Dropshipping with Oberlo in Hong Kong
Whether you’re a product hunter buying the latest Japanese gadgets or a Hong Kong import/export company, dropshipping will help you check new markets for e-commerce and learn about your customers without the risk of upfront investments. To many Hong Kong companies with access manufacturers in the Pearl River Delta, dropshipping as a concept is familiar. Still, the process was historically time-consuming and risky when suppliers required minimum order amounts.
Ecommerce technology will now allow entrepreneurs to source a wide variety of goods and suppliers to develop their online retail strategy without having minimum orders or finding storage. Recently, at our Shopify Meet up Hong Kong Spring session, Melanie from Oberlo explained how merchants can now find items in minutes for their online shop, and use technology to scale their dropshipping operations.
There are many niches you can choose from. It is important to pick the right niche from many niches. It is crucial that a business chooses the right niche to succeed. Starting a business requires many steps. Before you begin following those steps, it is important to understand what dropshipping is.
Get Started on Ecommerce Dropship
Dropshippers only pay suppliers when they receive an order, and there is no minimum purchase amount, unlike traditional wholesale arrangements with a minimum order. However, consumers can still have these products in their own branded online shop, so you will only have to pay the manufacturer after the customer has placed an order. This helps entrepreneurs to test new product lines and specific market niches to see what appetite global customers have.
Entrepreneurs in Asian markets, including Hong Kong, can exploit factories and wholesalers in Mainland China to create entire collections of products while saving on high warehousing fees. Many suppliers can have Hong Kong offices, which will also promote contact.
Add Marketplace Products such as AliExpress.
Dropshipping from Hong Kong historically allowed manufacturers to negotiate contracts in private. For instance, a merchant may find products on Taobao and place an order on Taobao on a customer’s behalf and have the item delivered to the end-user. This manual approach, however, makes it costly and dangerous to add pieces to your retail range.
Melanie clarified how the Oberlo app lets merchants connect Chinese marketplaces items like AliExpress to their new online store by pressing a button. Shopify powered online stores can integrate directly with Oberlo, adding products with an Oberlo button to the store catalog. Merchants can then modify the listing of items to suit the brand of their store. The App also helps you to fulfill the order by notifying your supplier when your customer makes a purchase.
Focus on the One-Click Order Shipping marketing
By helping the seller’s process orders, Oberlo helps new online stores by outsourcing key areas such as order fulfillment to simplify their ecommerce operations. Once your customer has made a purchase, you can click “Order Product” in your store administrator to place an order with the supplier via Oberlo, who will then deliver the item to your customer. Merchants using Oberlo Verified suppliers can ensure a better customer shopping experience with items, which have over 1000 timely fulfilments.
Using a dropshipping app helps merchants streamline repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as communicating with suppliers via a clear order interface rather than an e-mail chain. With Oberlo assisting in core business activities, merchants will concentrate on the business’ vital customer-facing aspects: marketing and customer support to create a positive brand experience.
Keep Brand Control of Your Store
Merchants would, of course, probably want to upgrade their store products or even suppliers. Oberlo has sophisticated features for emerging businesses that allow merchants to update suppliers for a specific item, as well as change item details. As you continue to refine your behind-the-scenes operations, your customers will continue to experience consistent branding. By adding items and checking those changes, merchants exploring the Oberlo app will become familiar with the full functionality of those apps.
Dropshipping: What does it mean?
Dropshipping allows you to sell products to customers, but the inventory and shipping of the order is managed by a third-party. Dropshipping is the name of this process. Dropshipping is a business where the owner focuses on branding, marketing and managing customers. A third party handles logistics.
It is simply a retail fulfillment in which the store does not have to keep the product. Dropshipping is where a product is bought from a third party and shipped directly to the customer. The seller does not have to deal with the product directly.
Dropshipping is different from traditional retail. The selling wholesaler does not actually own inventory or stock the goods. To fulfill orders, the owner of the dropshipping business purchases inventory from third parties.
Why is Hong Kong the best place to start a dropshipping company?
Hong Kong has many benefits and is the best place to start a dropshipping company. These are just a few reasons why Hong Kong is the best place to start a dropshipping company.
- A ton of Hong Kong tax rate, is also favorable when compared to other areas. This is an enormous advantage for any Hong Kong business. The corporate tax rate is a benefit to your business. The 16.5% tax rate is better than most other places in the world.
How to start a dropshipping business in Hong Kong
You now know the basics of a Hong Kong dropshipping company and why it is important to start one. Let’s get into the steps required to start a Hong Kong dropshipping company.
Dropshipping is a great business idea
Your business niche is the first and most important step. Pick a product that you like. Avoid large, fragile or bulky products. They could cause problems with shipping and may pose a problem when they are handled. It might take some time to find the right niche. This step can be made easier by looking at the different niches that are profitable for business owners. The most in-demand categories are tech accessories and tourism gear. Some are timeless while others will be popular over time.
Locate a supplier
Dropshipping businesses need a supplier to support them. Any partner that supplies products with the potential to ruin the business could be a bad choice. It is important to take the time to find a trustworthy partner. Dropshipping suppliers can be found all over the world. Understanding each other is what matters most in this industry. If you don’t feel confident that communication between you, your partner and yourself can work smoothly, you should find another partner. Your partner should be reliable. You need to ensure they are able to scale with you. Ask about their production capabilities in detail. You should also have an agreement regarding orders. This agreement will specify payment methods, shipping dates, and packaging. Before you can start to operate, it is important that everything be in writing.
Choose your business structure
Next, you need to organize the business. Consider your needs and evaluate your options. You can choose from a variety of Hong Kong companies:
- Solo proprietorship — This is the most simple and manageable type of business. It is owned by you alone and your only responsibility. It includes you, the owner, and all staff you employ.
- Partnership — A Hong Kong company that allows two or more people to co-own a business for profit.
- Limited liability company (LLC), Hong Kong Limited Liability Company, is the most popular business structure in Hong Kong. This separate legal entity provides protection for personal assets against the liabilities and risks of the business.
Take control of your finances
Dropshipping in Hong Kong is a business venture that requires you to have your finances in order. This will allow you to achieve your short- and long-term financial goals. A balanced plan will help you achieve your goals.
Your website is built
This is where your actions are visible to the world. You don’t need to be an IT expert to create your website. Shopify and WooCommerce are the best eCommerce platforms to launch an eCommerce website that supports dropshipping. Once the website is set up, it will be easy to manage the website. Shopify and other platforms offer many apps that can help you increase your sales.
Market your dropshipping business
Marketing helps you sell products and services. Experts agree that marketing is essential to the success of any company. It drives sales and, in turn, makes them more successful. Making money is the bottom line for any business. Marketing is an important channel to achieve that end goal. Marketing is the best way to transfer, exchange and move goods. You will need to have multiple channels for selling the products online. There are many marketing channels you can use to market your products, including content marketing and paid advertisement on Google or Facebook. You can also explore other marketplaces such as Amazon. To access their vast network of buyers, you only need an account.
Scaling up your Automation and Tracking business
For dropshipping merchants with dozens, maybe hundreds, of products, it can be a hassle to update them individually. Instead, merchants with Oberlo can set pricing automation to apply universal rules, such as the percentage of the markup of a product. Merchants can also filter to only add products with ePackets (the products with the fastest delivery times) so that even if there are multiple suppliers, customers enjoy the same shipping speeds. Additionally, merchants using Oberlo can use product wish lists to import a collection of items at once to keep track of items added in batches. Melanie concluded by informing event participants that Oberlo can quickly help them start and scale up their dropshipping stores.
After her presentation, during the networking session, Melanie stayed behind to speak to members of the audience about how to start an ecommerce store in less than an hour, and discuss ideas about what people should sell online. Marketplace for the Shopify app can be explored by merchants considering opening a new store to do dropshipping. As mentioned by Melanie, merchants should note both the ease of use of an app for simple operations and its customization and automation features to manage an increasing inventory and process. You can check out our overview of tips from popular Hong Kong Shopify retailer, Loveramics, as well as global solution providers to get additional ecommerce insights.
You can check out our overview of tips from popular Hong Kong Shopify retailer, Loveramics, as well as global solution providers to get additional ecommerce insights.
