There has been a lot of talk lately about how drop shipping is dead and too popular. In this article, we show that this statement is false and explain why and how.
You may have already noticed that there are more and more articles and social media posts saying that the drop shipping business is full and there’s no reason to open new stores. People talk a lot about niches where it’s impossible to make money. But is this really true, or was it just made up by people with narrow minds? Let’s look at why online retailing has become harder to start and more difficult, how it affects the market, and how to fix it.
Why does it take more work?
In this section, we’ll talk about each cause of this thing in more depth.
Technological advancement
As technology gets better, more and more people are able to get the basic tools they need to start an online store. In a nutshell, what do you need to do it? Power, a way to connect to the Internet, a laptop or PC, a subscription to an e-commerce platform or hosting company, a domain name, and a great idea. Most of the time, these services can be used anywhere in the world. This means that people from all over the world can start an online business. This new fact is both good and bad. It gives people more opportunities and helps third-world countries get better, but it makes drop shipping harder to get into for online retailers.
Same plan time and time again
In a lot of our past articles, we’ve talked about how important a business strategy is. Yes, it’s true that you can’t run a business well without a master plan for how you’ll get prospects and keep them interested. You do have to be creative, though. Paid courses and videos on video-sharing sites will only teach you the most basic and obvious steps. If all the newcomers to the market do the same thing, they will not be successful. The strategy behind these stores is the same, so shopping there is the same as it always has been. To get their attention, you need to think outside the box. Don’t use marketing and business strategies that are decades old, and don’t be naive enough to think that every piece of advice from “gurus” will work for you. Basically, all they do is keep doing the same thing that worked for them and sell the same idea to many people with little change. Don’t fall for this trick, and go somewhere else.
Problems with getting products
As the market seems to get fuller, people start to look for different places to get products. Many of them are still afraid to cut ties with marketplaces, though. This is because suppliers usually want real contracts, and sometimes they only work with companies that are registered. This method makes it harder to find real suppliers because only a small number of people are willing to take a risk and leave their 9-to-5 jobs to start a new, raw, and risky business. Because of this, they decide to work with marketplaces, but these products are all over the internet. They will have a hard time putting their business out there and making it stand out from all the other businesses that sell the same things.
Not to mention that the quality of products from marketplaces is often a surprise, and sometimes they don’t match the description. Shipping takes a long time, which hurts the customer experience in a lot of ways. Also, there isn’t enough good customer service or people speak broken English. Refunds take a long time or sometimes aren’t even possible. Most sellers are not professional because selling cheap products doesn’t require a lot of business skills. All in all, this is a vicious cycle, and people need to stop using the same old methods because they no longer work. You can’t have a lot of success without making some sacrifices and taking some risks.
False expectations
I really think that this has been the reason why Shopify and guru marketing has been going on for so long. Within weeks, people all over the world saw articles, ads, and social media posts about how to get rich quickly. They clicked and jumped on every new chance that gave them a better way to live and the chance to work for themselves. How could they not? I mean, who doesn’t want to be wealthy with little work? On social media, there were a lot of screenshots from the Shopify store admin that showed how people made six figures in just two or three weeks with no initial investment. Entrepreneurs who jumped on this chance early had a high chance of being successful because there wasn’t much competition yet.
I feel like Shopify and all of its supporters were pushing this marketing gimmick so hard even after it was no longer possible. People can finally see the truth now that this bubble has burst. You can’t make a million, a thousand, or even a hundred dollars in a few weeks if you don’t work. Today, 80% of posts on social media are about stores with a lot of visitors but no sales, stores that haven’t made any money in months, and people looking for alternatives to Shopify. Well, it’s true that it’s hard. This is the result of a false marketing strategy that has been used for years to get people excited about drop shipping and then let them down when they are ready to start.
How do we get out of all this mess?
What should we do?
Even though it may seem impossible to start a drop-shipping business in this situation, that’s not the case. It’s harder than it used to be and takes more persistence, thinking outside the box, and creativity, but it’s still possible. Get your business out of the rut of doing things the same way all the time. Look beyond the easy answers and what the gurus tell you to do. Don’t waste your money on marketing on Facebook and Instagram (IG) or on “influencers” who don’t do anything for you. Do good SEO, use interactive ads like Wyng, and write guest articles for other websites that link back to your store. Use suppliers, not marketplaces, the most. So, you can be sure to get high-quality products that are unique and not already on the market. Choose remote warehousing, a slight variation on drop shipping, to check the products you sell and give your customers a better buying experience. It also helps you cut down on shipping time, since it’s best to work with suppliers close to you. Also, if you work with more than one supplier and a customer orders from more than one, you can make sure that all of the items the customer ordered will come in one package.
Even though it hurts, you should spend money and time on it. Try to forget the fake marketing messages about the process that say you only need a few hours a day. You will have to work hard to get your business going and keep it going. Yes, you do need to put money in it. Just think about the Shopify plan, the theme, setting up the store, marketing, the products, the supplier, and so on. All the things you’ve heard about how easy and cheap it is are not true. You can keep using the same methods and approaches as thousands of other drop shippers, but as you can see, many of them fail in the end. If all of these things have made you wonder if Shopify is right for you, this article will help you decide if it is.
Don’t think that working hard at night after work will be enough. You won’t be able to get enough sleep or open a store that works well. You can open it without finishing it, but what’s the point if it won’t make money? We know that these sentences and statements are the exact opposite of what is being said in the mainstream media. It’s up to you whether or not you want to listen to what we say. The most important thing is to never give up on your dreams and to take some risks to make them come true. Do more than other people.