The most common reason for failure in dropshipping is that people try it without doing their research. They find an article on the internet, buy a product from China, and think they can make money by simply listing it on eBay or Amazon.
But they fail because no one buys their products and they don’t know why. The truth is that there are many different things you need to do before you even begin selling anything online if you want any chance of success at all!
This article will show you how to avoid the pitfalls that cause so many people to fail, and start making money right away with your eCommerce business. It will give you the information you need to avoid all of the common dropshipping mistakes most people make when they try to sell online.
Dropshipping done wrong: what not to do when you’re starting out
Dropshipping is an easy way for anyone to get into selling products online. The process is straightforward: You find a product you want to sell on one of many wholesale marketplaces like AliExpress or Alibaba, buy the product in bulk directly from the manufacturer (or wholesaler) using PayPal or credit card, then markup that price by 20-50% and list it on eBay or Amazon.
When someone buys your item you simply order it from your supplier and wait for them to ship it out. You never handle the product and you don’t need any up-front capital. That’s it!
Of course, this is much easier said than done and you can lose a lot of money if you take shortcuts. If you don’t do your research and find suppliers who are reliable or try to save money by cutting corners on your marketing efforts, then you will likely fail. This book aims to prevent that from happening so common dropshipping mistakes aren’t repeated.
7 Common Dropshipping Mistakes Every Dropshipper Beginner Must Avoid
Dropshipping Mistakes #1: Not Having a Clear Idea of Your Goals
The most common reason for failure in dropshipping is that people try it without doing their research. They find an article on the internet, buy a product from China, and think they can make money by simply listing it on eBay or Amazon. But they fail because no one buys their products and they don’t know why. The truth is that there are many different things you need to do before you even begin selling anything online if you want any chance of success at all!
Dropshipping Mistakes #2: Not Knowing How Much Money You Have To Invest
Many people don’t even bother with actually researching what will sell before they start buying inventory – thinking “I’ll just test the market.” But you can’t properly test the market before you have a product to sell! You need data, which comes from having inventory.
Dropshipping Mistakes #3: Using The Wrong Tools
When I started out in dropshipping, I used a custom-built eCommerce store with PayPal integrated. It cost me about $2000 to get up and running, which is nothing if your goal is to make millions as a successful retailer (which it should be).
But for someone who wants to make some extra cash on the side by selling small quantities of products, I would suggest trying something like Shopify. You can create an online store quickly and easily using Shopify – there are plenty of tutorials available online explaining how to do it – and they give you a 14-day free trial to test it out, so you can see if dropshipping is right for you before investing any money in your business.
Dropshipping Mistakes #4: Not Knowing How to Promote Your Dropship Business Correctly
No one will buy from you if they don’t know you exist and this is why marketing and promotion are so important when starting a dropshipping business. If selling on eBay, take the time to learn about SEO and optimize your listings for search engines – titles, descriptions, etc.
If selling on Amazon, then do some research online and find out which keywords people type into Amazon when looking for your products (and make sure you use those keywords in your product titles).
Promoting through social media like Facebook or Instagram may help you to get some initial sales, but if nobody is typing the correct keywords into Amazon or eBay then you won’t be found and your products won’t sell.
Dropshipping Mistakes #5: Looking For a Shortcut
Dropshipping isn’t easy and there are no shortcuts available.
The only way to build a successful business is to do it step-by-step:
- find suppliers,
- design your storefront,
- work out how much money you need before you start selling inventory,
- research what people want to buy
- And then promote those products through whatever channels are available (paid ads on Google/Facebook, social media ads, etc).
If you’re not willing to put in any effort then don’t bother starting a dropshipping business. You probably won’t succeed.
Dropshipping Mistakes #6: Using a Cheap Supplier
Dropshipping is a great way to source products from China at low prices, but there are certain risks involved – especially if your supplier is not well known or reputable.
No matter the price of the product you buy from them, there will always be problems with counterfeits and factory faults! It’s just part of doing business with anyone who is halfway across the world.
So don’t try to find a cheaper alternative because it will cost you more in the long run when your reputation suffers as a result of bad reviews and unhappy customers (customers who were happy before they received fake or faulty products).
Get yourself established first and then look at finding the lowest cost supplier, once you’re earning enough money to afford a little bit of risk.
Dropshipping Mistakes #7: Not Building an Email List
If you have spent any time promoting your dropshipping business online then you may already have some subscribers or even customers – but don’t rely on this traffic continuing to come to you! It will dry up over time and if that happens, so will your sales.
Make sure people sign up for your newsletter so they are notified every time you post something new on social media or release some new products on your storefront. If somebody doesn’t want to receive emails from you, all they need to do is unsubscribe – it’s their choice!
But having an email list means that whenever you do run a promotion or offer then you can email all your subscribers and let them know about it.
Plus, if you’re planning to sell the same products on your store layout over an extended period of time (e.g. 3-6 months), then building an email list means that customers returning to your store won’t need to search around for the items they want – instead, they will receive automatic updates by email whenever new stock arrives!
