Introduction

By definition, dropshipping is a form of product fulfillment in which a customer’s order is shipped directly from the supplier, as opposed to shipping from a retailer. This model removes the need for a retailer (you) to stock products in a warehouse, which saves a lot of overhead expense.

Dropshipping is used by countless companies, large and small, all over the world. It’s a proven, effective model and is also a great strategy for small and/or new retailers to start selling with less up-front capital. Oftentimes, dropshipping suppliers can get better prices from couriers than a small or just-starting online retailer, which means they can pass those savings along to you.

The dropshipping process looks something like this:

• A customer visits your site and finds a product they’d like to buy
• The customer places an order for the product from your store and pays you
• You pass that order information along to your dropshipper, who keeps the products in stock in their warehouse, and pay the wholesale price to the supplier
• The dropshipper packages and ships the product directly to the customer
• You keep the margin between your retail price and the supplier’s wholesale price as profit

With this explanation in mind, we’ll delve into the factors that make dropshipping successful.

Read the full guide below: