In today’s digital era, the idea of building a online business by
dropshipping, e commerce etc. is increasing rapidly through out
the world. By the help of online business people with traditional
business, with small business, with no business yet are dreaming
to build a online business. Because dropshipping is now
emerging as a one of most popular e commerce option. Now, we
have question, is dropshipping worth it ? In this article we will
deep dive in the world of drop shipping to understand its pros,
cons, and many more factors, So get started.
What is Dropshipping ?
Drop shipping is a business model, where the store
owner/drop shipper doesn’t have to keep products inventory for
retail fulfillment. Instead, when a customer arrives to your
drop shipping store online and places an order, the drop shipper
purchases the product from a supplier/manufacturer ,who
packages the order and directly ships the order to the
customer’s given address, in conclusion.
You know why is this business model is popular for because it
eliminates the need of product inventory ,storage costs, and
other upfront investments in products, however this makes it ultimately one of the
most popular among all e commerce option for beginner
entrepreneurs.
But is dropshipping worth it as a long term business strategy?
Does it can be a career ? Let’s explore its pros, cons.
The Pros of Dropshipping are
Here are some drop shipping business pro :
- Low Startup Costing :-
One of the most important advantage of drop shipping
business is “Low Entry Barrier”, which means unlike our
traditional retail businesses that requires high investment
in starting up. Like purchasing of product inventory,
setting up an physical store, hiring employees, which is
very costly for a beginner.
Drop shipping allows you to start with low capital, no need
to fill inventory , etc. You have to purchase only when their
is an order placed on your online store. Which reduces
financial risks. - Easy to start for beginners :-
Starting a dropshipping business is relatively easy than
setting up an traditional retail business. You can start your
dropshipping journey with platforms like these Shopify,
woo commerce, and big commerce etc., well setting up an
online store is not so simple in addition you have to use
tools like oberlo as a result to make it simple to find your product
reliable suppliers etc. - Flexibility and scalability :-
Drop shipping in addition offers a benefit of flexibility, which means no
need to set a physical location and work hours to be set.
You just have to Purchase products on any customers
order so, u can do it from anywhere with an internet
connection. In dropshipping scalability can be done by
adding new products to your online store without the
tension of storage management or logistics. - Set a wide range of products :-
By dropshipping , you can sell a big variety of products
online, without any tension of inventory management and
storage. One more benefit you can test new niches
different from your niche and can change the trends faster
with market trends. - Must Focus on Marketing and customer experience
:- You know your supplier handles the inventory handling,
packaging, shipping of the product. So you have time to
build your own brand, by the help of customer experience
study from customer reviews. And for marketing our digital
store we can use social media, google ads, meta ads .
The Cons of Dropshipping are
Here are some cons of dropshipping business :
- Low Profit Margins :-
While dropshipping business have lower startup costs, the
profit margins of this business model can be slim/low.
Because you are sourcing your products from suppliers so,
they decide the pricing which you have to pay, weather
high. So in competitive niches you have to give prices
competitive so you have a smaller margins left. - Inventory Availability Issue :-
In dropshipping a big problem is lack of control over
inventory because if your supplier runs out of stock, due to
any reason, you have to bear a loss of not completing a
customer order cause of no inventory. And late shipments
of orders by suppliers can result dissatisfied customer. - Issue of Shipping Complexities :-
Since, you don’t handle the products, it is very hard to
ensure the quality of goods is good. Many times supplier
ships defective, low quality goods or wrong product to
customer. Which results in wastage of shipping cost and
again returning goods and shipping right ones. Which take
huge costs. - High Competition :-
A benefits of drop shipping was Low Entry Barrier, now it is
a big con for drop shippers. Dues to this many people are
entering into drop shipping daily, and making market
saturated, competitive environments in drop shipping world
for any niche. However To tackle this problem you have to use
marketing of your drop shipping store really well.
Is Dropshipping Worth it for you ?
The answer depends on what is your goal, niche, resources and
are you compatible to adapt changes fast, Here are some
important things to considering drop shipping as career.
Drop shipping Plan :-
We earlier have been discussed them.
- Choose your niche
- Find a Reliable Supplier
- Build Your Online Store
- Develop a Marketing Strategy
- Monitoring and optimizing according to results.
Final Thoughts : Is Dropshipping Worth It ?
So, Is dropshipping worth it ? The answer is completely depends
on your approach. As we know drop shipping offers an accessible
way to commence our online business with minimum upfront
investments, these are pros but low profit margins, finding
reliable supplier, tackling intense competition are cons of it.
Remember, Drop shipping is never a get-quick-rich scheme, but
a professional business model that requires dedication to work
on your business, and lot of hard work. Key to make it worth is
Invest in marketing of your online store. Because you are
running a store online so you have to market your store because
every potential customer can know your brand and become
customer. By market trend analysis, marketing, right niche
choosing, uniqueness, competitive prices you can achieve
drop shipping business success.
Conclusion
Now, The answer for this totally depends on your ability, with
the help of right strategy and mindset anyone can build a
profitable drop shipping business. Make Customer relations, Do
a really good supplier study to find out a reliable supplier of your
product which will make cons into pros.
For more information related to drop shipping business click here.