Shopify Dropshipping: Good For Beginners Or Not?
In this article, we’ll discuss whether Shopify dropshipping is a good business model for beginners.
We’ll cover the pros and cons, and even mention other businesses that may be much easier for beginners.
What is Shopify Dropshipping?
Here’s how it works in simplified terms…
- Someone orders from your website
- Your shop places an order with your supplier
- Your supplier ships order to customer (under your business name)
- You get paid
If you’re familiar with Amazon FBA, the premise is very similar.
The only difference is that instead of Amazon fulfilling your orders… your supplier(s) will fulfill your orders.
And, of course, Shopify dropshipping the exact same thing as dropshipping.
The only difference is that you’ll be using Shopify’s platform to run your dropshipping business.
The Pros of Running a Shopify Dropshipping Businesses
No Product Creation Skills Needed
With Shopify dropshipping, you won’t have to actually spend time creating a product.
Instead, you’d source already existing products from suppliers.
This, of course, reduces your time to start a business.
Better Than A Physical Store Front
Running a Shopify dropshipping business provides more flexibility than having your own physical store front.
Obviously, without a physical store front, you’ll have less overhead.
And because you’re sourcing product from suppliers… you won’t have to worry about storing your own inventory.
So this gives you the option to run your business virtually anywhere.
The Cons of Running A Shopify Dropshipping Business
High Learning Curve
Even though you won’t have to create your own products there are still a lot of things to learn
Your main responsibilities may include:
- Identifying product trends
- Choosing a product that’s marketable and easier to ship cheaply
- Finding suppliers and separating the fake or unreliable ones
- Creating your online store
- Marketing your products
- Customer support
- Routing orders
For a beginner, this can be overwhelming.
And you can expect to spend a lot of time and/or money to invest into learning how to actually set things up and execute them.
Shipping Issues
Even though you won’t be shipping the product yourself there are still shipping issues which may require your involvement.
For example, you may run into supplier errors where they mess up orders.
Your supplier may have inventory issues and can’t keep up with orders.
There may also be other shipping and logistical complexities that make sales less than streamlined.
And on top of all of that, you may have low margins.
So to make this all worth it you’d have to make a lot sales… which leads to the next point.
Higher Capital May Be Needed
Most successful dropshippers rely on paid advertising to market their products.
This means you can likely expect to pay for ads on platforms like Facebook Ads, Google AdWords, and more.
You can also go the SEO route, which may instead cost more time than capital.
Either way, both avenues will require a learning curve.
And they may even be a costly learning experience.
Is There An Easier Business Than Shopify Dropshipping For Beginners?
Shopify dropshipping can be lucrative.
But, like all real businesses, it will take a lot of time and potentially money to actually learn the process and finally succeed with it.
And I believe that this business is not the most beginner-friendly.
After all, there are a lot of responsibilities and moving parts where things can go very wrong.
That’s why I suggest beginners start off with something with far less variables, less risk, and a much smaller learning curve.
Something like Digital Flipping may be a better option for beginner online entrepreneurs.
What is Digital Flipping?
Imagine someone wants a logo done for $150.
You then outsource logo design for $20.
And then you pocket the difference.
It’s similar to Shopify dropshipping because you won’t actually have to do the service yourself.
But, it’s better because there are far more moving parts.
Small Learning Curve
With Digital Flipping, it’s far less complex.
Instead of having to create your own ecommerce store, you’d go straight to online buyers. So you don’t have to worry about learning how to setup your website, running paid advertising, or doing any content marketing.
Secondly, you won’t have to worry about supplier issues.
That’s because all the products or services you outsource are digital. There is no physical product that needs to be fulfilled.
For example, a logo is just a .JPG file. You just have to send the file.
Lower Capital Required and Faster
With Digital Flipping you can start with $21.00 or even lower.
There are services, like logo design, where you can literally pay $6.00 for and buyers are willing to spend $100.00 for it.
And there are online marketplaces where you can contact proven online buyers for as low as $0.30.
This means you can potentially make your first sale so much faster and cheaper.
After all, you don’t need to build an audience or pay for ads.
In closing, Shopify dropshipping can be a great business for some.
But, I would not recommend it to those that are just starting their online business journey or haven’t yet made any money online.
Instead, I’d recommend something like Digital Flipping which is easier, faster, and cheaper.
You can watch the free Digital Flipping course here.
Then once you build up your bankroll, your experience, and your confidence… you can move on to more advanced businesses like Shopify dropshipping.
