Dropshipping is often seen as a great way to start an ecommerce store. Once ydou have set up your store, all that is required to get orders in are emails to the supplier. You keep the profit and they package the item. You can just sit back and let the money flow in. It is not necessary to keep track of physical inventory.
It sounds fantastic in theory. This formula promises to make money but it is just like every other promise of making money. It’s not as easy as people make it seem. These are some of the reasons.
Answer 1:
This is due to several factors.
Dropshipping has been turned into an internet marketing strategy that makes it easy to get rich quick. Many people have fallen for the “it is easy to start and achieve success with!” trap. You can also see lifestyle photos of “leased Ferraris and BMW” and other “easy to start and succeed with!” items. Many people have lost thousands to thousands of dollars by dropshipping seminars and courses that were not worth their time. This has made dropshipping very difficult for them. Dropshipping has been ruined by snake oil salespeople. Dropshipping is now comparable to MLM.
It is not a long-term business model. http://leogary.com has been cited as an example of dropshipping success. Why is this site no longer available? Their Facebook page is flooded with complaints about receiving damaged clothing or not receiving their products on time. They seem to have had some initial success but then stopped after the complaints started piling up. Are you proud to have such a business? I wouldn’t.
Dropshipping, also known as AliExpress/Shopify dropshipping, involves selling cheap Chinese crap and overpricing customers. Someone may create a Shopify site and list AliExpress products on their website. They are not responsible for shipping and handling, so they hire a company to do that. They often have to increase the price of the product by as much as 3,000% in order to cover shipping and handling costs. A person who doesn’t know better might end up paying 8x more for a poor product than they could have bought on AliExpress.
Answer 2:
Let me try an analogy to explain it.
Are you familiar with hot air balloons that are floating in the sky, or have you seen them? It’s an amazing experience for those who are in the gondola (where they stand beneath). It’s also a business opportunity for the person who provides the ride.
Without the hot air that fills the balloon, none of this would be possible. Big mechanical devices called ‘burners,’ produce hot air.
The burners would produce hot air but not the amazing experience of a balloon ride.
A successful balloon ride company requires the ballon (also called the envelope), a gondola for passengers, an experienced pilot, ground handling crew, truck to transport everything, and a chase crew to pick everything up at the end. The hot air from the burners.
Dropshipping is similar to the same balloon ride business.
Too many people sell hot air.
Dropshipping requires an experienced pilot, ground crew and chase crew. They are just called different names.
Dropshipping businesses require customers, vendors, customer support, handling returns and delivery problems, marketing, website construction, marketing and advertising. Marketing is required twice. It is twice as important as any other …).
Most people sell hot air. They are selling dreams and hopes, not reality. The business is powered by hot air. It’s true that you can build a car if you have enough gas.
Dropshipping has been a scam for many people. It is simple and quick, takes no time and can be done remotely. They have also been misled into believing that dropshipping is a popular option. They want products fast!
These are all reasons why many people end up unhappy, realizing that their dream is only a nightmare.
Dropshipping can work. Look at Wayfair. It will not be well-respected if it is sold as an MLM or as a quick way to get rich.
Answer 3:
Dropshipping is a negative perception because it’s not understood by most people and people believe they can make money off of it.
Dropshipping is a common practice in warehouse management, but the consumer may not be aware that it took place. Consumers only need to buy one item at once. Why should an ecomm seller or retailer buy that product and then stock it when the manufacturer could ship directly to them? You have probably purchased products from Amazon that arrived in Amazon boxes and had Amazon paperwork attached.
Drop shipping is hated when it comes from far east and takes forever or it’s a scam of an opportunity. Drop shipping products to ecomm or retail buyers is a good idea if you’re a manufacturer who stocks products locally. You are foolish to think that you can somehow extract value from a supply network you do not have any part in.
Answer 4:
There are many great answers. Shopify is the company that aggressively promoted false claims about drop-shipping’s ease and profitability. An ad I saw made me sick. A man claimed he could buy a Ferrari by dropping-shipping cheap sewing machines made in China to US customers. It’s not possible to find it any more. Somebody, somewhere is running scummy ads which take advantage of people.
While I don’t claim to know every American, I haven’t seen a sewing machine in any home since the 1980s. That was only at grandma and her house. It’s unlikely that anyone is purchasing that stuff today.
Dropshipping is the new way to make millions. It may work for someone 1, but every person will be able to take over the market. The market isn’t big enough to support 10,000 stores per month.
Dropshipping is legal and legitimate. Dropshipping is a legitimate way to sell products on Ebay, Amazon and Overstock. But you can see the difference. They insist on ensuring sellers are honest, have stock and deliver their orders on time. Drop shippers of random businesses don’t have that guarantee. You are the one trying to work with them and don’t have the ability to drop them. You will have no inventory, sales and, therefore, no business.
Dropshipping is legal in other areas. Dropshipping agreements are available for many companies, which you won’t find on Shopify or similar. They offer reliable stock and fast shipping. They don’t have to deal with 10,000 stores so they can help you succeed.
Some industries are entirely dependent on drop shipping, but not the Shopify-style industries.
Answer 5:
This is because the perceived value of it is often questionable and many malicious, incompetent or inexperienced sellers use it.
Selling products on eBay and buying them from Amazon is a convenience. However, it can complicate returns, slow down delivery times, lose product information and warranties, and create many friction points that inexperienced sellers could easily fall prey to. This can lead to a poor customer experience. This is often not disclosed by merchants.
A good example is. Wayfair is an example of a dropshipping model that has clear value. They offer a unique service in that they combine many high-quality items into one place and handle all shipping and returns seamlessly.
Their business model is a success and they are rarely criticised. These products can’t be found anywhere else, so they must be ordered.
It is easy to understand why people may be angry about someone who buys random stuff from Amazon and then sells it on eBay. They are not providing any value. The buyer does not need to search for the price on Amazon or create an Amazon account. If they knew the price, paying an additional 20% for this service may not be something many customers would do. Dropshipping is not something sellers often disclose and will avoid answering questions.
Dropshipping is a way to exploit a knowledge gap within a customer base. In the best scenario, customers pay significantly more for little convenience. The worst scenario involves out of stock issues, void warranties, delays and return hassles.
Dropshipping is another popular method of selling low quality goods with slow shipping and marked up prices. For a few dollars, merchants might sell a poor product and expect people to forget about it or not want to deal with the hassle of returning it.
Dropshipping is fraud. Customers will be happy if they actually receive the item and aren’t bothered by its poor quality. Scams are the worst.
There are some good companies, but there are also many that could be seen as simply exploiting lack knowledge, while concealing the fact they are dropshipping and may be creating problems.
Answer 6:
Dropshipping has earned a bad reputation over the years. Some of this reputation is justified, but others are not. Dropshipping is a simple business model that virtually anyone can replicate. It takes me less than an hour to set up a dropshipping business. This business model is easy to replicate, and you have a lot of unexperienced wannabe entrepreneurs and bad actors who don’t realize dropshipping can be a real business. They would see the importance of dropshipping if they could. It doesn’t matter if an “ecommerce store” is online or not, it still has real people spending their hard-earned money in that store. Because people didn’t grasp this concept, the reputation of dropshipping has been marred by poor customer service, low quality products and mass refunds. Dropshipping, if done correctly and properly executed, can be a very profitable business. Unfortunately, the reputational damage is still ongoing.
Top Reasons
Low Entry Barrier
Dropshipping is easy if you have a website that sells the most recent electronics. It is so simple that you will find at least 1000 people doing the same thing as you. Before you even consider it, your market is saturated.
Anyone can copy what you do without a big moat. And they likely already have. This makes it more difficult to stand out in the crowd to gain customers and adds an additional premium to your marketing expenses.
It is hard to come up with a unique selling proposition
Why should your visitors purchase from you and not the 100 other sites that sell the same product?
It’s difficult to answer this question because you are not involved in product fulfillment and you have limited product options. You can’t distinguish yourself through customer service and shipping speed because you don’t actually have the product or are involved in shipping it. It’s hard to distinguish yourself via your products because…well…others are selling those exact same products.
It is possible to try to be the lowest priced, but this can lead you to losing. Dropshipping items are often more expensive than you think. There’s always someone willing to buy cheaper. There is not much flexibility. Many suppliers will also have a minimum advertised retail price.
However, traditional ecommerce businesses can benefit from the support of their suppliers and inventory. This will help you stand out from the rest of the pack, rather than being stuck in the rut of mediocrity.
It’s not possible to save much time, effort, or cost.
Dropshipping promises easy riches, which is what attracts many people to it. However, their unrealistic expectations soon burst like a balloon and they crash to the ground. The internet is full of abandoned dreams, the soil of hopes mixed with hard realities. This goes beyond dropshipping, but also includes running an online business.
Dropshipping is particularly difficult. Dropshipping is almost as labor-intensive as traditional ecommerce, but it doesn’t have the same benefits.
- Dropshipping is possible only if you have unique and detailed product descriptions. This can be time-consuming and/or costly, as it is more difficult to sell unique products. You might as well pack up and leave before the race begins if you use the default product descriptions provided by the manufacturer. Any website can be condemned to death by duplicate content.
- If you want to be successful, the images supplied by suppliers might be too small or not at all helpful. You can do this by purchasing the products at a lower price and then hiring a professional photographer. Learn to take photos.
- Because you must try harder or spend more money to make your brand stand out in a sea of similar products, marketing costs and efforts will be higher.
- Managing the store. Upload the text and images to any shopping cart software you choose. Although it sounds simple, it can be tedious and repetitive. If you want to run a business, it is important that you answer customer questions and provide support.
- Professional branding and a custom design are essential to make your business stand out. Although it is possible to use a template, this can make your sales suffer. Your first impression is your design. Make the most of it.
This can be a lot of work, even for those who don’t expect it. Or, people who think they can just relax and let their business run on autopilot. You can’t compete with the high margins you get from owning your inventory. This effort could be redirected to a traditional ecommerce company with your own fulfillment and inventory. The rewards will be even greater, especially in the long-term. You can also get some of the benefits of dropshipping through outsourcing to fulfillment centers like Shipwire.
It can be difficult and sometimes impossible to scale.
What happens when, despite the above-mentioned obstacles, you have worked hard to overcome them? The sales are increasing. What happens if sales grow too fast?
Let’s suppose you suddenly get 50 orders in a single day. What will happen? Is your supplier ready for this? Is your supplier willing to handle that volume? Are they willing to hold more inventory? They will be able to fulfill all orders on time.
You could do the fulfillment yourself and work overnight if necessary to have everything ready for shipment quickly. You are dedicated to your business. Your supplier may not be. Your customers might think it’s YOU who dropped the ball if they do.
But…
These reasons don’t mean dropshipping is impossible, or it’s best to not try. No. Dropshipping is a great tool for your business, provided you don’t expect to retire on a beach while the money pours in. It is important to set realistic expectations.
