Dropshipping is a popular business model in which you can sell products without having to hold inventory. With Gelato’s print-on-demand services and worldwide printing hubs, you can easily set up a dropshipping business, offering your customers a wide range of customizable products without the hassle of inventory management.
Dropshipping, how does it work?
The concept is quite simple. Imagine that you decide to sell backpacks to lovers of outdoor walks, or spring dresses. To do this, you just need to create an online store, on Shopify, Wix or elsewhere. No need to stock up on goods: you’ll be looking for your bags and dresses from an inexpensive supplier — for example AliExpress, Chinese giant Alibaba’s e-commerce platform, or Gearbest.
On your site, you present your products at attractive prices, but higher than those actually charged by your supplier. And that’s it: when the customer arrives, he places an order with you. For your part, you transfer the order to the supplier and you pocket the difference between the amount that the latter asks you and that paid by the customer. As for the supplier, he delivers directly to the buyer.
Is dropshipping illegal?
No: in itself, it is the same operation as that of a classic shop, the constitution of stocks of goods less. The website of the Ministry of the Economy also explains the framework in which this activity can be carried out. But, this business model is associated with many fraudulent practices, which encourages to recommend the precaution.
What types of drifts are associated with dropshipping?
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, entrepreneurs tried to sell FFP2 masks “eight times the price” charged by their supplier Aliexpress. The very concept of selling a product much more expensive than the supplier’s price, while no additional service is offered, whether to take advantage of a crisis or a fad, can make you wince.
In addition to this moral issue, a recurring problem with dropshipping is that it provides consumers with inferior products, compared to what they believe they are buying, and even counterfeits. Moreover, the passage through an intermediary who does not provide any stock sometimes has the effect of increasing delivery times in astonishing proportions. This type of system also does not provide satisfactory customer service. Dropshippers use a whole host of deceptive techniques, from writing fake reviews to displaying fake promotions that urge you to buy quickly.
Finally, if dropshipping attracts by its promise of easy money, it actually benefits more the platforms through which these businesses are set up (Shopify and others to create the store, Meta when the advertising for the products is broadcast via Facebook or Instagram) and to trainers than to the sellers themselves. The latter are so numerous, underlines Le Monde, that it is particularly difficult for them to stand out from their competitors.
How to spot dropshipping sites?
Some solutions exist to flush out dropshipping: the AntiDrop platform, for example, assesses the probability that the site you are visiting engages in dropshipping. More DIY, if in doubt, you can also conduct your own research on Amazon, AliExpress or other e-commerce sites to see if you can find the same product at a lower price. From experience, the image search also works, some dropshipping sites purely and simply recovering those offered by their suppliers to present them on their site.