Newbie

[kawabri]

Hi everyone , my name is Brian, and i am looking into starting a small online business , either dropshipping or reselling , have not decided yet , maybe some experienced members could start me in the right direction.

[DropshipForum]

Hi Kawabri,

Welcome to Dropship Forum :)

Since you are new to dropshipping, it is important that you understand that dropshipping is more complicated than normal reselling. It seems to be a paradox, because the assumption is that it should be simpler because you don't have to hold any stock. The truth is in fact the opposite. Its simplicity makes it accessible to more resellers (your competitors), and therefore in most cases the profit margins are low to non existent (especially if you are reselling online). Further, because it attracts many new starters who assume that dropshipping is easy, it is also rife with scams and all kinds of websites making absurd claims just to get your money.

Therefore, it is right that you are aware of how dropshipping really works:

1. You start at a disadvantage vs. resellers that can buy in bulk/wholesale

2. Because it appears to be simpler to set up, you are automatically in competition with many more people, all trying to sell products from those overpriced biz-in-a-box "dropshippers"

Dropshipping can work, but you MUST first choose a unique and well thought out strategy, unless you want to spend the rest of your business life constantly looking for a new evasive profit opportunity:

1. Dropshipping is not difficult, the difficult part is finding a niche.

2. Do not be tempted by those websites claiming to offer you a dream business, IF only you paid a fee to join them. They are all overpriced, and they distance you from how a successful dropshipping business needs to be set up.

3. Try working with manufacturers, preferably local to you, and focus on a specific market segment. Evaluate its potential, create a website focused around your niche, and then market it using SEO, targeted search engine marketing, social media, blogs, and industry related forums to build up a customers database.

4. Profile each customer, and aim for repeat business (aiming for repeat business also means choosing products that require a repeat purchase, ie that are perishable over time and that therefore require repurchase).

Once you have made these considerations, post any additional questions and we will be very happy to guide you accordingly :)

[kawabri]

Thanks for the advice admin.i will follow it , still not sure what i want to do , i thought about reselling , have you or anyone heard of a company called resellers-heaven , i believe they deal exclusively through a co. called Paydotcom , they just do e-books . There are that many it's hard to know who are scammers and who are the real deal. It's owned by a guy called sean clark. Please can someone advise.

[DropshipForum]

Those kind of out-of-the-box programs are a thing of the past. Search engines are starting to penalize all duplicate content sites, and you will struggle to justify marketing costs vs. return.

[kawabri]

Thanks Admin , i was thinking exactly that ,what i thought about doing to gain experience was to buy a couple of e-books with reselling rights to get used to having a website and editing it , as well as practicing SEO and Keywords . I think i could do that quite cheaply , maybe a hosted website with ready made templates , what do you think? i think You could easily throw a lot of money at this business just trying to learn.As you say these out of the box programs look like they are the bottom rung of an upsell ladder , which you would throw money at to regain your initial investment.
Thanks for your help.

[DropshipForum]

How about creating your own info product instead? :)

Profit starts from being unique. As soon as you sell something that is directly comparable to a product sold by your competitors, you become comparable on price, and the only way left to compete is to decrease your price and therefore reduce your margins. Instead, make your product so unique that it can't be easily compared, and market it in a way that creates a desire to buy it.

This also applies to products. Consider partnering with niche manufacturers and distributors, ask about private label opportunities, and market the products on merit rather than brand name. Also consider developing products that require consumables, that way you can sell one core product and continue generating revenue with its associated perishable accessories (printers and cartridges are a perfect example of a product that once sold can generate repeat revenue).