There is no doubt that dropshipping is one of the best ways to make money from home. If you have decided to start your own business and have considered having a dropshipping business, knowing exactly what to do and what not to do could mean success or failure for your new business.
eCommerce is no doubt a very profitable industry. Fortunately, you don’t need to look far for a reason to have your own dropshipping business. According to the available statics, over 51% of Americans prefer shopping online and more than 96% of Americans with internet access have made at least one online purchase in their lifetime. This statistics is just for United State alone.
There is no doubt that eCommerce has taken over the world, even people from remote areas of the world as can be found in Asia, Africa, and South America still shops online when they have internet access. Starting your own dropshipping business could be the best decision you made this year.
But don’t jump in without doing a thorough research, just like other businesses, dropshipping business has its up and downs. You need to learn how it works so you can avoid unnecessary mistakes that will cost you money. If you really need your business to succeed, you need to ensure that you avoid these dropshipping mistakes listed below:
Top 5 Dropshipping Mistakes You Must Avoid
1. Starting Dropshipping without Research
This is the greatest mistake that you will ever make. You heard that Mr. A is making millions from his dropshipping business and you jumped in without knowing how it works.
Don’t start your dropshipping business until you learn exactly how it works. Know which products you can sell and which ones are most profitable. Understand the demography you want to sell to, know where to source your products, and how to attract customers.
Without a good research, you will be walking in the dark, and trust me, that’s a dangerous zone to be in.
2. Too Much Reliance on One Vendor
I’ve seen it thousands of time before. Life is full of uncertainties, anything can happen anytime. It is a good idea to stick to a particular vendor when he continually meets your entire needs. However, when something happens, like he is unable to conduct a business or goes out of business, your own business will suffer as well.
Your vendor may also run out of stock or get entangled in some legality issues. You need to have other vendors on standby, this way; your business won’t suffer when your preferred vendor has a problem.
3. Not Handling Damages and Lost Items Situations Professionally
Every business has its own challenges. When it comes to dropshipping, one of the problems you will be confronted with is “damages and lost items” during shipping. Unfortunately, how you handle these situations will determine how long you will stay in business.
Remember, customers will leave a review after each business transaction. You need to impress them if you want a continuous patronage. Ideally, I would recommend you have a process in place to handle cases of damaged and lost items even before you start your dropshipping business.
4. Not Having the Same Return Policy As Your Supplier
Most newbie dropshippers in an effort to impress buyers offer more time for the return of an order. Having such a policy in place will backfire.
The best way is to align your return policy with that of your supplier. If your supply has a return policy of 20 days, make sure your own return policy says 20 days. In fact, it is even safer to have lesser days on your return policy than that of your supplier. For instance, if your supplier has 20 days, you could have 17 days, this will give you time to make up for any delays.
5. Not Make Estimated Delivery Time Clear
There is usually a high expectation after a customer completed making a payment for an order. As a professional, you need to have a clear and unambiguous delivery time estimates. Let the customer know that his order will arrive within a certain period even before he makes the payment.
If you are not sure which day his order will arrive, put estimates. For instance: Delivery Time 3-7 days. Not having a clear delivery time is a great way to make your customers angry.
Conclusion
Dropshipping is indeed a very exciting business. Imagine making money from home without having your own products. Remember that the reason you are getting into dropshipping is to make money with minimal effort. This means you need a serious research to pick a product with a lot of profit. Don’t just jump in, work hard to find a product with hot demand and less competition and you will be making a killing selling it.
Again, focus on avoiding these mistakes I’ve listed above. Overlooking them will kill your business. Stay focus and don’t give up if the sales don’t come during your first month, continue to advertise and always ask your customers for good reviews, with time, you will see a major improvement in your business.
