Is Dropshipping Business Dead or Still Profitable

One of the widely asked questions about eCommerce is that “Is dropshipping business dead?” or “Is the dropshipping business still profitable?” Sellers as well as consumers have been curious about these things for a good time and the answer change with every new day. In this article, we are going to analyze the arguments of both sides and then conclude if there is a full and final answer to this question? Is one of the biggest ecommerce business going to its end or is it still running?

Is Dropshipping Business Dead?

People do think that the dropshipping business is not profitable anymore, and with every passing year as new technology emerges, this debate gets more and more common. But when we look at its key statistics and its growth graph, we see an overall spike in this business, which shows that the dropshipping business is still growing and its trend is increasing with passing time. According to some statistics, eCommerce and dropshipping profits have reached over $4 billion, which is a 7% year on year growth for the last ten years. So why do people think that dropshipping is not alive anymore?

Problems with Dropshipping (User related):

Most users think that dropshipping is not alive anymore because of the problems that come with such sort of business. Following are some of them:

• Product delivery can take much time which results in an unsatisfied customer
• Usually customers get unbranded products which make customers unhappy
• As dropshipping involves a third party so you cannot control your services.
• Since you are dependent on a third party, their packaging is cheap and it does not end well.
• Customer service is scarcely available

Concept of Dropshipping:

When it comes to dropshipping, people usually order the products they “want, not the products they “need.” There is a huge difference between the two. When people are getting a product they “want” at much less cost as compared to branded ones, they can wait for that. For example if a customer orders an apple smartwatch, he or she might not require it for next week. It is what a customer “wants” and do not “need.” This concept is taking dropshipping ahead and its trend is growing due to these reasons.

Problems with Dropshipping (Seller Related):

Sellers find the dropshipping business highly saturated and they think that there is no more room for newbies in there. And they are not wrong, there has been a huge competition in this eCommerce business from the last few years, but it does not implement that one cannot jump into this ocean. With proper strategy, planning, and keeping in view all the pre-requisites, anyone can leap this business.

Another problem which most sellers face is an extreme delay in the delivery of items, many complaints from the consumers, and difficulty to turn their dropshipping store into a brand. A seller must find solid solutions for these problems. Reliable and trustworthy sources and companies can help a seller tackle the first two problems. But the third one is dependent on the strategy of the seller.

But this business is not for those who want to make quick money, you need to invest a lot of your time and endeavor hard if you want success. But total reliance on this business will not be a good option right now, one must have some pretty good options to fall back on. With the world changing exponentially, making dropshipping an additional source of income is better than making it the only source of income.

Benefits of Dropshipping:

It’s a low cost and significant yields business. It doesn’t take a great deal of speculation to set up a dropshipping store since you don’t need to keep a stock, you don’t need to deliver any item, and you don’t have to enlist a lot of staff (or any whatsoever generally). But this does not mean your success is guaranteed. Without proper planning, it will become harder to continue this business.

These are not the only reason for choosing this business, the world has shown its great interest in the field of eCommerce and eCommerce has become more lucrative than ever.

• The world has shown huge interest in eCommerce
• Buying online has become a trend and it is growing more.
• Merchants appreciate the idea of dropshipping and are acknowledging it.
• Online payments are becoming easier.
• It can assist the online paid marketing campaigns
• It almost cost nothing as compared to traditional businesses.

How to Start a Dropshipping Business:

Despite the benefits of dropshipping business giving above, it takes much more to become successful in this business. Just like every other business, you have to overcome a lot of problems to achieve some milestones. Some of the points have been discussed here:

• Never choose those platforms which take much time to deliver products to the consumer, because it ultimately results in poor customer review. Instead, go for those websites that can deliver quality products in less time.
• Since there is a lot of saturation in this business, so you cannot risk the way you start. You must start with the products which people “want” instead of items that people “need.” People can trade off on the products which they want but needs cannot be compromised in any case. Electronic Items can be a good choice.
• Choosing a niche is the foremost step while starting an eCommerce business. You cannot just go into any product you want. Experience is the key, and to get the right sort of experience, you need to hunt some products. You should invest time in hunting a product that is running and yield more profit. This process is called “product hunting.” If your marketing is done right, it will yield you more profit than expectations.
• To start, you can have a little stock as well for which you give the option of “immediate shopping” to consumers. By doing so, you can stand out in the swarming environment of eCommerce.
• You must be sure about the dropshipping companies you are going to use. Some new companies have many advantages over the old ones as they have resolved many issues which were always an issue in the dropshipping business.

There are a thousand methods to take a head start in the eCommerce business but in the end, it all comes down to the strategy you make and plan you follow. Because of huge competition, you need a little extra effort to become successful.

Best Products to Sell:

Below is the customized list of products which are the best and most lucrative to sell:

1. Ear Plugs, Neck Phone Holder, Wireless Charger, Car Phone Holder and other daily used electronic related items
2. Smart Watches, Dash Cams, Video Doorbells, Selfie Drones, and such things which can attract tech enthusiast.
3. Beauty and health-related products which are commonly used. A slightly better marketing strategy can boost business by multiple folds in this category.

These products are just an overview, but it is not necessary to stick to these items. As mentioned earlier, product hunting plays the main role in this game. If you are successful in searching for the product which is attracting the maximum number of consumers, then you can build your store on basis of that product.

Best Dropshipping Websites:

A few years ago, there were not many websites and companies which were offering dropshipping services. But with time, there have come many websites on the surface which is offering better services than old ones and are resolving the traditional issues linked with this idea of dropshipping business. Some of these websites are attached below:

1. Worldwide brands
2. Oberlo
3. Wholesale2b
4. Megagoods
5. Dropship designs
6. Inventory Source

You can select any of the above or any other company which best serves the purpose of your business.

Legal Problems:

Dropshipping all alone is completely authentic however it might raise a legitimate issue dependent on your supplier, products, and national strategy towards it.

1. Supplier Issues: You have to Dropship your product from a reliable and confided in supplier in any case your client may not get the ideal quality product which may end up being a legitimate issue with the client.

1. Products Issues: To sell distinctive marked products you should be their approved seller, you can likewise not sell imitations of these marked products and a few products are not lawful to be sold in explicit areas. So you have to comprehend the lawful issues of the products before getting it Drop Shipped.

1. Government Policy: Ecommerce Dropshipping strategy fluctuates from nation to nation. So you have to consider the government strategy that it doesn’t comply with the current law. Every country has its own rules when it comes to eCommerce business, you should know the basics of them and comply with all of them to avoid any hitch in the future.

Conclusion:

We have discussed in greater detail the dropshipping business, and we have proved that it is still alive and doing well. But what about its future? Certainly, we cannot talk about the long term future of any business as technology is changing and advancing rapidly. But in near future, the dropshipping business is not going anywhere apparently; and it will keep on growing more and more.

Technology is like a double-edged sword, on the one side it unlocks new dimensions and creates new ways to do business but on the other hand, it vanishes the old business models and fails previous tactics.

Take the example of things like Google AdSense, a few years ago it was easy to earn money from it by the method of cost per click but now it takes a lot more to rank your website by proper use of SEO. You can still earn some money but you cannot build your whole empire on it. The same is the case with dropshipping, a few years ago AliExpress was the only famous platform for drop shipping but now there are many.

You can still earn from dropshipping but building your whole empire on basis of it is not that easy. Without hard work and decent strategies, it cannot give you much.