Dropshipping

With an ecommerce business based on dropshipping you only pay your supplier for the products you actually sell. This means that you do not keep products in stock and you are not the one shipping orders. Even though it is not your ideal get-rich-quick scheme, it is a very popular business model for online stores.

Content

• What is dropshipping?
• Dropshipping companies (in Europe)
• The benefits
• The disadvantages
• Frequently Asked Questions

What is dropshipping?

With a dropshipping store, you sell products in your own online store that are shipped directly from a supplier or wholesale company.

The customer still buys your products, but the order goes to the manufacturer or wholesaler who will then take care of the delivery. You do not need to send a parcel yourself and you do not need to have shipping software. All in all, this popular ecommerce method has its advantages and disadvantages.

The supplier will take care of the storage, and delivers the product directly to your customer.

Dropshipping suppliers (in Europe)

If you are looking for dropshipping companies, it can be hard to find the perfect one. It is also rather impossible to list all dropshipping suppliers here, as there are countless suppliers suited for different retailers, industries, and countries. Here are three companies that might be interesting:

The popularity of dropshipment

The dropshipping business model is getting more and more popular. And it seems to be used mostly by entrepreneurs who just started their ecommerce business. Many products you see in Instagram ads, for example, are sold by online retailers who are active in the dropshipping business.

Customers often do not notice that an online business is selling products through dropshipping, although there are some factors that could give it away. Think of very long delivery times or generic product images which you can also find on other websites (like with AliExpress dropshipping).

Customers often do not notice that a business is selling products through dropshipping.

Marketshare of dropshipping stores is increasing

Dropshipping businesses are nothing new, but now that suppliers take it more seriously the opportunities for ecommerce companies are better than ever. Back in 2014, a study showed that between 22 and 33 percent of online retailers in the US used it as their primary method of order fulfillment. Since then, it gained in popularity and the share has only gotten higher in the recent years.

This is because more and more suppliers offer to use their warehouse space and integrations for popular ecommerce software. This enables retailers to go into the dropshipping business.

Another study by the Lehigh University, showed that dropshipping was recognized by 88 percent of retailers as being “inevitable for their long-term success”. Among the benefits, they mentioned increased revenue and improved customer support.

The benefits of dropshipping

There are many benefits to dropshipment. The most important one is that with this method, you probably do not have to invest a lot in order to start an ecommerce store.

With the ‘traditional’ way of conducting ecommerce, you buy products in bulk, you stock them somewhere and you ship them whenever someone orders them. This means that you need money to buy the products, you need warehouse storage space to stock your products, you need proper stock control and you need logistics companies to get the items shipped.

With dropshipping, you only need to make a deal with a wholesaler or manufacturer that takes care of the storage of the products. Then, if a customer orders a product in your online store, the company that has manufactured and stocked the products in a warehouse will deliver them to the customer.

With dropshipping, you only need to make a deal with a wholesaler or manufacturer.

Another advantage: you do not need to worry about products that do not sell well. This also means that you will not have stock that could get out of date, that could get out-of-season or that might end up even worse in case of a fire, flood, or other (natural) disaster in your warehouse.

For starters and growing online stores

It can be a low risk business model. Therefore, to start a dropshipping business seems like the ideal way of doing business for entrepreneurs who are new to the game. But it could also be an easy way to scale your business. If you are ready to sell more items, just import products of your dropship partner (or maybe close a deal with an additional one) in your shop. Scaling your online store is literally a mouse click away from you.

Dropshipping seems an ideal business method for new entrepreneurs.

Expanding your assortment

This is why it can be ideal for expanding your product range. If, for example, you are not sure if certain products or product categories will turn out to be a success, just use dropshipping to find out. If it does not fit your online store or business model, just remove the items from your store. There is no obsolete stock you need to get rid of!

Up-selling opportunities

Dropshipping can also be used for up-selling opportunities. Imagine that you do have stock and you sell a very popular product. Maybe you are the only one in your market that sells this product. That is great, but you could be missing out on extra revenue if you do not up-sell.

With a third party supplier that offers shipping this can become an effortless job. Just pick out the goods that perfectly accompany your unique product and offer them in your online store through dropshipping. This way, you do not have to invest much to maximize the possibilities of your online store.

Are you looking for wholesale suppliers from all over the world? For just $67, Salehoo offers you access to over 1,000 trusted dropship suppliers.

The disadvantages of dropshipping

Of course, there are also many disadvantages. And many flashy marketing websites promoting dropshipment often do not elaborate on these drawbacks. But it is important to know what you are dealing with once you make the decision to operate a shop through dropshipping.

You are still responsible

The most crucial disadvantage of dropshipping is that you still have a responsibility to your customers.

They may end up getting the products from your dropshipping partner, but they  placed the order with you. As an online retailer getting the money from the customer, you are the party that is responsible when that customer is not satisfied with the order, even when you ‘outsource’ your warehousing, fulfillment and shipping.

So, if a dropshipping wholesaler or manufacturer gets in trouble and can not manage to ship the products in time, or the products go out of stock, you are the one who has to solve this issue with the customer.

Not the most original assortment

Another drawback of the method is that, due to the popularity and the limited number of dropship providers, you probably will not have the most original offer out there. The products you can sell with a dropshipping model, are also the products thousands of other ecommerce businesses can and will sell.

Generic product images

You should also pay attention to your product images when you are starting a dropshipping business. Usually, there is nothing wrong with the product images provided by suppliers.  However, sometimes they are not very detailed, or they are made for a different target group (Chinese consumers for example) than the one you are aiming for.

An extra drawback with regards to these generic product images is that it is quite easy to find the original source with tools like Tineye.com or reverse image search features in search engines like Google and Yandex. These can be used by both your customers and your competitors! With a simple query, customers can buy the exact same item somewhere else (maybe for a lower price), while your competitors can easily find out where you buy your products and then sell these themselves.

Are you looking for suppliers and wholesalers? For $67, Salehoo offers you access to their database with over 8,000 trusted dropship suppliers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about dropshipping:

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is a business method in which online retailers sell goods they do not store themselves. Often it is the wholesale supplier or manufacturer that handles the storage, fulfilment and shipping. The customer still buys from the online retailer.

How is dropshipping different from wholesale ecommerce?

It is similar to wholesale, but there is an important difference. With wholesale, you buy the items you want to sell and you stock them. With dropshipping, another company is taking care of the storage of products and the fulfillment (getting the items to your customers). You only pay for the items customers have ordered.

How do you take care of returns with dropshipping?

As an online retailer in the European Union, you are still responsible for possible returns. In the EU, the rules state that customers must have the opportunity to cancel and return their online order within 14 days.

So, if you sell items online through a dropshipping program, you are responsible for that process. If a product is broken or defective, you might consider shipping a new product to your customers without asking them to return the broken one. Otherwise, the costs could be too high for you.

For non-defective products you could charge shipping costs if the customer wants to return the items.

Where do I find dropshipping products?

Many people who are interested in dropshipping want to know how to find products to sell online. A good way is just browsing the assortment of wholesale platforms. If you are looking for wholesalers that offer shipping to consumers as well, please check out our list of European dropshipping suppliers.