How To Dropship And Succeed

Today, dropshipping is one of the most popular e-commerce business models for a reason: it allows you to start an online business without all the initial costs and hassles that come with managing your own inventory and shipping products. But, as with any business model, dropshipping does come with its challenges. In this blog post, we'll go over some of those challenges and how you can overcome them.

Finding a Supplier

Dropshipping has changed the way we do business; that doesn't meant it's perfect: in fact, one of the most common challenges dropshippers face is finding the right supplier for their products. Dropshipping can be difficult for businesses because they don't have control over their own inventory. So if a supplier runs out of stock or if there's an issue with one of your suppliers, it can cause problems for you as well. You can find tens of thousands of them online, but it's important that you find a great one. Otherwise, your business could be ruined from the start. Here's what you need to know to make sure you find the right one:

1. A Good Reputation

The internet is rife with stories of dropshippers who have been burned by their suppliers—either through dishonesty or through flat-out failure. And this isn't because dropshippers are necessarily gullible; it's because good dropshipping suppliers are hard to come by.

Make sure you can find reviews online about your potential supplier and that those reviews are positive. Ask around in your small business circles or on social media if anyone has had experience with them. Don't be afraid to dig a little deeper: ask for references and actual customers who are working with them now, even though they might not want to give them out. It's important that you do all the right upfront due-diligence to avoid a catastrophic partnership.

2. The Right Products

If you're going to be selling jewelry, then your potential supplier should be someone who specializes in jewelry manufacturing or distribution. They should have a huge selection of products, and should be able to work with you as far as customization goes (if that's something you'll want). In other words, if your supplier doesn't sound like they specialize in the category of products you are interested in, you should maybe explore other options.

Finding the Right Products

Finding the right products for your dropshipping store is one of the most important steps in the process. It's all about finding something that solves a problem for people who are willing to pay for it. If you're able to do that, you'll be well on your way to setting up a successful dropshipping store.

The first step is to figure out your niche. There are a lot of different kinds of dropshippers, from ones who sell clothing and accessories, to those who sell home décor, electronic accessories, or even pet supplies. To find the right niche for you, start by making a list of what you're interested in. Don't worry about whether something sells or not; just think about what makes you feel excited when you look at it and what would make you excited to sell it. After you've got a good list going, think about each item individually and ask yourself:

• What problems does this help people solve?
• Is there anything I can add to this product that would make it solve more problems or help people solve them better?
• Who is your target audience?
• What is the products availability?
• How competitive is the market?

The products you choose to sell in your dropshipping store will ultimately determine the success of your business. Choosing products that appeal to your target audience and that meet a real need or desire can be the difference between profit and loss.

Inventory and Shipping Times

Once we've decided what types of products you're going to sell, it's time to think about how many you need to have on hand. One of the biggest challenges of dropshipping is being able to control inventory and shipping times. After all, if you’re not directly in control of your product, how can you make sure that customers get what they ordered on time? The answer is this: by making sure that your suppliers have a reliable system in place to track and fulfill orders.

When you work with the right e-commerce solution, you can find the suppliers who have systems established to track inventory and guarantee that their products get shipped out within a certain window of time. For example, some suppliers may promise that orders placed before 2:00 PM will be shipped out within 24 hours. Other suppliers may offer real-time tracking for each order so that you can monitor it every step of the way from fulfillment to delivery.

The more information your suppliers share with you, the better off you’ll be when it comes to tracking inventory and keeping your customers happy. In fact about 89% of shoppers are more likely to return to a website if it provides free shipping. Customers want products delivered as quickly as possible!

Cash Flow

When you're working in a dropshipping business, cash flow can be the difference between success and failure. When you're just getting started, it can be hard to know where to begin.

Your payment processor plays a significant role in this and is one of the most important components of your business. It allows you to receive payments from customers and transfer funds from them to the company with whom you have a dropshipping arrangement. Luckily, we have some tips that will help you get on track with a solid cash flow management strategy from the get-go, so you can ensure your business has the resources it needs to grow. This begins by choosing the right payment processor for your business to ensure you can continue to fulfill your product. To help you with this process, here's a guide to what to look for when selecting a payment processor:

• Fees: Read the fine print! You don't want to be hit with unexpected fees that can eat up your profits.
• Customer service: How will the processor handle disputed charges or refunds? Can you talk to someone if problems arise? Is their customer service available with a real person?
• Deposits: How quickly do you get deposits? What happens when you run higher amounts of volume; are there any deposit delays?
• Integration: Will the processor work with your existing website and systems? If not, it may be more trouble than it's worth.
  

Conclusion

You always need the right tools to run a business, and the same is true in dropshipping. You need a good store, reliable suppliers and the right payment provider. Turn your dropshipping business into a goldmine with Redde Payments! We make it easy for you to manage your sales and deposits in one convenient place. And with our fully-integrated payments platform, you'll never have to worry about receiving your money, it's there right when you need it!

With over 15 years of experience in the payments industry, we know what it takes to help you grow your business—and we're here to help. Sign up today!