With the world going digital, E-Commerce businesses are booming like never before. The total volume of retail e-commerce sales across the globe will exceed 2 trillion US dollars. With downward spiral in other businesses, it’s high time someone should be seriously thinking about E-Commerce as a way to earn money.
First option
Earlier people with a low budget used to earn money through affiliate marketing. In this business model, people used to promote someone else’s products and earn commission on it. But, affiliate marketing needs lots of efforts, marketing, and promotion to attract customers.
Second option
This second option is to sell the products of other sellers online. You can do it by creating a seller ID on eCommerce sites like Amazon and taking complete responsibility for marketing, taking orders and shipping those products to the customers.
But this business model was also highly flawed because you needed to rent a warehouse and invest money in arranging inventory for your products and if somehow you couldn’t sell, then there was hardly any option to return the products.
Dropshipping, a new eCommerce business model
Dropshipping has come as a pleasant surprise for all those wannabe Internet entrepreneurs, who want to utilize the power of the Internet by selling products through their online venture. Besides being faster and easier, this is an extremely low-risk business and can be started by anyone.
You need not go for any heavy investments to start a dropshipping business. In this article, we will explain how this business works and what you should know before you jump into it.
Business prospects
If you are still apprehensive about the profitability and success of this business model, then you must know that 33% of the worldwide ecommerce industry is using dropshipping as their business model, which makes it a proven businesses stream.
How to find dropshipping opportunities
There are many dropshippers in the market. Even the e-commerce giant like Amazon is using it. One of the biggest benefits of this business is that you are not bound by the hassles of traditional businesses.
No packaging and shipping
You can choose any product in any of the niche. Say goodbye to the old warehouse model and massive inventory associated with it. With this business model, packaging and shipping are no more a headache for you.
You don’t need to put your money up front in order to buy the products you’re not sure of. So, you are not gambling on it. With dropshipping as a business model, you need to work with a distributor offering this service.
All you need to do is to set up your own website or open a virtual storefront on sites like Amazon and have to take care of all the marketing and promotion including maintaining a blog. You can also leverage email marketing and social media to promote your business online. It means it is entirely your responsibility as far as attracting customers and getting more sales is concerned.
As soon as you receive the order, you will forward its details to your dropshipper and from this point, the dropshipper will take over until the product gets delivered.
You have to pay the wholesale price of the product, but the dropshippers will also deduct some handling and shipping charges. However, even after subtracting this amount you will be left with some of the well-deserved profits.
The margins are thinner but you can always
- Raise your prices as much as the market can bear
- Play with large volumes
- Negotiate with your dropshipper for a lower handling charges
Choose your business niche based on your interest, so you won’t have to work hard. Work passionately to promote your business, so your business becomes fun.
If you want to find hot niches, you can check with e-commerce giants like Amazon or Flipkart, etc. You can also choose products according to important events during the year, such as IPL, seasons and festive occasions like Diwali, Holi, Christmas and Eid to sell related products.
Last but not the least, don’t be intimidated by the increasing competition because this is just an illusion and lots and lots of new entrants are making money through this business model. Take the first step in this direction and join the world of entrepreneurship with confidence.
Always do some research, try the product yourself before contacting a dropshipper. You will not be happy selling the poor quality products at high prices. Consult dropshipper directories to find dropshippers.
