Dropshipping is one of the easiest and also complicated business to start with.
What do I mean? Dropshipping it is easy in terms of procedure and setting up your Shopify store, importing products from AliExpress.
But is that all? Nope! that’s where the difficult part comes in, researching, advertising doing your calculations.
Now listen I’m not trying to discourage anyone here, I like giving out the real facts so that incase you decide to go through with dropshipping you know what you are up against.
Some bloggers out there will just tell you ” dropshipping is an easy business all you need is a Shopify store and an AliExpress account to import your products from”.
Girrrrrrrrll, Helllllll NO!
That’s not it, and that’s where beginners find it as an easy business and start their dropshipping journey with no mentor ship nor a solid facts what they are missing out.
If you are interested starting your dropshipping business and want to learn all the mistakes you should be avoiding,
Then you are in the right page.
Before we head to our main topic today I have only one advice to give you NEVER GIVE UP! it’s going to be hard at the beginning but eventually everything will fall into it’s place.
For the new readers in here let’s start by defining what dropshipping is, for some people in here might have no idea what we are talking about.
What Is Dropshipping?
Dropshipping is where a retailer does not own nor store the products. So when a customer places an order on your site,
You therefore go on AliExpress or any other third party sites and places an order for the customer and enter your customers shipping address,the goods will then be sent to your client without you touching any product.
I hope y’all understood with that kind of definition, I tried to keep it as simple as possible.
Dropshipping Mistakes To Avoid As A Beginner
So you just starting out, all you know are the pros of dropshipping, no one is telling you the downsides of the business.
I tried dropshipping 3 years ago, and it din’t really work for me.
Why? Because I had no one to tell me the backside of the business, and I’m here today to guide you through it because I wouldn’t want you to go through the same mistakes I did.
1. Bad Website Hosting
Dropshipping needs a good hosting site that can be able to hold as many visitors as possible.
You don’t want a website that ends up crashing when you have 50,000 people on your site trying to purchase your products.
Trust me, been there done that! My site crushed during my giveaway, it ruined my whole plans and customers were furious thinking I was just another scam site.
It was a whole mess I cried for a week!
And with that been said the only hosting I would recommend is Shopify.
Shopify is the best in the industry when it comes to anything with e-commerce. Big brands like Kylie cosmetics, Jeffree Star they all use Shopify it is the real deal.
2. Wrong Niche Choice
Choosing a niche can be a whole lot of work, you need to put in alot of time and research to get to the right niche for your business.
The key to your dropshipping business is selecting what is the appropriate niche people go for.
As a beginner stick to one niche and don’t be like other brand who sell everything under one roof.
Be a targeted niche for your clients, you can specialize in dogs, or animals in general accessories and other equipment.
I switched niches like four times to see which one worked for me. I din’t quite know what I was really doing at the beginning.
Went from jewelry, phone cases, watches and lastly was gym accessories which I kinda succeeded here but I ended up quitting dropshipping.
I did drophipping while working on my blog at the same time, but I haven’t launched my blog yet it was under construction at that time.
3. Longer Shipping Time
AliExpress ship all over the world, they ship approximately 20-60 days maximum depending on the country you are shipping to.
You might be in Africa but you want your business to be located in the US it will approximately take 21 days goods to be in transit.
While countries like Africa deliveries take 40-60 days that is a long time for a client to wait for their order to arrive, which makes it a crucial mistake to your business as a beginner.
I strongly recommend focusing on shipping to countries which have faster shipping timing approx 3 weeks max.
4. Becoming Rich Overnight
Many beginners start off thinking they are going to generate $2,000 a night!
Girrrrrll, that’s not going to happen. In the real world business that doesn’t happen what makes you think it’s possible in the digital world?
Have patience and figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. Like I said I switched niches almost 4 times to get the one that’s working for me.
I reached a point of quitting and I din’t, instead I went ahead and looked for another different options.
My point is , you can be successful but only if you don’t give up and instead look for ways which will really work for you.
Jewelry niche might not have worked for me but I’m sure there is someone out there who is successful just being in the jewelry niche.
You just need to figure out your way up and then start thinking of being successful after 6 months of profit.
RELATED POSTS:
How To Start Dropshipping Business Using Shopify
How To Start A Step By Step WordPress Blog Under 30 minutes
5. Ignoring Damaged Or Misplaced Orders
Now listen this happens only if you have poor management, but also that doesn’t mean having a magnificent management doesn’t cause this problem.
This mistake will or might happen and you should be ready for it.
If a customer receives a damaged item or she has never received her order that customer is already unsatisfied.
So the question is, what have you planned to bring the customer come back and order again from you?
You need to make her feel satisfied to come back no matter what mistakes you incur.
Damaged items should be replaced or offer a full refund to the customer so that she can feel safe and come back.
Your number one priority is satisfying your client’s request no matter what.
6. Selling Trademark Goods
The Chinese are well known for producing good quality logo imitation for big brands, selling products having such logos like Nike,Puma and Disney can cause you being sued by the brand costing you thousands of dollars.
I’m not saying you can’t sell branded items, but for you to do so you need to go to a lawyer and contact the brands letting them know you want to sell for them.
That will cost you hundreds of dollars and as a beginner you wouldn’t want that, do you?
7. Relying On One Supplier
One biggest mistake in your dropshipping business is relying on one supplier, he or she can close down and you have no back up for your products.
I will advice to have atleast three suppliers so that when one isn’t available you are left with other two.
Imagine relying on one supplier and he just decided he doesn’t want to work with you anymore and that’s the time you have a list of order from your clients waiting for their products to be delivered.
That’s not good at all, you gonna have big problems with your customers orders and you don’t want that pressure as a beginner.
8. Listing Items In Stock While They Are Not
So your Shopify store indicates that items are in stock and customers place their orders.
Going to your supplier placing orders for your clients and getting a feedback products are out of stock!
I meaaaan whaaaaat?!
What are you going to do at this point?
It is possible for such a scenario to happen because you have no control over the inventory you just take what you get.
Even if you rely on the second and third supplier there is a possibility there are out of inventory aswell.
So how do you move forward with your clients orders?
You will have to email and apologized for any inconvenience caused and you are deeply sorry.
Though it is not the appropriate customer service but that’s how you are going to deal with it.
To avoid such a scenario, you should be contacting quite often to know the position of the inventory so that you know how to control the orders on your end.
9. Email Follow-up
Don’t collect your customers emails just for promotion purposes, build a relationship with them.Let them know you are a real person.
Send them follow ups on their orders so that they can know you are not a scam site.
Customer service is the key building your new brand.You wouldn’t like to have bad reviews or any bad name coming from your clients.
Create a strong relationship making your customers come back because they already feel safe and trust your brand.
Let them know if their orders have been dispatched, when they are going to receive a delivery things like that and not just promotions.
10. Spend To Make More
If you are not willing to spend money to make more money don’t expect you are going to become rich without spending a dime.
I spent almost $1,500 to my Shopify store. You are new to the industry right?what would be the main thing for people to take you seriously?
Advertisem*nts, giveaways, partnering up with other successful people in your industry and all that is costly but trust me it is worth it if you want to be successful for a long term period.
Don’t just hide yourself behind your laptop, when I started I was shy ASF! I din’t want anyone to know my identity but the minute I started exposing myself and partnering up with social media influencer I started seeing orders coming in because at that point people have a rough a idea who you really are and are starting to believe in your brand.
Remember think future, if you want this to be successful in the future you need to build it up from now.
SPEND $$ TO MAKE MORE $$!
