I have been contemplating going into the E-commerce business and start drop shipping but i dont know if its a good investment or not. I was wondering if i could get some testimonies and insight from people on the BiggerPockets platform to help me figure out if it is a good idea or not.
A dropshipping business is definitely viable and a good opportunity to pursue. However, I do encourage you to think about whether this is something you really want to get into.
Getting started is as always the hardest part - building out the logistics, legal bits (for import duties, etc), marketing (be it a website, direct b2b marketing or Amazon) and sourcing the right suppliers are all equally difficult (yet interesting) tasks. You have to be ready for setbacks (and a lot of them) along the way: be it lost shipments, faulty products or unexpected costs.
In my opinion, staying highly organized and building systems/processes is the most viable part of dropshipping. Don't expect it to ever be a hands off machine before many years of hard work and even then if you want to keep higher margins, a lot of the heavy lifting will have to be done by you.
As you're still on college and interested in the financial sector, I do encourage you to try to land your first job in the financial sector and start building the business on the side - this way you will be secured on your monthly paychecks and will be able to start to get the feel of what dropshipping really means. You might love it, you might not, but you will definitely learn a lot.
@Farris Roach III we definitely can, and also if you dont mind me asking how did you become an account manager for a bank? Im interested in the financial sector and im trying to see how i should go about starting my financial endeavor, im still in college but on track to graduate with a financial major.
A dropshipping business is definitely viable and a good opportunity to pursue. However, I do encourage you to think about whether this is something you really want to get into.
Getting started is as always the hardest part - building out the logistics, legal bits (for import duties, etc), marketing (be it a website, direct b2b marketing or Amazon) and sourcing the right suppliers are all equally difficult (yet interesting) tasks. You have to be ready for setbacks (and a lot of them) along the way: be it lost shipments, faulty products or unexpected costs.
In my opinion, staying highly organized and building systems/processes is the most viable part of dropshipping. Don't expect it to ever be a hands off machine before many years of hard work and even then if you want to keep higher margins, a lot of the heavy lifting will have to be done by you.
As you're still on college and interested in the financial sector, I do encourage you to try to land your first job in the financial sector and start building the business on the side - this way you will be secured on your monthly paychecks and will be able to start to get the feel of what dropshipping really means. You might love it, you might not, but you will definitely learn a lot.
Hello everyone! Let's start by addressing the question: "Is E-commerce and dropshipping a good or bad idea?" From my perspective, based on my experience and research, here's what I think. E-commerce offers the advantage of reaching a broad audience and reducing operating costs compared to traditional brick-and-mortar stores. However, achieving success in e-commerce requires a well-thought-out marketing strategy and reliable logistics.
Now, let's talk about dropshipping. It can be appealing due to its low initial costs and inventory management simplicity. However, it often results in lower profit margins and less control over product quality and delivery times. Successful dropshipping entails careful product selection, dependable suppliers, and excellent customer service.
In conclusion, whether E-commerce and dropshipping are good or bad ideas depends on your individual circumstances and how effectively you can navigate the challenges and opportunities they present.
I understand how important it is to expand your presence in the online marketplace to reach a wider audience.
Given the complexity and technical aspects of e-commerce, I would advise you to seriously consider enlisting the help of a professional e-commerce development company. They have the experience and expertise to build a robust online store, optimize its conversion rate and handle the technical issues involved in creating a successful eCommerce platform.
I can recommend a reputable eCommerce development company to you because I recently started eCommerce myself and had to turn to professionals. And after the consultation, I was satisfied with their expertise and continue to work with them.
I am not encouraging you to act the same way, but if you are interested, I can give you the website of this company.
I gave it a shot last year, and the biggest hurdle was traffic and marketing, just having a store isn’t enough. Profit margins were thinner than I expected, especially with returns.
I ran a dropshipping store last year and what helped me a lot was tracking where my money was going in real time. I used https://www.payinsider.com/ to sync all my e-commerce payments and expenses. Seeing the actual profit after product cost, ads, and returns really changed how I picked which products to scale.