Dropshipping is a newer form of e-commerce that excites many hopeful entrepreneurs. Selling products online without holding inventory? The ability to work from anywhere, anytime, even in your pajamas? It sounds easy, and specific aspects of dropshipping are. You can have a website up and running in minutes with platforms like Shopify.
However, dropshipping is not without its caveats. While it may seem like less work than traditional e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores, there are still challenges that online sellers face. Here are some frequently encountered difficulties and how to address them:
Finding the Right Suppliers
The most important process in establishing a drop shipping business, in addition to developing a website is to find appropriate suppliers to dropship from. E-commerce can be defined simply as selling merchandise; if you wish to do that, like the name suggests, you’ll have to use electronics. It is far less stressful than having to make them yourself or purchase them prior to the event, but careful research must be done into which companies you wish to deal with.
Entering a relationship with a supplier may sound easy, don’t you just pick up the phone and order? But the process is much more rigorous. Some dropship suppliers out there are fraudulent. Some will try to take advantage of you. Others might be a hassle to work with. These companies are necessary to avoid, so if you want to be a dropshipper, save yourself a significant amount of trouble and do not neglect your homework.
How do you find legitimate suppliers? Platforms like Oberlo and AliExpress simplify the task. However, you still need to ensure that your partners are in strategic locations, communicative (international suppliers may not speak English), and reliable. Consider asking drop shippers who have used particular manufacturers in the past about their experiences with them.
You must also pay attention to how compliant and transparent your suppliers are. Are they following all the regulations they need to? Be sure to enact strong service level agreements (SLAs) that detail your expectations of one another and potential consequences in case of violations (there is technology available to provide insight into how your suppliers are performing regarding your SLA guidelines).
Dealing with shipping issues
One of the most significant risks associated with dropshipping is that when something goes wrong, your customers will turn to you to fix it, even if it’s not your fault. Did the incorrect quantity ship? Was an item damaged? Was there a delay? Is an item out of stock? Did a shipment go to the wrong address? Whatever it was, you need to be ready to pick up the phone and call your suppliers to resolve the matter.
![Dealing with shipping issues](https://stuffablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Child-Abuse-Crimes-exist-in-Florida-2-1024x538.jpg)
Ecommerce Insiders recommends retaining proof of the shipping address you provided your supplier so that you know whose fault it is. It’s time to discuss remedy costs. Remember to carefully review every invoice your suppliers send you.
Sometimes, you might be able to catch an error on an invoice before the items leave the warehouse, so your customer never has a problem with their order. If something happens, it is your brand’s reputation on the line, not your suppliers’, so be alert and don’t ally with partners prone to mistakes.
Branding and marketing
The entire reason why consumers purchase from you and not someone else when dropshipping is branding. You need to be more trustworthy and communicative than your competitors (of course, affordable prices always help). The dropshipping business model frees up much of your time to focus on outreach, so be sure you establish a brand that people are willing to tell their friends about.
There is also the issue of packaging. Other e-commerce stores can print their logo on their packages or include a few stickers, but you do not always have such a guarantee. Thankfully, some suppliers are willing to include branded marketing material with your orders to be more competitive and emphasize that you are the seller, not them.
According to a study from Dotcom Distribution, 40 percent of surveyed consumers said they would be either somewhat or much more likely to return to an online seller if their order arrived in a “gift-like or premium package.”
Another thing that does not cause damage is to say thank you and send it in an e-mail, in your social networks, or whenever people order in your shop.
Dropshipping is an advantageous business model that many people find suitable for carrying out their business activities, although it suffers from the disadvantage of flexibility, which does not equal ease of business. To answer this question, one has to ask this question: If one intends to be a drop shipper what challenges does he or she try to anticipate?