Dropshipping is a strategy for people to sell products without ever seeing the stock or storing it. To do this, an online store needs to be created and once created, consumers will purchase products from this store. This sale will then be passed onto the supplier where they will deal with the order. As easy as that sounds, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is an easy way to make money despite how it sounds.
There is a lot of time and effort required for a sustainable dropshipping business. Nevertheless, if you consider it and are willing to put in this time and effort, you should certainly consider this business model.
The Hard Truths About Dropshipping in 2024
You have likely heard of dropshipping to be a fantastic business model from influencers on TikTok and Instagram. They will post pictures and videos of them enjoying life in Dubai and claim it is all from dropshipping. However, although that may be the case for some influencers, it isn’t true for everyone.
There is a lot of time and effort required for a dropshipping business. Especially when you want to stand out from the rest of the dropshippers, let’s look at some drawbacks to drop shipping.
There Isn’t a Lot of Profit
One of the main issues with dropshipping is that there isn’t much profit. You may think differently because of the lack of overheads required, even with the fact you don’t have to have a physical store. You can just sell everything online without having to worry about paying rent and other bills. But, that isn’t the case.
Time is money and there needs to be a lot of time put into dropshipping. First, you have market research. You need to research what is in demand but not people are selling already. If they are selling this product for more than it is worth, you can try and undercut them. The issue with that is there is less profit in your sale.
Something else that will cost you money is a website and managing fees for marketing. You can do this yourself or get someone else to do it for you. However, we suggest you do it yourself as you reduce the marketing costs.
A Competitive Market
Dropshipping is a very competitive market where everybody tries to undercut one another. The reason is because of how quick and easy it is to start up. It also requires little money to keep it running, including the website and marketing side.
Another issue with dropshipping is that you likely don’t have a deal with your suppliers. Therefore, other people can sell the same product as you and just sell it for slightly less. They could even sell it for the same price. All they require is a better marketing strategy than you and then they are more likely to sell the product more than you.
If you find a product, ensure you research the market to see that nobody else is selling it to the scale you would like to. If you struggle to find people selling this product on Google, they don’t have an effective marketing strategy. That is your opportunity to shine and get the sales over them.
No Control with Suppliers
The issue with dropshipping is that you don’t have control over your suppliers. For example, if there are any quality issues with the product, you will likely have to deal with the complaints. This is where you can lose money because you have to give people refunds.
Dealing with customers is one of the biggest difficulties when it comes to business-to-consumer companies. Customers are extremely difficult to communicate with, especially if they are unhappy about the product. No matter what the situation is, try your best to make the customer happy at the end of the interaction. The last thing you want is for them to be putting negative comments on your social media profile or Google business page.
Building a Brand Isn’t that Easy
Many people think that building a brand is easy although it isn’t. Due to the competitiveness of the e-commerce world, it is even harder to build a brand in 2024 than it was 10-15 years ago. Additionally, if the consumer notices that it is another brand of your product, they will likely look to buy it from you as they are likely to get it cheaper.
Is Dropshipping Worth It?
Yes and no. If you want a simple business model that you are willing to put a lot of time and effort into. It is a good idea. The issue that people have is that it requires too much time and effort, therefore, they lose out on money. If you are persistent with your marketing strategy, you can keep on top of your competitors and don’t have to worry about sales. As soon as you forget about your strategy, the competition will be overwhelming and you will soon see that you are getting very little sales.
The key to dropshipping is to make sure you are not sticking to the same product for too long. The reason is that this product will no longer be a trend. Therefore, you need to find new products that are also trending.
Finding new trends can be difficult and once you do find a new trend, you will see there are a lot of people already doing it. The key is to find a product that many people know about and then your marketing strategy would help to put that product out there. Remember, if you ever see a product that very few companies are selling, consider undercutting it so other people start to buy your product.
Summary
Although many entrepreneurs believe dropshipping has passed its sell-by date, it is still an effective model if done correctly. There isn’t much profit in this type of work. Nevertheless, this small amount of profit you gain can be used for a more stable business model. Dropshipping won’t make you millions of dollars when selling clothes. However, it can be put towards paying for a warehouse to mass-produce full tracksuits and kickstart your own clothing brand.
