Best Ways To Make Money Online – Part 2: Drop Shipping
In the second part of my series Best Ways To Make Money Online I am going to talk about Drop Shipping.
The whole series is about how you can make money online without really needing a website! (Click here for the first part.)
Of course, a website is always a good thing to have, if you want to be a successful online entrepreneur.
But to get started, you don’t need a website for drop shipping!
Let’s get straight to it:
What Is Drop Shipping?
When you are drop shipping products to your customers, you don’t have to handle (store and ship) the products yourself.
No, whenever you make a sale, you let your drop shipper now and he will send it to the customer.
This business model is widely spread amongst online marketers.
There are many e-commerce websites that use drop shipping.
Those sites don’t have their own warehouses. All their products are stored by their business partners and sent on demand.
So, if you want to minimize your costs but want to sell physical items, you should consider starting with drop shipping.
How To Get Started With Drop Shipping
While many people are building their own websites for drop shipping, you don’t need to do that.
At least not in the beginning.
There are other ways how you can advertise and sell your chosen products:
1. Sell Products On Amazon
Amazon Fulfillment Center
Yes, you can use drop shipping with Amazon.
I’d highly recommend using the FBA service from Amazon.
FBA stands for “Fulfillment by Amazon” and makes it very easy to sell products on Amazon with drop shippers.
First, you have to find a company that ships items for the wholesale price (I give some tips for that below).
You have to make sure that they include shipping to Amazon’s warehouses, too. Not all are doing that, but many are!
You also have to make sure that the quality of your products is good.
For that, order a sample and check it thoroughly.
When you are happy with the quality, set up your Amazon account and start adding products for sale.
Then, you have to make sure that you have products in stock.
For that, order the first bulk of products from your supplier and let him send them to Amazon.
Don’t worry, Amazon has a lot of information about its FBA program.
Make sure you follow their tips!
2. Sell Products On Ebay
While the idea behind it is similar, you won’t have the option to let the whole process be fulfilled by Ebay.
Still, you can make a lot of money on Ebay with drop shipping.
Just offer the products on Ebay.
Whenever you make a sale, order it from your supplier and let him send it straight to your customer.
Important Note:
Many drop shippers only ship in bulk!
If you want to use Ebay, you have to make sure that your supplier sends single items, too!
3. Sell Products On Facebook
Especially in Asian countries, many people are using solely Facebook to make money with drop shipping.
You need to create a fan or business page on Facebook and upload images and descriptions of your products.
Make sure you stay in a chosen niche when you use Facebook.
Don’t become a general store. That won’t work very well on Facebook.Then, you have to build up your following.
Then, you have to build up your following.
This might take a while, but once you have a few thousand followers, you can generate constant sales with your Facebook page.
No website needed!
Just like with Ebay, you have to make sure that the drop shipper ships single items when using Facebook.
Where Can I Find Drop Shippers?
Drop shipping warehouse
Finding good and high-quality drop shippers is the biggest hurdle you have to overcome before you can make money.
Here are some very common ones:
1. Aliexpress
Most people, who are starting with drop shipping, are using Aliexpress.
There are thousands of people who are drop shipping their products on Aliexpress and most (if not all) are sending single items, too!
Most suppliers on Aliexpress are from China.
Don’t worry, those times were products from China were always of low quality are long gone!
Of course, you still have to make sure you order from a trusted supplier on Aliexpress.
There is a rating system in place, that helps to find good quality.
Also know, that shipping times on Aliexpress can take one or two weeks.
Make sure you let your customers know that!
Otherwise, you will get loads of refund requests.
If you are just starting with drop shipping, start with Aliexpress!
2. Worldwide Brands
Worldwide Brands is a safe website directory that lists drop shippers and wholesalers.
It is the best source to find suppliers you can really trust!
Worldwide Brands checks every single supplier before they add them to their directory.
To get access, you have to pay a one-time fee of $299 USD.
With that, you gain lifetime access to their service.
Believe me, if you are taking this seriously, you should take advantage of their service!
it is absolutely worth it!
Join Worldwide Brands Here!
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Drop Shipping
Drop shipping is a fantastic business opportunity.
Let’s take a look at the advantages first:
- Offer a broad range of products (remember, you don’t need to store them yourself)
- No costs for storing and shipping products (that’s a huge money saver!)
- When using FBA, no customer service needed
- No need for your own product
And here are the disadvantages:
- If using FBA, you have to buy products before you have made any money
- If NOT using FBA, you have to handle refunds and complaints yourself
You can see that FBA itself has its advantages and disadvantages.
If you want to reduce your starting costs as much as possible, you should not start with FBA!
But then, you will have to deal with customer service, which can be pretty annoying.
Which path you take is up to you.
Does the whole drop shipping business suddenly not sound that great anymore?
Don’t worry, take a look at my advanced strategies to understand that drop shipping can be a real goldmine:
Advanced Strategies For Drop Shipping
As I said, you don’t really NEED a website to succeed with drop shipping.
However, it can boost your sales a lot, when you have your own online store.
So, if you really want to get the ball rolling, set up your store (general or niche) and add products from your favorite drop shippers.
You can either build an online shop with Shopify or with WordPress.
If you are familiar with WordPress, I would definitely go down that road.
It will be much cheaper than Shopify!
Once you have set up the store, you can drive traffic to it via blogging or advertising (e.g. on Facebook).
The combination of an online store and Facebook ads is one of the best ways to make money online.
(The only thing that works just as great is affiliate marketing.)
My Personal Plans For Drop Shipping
So far, I have only started testing drop shipping a bit.
I just don’t have the time to really get started with it at the moment.
There are too many projects I am working on at the moment.
But here are my personal plans for drop shipping:
I will definitely go the “online store + Facebook ads” route!
It has been proven over and over again that it works!
You have to find a winning product and test your ad strategies.
Don’t be afraid to lose money on ads at the beginning.
That is part of the process.
If you want to be successful with Facebook ads, you have to test, test, and test!
I am going to write more about Facebook ads in the future.
Once, I have done that, I will link to it from here.
My Main Source Of Income
I am a big fan of drop shipping, but as I have explained above, didn’t have the time to really focus on it.
Instead, I am making money with affiliate marketing!
I build websites in targeted niches and recommend products to my readers.
If someone clicks on one of my affiliate links and buys something, I get a commission.
In this kind of business, you have to be honest and helpful to your readers!
Don’t try to cheat or scam them.
Tell them the truth and they will start to trust you.
Never break that trust!
Stay genuine!
Want to get started with affiliate marketing?
Check Out The Place That Made Me Successful!
Now It Is Up To You!
So, how do you feel about drop shipping?
Are you ready to start your very own business with it?
I really think that it is one of the best ways to make money online nowadays.
And it is completely different to what I recommended in the first part of this series.
Let me know your feelings below in the comments below.
I can’t wait to get in touch with you.
All the best,
Moritz