Dropshipping can be a great way to start your own online business with less money and more convenience. Here's how to get started.

1. DROPSHIPPING 101
Getting Started
With a Dropshipping
Business

2. Dropshipping is a simple enough concept: You set up
an eCommerce store and use suppliers to fulfill your
orders and ship them out to your customers.
This retail fulfillment method means that the
merchant doesn't have to handle or deal with the
product.
Dropshipping is designed so the merchant doesn't
have to store any inventory and there is no worrying
about any logistics or shipping costs.
UNDERSTANDING
DROPSHIPPING

3. DROPSHIPPING CLASSIC
1 - The customer orders and pays
you for the product.
2 - Only after you get the money
from the customer will you pay the
supplier to fulfill the order.
3 - The supplier ships the product
directly to the customer.
1 - You get the items from the
supplier. You also pay them at this
time.
2 - The customer orders and pays
you for the product.
3 - You ship the order to the
customer.

4. PROS & CONS
Pros
Low Investment - One of the biggest
advantages of dropshipping is that you
can launch an eCommerce store without
having to sink hundreds or thousands of
dollars into inventory. You aren't
manufacturing anything yourself or
storing any goods so there is no need to
actually create a product.
Easy to Start - Other than finding a
supplier and setting up your online
store, running an eCommerce business
is easier to start and run when you
aren't dealing with physical inventory.
Low Overhead - You don't have to deal
with purchasing inventory and managing
or storage facility, keeping your
expenses nice and low. You could run
your dropshipping business from home
from a laptop!
There are some
pros and cons to
the dropshipping
model.

5. PROS & CONS
CONT'D
Pros Cont'd
managing a warehouse
packing and shipping
inventory tracking
staff
reordering products
handling returns and incoming
shipments
With dropshipping, you don't
have to worry about...

6. PROS & CONS
CONT'D
Pros Cont'd
Location Flexibility - As long as you
have a connection to the internet, your
dropshipping business can be ran from
just about anywhere. Just make sure
that you are able to communicate with
your customers and suppliers
Scalability - A traditional business
will receive 3x as much business as
you will need to do 3x as much work.
By leveraging dropshipping suppliers,
the majority of the work will be borne
by the suppliers, allowing you easier
expansion and less work.
Array of Products - The nice thing
about not having to pre-purchase items
means that you can potentially offer a
wide variety of products to your
customers.

7. PROS & CONS
Cons
Low Margins - The biggest disadvantage
to operating in a highly competitive
dropshipping market means lower
margins. Because it's so easy to get
started with low overhead costs, many
merchants will start their store with
super low prices in an attempt to
quickly grow revenue.
Shipping and Returns - If you're using
more than one supplier, as many
dropshippers do, this can complicate
your shipping costs as they can vary
from supplier to supplier. You also lose
control over shipping quality and speed.
Returns can be tough as well. Based on
the agreement you have with your
suppliers, customers might be required
to return the products to you, not the
supplier.
There are some
pros and cons to
the dropshipping
model.

8. PROS & CONS
CONT'D
Cons Cont'd
Lack of Visibility - When you work
with suppliers you are also
outsourcing some of your customer
satisfaction. Someone else is building
and sending out a product which is a
huge part of the overall customer
experience. If anything goes south on
the supplier's end, the customer will
blame you.
There is also less control over the
inventory. When you're sourcing from
multiple warehouses, inventory
changes daily. It's important to take
advantage of software solutions that
allow you to view the inventory levels
with your supplier.

9. PICKING YOUR
MARKET &
FINDING
SUPPLIERS

10. A common misconception is that by having a
dropshipping business you can work within any
niche you want and you will turn profits. This is
just not true. No matter which market you decide
to sell, there will be competitors with a more
established presence and customer loyalty.
A common mistake is picking a product based on
personal interests. This won't necessarily
guarantee you business success. If your goal is to
build a profitable dropshipping site, consider
putting personal passions aside when researching
your market niche.

11. WHEN
RESEARCHING
PRODUCTS,
CONSIDER THE
FOLLOWING:
Are you a consumer of that niche?
Do you understand the products and
how they improve things? Having a
first-hand understanding of a
target audience can give you an
instant edge in marketing efforts.
If you have professional or
academic expertise in the product
this can help make you a bigger
advocate for how the products can
enrich and help people.
You have seen other businesses
attempt to sell in the same niche
and you know their successes and
failures, allowing you the foresight
to avoid or follow them.

12. FINDING
SUPPLIERS
Fake Wholesale Suppliers
They want fees - Retail wholesalers
don't charge their customers
monthly fees for doing business
with them. If a supplier is asking
for a membership fee or service fee,
they are likely not legitimate.
Available to the public – If you are
getting genuine wholesale pricing
you need to apply for an account,
prove the legitimacy of your
business, and be approved before
ordering with the supplier. If the
supplier offers products to the
general public at “wholesale
prices”, it is just a retailer offering
items at inflated prices.
Before looking for
suppliers, it is
essential to know how
to differentiate
between legitimate
wholesale suppliers and
retail stores posing as
wholesale suppliers.

13. Per-order fees – This isn’t the same as a membership fee. Many
dropshippers will charge a per-order dropshipping fee that can
range from $2 to $5, depending on the size of the items being
shipped. This is an industry standard as the cost of packing and
shipping individual orders is higher than shipping in bulk.
Minimum order size – Most dropshippers have a minimum order
size, which is the lowest amount you have to purchase for your
first order. This filters out any window-shopping merchants who
waste their time with small orders and questions that never turn
into meaningful business for them.
This could potentially cause some complications for your
dropshipping business, especially if you are required to have a
minimum of a $300 order, but your average order size is around
$100. Offer to pre-pay the supplier $300 to build credit with them
to apply against your dropshipping orders. You are at least
committing to $300 in product without having to place a large
order of stock you don’t need.

14. HOW TO FIND
SUPPLIERS
Finding quality suppliers is
crucial to your success.
If you are working in a traditional
model where you hold the
inventory you are controlling the
whole process.
In the dropshipping model, if the
deliveries go out wrong, it's not
something you can fix yourself.
The only thing you can really do is
look for a new supplier.

15. It may seem obvious, but keep in mind:
Youhavetogetspecificwhensearching.Wholesalers
aren’tthebestatmarketingthemselvesandyou
probablywon’tfindonebyjustsearching“wholesaler
suppliersforproductX.”
Don’tjudgebythewebsite.Wholesalersarealso
notoriousforhavingoutdatedwebsites.Don’tlet
qualityofthesitedeteryoufromagoodsupplier.
Makeuseofthosemodifierswhensearching.
Keywordslike“distributor,”“reseller,”“bulk,”
“warehouse,”and“supplier”willyieldmorenarrowed
results.
SEARCH WITH
GOOGLE

16. Ifyourtimeandbudgetallowforit,makean
appearanceattradeshowswheremanufacturersand
wholesalerswillbeinattendance.Makesureyouhave
yourproductnicheinmindandpreparetonetwork.
GO TO TRADE
SHOWS

17. Asupplierdirectoryisadatabaseofsuppliersthatis
organizedbymarket,niche,orproduct.Many
directoriesuseascreeningprocesstomakesurethe
supplierslistedaregenuinewholesalers.Supplier
directoriesareaconvenientwaytoquicklysearchfor
and/orbrowsemanysuppliersinoneplacewhilealso
givingyoumoreideasforproductstosellornichesto
enter.
DIRECTORIES

18. Here are some suppliers to get you started:

19. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to
starting a dropshipping business. We will bring you
more information to help you get started along
with helpful hints and tips along the way.
www.zenventory.com
(602) 466-1706
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?