Dropshipping: what is it? System, cooperation and feedback on drop shipping

Now many people transfer their business to the Internet. No one will be surprised by the online store. But very few people know and tried another way of trading - dropshipping. What it is? What are the advantages of this sales scheme? What do you need to be prepared for when launching your own project?

New Online Business

At the heart of dropshipping is the usual idea of an online store. But you do not puzzle over the question of where to get money for the purchase of goods. Do not solve the problem, how many of these same goods to buy. Where to arrange the warehouse, how to deliver - these problems do not bother you anymore.

And all because you work on the dropshipping system. What is this for sales? Let's figure it out.

In general, the idea is to open a store through which you will sell the goods directly from the supplier. You are a kind of intermediary, dealer. It is your responsibility to promote your store, make it popular, take orders for goods exhibited in the store and transfer these orders to the holder of the goods. Usually, the latter are either manufacturers or wholesalers. The supplier, having received the order, himself solves issues with packaging and delivery.

Dropshipping system

Now let's analyze in more detail the scheme of sales on the new system. And at the same time we'll see what the profit comes from.

Suppose you decide to trade in jewelry. But you do not have the funds for the initial purchase of the goods, the rent of the warehouse, and with the delivery there are also problems. Do not take loans, get into debt.

On the Internet, you look for sites that do not mind working with dropshippers. From the list of potential suppliers you find, those who offer the goods you need (according to the criteria outlined by you) at the lowest prices.

After that, you are written off with the owners of the resource and apply. Usually without any problems it turns out to formalize cooperation.

Now you start to place the goods on the pages of your store. The price in the positions you set yourself. Of course, they will be higher than those that your supplier exposes. But do not go too far. Focus on the average offer for your product category. Otherwise, you do not attract a buyer.

Pictures are used either from the supplier's website, or from any available resource that has the necessary illustrations. It is better to write descriptions to the goods yourself. If you are not strong in creating marketing texts, then find a good copywriter.

The better you advertise yourself, your store, the faster you will start to make a profit.

Work with the customer

If we work on the dropshipping system, then we process all incoming orders to us and forward them to our supplier.

The supplier himself solves issues with packaging and shipping. Here you are almost nothing to decide. Your partner depends on the quality and speed of delivery. But in order not to let everything go completely, connect the tracking service. This is an individual order number, it allows you to track the way of the ordered goods. This number does not prevent you from telling your customer. This will be a plus for you. You will prove your reliability and earn a reputation.

It will not hurt to discuss in advance with the supplier the condition not to indicate on the sending the information about the initial cost of the goods.

Advantages of the scheme

So, our first step is done in dropshipping. What is this in terms of pluses?

Advantages of this business are:

• Absence of starting capital. You are spared from the costs at the stage of launching the store. You will have to invest money, without this you will not open your own selling site, but this will not require you to spend a lot of money.
• You do not need to rent a warehouse and organize a delivery service. These responsibilities are assumed by your supplier, you only need to find and attract as many customers as possible.
• The risk to lose with the price is reduced to a minimum. You do not purchase the goods. Consequently, the situation in which you bought the goods at the same price, and sold only at a lower cost, not about you.
• You are not tied to the assortment. You have no warehouse stocks. Therefore, at any time you can go to the electronics market with toys. You only need to find new suppliers and change the catalogs on the site.
• You are free to choose your partners. One partner did not live up to expectations, find another, more reliable.

At first glance, the circuit is reliable, you work as a dealer. Your supplier is satisfied with the constant orders, you are satisfied with the stable income that brings your store.

Cons of the system

The advantages are obvious, but how about the drawbacks that dropshipping has. What is this from a position of weaknesses of the system:

• You can not affect the speed of delivery of goods, so all the shortcomings on the part of your supplier have a negative impact on your image. You should be ready to quickly understand the situation when you have issued an order, took money from a client, and he never waited for his goods. In advance, think over your actions in such a conflict. In any case, the customer will demand the goods from you.
• The quality of the goods can also be very "limp". Try to check the reliability of your future partner at the stage of contract conclusion.
• Packaging, the supply of goods to the client again does not depend on you. Therefore, you will have to rely on the good faith of the supplier.

Suppliers

As you already understood, much in this business is based on the reliability of suppliers. Unfortunately, the situation with fraud is very frequent. Therefore, carefully check your potential partners. Dropshipping suppliers are obliged to responsibly approach the issue of shipping and delivery of goods.

Do not be lazy and make a contract with the selected companies. So it will be easier for you to build business relationships.

With all unscrupulous suppliers, say goodbye immediately. You will be constantly in tension, your reputation will suffer, customers will start to leave you. Do not wait for problems, look for other suppliers.

Russian perspectives

Russian dropshipping is not actively developing. Many are still concerned about this scheme of doing business. The thing is most likely that there are too many unscrupulous suppliers, the delivery mechanisms are too poorly adjusted, and the distrust of Russian clients is too great.

To successfully promote a new type of trade on the domestic Internet sector, find yourself reliable partners among European, Chinese or American sellers. Now there is no problem to go directly to them. Some advanced users also use the possibility of ordering goods from these sites. You can serve as a seller for those who do not want or are afraid to buy on the largest trading floors.

You create a convenience store in Russian. With clear navigation, comfortable tools and act as an intermediary.

Reviews

If you communicate with those who tried dropshipping, you will receive feedback very different.

Some are satisfied with the simplicity of the scheme. They note that with minimal investment, the business pays off very quickly. Many people like that you do not need to bother with the warehouse, purchases, posting balances, fluctuations in the dollar.

Others are disappointed and talk about the futility of this type of trade in Russia. Too many unscrupulous suppliers with whom it is impossible to build reliable partnerships.

Perhaps, a beginner dropshipper needs, first of all, a good weigh of their capabilities. You need to understand that the success of your store will depend on its active promotion. And with this many people have problems.

To reduce risks to a reasonable limit, you need to familiarize yourself with the pitfalls of this business. Study the legal framework on which the dropshipping system is based. Cooperation in this area needs to be supported by certified treaties. Keep a full database of suppliers and customers. Take care of fraud. Study the information at specialized forums.

Open your business

The scheme of work is already known to you. But where to start?

You should start by creating a selling site. You can go in a proven way and find a resource that offers ready-made templates. You get a working online store. It already has search tools, a catalog. You do not pay additional hosting. This is the responsibility of the company that creates your site.

In the ready template there is already a form for ordering, feedback. There is also a scheme for transferring payments. You yourself are free to choose the design options.

If you successfully create websites, you can develop your project from scratch. Giving him a unique look. Just do not forget the pursuit of design for convenient navigation and practicality.

Promotion

It's not so difficult to create a website. The most difficult thing is to make it popular. Only competent promotion will give you the number of clients that will make a decent profit.

Promote the store in a standard way. Here, a thoughtful SEO policy is important. Systematically fill the site with content. Write yourself or order marketing texts.

Pay attention to contextual advertising. Do you lack your own knowledge? Ask for help to the marketer. Let them describe the strategy for your promotion.

Only the untwisted store boasts an abundance of orders. Take for a rule every month to review their promotion activities. Look for new ways of promotion.

If you decide to implement yourself in this business, read the experience shared by other dropshipping companies. This will allow you to avoid mistakes and to build a clear system for the development of your business.