Is Dropshipping Still Worth Starting in 2026, or Is the Market Too Saturated?

drammagersd23

drammagersd23

Newbie
Joined
Jul 13, 2026
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
I’ve been researching dropshipping for a while, and the opinions are completely divided.


Some people say the model is dead because of:


  • rising ad costs
  • long shipping times
  • saturated products
  • payment holds and account bans
  • customers expecting Amazon-level delivery

Others claim they’re still profitable by using local suppliers, better creatives, organic traffic, and AI automation.


I’m currently looking into product research, store automation, customer support, and testing strategies, but I’d rather hear from people who are actually doing it.


For those running stores right now:


What still works in dropshipping today, and what would you avoid as a beginner?


Would you start with paid ads, organic content, SEO, or marketplaces?


I’m interested in honest experiences—not screenshots from gurus selling courses.
 
Advertise on BHW
If you're talking about dropshipping cheap products from china, then that was never a reliable or a sustainable business model to begin with.
If you want to do it, find trusted suppliers in your own country.
 
Who knows what they are doing are definitely doing ok, they found ways to stay on top, but just starting having no idea how everything goes and all the actual problems that arise when you do it.....I definitely wouldn't start something like this now
 
Actually, I think this business model will still remain popular because it's quite accessible to newcomers with limited capital. Everyone knows that running your own business comes with a lot of legal and tax issues, and dropshipping helps simplify a lot of that. Buying tools to manage multiple accounts, like antidetect browsers, has also become simpler and more accessible
 
drammagersd23 said:
I’ve been researching dropshipping for a while, and the opinions are completely divided.


Some people say the model is dead because of:


  • rising ad costs
  • long shipping times
  • saturated products
  • payment holds and account bans
  • customers expecting Amazon-level delivery

Others claim they’re still profitable by using local suppliers, better creatives, organic traffic, and AI automation.


I’m currently looking into product research, store automation, customer support, and testing strategies, but I’d rather hear from people who are actually doing it.


For those running stores right now:


What still works in dropshipping today, and what would you avoid as a beginner?


Would you start with paid ads, organic content, SEO, or marketplaces?


I’m interested in honest experiences—not screenshots from gurus selling courses.
Click to expand...
It's not dead, it's just not the easy money it was a few years ago. From what I've seen the people still winning treat it like a real brand, good creatives, faster shipping through local or agent suppliers, and actual customer support, instead of the old buy-cheap-from-aliexpress-and-run-ads model that's genuinely burnt out now. As a beginner I'd avoid saturated "winning products" everyone's already running, that's where you get crushed on ad costs. Personally I'd start with paid ads on one product to get data fast, organic and SEO work but they're slow and test your patience before you learn anything. The margins are thinner now so it's really about picking a product with room to actually profit after ad costs.
 
i think dropshipping is a great business model, but in 2026, you have to take a different approach; one need to focus on the long term, build it like building a brand, not just fulfilling the demand, and after it scales you get good sales so start making the product in-house. Just like Boat did, but obviously in 2026 its not easy, but it is worth trying and doing.
 
Still possible, but I’d avoid jumping straight into paid ads as a beginner. Organic content and testing a few products first is usually the safer move.
 
Dropshipping is more saturated than Times Square on New Year's Eve. If you really want to make money from it, don't start a store, start a YouTube channel. Rent a Lamborghini for an hour, build a fake Shopify store with three products, inspect element your dashboard to show "$5,000 today," make a thumbnail with your mouth wide open, then sell a "$997 Dropshipping Masterclass." Congratulations, you've officially made more money teaching dropshipping than actually doing dropshipping.

I would rent a lambo, but in my place we don't have a lambo, I can rent a horse which is not good...
 
drammagersd23 said:
I’ve been researching dropshipping for a while, and the opinions are completely divided.


Some people say the model is dead because of:


  • rising ad costs
  • long shipping times
  • saturated products
  • payment holds and account bans
  • customers expecting Amazon-level delivery

Others claim they’re still profitable by using local suppliers, better creatives, organic traffic, and AI automation.


I’m currently looking into product research, store automation, customer support, and testing strategies, but I’d rather hear from people who are actually doing it.


For those running stores right now:


What still works in dropshipping today, and what would you avoid as a beginner?


Would you start with paid ads, organic content, SEO, or marketplaces?


I’m interested in honest experiences—not screenshots from gurus selling courses.
Click to expand...
The drop shipping market is long dead, unless you have suppliers that can provide you with products at half the cost of selling or even more. I got into dropshipping into around 2016 and even then I used to compete with other dropshippers who got their products at half the price I was getting them, and could manipulate their prices downward leaving me unable to make any profit from what I had sold.
 
dropshipping still works. but to compete, you need to have a brand and a warehouse in the same country you're selling to for short delivery times
 
Advertise on BHW
You must log in or register to reply here.
Sign up now!

Main Menu

Home Main Forum List Black Hat SEO White Hat SEO BHW Newbie Guide Blogging Black Hat Tools Social Media Downloads

Marketplace

Account Selling Content / Copywriting EBooks / Methods Hosting Misc Proxies For Sale SEO - Link building SEO - Packages Social Media Social Media - Panels Web Design More

Making Money

Affiliate Programs Hire a Freelancer IM Journeys Making Money Pay Per Click Site Flipping Want to Buy

BlackHat World

Dispute Resolution Forum Suggestions & Feedback Introductions Lounge
Back
Top