I know you’re all probably sick and tired of hearing about COVID 19, but if there was anything positive coming out of the whole situation, it would definitely be the booming of eCommerce, eLearning, and the( new) way the Internet has proved to come in handy.
Ecommerce isn’t a new concept for sure, but it seems it skyrocketed during the pandemic. The whole world shut down, but not the people’s necessity to shop. The more something becomes popular, the more is written about it, which consequently leads to a great amount of information that isn’t always true. The same thing is happening to dropshipping. The myths that surround dropshipping have spread like a forest fire and started living lives on their own.
That’s why we would debunk some of the most common ones for you. Are you ready for the truth?
Table of content:
Everyone is successful at dropshipping
People don’t buy from an unknown store
Is dropshipping actually legal?
I need to be an expert in ads to run a dropshipping store
Running a dropshipping store is easier than running a real store
Get rich quick!
Why not start with the most popular one? We do live in an age where things move and change so quickly. Almost everybody wants to get rich overnight with minimal investment of money, time, and effort. We hate to burst your bubble, but it is only true for few lucky ones. The rest have to work hard and smart to get the results.
YouTube and similar services are saturated with videos, lectures, tips about dropshipping, promising instant success and dazzling amounts of money in no time. Sadly, most of those videos are bogus, made by “experts” trying to sell their courses and/or earn affiliate commissions. The biggest problem is that they just want to earn easy money from you, but the damage goes beyond just financial loss. Many budding entrepreneurs gave up the idea of dropshipping because they don’t see any results. This of course goes hand in hand with the inevitable disappointment. You should be optimistic for sure, but make sure to keep the balance between realistic expectations and fake promises you’ll hear in various videos.
In order to succeed not just in dropshipping, but in pretty much any business, you need a lot of trial and error. What worked with one product might not work with the other. Arm yourself with patience, do a lot of testing, comparing, investigating. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so your dropshipping business won’t either.
Everyone can be successful at dropshipping
Technically, everybody can start a dropshipping business. However, what separates a successful dropshipper and not so successful one isn’t related to money as you might have expected it.
The most successful dropshippers know that success lies in the process rather than the outcome. This feature just complements what we’ve already mentioned in the beginning. Good things take time. You need a lot of trial and error, testing, experimenting, exploring, monitoring which practices work and which do not.
If you are just outcome-oriented, you are in for a bad surprise because you would give up at the very first obstacle, without really ever figuring out if dropshipping is for you. Forget about all the impeding factors like lack of money or other resources. Set clear and objective goals, tackle the problems, be determined and patient and do everything in your power before you call it quits. Or if I could quote the main character of an iconic British TV series Only Fools and Horses, it would go like this: “He who dares wins.”
People don’t buy from an unknown store
One of the biggest concerns that new dropshippers have is doubting if anyone would buy from them unless they already have a popular store. I am not trying to downplay the importance of brands and the importance of having a brand or name that is linked with high-quality products but don’t forget that those brands also started anonymously, for lack of better words. Also, don’t forget something even more important: People buy from you because you have a product that they like and want to have. Voilá! The bottom line is that what you are selling is more important than who is selling it. Just check how many relatively unknown dropshippers there are, still doing their business.
And let’s also put another thing in perspective: the amount of dropshipping shops is enormous since there are so many niches, interests, and a variety of products. Everything comes down to digging for the winning products, learning how to market those products, checking the most popular niches.
You should also not forget word of mouth. Just because you might be starting your dropshipping business doesn’t exclude that a customer would recommend you, write a nice review about your service, and spread the word. Those kinds of referrals go the long way.
And last, but not least, worth mentioning in debunking this myth is to pay attention to low-competition products in profitable niches. Be informed and stay updated and get ideas about what might be your next product.
Is dropshipping actually legal?
It is almost unbelievable how many people think that dropshipping is a shady business. There isn’t anything illegal about it. Don’t mistake being legal with the possibility that some shoppers might sell low-quality products. To solve it once and for all, dropshipping is a legitimate business.
Actually, it’s been around for much longer than its name. Remember all those door-to-door salespeople? If you look at the concept behind it, it is dropshipping. They were middlemen between a company and a customer, very similar to the way dropshippers act as intermediaries between a supplier and a customer.
The USA only
It is not surprising that most people focus on the USA when it comes to dropshipping. With a staggering population of 331,000,000 and coming third right after China and India, it is definitely a great playground for dropshippers. And yes, of course, the chance that you’d be selling your product is definitely much bigger in highly populated countries. But that doesn’t mean you can’t sell to less populated countries, too.
The world is your oyster, you can dropship your products to every corner of the world. There is a huge advantage in tackling less populated countries. The market there is less crowded, which means that the competition is less fierce.
However, one thing you should bear in mind is that although you can technically dropship to any country, each country has its own set of laws and regulations. Furthermore, depending on their location and their courier services, different shipping time and cost may apply. We wrote a great article about it so you can check it out here ( insert the link).
As a general rule of thumb, the smoothest countries and regions to dropship ( aside from the USA) are the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, Canada, and the EU.
Remember what we mention, dropshipping is about products. Winning products would sell pretty much anywhere. You might need more effort to penetrate the market and become visible, but just because it takes extra time and effort, doesn’t mean it is impossible. Use ads, social media so those customers can find your products.
This leads us to yet another myth:
I need to be an expert in ads to run a dropshipping store
No, you don’t. Facebook is definitely a hugely popular platform and it can help you generate immediate sales, but the ad prices have been rising so it might not be the best option if you are strapped for cash. Luckily, that is really not the only way you can put yourself in the limelight.
Instagram has been taking the world by storm. It is what I like calling a visual platform, and what more do you need when you sell products? Images and videos are super powerful when it comes to dropshipping. Instagram is a great way to promote your business for free by posting your own photos to the website.
In one of our previous articles(insert link here) we mentioned that it is very important to try to have your own custom photos rather than just copying from competitors. That way you can definitely attract more customers. We don’t recommend using free stock photos or very generic photos because Painters group similar-looking ones together.
And let’s not forget the giant power of a tiny hashtag #. Using relevant hashtags will enable people to find your products more easily and you’d also increase the number of Instagram followers.
If we speak about your website, the greatest way to make sales is by writing SEO-optimized content. It makes a world of difference. And although you might not be able to do it for most individual product pages, the niche SEO optimized blogs on your website will attract visitors who would also probably check other products your dropshipping store has to offer.
Running a dropshipping store is easier than running a real store
People tend to believe that the only thing you need for dropshipping is a computer, the internet, and an appealing website. And although these are definitely the essentials, creating a dropshipping store is so much more.
Having a nice and eye-catching, vibrant website is just one step in the entire process. With all the technology available and so much competition, dropshippers really need to do their best to stand out. This requires allocating time and other resources (yes, this means money, too) to get an SEO optimized, fast loading, and mobile-friendly website. There are so many aspects to take care of if you want to generate sales.
Conclusion
Dropshipping isn’t easy. It takes a lot of hard work, persistence, and determination. It requires experimenting, trying out things, learning from your mistakes, and implementing your newly found knowledge. It is your ticket to connect with the world and find great products customers are eager to buy.
Dropshipping is definitely not a get-rich-quick scheme and be prepared to invest ( not only money) in order to expand your knowledge and expertise. We can’t guarantee that you will succeed but we are quite sure that if you let go of the wrong assumptions and myths regarding dropshipping, you will go a long way.