[NEW GUIDE] Drop-shipping in 2021 and beyond

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Hi, thanks for sharing these.
I'm too interested in the courses/books on the dropshipping recommendation, as well as some Shopify theme. Can you please share? Thank you
 
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I’m interested in the details for courses/books . can you please send me information.
 
thank you for your great thread! could you send me books/courses? thanks
 
Thanks for the info. I'm interested in the courses/ebooks.
 
I'm interested in the courses/ebooks as well. Please DM me information.
 
the__1 said:
Hi all,

There has been a lot of comments and talk lately on this forum (and elsewhere) stating that dropshipping is finished and it is too difficult to enter the market. You are wrong. Read that again, YOU ARE WRONG.

I want to assist anyone that may be interested in drop-shipping moving forward and provide a mini-guide. Any comments or questions are warmly welcomed, and I would be happy to assist if you do reach out.

Dropshipping remains a viable business model. Did you read that right? Did you see how I used the words “business model”?

If you’re in this game for short term adulation, then you’re in the wrong game. There are massive returns to make if you are willing to invest time and effort. If you remain dedicated, you will see results. It really is that simple.

The year of 2020

Everyone thought 2020 was a bummer of a year, right? Not for me. Not for people in the drop-shipping business who actually know what they are doing. In 2020, I had my best year ever. I generated $10 million in revenue and profited $4 million (prior to deducting staff costs).

If you thought drop-shipping is dead, think again.

While the world was worrying about COVID, I doubled down. I exploited avenues of growth that were working for my business and hit the after burners.

It’s pretty simple, anyone can do this if they are willing to put in the time and effort.

The term “drop-shipping”

Often, when people hear this term, they get a little shaky. I mean, there are certainly negative connotations associated with the word. When you hear drop-shipping, you think of shady online stores, with poor product quality, poor shipping times and a plethora of other issues.

Drop-shipping is not a dirty word.

Drop-shipping is simply a business model. Once you start thinking about yourself and your operations as a business, as opposed to a get rich quick scheme, your trajectory will change.

If you are opening a Shopify store and using the default theme, I have news for you my friend. You won’t last long in this game.

Pro tip: I don't even use Shopify for my large brands.

Niche

Your niche is important. You need to identify an area of consumerism which is either trending OR has consistent market share. This isn’t always easy, however, with research you can definitely crack the code. RESEARCH is key.

Too many times I see people launching themselves into selling products without taking any time to perform market research.

Understanding my market and the way my customers think has been one of the key factors in the success that I have seen.

Suppliers

The topic of suppliers always seems to be a recurring topic of conversation. There are reputable suppliers on AliExpress and AliBaba. You need to invest time to understand who these suppliers are. Once you find your supplier and you build a good relationship, the sky is the limit. They will begin to want to keep you happy. After all, you will be ordering a significant amount from these vendors – it remains in their interests to assist you in any way that they can.

Branding and Social Proof

There is one point that I would like to stress. BRANDING is absolutely everything. Remember, how I said you need to think of drop-shipping as a business model? When you start on this drop-shipping journey you need to keep that at the front of your mind. In my opinion, branding is the single most important key to success. Don’t think of yourself (or your website) as a drop-shipping store. Think of yourself as a brand. Ask yourself, is this a brand that I would be happy to purchase off? Would I trust this brand with my money? You’re not looking for a get rich quick scheme. You are in this for the long haul. You are here to build and develop a brand. If you have this mindset, the windfalls will be massive in the long run.

Coupled with branding is social proof. I see a lot of drop-shippers starting off and they utilise Facebook or Instagram accounts with extremely small followings. Yes, you need to start somewhere, however, you MUST invest time (and money) into building your social channels. Social proof is very powerful when it comes to enticing potential customers to hit the checkout button. I was actually listening to a podcast today, where a self-professed "dropshipping guru" recommended that you could start drop-shipping by approaching influencers on Instagram with an account with as few followers as ten. Ten followers? I choked on my water as I was listening to the audio. I thought he may have said something ridiculous like one hundred followers, but ten was off the charts stupid.

In short, I have proven strategies around branding and social proof which has seen all three of my brands explode.

Professionalism

I believe this point ties in with the previous two paragraphs, however, I want to make this point very clear. Any person that is not brain damaged can click on an ad, view the product page and immediately determine whether your brand is worth forking out the cash for. If you are not writing captivating copy, leave now. If you are not taking the time to design your store, leave now. If you are not ensuring your site is published with perfect English, leave now. If you are displaying trust badges upon trust badges on your store, leave now.

Ask yourself one simple question.

Would Apple or Nike be happy to publish what you have just published on your website? If the answer is no, you need to start again.

Advertising Strategy

All platforms work. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, influencers. Each of these advertising methods will get you results. You need to be willing to invest and understand the mechanics of each platform.

Some niches provide a greater ROAS on Instagram. Some niches provide a greater ROAS on Facebook. There are a number of factors here, so please feel free to send me a DM and I will be able to assist and provide some advice.

I could write tips and tricks for each of these methods, but I would honestly be here for days.

Conclusion

Drop-shipping remains a viable business model and will continue to be a viable business model moving into the future. You need to be willing to invest time and effort. Above all, you need to remain dedicated. You need to be willing to invest in yourself. Gains are here to be made and there is more than enough to be shared around – I couldn’t be more confident in that statement given the way 2020 played out.

Build your brand, understand your market. You can succeed.

Finally, please let me know if you would like an expansion on any of the topics discussed above - I am more than happy to go into further detail. Do you have specific questions around products, product sourcing, advertising? Drop me a line and I will do my best to respond.
Click to expand...

Dropshipping is just a way to supply yourself with products, there is nothing shady about it, it's no different than any other eCommerce business. I personally sell digital assets that are being supplied with another model, so I'm not into dropshipping or dropserving but I understand what you are writing here. It will take time and effort to solve most parts of your business just like any business but the real question is how you win your share of the market, what is your competitive edge. Since you can't make big difference with your products then branding and better-designed campaigns are the only ways to differ from the crowd. It's the same in my business too since my products don't make much of a difference. You should take into account that when you compete with tons of other vendors who have access to the same products then there is a luck factor to your success even if you put a lot of effort into your brand / campaigns.

People should stop thinking about dropshipping as an exploit that makes you money quickly and that anyone can access/succeed without significant effort into it. In fact, if you want to make a lot of money, you should think about everything as a long term business.
 
I appreciate the post. I would love the course recommendation too. Cheers.
 
Thank you
What do you think about: One-product store + Woocommerce + SEO
 
Your thread was extremely well-made and you went quite in-depth. I was wondering if you'd be able to message me these books and courses you're giving to everyone. I can't miss out on important information, now can I?
 
Going for the long run strategy I see. How much does it take you to see results (profit)? Could you give some estimates between paid and free traffic?
 
One thing to add regarding sourcing from China, get insurance if you are in the USA, and do your due diligence on products. If you bring the product in from China you are 100% liable (Chinese companies don't take any responsibility for anything).

Not sure how the law treats drop shipping but I would imagine it's a similar situation.

Get insurance if you're going in hard, and check products yourself for quality.
 
WorkingNow said:
One thing to add regarding sourcing from China, get insurance if you are in the USA, and do your due diligence on products. If you bring the product in from China you are 100% liable (Chinese companies don't take any responsibility for anything).

Not sure how the law treats drop shipping but I would imagine it's a similar situation.

Get insurance if you're going in hard, and check products yourself for quality.
Click to expand...
Interesting point... Can you elaborate more on the type of insurance and what possible situations could result in suit?
 
do you think is it possible to have a dropshipping website and be anonymous in order to avoid tax from our country ?
 
"I have proven strategies around branding and social proof which has seen all three of my brands explode "

This would be really useful to learn these strategies, any course/info you recommend.
thanks
 
Hi, can You please send me information for dropshipping courses/books? Thanks
 
ZeroDefects said:
Interesting point... Can you elaborate more on the type of insurance and what possible situations could result in suit?
Click to expand...
When operating as an ecommerce merchant you are liable to all sort of claims, the likelihood of these eventuating is another thing altogether, however, you simply need to assess the risks. At a very basic level, you will be at risk of your standard consumer type claims for faulty or damaged products. You will also be at risk of misrepresentation or misleading and deceptive conduct claims if your advertising practices are unlawful. If you are dealing with products that can pose health hazards or environmental hazards then you are exposing yourself to greater liability. All of these risks are completely manageable, however, as WorkingNow suggested, it would certainly be prudent to consider whether you require an insurance policy. Without having more specific information concerning your personal circumstances, it is difficult to provide specific advice, however, there are quite a few public and product liability insurance policies that would cover you for these scenarios.
 
Very good thread thanks for all the infos
I'm interested in all kinds of infos about dropshipping, currently started out with a long term clothing website on shopify,
any tips on shopify free or paid themes for clothing/accessories general stores multiproducts ?
I'm gonna start a youtube channel related to my niche for long term traffic, I read your infos about facebook groups maybe I'll try that too
 
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