Get started with dropshipping
Read through the following guide or contact us directly!
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How does Dropshipping Work?
With dropshipping, products ship directly from the supplier to your customer. You can manage the sales without upfront inventory costs and the hassle of fulfillment.
Step One
Your customer places an order from your online store
Step Two
Your store automatically sends the order to your dropshipping supplier
Step Three
Your dropshipping supplier prepares product for your customer's order
Step Four
Your dropshipping supplier ships the product directly to your customer
How to Start a Dropshipping Business?
Not sure where to start? Read the complete guide to know how to build a successful dropshipping business step by step.
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1. Learn the Basics
Don't skip the fundamentals. Understanding dropshipping basics is crucial before you open your store. Also, knowledge of taxes and regulations help you manage your finances right and avoid future headaches. If you have questions about how to do dropshipping, please don't hesitate to ask us!
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2. Choose a Business Niche
Selecting the perfect business niche is a critical step in ensuring the success of your business. You need to figure out where the opportunities are, what products to sell and what market to focus on. Don't forget that you can always change your type/niche again if you find something different while doing product research. It's quite often that you won't be able to find your winning product in the beginning, so don't lose heart, change a niche and keep going until you do! We need to test products in a smart way, not the hard way.
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3. Where are You Going to Sell
This section is about setting up your storefront, it's important to know where you're going to sell. You can use an ecommerce platform or an online marketplace (like Amazon or Etsy). You can also build your own website, which gives you complete control over branding and pricing. Choosing the right sales channel depends on your target customers and the products you want to sell. Do some research to find the best fit for your dropshipping business!
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4. Do Market Research
It's important to do market research before you start. Not only you need to get a general understanding of macro aspects such as market size, region segment, industry trends & etc..But also you need to concentrate more on trending products, your target audience, and your competitors.
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5. Find a Dropshipping Supplier
It’s essential to find a reliable supplier that fit with you and your business needs. Dropshipping suppliers can offer good quality products, efficient shipping, quality control and branding options. Contact multiple suppliers to compare their offerings.
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6. Design the Brand Identity
Design a brand identity that create a memorable and consisitent image that sets you apart from the competitors and attracts your target audience. Create a name, logo, and color palette that suits your business.
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7. Build Your Online Store
Your online store is your hub where customers will visit, browse your products, and make their purchases. Whether you choose a platform or build your own website, we have step-by-step guides (working on it) to help you set it up and get running. You can ask our staff about how to build a great store for conversion or simply: for your brand.
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8. Source Products
Sourcing products is most time-consuming step in starting a dropshipping business, but has a huge impact on your profits—so it’s worth committing a lot of time and attention. Product plays a crucial role in this business and we need to stand out from other people and taking many factors into account. How can we be differnt?
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9. Marketing
After setting up your online store, you need to aggressively market your dropshipping business. This is a crucial component of dropshipping business. Take advantage of a wide variety of digital marketing tactics that tell people about the products or services you provide.
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10. Running Your Store
Running your dropshipping store mainly comes down to overseeing your orders, serving your customers, and basic accounting. Keep an eye on the whole process of order fulfilment. Regularly evaluate the performance to see if there is any room for improvements including but not limited cost contorl, after-sale solution, bonus for your customers.
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11. Track Your KPIs
Once your store is operational, keep track of your key performance indicators, usually shortened to KPIs. That way, you can figure out what is working, what is not, and what needs to improve. As your business develops, another task is to use analytics to refine your offerings and find ways to drive growth. We have mentors that can help grow your buisness if you are in need for this.
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12. The Next Level
Local warehousing? Better product functionality? AI innovation? Ready to take your dropshipping store to the next level? Talk to us for more information!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Dropshipping?
Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method where a business doesn't keep the products it sells in stock. When an order is received, the seller sends it to another company who ships the product straight to the customer. The seller is a middleman between the customer and the company who ships the product. *Pro Tip: However often the case is, your supplier who ships the product is also the middleman between you and the actual manufacturer. So there must be a cost here, but that's how business works, if you want somebody to fulfill your orders without any upfront cost, you got give them something in return as well. Unless they are also the original manufacturer, they won't do it. For more information, you are welcome to talk to our staff about it.
How Profitable is Dropshipping?
Typical profit margins are between 10 to 30%. If you find the right products to sell and develop good supplier relationships, you can create a profitable dropshipping business. *Pro tip: it's hard, but possible. Nowadays having a good dropshipping business is almost identical to having a good branded business of your own. (2024.6.15 by Steve)
What Products are Best for Dropshipping?
- “Perfect” dropshipping product should make people go “Wow!”
- Products that simplifies people’s everyday lives and solves a clear problem is a great choice for dropshipping.
- Many winning dropshipping products are not easy to find in local stores.
- Choose the products not saturated.
- High-quality products, look for quality like durable, sturdy, good-looking and more ...
- Products with a good profit margin.
Do I Need a License to Dropship?
It depends on your location, what you’re selling, and local sales tax laws. Most areas require a basic business license for online stores, but this can vary by region. You might also need a seller’s permit to collect sales tax. Consult your local government office for the exact licensing requirements for your dropshipping business.
Is Dropshipping Still Worth it in 2024?
So, if you were getting discouraged from dropshipping, don't be. Dropshipping market industry is projected to grow from USD 283.72 Billion in 2023 to USD 1701.997 Billion by 2032. An estimated 2.14 billion people will make an online purchase in 2024, and 23% of those sales are fulfilled with dropshipping, worth about 85 billion USD! Even with high competition and low profit margin, dropshipping is still a easy startup business with low cost and less risks. As long as you work with reliable suppliers to ensure solid product quality, dropshipping can still be a viable business model in 2024. If you're willing to put in the hard work, it can be a great way to start an online business.
What Can CrossBorderStudio Do to Help You?
CrossBorderStudio is your All-in-One Partner to help you boost your dropshipping business.
With experience and connections in the dropshipping industry, CrossBorderStudio handles many of the complexities of dropshipping to free you up to focus on marketing your store and growing your business. Our branding service empowers you to create a unique brand identity.- We will provide you with reasonable prices and high-quality products；
- Individual customization, in accordance with your request. (For example, packaging, logo & etc.);
- We can help you send the products directly to your customers. We have efficient shipping companies to cooperate with us while also check the quality of each product to ensure that your customers receive their package worrilessly.
- We can also assist you with your after-sale service. Our team will try our best to provide you with outstanding service and in-time feedback.
- We can give you business advice based on market research/current store status and so on. Partner with CrossBorderStudio and watch your business soar. Let's chat about your success story today!
How to work with CrossBorderStudio?
Please visit our contact guide to get more infomations: In general, we work with you using our office tool called "Lark", so it's recommended that you get in contact with us first. Then we will explain in detail how to work with us. We can even do video meetings for introduction/orientation if you want! In this contact guide's section 2, you could also see an example of how we can work together.
How to contact CrossBorderStudio
Who We Are
With an assembly of teammates that pursuit the same purpose, CrossBorderStudio, gathered a group of young, passionate and structured people. We aim to be your all-in-one service provider that turns your idea into prosperity. CrossBorderStudio is a powerful dropshipping, wholesale & branding partner to help you boost your business. Let us be your Sherpa!