Author Topic: Dropshipping / webshop advice.  (Read 3885 times)

Mon€yp€nny

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Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« on: July 09, 2018, 04:21:52 PM »
May I gently pick your brains?

I am considering dropshipping. Might take my plans for a webshop from the shelve or offer other products.
Did some research and I have two main issues:

1. When I offer products from two different suppliers.  I can offer my customers a better range of products. I would like to become a one stop shop  for my customers. However... when a customer would happen to order two products from my two suppliers, I can only charge them for shipping costs once.
Also, I want to focus on sustainability, my costomers might feel receiving two different packages for one order isn'tvery green.

- solution 1: I use one supplier as my main supplier, from the second supplier, I only offer more expensive products to my customers so I don't cut in my own fingers. I know the margins are around 2,1 so there isn't a lot of room.
Disadvantage: customers might find my webshop too expensive.

- solution 2: I use only one supplier and have 'gaps' in my store.

- 3: I use two and hope customers will order for healthy amounts. My least favorite.

- 4: I open two webshops and put them in an online shopping mall/ shopping centre. I could partner with other sustainable webshops that offer what I don't in my shops. Customers can find all kinds of sustainable shops in the online mall.


2. All the suppliers that I have found so far (Dutch suppliers) don't take returns back unless it is a quality issue. Meaning: I'm stuck with all the returned products from my customers. I have read return rates are 30% (not sure that was only fashion).
Option a: I send the product I have in stock to the next customer that orders the product.
- see issue of double shipping costs
- I would have to watch every order closely to see where I can ship a returned product. Means never on auto pilot.

Option b: I sell them trough another channel to keep things seperate.
How do you deal with returns and how many of your orders had a return?

What ate the best tips for a webshop and dropshipping?




everyredpenny

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2018, 05:11:20 PM »
May I gently pick your brains?

I am considering dropshipping. Might take my plans for a webshop from the shelve or offer other products.
Did some research and I have two main issues:

1. When I offer products from two different suppliers.  I can offer my customers a better range of products. I would like to become a one stop shop  for my customers. However... when a customer would happen to order two products from my two suppliers, I can only charge them for shipping costs once.
Also, I want to focus on sustainability, my costomers might feel receiving two different packages for one order isn'tvery green.

- solution 1: I use one supplier as my main supplier, from the second supplier, I only offer more expensive products to my customers so I don't cut in my own fingers. I know the margins are around 2,1 so there isn't a lot of room.
Disadvantage: customers might find my webshop too expensive.

- solution 2: I use only one supplier and have 'gaps' in my store.

- 3: I use two and hope customers will order for healthy amounts. My least favorite.

- 4: I open two webshops and put them in an online shopping mall/ shopping centre. I could partner with other sustainable webshops that offer what I don't in my shops. Customers can find all kinds of sustainable shops in the online mall.


2. All the suppliers that I have found so far (Dutch suppliers) don't take returns back unless it is a quality issue. Meaning: I'm stuck with all the returned products from my customers. I have read return rates are 30% (not sure that was only fashion).
Option a: I send the product I have in stock to the next customer that orders the product.
- see issue of double shipping costs
- I would have to watch every order closely to see where I can ship a returned product. Means never on auto pilot.

Option b: I sell them trough another channel to keep things seperate.
How do you deal with returns and how many of your orders had a return?

What ate the best tips for a webshop and dropshipping?

From my experience, creating marketing a site is a big part of the eCommerce puzzle.  If you want to test the waters with creating and marketing a site, you could try affiliate marketing.  Amazon Affiliates and CJ Affiliate are two that I am aware of.  CJ Affiliate acts as a clearing house for other   There may be  one specific to the NL or EU.

As far as multiple suppliers, I'd pick one for simplicity sake and branch out if that is a success.  Keep everything as simple as possible at first and don't over complicate.  I don't have much experience with returns because my rate is pretty low - maybe one return for every thousand or two thousand orders. 

The reason for this is the customer gets a quality product and that does the job they're buying it for.  I'd imagine you'd face returns for: a low quality product, something that is too big/too small or something that was not what the customer expected.  All those things can be mitigated by selling only quality stuff, and having descriptions that are as descriptive and accurate as possible.  When you return an item on Amazon, it presents a list of reasons for returns, so it'd probably make sense to review that list and takes steps to mitigate the ones within your control.

hodedofome

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2018, 09:58:56 PM »
You order multiple stuff from Amazon and they send it in multiple boxes. Customers are ok with this.

lemanfan

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2018, 12:59:50 AM »
How do you deal with returns and how many of your orders had a return?

I find it quite common on web sites to have returned products sold as "B-stock" with a separate SKU / product ID and a lower price with an explanation and a description of the condition.

Don't forget to set markup high enough to cover the cost of a reasonable number of returns and other ... non-ideal customers.   :)

Mon€yp€nny

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #4 on: August 19, 2018, 04:06:20 PM »
@everyredpenny I was thinking about exactly what you said, I'm planning to sell quality products (high quality and sustainable preferably) and I think that might result in a lower return rate. Very good to read you basically confirm this.

Yes, we have affiliate options here. We do not have Amazon but Bol.com. I'm already a partner with my blog. Problem is that I can't see what 'my' people buy there. I get a commission over their whole purchase.

I see dropshipping as a way to test what the market likes and needs, I'm hoping to have my own stock in a warehouse soon cause I will be able any product I want and have more control over the service.
The wholeseller serves many webshops and has an own webshop, I'm afraid my intrests aren't always theirs. They said they don't have time to show new dropshippers around in their store. So they want me to sell products I have never seen and I don't like that one little bit. I moved them to 'Threat' in my SWOT analysis. Very curious how that will work out. I will have to import products myself from Germany when that business relation doesn't work out.

Biggest challenges at this point: finding a good name that hasnt been taken yet and lots and lots of research, finding out that products are sold under 'labels' that are not completely honest etc. For instance heat resistant glass products that are sold as zero waste. They might last longer than plastic containers but in my country, safety glass is not recycled. You shouldn't even throw that in the glass recycling container when you are environmently friendly cause it affects the quality of recycled glass products. 
And then there is so much more.

Mon€yp€nny

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #5 on: August 19, 2018, 04:22:14 PM »
@hodedofome Thanks for your reply I have been thinking the same. However, I want to be a sustainable seller and I think my target group dislikes having two couriers driving to their homes. Think my best option is to be honest about the fact that I am starting as a dropshipper and see if I can offer customers the option to compensate Co2 for the delivery.

@lemanfan The plan for now is to use two wholesellers that ship for me. Wholeseller A takes returns, wholeseller B doesn't. My customers that ordered something that I need B to ship, will send their returns to me (C).
When a customer orders products from A, B and C, that would result in three times the shipping costs for me while the customer only pays me once not even the full amount of what I have to pay A and B.
I'm thinking of selling C stock through different channels.
One of them could be face to face. I think it will be good to go to good events to promote my company and meet new potential clients anyway. I could bring the C stock and order extra products that would sell at events and take them there.

newton

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #6 on: August 20, 2018, 03:51:48 PM »
I don't mean to jump on your post but question.

Is there a good way to find a wholesale drop shipping company?  I have a product I would like to sell but need to find a wholesaler who has it. I know they are out there...just don't know where to find them or find the best one.

Mon€yp€nny

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2018, 10:59:46 AM »
Hi @newton, there are websites with lists online. I also found one with reviews. But I'm Dutch so I can't help you by giving you a website.
Are you US based? I've seen links on Pintrest for the US, they must exist.

At this point I'm looking at the catalogue wholesellers carry so I don't need  3 wholesellers (pay 3 x (drop)shipping costs, making zero or even less) When I get my own stock in a warehouse, I can swap wholeseller and order anywhere.

You say you only want to sell one product, could it pay to ship it yourself?


newton

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #8 on: August 22, 2018, 03:16:20 PM »
Hi @newton, there are websites with lists online. I also found one with reviews. But I'm Dutch so I can't help you by giving you a website.
Are you US based? I've seen links on Pintrest for the US, they must exist.

At this point I'm looking at the catalogue wholesellers carry so I don't need  3 wholesellers (pay 3 x (drop)shipping costs, making zero or even less) When I get my own stock in a warehouse, I can swap wholeseller and order anywhere.

You say you only want to sell one product, could it pay to ship it yourself?

Hello

Thanks for the reply.  I am US based.

I could.  I don't have the experience and was trying to make it the easiest possible by just using someone else.  Again, I think I'm onto a good idea but have never been involved in any of this.

Mon€yp€nny

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #9 on: August 23, 2018, 09:20:54 AM »
@newton What kind of product are you planning to sell?

I'm going to sell real eco, zero waste and/ or long lifetime products. Products like Darn tough socks (haven't looked into their production process yet so I'm not 100% sure they are a match).

I plan to have some products produced by people with a disability or in a project that helps them to return to a paid job (social sustainability). When I can afford one, I plan to hire someone for the telephone that has to work from.home due to disability (like me).
« Last Edit: August 23, 2018, 09:26:06 AM by Mon€yp€nny »

rulesforrebels

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2018, 10:28:58 AM »
Dropshipping is a legitimate business model and has been done for a long time since mail order days. That said dropshipping today has become a joke. If you got this idea from watching Youtube videos or reading Entrepreneurship blogs keep in mind the vast majority of these people claiming to make money don't even dropship, they just sell overpriced courses on how to do it.

A couple things you don't want to do is try to dropship stuff from sites like Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc. You also don't want to dropship from China. Having a 30 day delivery time is unacceptable and does not provide a good buying experience for your customers and ecommerce is all about return business.

The only way to dropship and really build a sustainable business IMHO is to find a domestic supplier who ideally doesn't sell direct to consumer and doesn't have an official dropship program. Contact them, try to develope a relationship with them and you'll have more unique products and faster shipping times.

The Beacon

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Re: Dropshipping / webshop advice.
« Reply #11 on: September 28, 2018, 07:27:53 PM »
I agree with rulesforrebels.  Drop shipping is extremely hard.  One of my side hustles is sell things on Ebay that I directly source from China through Alibaba.  Some are white labels and some with my own logo. I like to have absolute control of packaging and handling returns.  For similar items, I charge more than those shipped from China because of the fast turnaround.