What is it and how does it work in 2023?
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If you are interested in knowing what dropshipping is, how to find the best suppliers and platforms, examples of products you can sell online and everything you need to start dropshipping from Spain, Mexico and the rest of Latin America, you’ve come to the right place!
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Now, let’s start at the beginning….
What is dropshipping and how does it work?
Dropshipping is a retail e-commerce strategy, in which an online store (the seller) does not maintain inventory; but instead, purchases products from outside suppliers (manufacturers, wholesalers or other retailer), as customers place orders.
Then, these products are shipped directly by the supplier, to the customer; without the seller (store owner/manager) having to handle (store, pack or ship) the product directly.
We can say then that dropshipping is a. online business modelwhich allows entrepreneurs to sell items without keeping them in stock. By harnessing the power of social media, entrepreneurs can advertise products and then fulfill orders through an outside company. This partnership gives entrepreneurs the ability to sell products they never have to touch, drastically reducing their capital needs and inventory costs.
What is a dropshipper?
A dropshipper is a supplier, usually a manufacturer or wholesaler, who manages the inventory of a retailer (owner/manager of an online store) and ships the orders to their customers, once they make the purchase.
How to start a dropshipping business in 10 steps.
Dropshipping is an e-commerce strategy, which allows online store owners to sell directly to consumers, without having to stock inventory, or ship. To start a dropshipping business you will need the following:
- Choose your niche market
The first step to create a dropshipping business, is to choose the market niche in which you want to enter.
- Conduct a market study
In this step a market study is conducted to determine demand, competition and profitability.
- Analyze your competition
At this point you analyze the competition (other dropshipping stores), the products, their selling price, the marketing strategy they use and the possible profit margin of each product.
- Find suppliers
It is recommended to make a list of reputable suppliers of the product, choose one and sign an agreement with the selected dropshipping supplier. Keep the list in case you need to change supplier in the future.
- Create online store
At this point you create the online storeusing Shopify or some of the various e-commerce platforms.
- Sell your product
At this point, a digital marketing strategy is designed to market the product. During this stage, the dropshipping supplier keeps the product inventory in its warehouses until the sale is made.
Don’t miss: The Best Free Digital Marketing Courses.
- Processes purchase orders .
When there is a new order in the online store, the seller (store owner / manager) will forward the order information to the dropshipper or supplier (manufacturer / wholesaler). Then, the dropshipper will be responsible for packing and delivering the order.
- Monitor shipping and collection.
After receiving the order information from the seller (store owner/manager), the dropshipping supplier prepares and ships the product, charges the seller and the seller charges the end customer.
- Follow up with your customers
The salesperson (store owner/manager) provides customer service during and after the sale is made.
- Continuous improvement
The vendor (store owner/manager) constantly updates and invests in the store and its promotional strategy.
Dropshipping: how to find the ideal product to sell?
Creating a dropshipping store offers entrepreneurs a lot of freedom. However, the success behind this business model, as with almost any other type of online business, depends on a good selection of niche and product, which in addition to having high demand, has low competition.
That said, there are some key points to take into account to find the right product for your store. Here is the step by step.
5 Steps to find the ideal product for your dropshipping store:
- Do some research on the main dropshipping niches.
- Do a Google search using search terms related to the niches you have in mind.
- Analyze the latest trends in products for the specific niche. For this you can use tools such as Google Trends, and product sales platforms such as Amazon, Aliexpress, Etsy and Pinterest.
- Analyze the advertising that appears to you on social networks and look at what they are selling.
- Join Facebook groups and other online communities, to identify the products they mention and recommend.
What to sell online: 20 product ideas to sell online.
If you have no previous e-commerce experience, finding profitable product ideas to sell in your online store can be a challenging process. To help you get started with your brainstorming, we have selected 20 product ideas to sell online, ideal for a dropshipping store. Let’s see what they are.
- Masks and masks
Undoubtedly one of the most important items of the last year. From cartoon masks for children, to solid colors and fashionable designs for adults, masks and masks are one of the most popular products of the moment in dropshipping stores.
Search trend according to google trends
- Yoga mats
One of the dropshipping products that have registered record sales in a year in which home gym products have been in the highest demand in history. And in addition to their popularity, the yoga mats or yoga mats are lightweight, there is something for everyone and because of their material and use, they generally need to be replaced frequently.
- Mechanical keyboards
Despite not being completely necessary, there are many who claim that generally speaking, a mechanical keyboard is better for gaming.
- Intelligent lights
To many smart lights may seem somewhat expensive and not necessary; however to the savvy, they are an investment that can help you save electricity costs in the long run, as well as allow for fun setups and save you some getting out of bed and off the couch.
- Resistance bands
Resistance bands are, along with other home exercise accessories, a popular, low cost, lightweight and easy to ship product; ideal for dropshipping and making a good profit margin.
Search trend according to google trends
- Security cameras
Today there are hundreds of options for low-cost security cameras, capable of withstanding the elements, with excellent video quality and emergency battery backup.
However, in many countries these options are much more limited and expensive; which makes selling these types of products via dropshipping at a lower price, can be a success.
- Light rings for cell phones
Another dropshipping product that could not be missing from the list. And is that the light rings are one of the most popular accessories among content creators, as they achieve an effect of almost artificial perfection in the photos and videos of influencers, beauty bloggers, besides being very useful for anyone who wants to record video in a low light environment.
- Cell phone covers
Dropshipping cell phone covers may not seem like a great idea at first, but it has many benefits as it is not only affordable but also convenient.
- Artificial plants
Why dropshipping artificial plants? Well, according to Reuters, it’s a billion-dollar market that is growing every year.
Artificial plants are used by both homeowners and businesses for decorative purposes.
- Jewelry
Jewelry really doesn’t take up much packaging space and is lightweight, making it an excellent product for dropshipping. Because of their low weight and small size, shipping costs will be relatively low and, unlike clothing, most customers don’t need to try on each piece of jewelry to know if it will fit or not.
- Gua Sha and facial rollers
Gua Sha and facial rollers are massage tools made of jade stone or quartz, which are believed to firm the skin, minimize fine lines and reduce puffiness.
Online searches for jade rollers began in early 2018 and have grown since then, peaking at the end of August last year, however they are expected to continue their upward trend over the next year.
- Girdles
The dropshipping of girdles is always on the rise, and many of us want to be able to wear that favorite dress feeling confident and without fear that our underwear or those rolls that sometimes we prefer to hide will be revemarque.
Thanks to their small footprint and low weight, shipping costs are generally low.
- Acne patches
Acne patches have been used as a treatment for acne for some years, but only recently began to experience a large increase in search interest and popularity.
They are made of hydrocolloid, a moisture-absorbing material, and work by drying pimples while creating a protective barrier against external bacteria.
- Silicone rings
Silicone rubber may lack the prestige of gold or silver, but it is durable, water resistant and much less expensive. Perhaps that’s why silicone rings have become a popular alternative to metal bands, especially for customers with active or outdoor hobbies.
Silicone rings have been gaining popularity over the past four years, and search volume and sales via dropshipping have remained steady.
- Ceramic car coating
Another ideal dropshipping product, popularized thanks to some YouTube channels and social media content creators. It provides great protection against contaminants and minor scratches, while making the vehicle much easier to clean.
- Sunglasses and blue light
Sunglasses, and those to prevent blue light damage, are an incredibly lucrative and ever-growing industry, making them a smart choice for starting a dropshipping business.
- Accessories for podcasters and youtubers.
Over the past decade, podcasts have seen a steady rise in popularity. According to Statista over 600 million people listen to podcasts worldwide, making their popularity an attractive signal to use this niche in your dropshipping business.
- Portable mini blenders
Portable blenders are a more compact and convenient version of the popular appliance. Smaller versions of blenders have been around for a while, but only recently have “portable blenders” become a product in their own right.
These are easier to transport and store, making them ideal for travelers and smaller one- or two-person households, making them a practical, popular, economical product to ship.
- Pet Accessories
More and more professionals are interested in buying pet toys, food and treats, collars and other accessories/devices from small online stores.
Some of the most popular pet products for dropshipping are:
- Toys, treats, and grooming and dental care items.
- Pet beds
- Biting toy
- Hamster cages
- Cat mats
- Personalized collars
- Harness for dogs
- Car seat protectors
- Cell phone tripods
With the rise of content creation as a profession, tripods have become a must-have accessory for almost anyone with aspirations of generating income on social networks and at the same time an ideal option to start your dropshipping business.
Advantages and disadvantages of dropshipping
Just as dropshipping offers many advantages to those who decide to operate this type of business, there are also some disadvantages that should be taken into account before starting. Let’s take a look at some of them.
4 advantages of dropshipping:
- Low cost
- Ease of configuration
- Location flexibility
- Thousands of product options to sell
- High scalability
4 disadvantages of dropshipping:
- Low profit margin
- Little control over quality and quantity of product in stock.
- Little control over shipping costs
- High competition in some niche markets.
What is the best platform for dropshipping?
Without beating around the bush, the 3 best dropshipping platforms are: Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento.; being Shopify the easiest way to start a dropshipping business for those who don’t have the time or knowledge to create and manage the technical side of an online store.
For its part, WooCommerce is the most used e-commerce platform worldwide, with 30% of the total online stores worldwide, besides being a free tool and relatively easy to install, if you already have a professional website.
Finally, Magento is an incredibly powerful platform, but complex to manage.
In addition to these 3 options, there are other dropshipping platforms, but: how to choose the best e-commerce platform for your dropshipping business? To help you make this decision, let’s look at some selection criteria.
5 Criteria for choosing the best dropshipping platform:
- Setup time and cost.
- Ease of use
- Compatibility with various e-commerce plug-ins.
- Scalability
- 24/7 support.
Other dropshipping platforms to choose from:
- Prestashop
- BigCommerce
- OpenCart
- 3dCart
- osCommerce
- WP eCommerce
- Drupal
- Spree
Dropshipping on Amazon: How to get started?
Starting a dropshipping business on Amazon can be done in a matter of hours. It requires no initial investment and the business operating costs are minimal (i.e. only the cost of the products).
Anyone with access to an internet connection and basic computer skills can. make money with a dropshipping model on Amazon.as long as you understand how it works.
This is the most common way to sell on Amazon with the shopshipping model:
To get started with Amazon dropshipping, you will need a supplier and a manufacturer, in addition to deciding which products you want to sell on your Amazon store. To choose which product to sell, it is advisable to do a market analysis, looking for popular products. After deciding which products you want to sell, you will need to decide on a competitive selling price and set your inventory level.
Manufacturers, suppliers and retailers work together to create the product. The manufacturer will be the one handling production.
The manufacturer produces the product and then passes it on to the supplier, who will then handle the distribution, warehousing and shipping of that product/brand.
They will then inform the retailer so that they can sell it on their site. The system is designed in such a way that only one person can sell a product. However, manufacturers and suppliers often work together to try to generate demand for the product in question by creating multiple listings.
Dropshipping with AliExpress
Starting an online store can be a daunting task with many obstacles. There are several aspects, such as sourcing, shipping and more, that need to be taken into consideration before launching the store.
Aliexpress is one of the most popular services to provide products on a platform. It offers products at very low prices, coming from China and some other countries. It has everything from clothing to household items, which can meet the needs of any store.
Another advantage is that the platform allows you to sell in a variety of ways, such as wholesale, dropshipping and even Shopify integration, which can be done easily.
About the latter option, there are several reasons why it is worth integrating Aliexpress with Shopify. First of all, it is a free app that allows you to import your Aliexpress products to your Shopify store.
And is that integrating Aliexpress with Shopify allows you to use the same product feed for all your channels, making it easier for you to manage your store and promote your products. In addition, you can use this application to import and export products in bulk and manage your inventory.
Oberlo: the secret to dropshipping with Shopify and Aliexpress.
Oberlo is a dropshipping app that allows you to source products from AliExpress suppliers. With Oberlo, you can import products to your Shopify store, edit product lists and place orders individually or in bulk.
Difference between Aliexpress and Oberlo.
AliExpress offers the same products from multiple suppliers, but each supplier has its own pricing and delivery times. Oberlo allows you to change the supplier of a product, which could make the difference between a customer buying from you or buying from a competitor.
When a customer buys something from your store, Oberlo completes the order automatically. All you have to do is verify that the order details are correct and click the Order button. The product is then shipped from the AliExpress dropshipping provider to the customer, no matter where they are in the world.
The best dropshipping suppliers and how to choose where to buy.
One of the most popular ways to find a supplier for your dropshipping store are:
- Through a supplier database, such as Dropship Direct, Alibaba or AliExpress directly.
- Using a supplier directory integrated into your store’s backend, such as Oberlo. With this option the easiest drop shipping process for Shopify stores is through Oberlo. You can source millions of products from the Oberlo marketplace through AliExpress and import them directly into your store at the click of a button.
Dropshipping in Spain, Mexico and Latin America: ¿Is it possible to succeed?
You may be wondering, “Is it possible to start a dropshipping business from anywhere in the world?”
Well, it is possible, but as you can imagine, not all countries are equally accustomed to online shopping. And there are many places in Latin America where the use of credit cards is still quite limited.
