, you have to find your own place in the market and choose a niche that you can really serve.

And it may not be as simple as you think.

Action Tip #2:

What do you see as your main challenges in what dropshipping? Write down your main concerns 5. Having them on paper will help you decide if they are serious enough to prevent you from trying the what dropshipping model in your business.

Chapter # 4: Choosing Your Niche, Market and Finding Suppliers

Another misconception about what dropshipping is that you can start in almost any niche imaginable and that you will be able to make it profitable, regardless of your previous experience.

This is simply not true.

Keep in mind that no matter what market you enter, you will encounter several competitors - competitors much more experienced than you, who may have been in this market for years now and probably have a much better understanding of customers and their needs.

The fact that your initial costs are low - due to the direct delivery model - does not mean that you will be able to compete effectively with them.

That's why you should really choose a niche that you know and understand. This will give you additional advantages over competitors who may not have invested as much research or personal experience.

And don't get me wrong, you don't necessarily need the salesperson's experience in the niche, but the following would help a lot:

What is dropshipping with Techtoprint ?

you yourself are a consumer in this niche - you've bought a number of products in this niche, and you understand what's good/poor about them and how to make things better;

you have professional or academic expertise - you are trained in this specific area, which allows you to approach it at a more professional level with perfect Printers;

you've already done some research in this niche - even if it's only among friends and family, but the fact is you have a first-hand understanding of the target audience;

you've seen other companies in the niche go up and down, you know the mistakes and how to avoid them;

etc.

Having some understanding of the niche will not only help you to be more competitive and respond better to your customers, but it is also particularly important when dealing with suppliers who send products directly to your customers.

Without any knowledge of the niche, you will not be able to grasp anything shady about product quality, process, price or anything else related to it (read: you will fail).

How to find suppliers / drop off shippers

This is the case in most industries, and even more so in the field of direct shipping: finding quality suppliers is essential to your success.

Let me say it again... finding quality suppliers is critical to your success.

How about taking a step back. If you're working in the traditional model - where you hold inventory - and you mess something up, at least you have the means to fix it and give it all back to your customers. After all, you control the whole process.

But in the direct-delivery model, if orders delivered to your customers are less than normal, it's basically back to the drawing board for you. Since everything depends on your suppliers, you can't just fix what they've done wrong. The only thing you can do is find new suppliers. However, this is not always feasible on site and your brand reputation could suffer in the meantime.

That's why working with the right suppliers is crucial.

Okay, so how to find those suppliers:

1. Think local

Thinking the room is my first recommendation, only because it is the easiest web2print solutions to manage. In most cases, it facilitates contact with the supplier.

Specialized drop-shopping companies found on the web are perfect for finding suppliers with more competitive prices or for finding niche products that may not exist in your area - and we'll talk more about that in a minute - but they may not be the first choice for your specific market.

Sometimes, or rather often, you can find local suppliers ready to deliver to your customers if you just have a conversation with them and offer them a good deal.

For example, there is this home bakery in my area that has become a direct delivery ship supplier over the years. Basically, they started by baking great cakes and selling them wholesale in local cafes, where they were sold by the piece (standard model).

Techtoprint dropshipping means business strategy

But then these cafés noticed that customers liked the cakes so much that they began to wonder how they could get them. So the cafés began collecting customer orders and sending them to the bakery.

In this model, the cafés receive the order, receive payment from the customer, then buy the cake from the bakery, and the bakery delivers the cake to the customer's door. Classic drop shipment.

This is just an example, and it may not apply to your specific situation, but I hope you can see that the possibilities are really endless with local businesses.

The easiest way to get started would be to think about how you can make a deal with a local webprint supplier, which would eventually allow them to sell their products to a wider audience through your online store.

2. Try online suppliers

what dropshipping companies

Another place to look, once you've exhausted all local possibilities, are different online providers.

The good news is that there really is more than you can fight for. The world leader, Aliexpress offers the largest directories of Chinese suppliers, while platforms like Salehoo or Oberlo not only connect you with suppliers, but also offer additional value.

SaleHoo has excellent training resources, a support forum and market research tools that help you estimate profit margins and research trends. Oberlo, on the other hand, is ShopifyThe integrated direct delivery platform of.

Here you can find some of our preferred direct delivery companies (vendors and web2print software) that operate on the web. But don't take this as a gospel, be proactive and do your own research. It's a good start, though.

Things to watch out for when choosing suppliers

No matter where you go to look for suppliers, you should also be aware of some red flags that could indicate that a supplier is not great:

Browse online reviews and sites such as Trustpilot, or even Google. Look for negative reviews or opinions about your suppliers.

Be careful with running costs. Suppliers who charge fees just for the opportunity to work with them can be a scam.

Do your math when faced with minimum order sizes. This is something you may encounter with larger suppliers.

Action Tip #3:

Create two lists:

The first is for local companies that can potentially deliver ships to you. You don't need many entries on this list. Even 1-3 is enough.

The second list is for online shippers who have the type of products you need. Having entries 3-5 would be cool.

Go through each list and plan how you will reach these companies.

All right, once you've completed the vendors, it's time to think about what products you can offer. You probably already have ideas... that's where the next step comes in. Hold on to your seat:

Techtoprint dropshipping means powerful tools

Chapter 5: Don't think about products - think about how you can add value.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but just thinking that you can be a mere middleman won't work.

If you don't add value, you won't succeed.

"Wait and see! Isn't that the whole direct delivery thing, getting someone else to process the order after you've cashed out the payment?! There's no room to add more value to that, is there?! - you ask.

Well, actually, there's plenty of room.

Possible approaches to 4:

Method No. 1: "The Adolescent Method"

Among the many things that teens want - as far as I know - is either to be different from their peers or at least to be perceived as different (in a positive way, however).

Translate this into direct delivery... you should position the specific products you sell differently from web to print software to everyone else.

The ultimate goal is to be able to stand out and be unique, even if, at some point, a competitor starts using the same web 2 print shipper.

If you don't add value in some way, it will be impossible.

Take Teespring for example.

(Some will say that Teespring is an affiliate business - where you just promote other people's products - but the line between affiliate and direct delivery can be very thin, so let's just go for the purposes of this guide).

Techtoprint dropshipping means creative advertising templates

Teespring is a place where people go if they want to buy cool t-shirts. But what's interesting is that the market is community driven. Everyone can come and create their own t-shirts and put them on sale. If someone buys, Teespring takes care of the order.

If you want to sell with them, what you bring to the scene are your unique creations. These unique designs are your added value. That's what makes you unique, and that's what differentiates one seller from another, even if they both use Teespring.

The key here is to position your product to be different and/or customizable. Many similar to shopify providers allow this.

In addition, you need to think about profit margins. In general, the more customization you introduce into the product - the more you contribute - the higher your margins can be. Even stick with the basic example of t-shirts. Direct delivery of white t-shirts doesn't leave you much dropship printing margins, but t-shirts with original designs can range from 3 to 10 times the asking price of a white t-shirt.

Method No. 2: "The angle grinder method".

Make your bids based on the angle, rather than on the best print on demand platforms product.

Let me use another example to illustrate my point.

And it's going to be a really boring example: selling car insurance.

From now on, any kind of insurance is technically a virtual product, because the customer doesn't get a product that he can keep. They just come with a promise. Nevertheless, it is still a product in its own right.

So if you sell car insurance using a naked product approach, you're probably going to market your offers like everyone else ... Basically, you focus on the product.

Another solution is to take that generic product and try to find the angle you can use to market it.

For example, you can investigate all insurance plans, analyze them in depth and make a list of those that are best suited for performance-optimized cars and car modification enthusiasts. The plans your company offers are only for that personalized print on demand customer - the customer who likes to drive fast and modify his car.

By providing them with tailor-made plans, you take a niche angle. In the end, you are selling something similar to your competitors, but you have invested your time to find out what really suits your target customer.

You can do something similar in most niches.

Techtoprint dropshipping means effective web to print shop creator

Method No. 3: "The Cleanex Method".

The third method is simply to clear up the confusion and make the product clearer as a whole.

Many suppliers sell products that do not have a clear purpose or target market. Other products contain unclear user manuals or even unclear sales literature, so customers don't know what to do with them or even why they should buy.

You can do it all clearly.

Some possibilities:

Market the product via your own personalized descriptions and promotional materials.

Create a "Getting Started Guide" for the product.

Create a "Best Setup" package in which you tell the shopify competitors customer the cheaper alternative to shopify to configure the product (while dealing with technology tools, machines or even vehicles, for example).

Offer additional support and customer service packages.

Method No. 4: "The additional offer".

This applies to those of you who already operate an online store and are looking for ways to expand your inventory.

You can consider direct delivery as a good way to complement your current print on demand business offer.

A good start would be to research the types of products your customers buy most often and look for shippers that can provide additional products (products that go with what you have).

This way, you can add new products to your portfolio and at the same time not have to produce them yourself.

Example: Selling custom exercise apparel? How about adding home exercise equipment.

Action Tip #4:

The above methods seem to be the most likely to work for you?

Order them from most likely to least likely.

Take entry #1 and brainstorm specific ideas on how to bring your life to life. Where will you start? How will you add value specifically? What will you customize? What will you customize? Etc.

Techtoprint dropshipping means powerful shop

Final product thoughts

At the end of the day, the product is obviously the most important element and differentiating factor. Without good products, you won't get very far.

But the message I want to leave you with shopify alternative free is not to expect you to win a jackpot on the first. try dropship custom t-shirts. Any business, including direct delivery, involves a lot of trial and error.

So once you have an idea for a specific product, just go for it. Put it on offer. See how the market reacts. Then improve. Then repeat.

Chapter 6: Creating a Web Site for Direct Delivery

Okay, so all of the above was still what I would call preparation for starting a drop ship business. What's coming now are the easy print on demand technical elements related to all over print on demand website.

First things first, need a website to do all this work. This website will serve you in many ways:

This is where your customers see the products and can order them.

This is where you collect payments from customers.

This is where you manage the orders.

This is where you can configure the pipeline and then send those orders to your suppliers.

This is where your suppliers can contact you and let you know that the print on demand pet products order has been placed.

In one sentence, the website powers your entire what dropshipping business.

Now, before I scare you, building a high quality website for this purpose is no longer difficult, especially in 2016.

You don't need to hire a designer or any other "website professional". You can do most of the work yourself.

For example, Shopify has an excellent guide about direct delivery, and they have made it clear that they have a system in place for those who abandon products from ships. This means that you can simply and securely sign up with Shopify - a hosted website service - and they will help you create and launch your direct shipping website from scratch with minimal technical hassle.

Action Tip #5:

Techtoprint dropshipping means optimized shop for search engine ( SEO )

This one is simple. Shopify offers a free trial. Just take them up on that offer and test the platform for yourself. If you don't like it, no problem. There are a few alternatives there too.

Free Webinar: How to get a profitable what dropshipping store up and running quickly

Find out how to find high-margin products, import them into your store and start selling fast.

Chapter 7: Marketing Your Online Store

Creating a successful e-commerce business what dropshipping is not just about finding the right suppliers and listing your products online. In most cases, you will not be able to simply list your product and assume that members of the public will find you, as they would on Amazon or eBay.

what dropshipping works best when you know how to market the products you sell successfully online print on demand drop shipping. Once you've found your ideal product and built a store that embodies your brand, it's time to market with everything you have.

If you're starting out on a relatively tight budget and don't have a lot of money to spend to make your business stand out, don't panic. There are many things you can do to promote your business that don't cost too much. Here are some ideas to help you get started:

Social Media Advertising: You can easily spend thousands of dollars on social media advertising, but you don't have to go down that road. You can advertise your dropship store on platforms like Facebook keeping your budget low and targeting only the most specific people you know will like your products. It's a good idea to initially focus on a small target area with your store. Even if you can ship worldwide, it will cost you less to work with a what dropshipping company in the country where you and them are located. The smaller your target area, the less you spend on advertising and shipping.

Retargeting Ads: If your budget is very tight, retargeting ads are excellent for reducing your costs, while attracting people to your business. Retargeting ads work by re-engaging customers who have already seen your products and business online. There are many tools that can help you retarget when you set up your e-commerce platform. The idea is to re-advertise products that your customers have already seen, encouraging them to return to the shopping cart.

Influence marketing: Starting a what dropshipping business will initially require a lot of work. However, setting up an influence marketing campaign is a great way to give your business a boost. Influencers are brilliant at pushing your product to the right people. Keep in mind that it is best to stick with the smaller influencers at the outset, as they are usually less expensive. However, good micro-influencers should always help you transform your retail business and get more orders from customers.

Content Marketing: Content marketing can be an expensive way to promote your what dropshipping products in some cases. If you pay for professionals to write your content, it's easy to run out of money quickly. However, if you know your e-commerce site and brand well enough, you may be able to write your own content and start there. Although content marketing may not help you take too much advantage of the benefits of what dropshipping to begin with, it will improve your search engine rankings. This means you'll get more organic traffic in the long run.

Reviews and Testimonials: Finally, if you have a successful what dropshipping business that delivers products as quickly as traditional solutions web2printretail businesses, ask your customers for feedback. Reviews and testimonials from satisfied customers are perfect for generating social proof for your brand and giving you new ways to connect with your audience. You can even ask your customers to leave their opinions on a variety of leading web2print shop websites.

As you begin to master the marketing process for your small business, make sure you remember to optimize it as well. Just like content marketing, optimizing your website with meta descriptions, backlinks and other essential SEO cues is crucial. Although SEO is more of a long-term strategy than a solution to instantly attract more what dropshipping customers, it is essential if you want to develop a successful brand over the long term.

Many of the top online retailers spend a decent amount of time and effort ensuring that they can connect with search engine intermediaries when trying to reach customers.

Chapter # 8: Shipping and Returns

We have one last point to cover in this what dropshipping guide, and it is a particularly important one. Remember that you must always make sure that you manage shipments and returns correctly, even with dropship providers. While it's true that your what dropshipping companies will provide products to your audience for you, it's up to you to make sure that they provide the right experience.

Choose the wrong dropship suppliers for your supply chain and you could end up with products that will never reach their customers. Then it's up to you to manage the complicated refund process.

Be sure to start by choosing a what dropshipping provider not dropshipping print on demand only based on the wholesale price of their products, but also on the type of service and fast delivery they can offer. Choosing someone who offers several shipping options, such as expedited shipping, etc., is also a good start.

Once you know which shipping providers you can trust, the next step is to determine how to handle dropship returns.

Returns are never fun in any business, but if your customer decides they don't want your item in a dropship situation, you will need to make sure you get your money back from your supplier, and you will need to re-deliver their products as well. This is one of the few drawbacks of what dropshipping. Here are a few steps to get started.

Know the return policy

When shopping for what dropshipping suppliers, pay special attention to the general conditions they have on their site. What kind of process do they have to accept returns. Do they refund your credit card immediately or are there other issues to consider?

How long do you have to return the product after a sale?

Does the customer have to pay the return shipping costs?

Will incorrect orders be returned free of charge?

How is the return experience managed?

Create your return policy

Once you know how your suppliers handle returns, you can make sure you have a policy that matches theirs. You should use your supplier's policy as a framework and make sure you don't give your customers promises you can't keep. For example, if your supplier has a 30-day return window, don't give your customers 40 days.

Ideally, you want to give your customers a little less time to return their product to you, so that you have time to deliver the product to the supplier to account for delays and shipping problems. If you have multiple suppliers, try to cover all claims under your policy. For return times, use the supplier with the shortest return time as a guideline. This will ensure that you get all products back in a timely manner.

Another good idea is to make sure that you do not provide a return address in your terms and conditions or contact pages. Tell your customers that if they wish to make a return, they can contact you. This will allow you to provide the customer with the address of the what dropshipping supplier, saving time and shipping costs. You don't really want your audience to send you first, as this only wastes time.

Only accept returns that also have a tracking number. The last thing you want is for your customer to pretend to have shipped your item, but it got "lost in the mail" without proof. You need to make sure that a tracking number is included so that you can follow the product every step of the way.

Techtoprint dropshipping means success

Managing the return process:

Once your return policy has been properly set up, all you need to do is make sure you know how to manage returns from start to finish print on demand. The average return policy should look something like this:

Your customer sends you an e-mail or a message requesting a return. You find out why the customer is returning the product, then you contact your supplier and request a Return Merchandise Authorization number. You will need to apologize to the customer and take responsibility for not being satisfied with your product if you want a chance to get it back in the future.

Hopefully your supplier will approve the return. They will give you the return address and number you requested so that your customer can send the product directly to them. Depending on the supplier's return policy, you may need to include your number on the shipping label, rather than on the shipping box. A tracking number will also be essential so that you can ensure that your customer actually sends the product.

When the package arrives, you have a few options. If your customer sends the package to you, inspect the item and take pictures so you know exactly how you are returning the product to the supplier. If the supplier receives the item, stay in touch to see when the package arrives. You should then be able to request a refund.

Once you get your refund and everything is settled, take care of your customer. This may mean sending a refund to your customer or requesting a replacement item, if the customer requests it.

Conclusion

Now you know exactly what dropshipping is and how you can succeed with your own what dropshipping website. Just to recap:

(1) It all starts with finding a relatively untapped niche and validating it.

(2) Then you need to locate suppliers that will be reliable and useful in your what dropshipping journey.

(3) Find out how you can add value through the products you offer.

(4) Launch a website connecting all the points together.