Dropshipping is the act of a retailer selling goods that are not in stock, but purchased from a third party supplier such as a manufacturer or wholesaler. For it to work, an online store needs to be created where customers place orders which the dropshipper then forwards to the supplier and the products get delivered directly to the buyer.
A dropshipper is a middle man who can charge a higher price when someone places an order and keep the profits from the sale. There are opportunities abound in the business world, if you are unemployed in Nigeria and looking for what to do, dropshipping is a business you can consider as people are becoming rich through venture.
Things You Need To Know Before You Start Dropshipping
1. Business idea – To run a successful dropshipping enterprise you need a good business idea. The first thing to do is brainstorm and decide what you want to sell. Carve out a niche for yourself and determine the category of products you want to sell. As a guide, find out the kind of products that are needed at the moment. Also ask what problem needs to be solved.
2. Good supplier – A very important aspect is finding a supplier who is dependable and reliable. It creates room for you to make profit if the supplier sells at affordable prices. You can inquire from your supplier if they are willing to serve as an intermediary between you and the consumers. In addition, find out if they will also be willing to handle the logistics of delivery.
3. Create online store/website – Having an online store or site is a vital part of the dropshipping business. Source for quality pictures of the products from your supplier and post on your platform. Always ensure that you are uploading pictures that are still in stock and available for delivery. If you can build a website yourself, that’s great, but If not, you will have to pay to get this done. The first steps to getting this include; buying a domain name, hosting your site. Simple websites can be created with sites like WordPress. However, if getting a website is expensive for you, another option is to post the products on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp for business.
4. Marketing/Advertising – Apart from having a website, it helps if you have a considerable following or online influence which you can use to market the products on social media platforms. You can also use popular e-commerce platforms like Jumia, Konga, etc to host your products.
5. Keep proper financial records – Many dropshippers make millions through this business but not everyone is financially prudent. To ensure the money is accounted for, separate your personal finances from your business account records and make sure you document everything properly.
Product Ideas
We have listed the most sought after products in the dropshipping world
i. Men’s Clothing & Accessories
ii. Women’s Fashion & Accessories
iii. Kids & Babies
iv. Electronics
vi. Hair Extensions and Wigs
vii. Cars and Motorbikes
viii. Home & Kitchen Dropshipping Niches
ix. Phone Accessories Dropshipping Niches
People often ask if dropshipping can work in Nigeria, and the answer is yes, there are people in the country who are hosting their products on e-commerce platforms like Jumia and cashing out.
Launch Capital
If the supplier is not willing to deliver to the client, you will have to handle the cost of delivery. But if they will do that, you don’t really need capital to start dropshipping business except in cases where you want to build a website but are incapable of creating one yourself, so you have to source money to pay a developer.
To Start dropshipping on a platform like Amazon one needs to know that there are two packages, the first one goes for $0.99 and the second which is the bulk package cost $50.
Dropshipping Profit
There is no specific profit you can make from this business but the amount you take to the bank depends on how many products you sell and the pricing factor.
Conclusion
Dropshipping has both advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages are; low overhead cost, diversity, flexibility and easy setup. One of the major disadvantages is visibility. This is due to the fact that the buyer/client believes you (the drop shipper) is the retailer, so you need to be careful enough to maintain that belief because the moment they suspect a middleman, it can be very disadvantageous to the drop shipper’s business.
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