Dropshipping is a low-risk business model where the business owner/store sells a physical product to their customers without handling the item or having to deal with manufacturing, inventory, or shipping.
You are basically selling a ready-to-go product but packaging it as your own brand by putting your creative spin on the marketing and branding.
The dropshipping business model is ideal for new entrepreneurs because you can sell directly to their customers without designing a new product or directly dealing with the physical items. Instead, wholesale marketplaces manufacture the product, and suppliers keep the stock in their inventory. You don’t even need to worry about shipping, they’ll take care of it.
What this means for you as a business owner is:
Dropshipping has very low upfront costs, so you can start selling dropshipping products for less than £100.
Here’s a breakdown of dropshipping costs:
What are the best dropshipping products to sell in 2022? Here’s how to pick the best dropshipping product.
A quick search on Google Trends shows us that apparel and clothing, as well as beauty and personal care, are the most popular products at the current moment. But there are many more products out there for you to tap into.
Find out the trending items by checking out the top items on these platforms:
Customers are most invested in how fast they can get your product and these days, the major selling point is fast delivery time. Selling something small and lightweight guarantees that you can sell fast with low shipping costs.
Be ready to showcase what makes your product different than the rest of the (basically the same) alternatives. You can emphasise parts of the product that are relevant to your target audience or niche. For example, if you are selling yoga pants, you can market them as core-enhancing if you're targeting fitness enthusiasts or the perfect comfortable leggings to wear on long trips and day-to-day if you're marketing to women on the go. You don't have to physically change your product or re-design it to make it your own, you just need to highlight a special aspect of the product that is not shown by other companies selling the same item.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Before setting out, choose an idea of a product you’d like to sell. From there, choose a niche of customers (based on geography, age, gender, hobbies) that would be interested in the product. Before you carry on with the idea, see who else is in the market by researching about competitors and alternatives. Brainstorm how you can market your product differently to what’s already out there.
For example: If you’re selling an Airpods cleaning tool and other sellers of similar products focus on its precision, you should emphasize your product’s convenience and portability. You can also stress that yours has the gentlest bristles on the market to keep the headphones safe.
Without a supplier, your business has no products to sell. Based on your product type, you need to select from vendor (unique products), or wholesale (bulk) suppliers like Aliexpress, Salehoo. From there, important factors to consider are: location (domestic or overseas), delivery times, and service potential. Take time to research and reach out to your top picks and negotiate.
Here’s a list of verified wholesale suppliers you can reach out to:
Here’s a list of verified vendors (unique products) you can reach out to:
How do I build a dropshipping store? How do I get my brand domain?
Here is your time to invest in a commercial domain and start building the base of your business. Select an e-commerce website platform that permits global orders from multiple currencies. Sites like Shopify can handle the design elements as well. Remember, this will be the face of your company, clearly represent your brand and products. Always include photos of your product even if you don’t have them physically, use stock images of people with similar items.
How do I charge customers for dropshipped products? How do I pay dropshipping suppliers?
Look into business licenses which you may need, depending on your location. At this stage, ensure that you have set up a separate business checking account to simplify future accounting. Oneday members have exclusive access to Tide business accounts and free business registration.
How do I promote dropshipping products?
There are many ways to get your product out there, the most important thing is that you launch it quickly and start spreading the word. Build your consumer base through social media marketing by running paid ads on Instagram and Tiktok. Draw traffic to your website by targeting keywords on Google and running Google ads. Contact influencers who share similar interests to your product.
How do I scale up my dropshipping business?
Even when sales are coming in, running a dropshipping business does not stop there. Look closer at the analytics such as best-performing channels and best-selling products per region. Analyse your profit margins and evaluate how to sustain growth. Keep experimenting with your product, for example: introducing a subscription model, expanding the selection, or targeting a different audience.
Find the Oneday experiment bank for getting traction on the member Platform.
Having a customer asking for a return or refund can be alarming and annoying. But there is no need to be concerned about returns when dropshipping. Keep in mind that it doesn’t mean that they won’t be purchasing from your store ever again. As long as you deal with the return request in a timely manner, you can still turn returns and refunds into a positive customer experience that impresses your customers.
You first need to talk to your supplier and understand what their return window is. Based on that, you can create your business’s return/refund policy.
Create another Gmail account that clearly states that it is the contact address for return and refund requests. This could be "[Your brand name].returns@gmail.com" or "returns@[Your brand name].com"
How do you create a return policy? Go to your Shopify account and click the “Online Store” sales channel, then click on “Pages” and click “Add Page” on the top corner. Use “Refunds and Returns Policy” as the title of the page and write your policy in the content box.
This is what the return and refund process looks like:
Always keep an eye out for returns and refunds and handle them with a positive, professional attitude to build up your credibility. Call your customers and ask why they’re returning the product and confirm that they’ve received a refund/new product. If the product is defective or damaged, ask them for pictures and validate the claim before you take action.
Here’s everything you need to know all in one place:
Dropshipping is a low-risk business model where the business owner/store sells a physical product to their customers without handling the item or having to deal with manufacturing, inventory, or shipping.
You are basically selling a ready-to-go product but packaging it as your own brand by putting your creative spin on the marketing and branding.
The dropshipping business model is ideal for new entrepreneurs because you can sell directly to their customers without designing a new product or directly dealing with the physical items. Instead, wholesale marketplaces manufacture the product, and suppliers keep the stock in their inventory. You don’t even need to worry about shipping, they’ll take care of it.
What this means for you as a business owner is:
Dropshipping has very low upfront costs, so you can start selling dropshipping products for less than £100.
Here’s a breakdown of dropshipping costs:
What are the best dropshipping products to sell in 2022? Here’s how to pick the best dropshipping product.
A quick search on Google Trends shows us that apparel and clothing, as well as beauty and personal care, are the most popular products at the current moment. But there are many more products out there for you to tap into.
Find out the trending items by checking out the top items on these platforms:
Customers are most invested in how fast they can get your product and these days, the major selling point is fast delivery time. Selling something small and lightweight guarantees that you can sell fast with low shipping costs.
Be ready to showcase what makes your product different than the rest of the (basically the same) alternatives. You can emphasise parts of the product that are relevant to your target audience or niche. For example, if you are selling yoga pants, you can market them as core-enhancing if you're targeting fitness enthusiasts or the perfect comfortable leggings to wear on long trips and day-to-day if you're marketing to women on the go. You don't have to physically change your product or re-design it to make it your own, you just need to highlight a special aspect of the product that is not shown by other companies selling the same item.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Before setting out, choose an idea of a product you’d like to sell. From there, choose a niche of customers (based on geography, age, gender, hobbies) that would be interested in the product. Before you carry on with the idea, see who else is in the market by researching about competitors and alternatives. Brainstorm how you can market your product differently to what’s already out there.
For example: If you’re selling an Airpods cleaning tool and other sellers of similar products focus on its precision, you should emphasize your product’s convenience and portability. You can also stress that yours has the gentlest bristles on the market to keep the headphones safe.
Without a supplier, your business has no products to sell. Based on your product type, you need to select from vendor (unique products), or wholesale (bulk) suppliers like Aliexpress, Salehoo. From there, important factors to consider are: location (domestic or overseas), delivery times, and service potential. Take time to research and reach out to your top picks and negotiate.
Here’s a list of verified wholesale suppliers you can reach out to:
Here’s a list of verified vendors (unique products) you can reach out to:
How do I build a dropshipping store? How do I get my brand domain?
Here is your time to invest in a commercial domain and start building the base of your business. Select an e-commerce website platform that permits global orders from multiple currencies. Sites like Shopify can handle the design elements as well. Remember, this will be the face of your company, clearly represent your brand and products. Always include photos of your product even if you don’t have them physically, use stock images of people with similar items.
How do I charge customers for dropshipped products? How do I pay dropshipping suppliers?
Look into business licenses which you may need, depending on your location. At this stage, ensure that you have set up a separate business checking account to simplify future accounting. Oneday members have exclusive access to Tide business accounts and free business registration.
How do I promote dropshipping products?
There are many ways to get your product out there, the most important thing is that you launch it quickly and start spreading the word. Build your consumer base through social media marketing by running paid ads on Instagram and Tiktok. Draw traffic to your website by targeting keywords on Google and running Google ads. Contact influencers who share similar interests to your product.
How do I scale up my dropshipping business?
Even when sales are coming in, running a dropshipping business does not stop there. Look closer at the analytics such as best-performing channels and best-selling products per region. Analyse your profit margins and evaluate how to sustain growth. Keep experimenting with your product, for example: introducing a subscription model, expanding the selection, or targeting a different audience.
Find the Oneday experiment bank for getting traction on the member Platform.
Having a customer asking for a return or refund can be alarming and annoying. But there is no need to be concerned about returns when dropshipping. Keep in mind that it doesn’t mean that they won’t be purchasing from your store ever again. As long as you deal with the return request in a timely manner, you can still turn returns and refunds into a positive customer experience that impresses your customers.
You first need to talk to your supplier and understand what their return window is. Based on that, you can create your business’s return/refund policy.
Create another Gmail account that clearly states that it is the contact address for return and refund requests. This could be "[Your brand name].returns@gmail.com" or "returns@[Your brand name].com"
How do you create a return policy? Go to your Shopify account and click the “Online Store” sales channel, then click on “Pages” and click “Add Page” on the top corner. Use “Refunds and Returns Policy” as the title of the page and write your policy in the content box.
This is what the return and refund process looks like:
Always keep an eye out for returns and refunds and handle them with a positive, professional attitude to build up your credibility. Call your customers and ask why they’re returning the product and confirm that they’ve received a refund/new product. If the product is defective or damaged, ask them for pictures and validate the claim before you take action.
Here’s everything you need to know all in one place: