Follow this Shopify Dropshipping Guide and discover why launching a Shopify dropshipping store is an awesome way to start an online business for many entrepreneurs.
For everyone who desires to have a business online, today there are tons of possibilities. One of those is to start an e-commerce store in dropshipping, using platforms such as Shopify.
If you are willing to learn how to do it just sit back, relax and enjoy this Shopify dropshipping guide.
What is Dropshipping and how does it work?
Dropshipping is a business model in which e-commerce entrepreneurs sell products without having to carry any inventory.
This is a fantastic option because you’ll have more time to focus on the marketing activities in order to grow your online store and making more sales.
When you sell a product, you’ll purchase the item from a third party company and the product will be shipped directly to the customer.
As you can image there are several benefits to run a dropshipping business instead of a normal e-commerce, especially if your budget at the beginning is very tight.
With dropshipping, you don’t have to worry about:
- Managing or paying for a warehouse
- Packing and shipping your orders
- Tracking inventory for accounting reasons
- Handling returns and inbound shipments
- Continually ordering products and managing stock level
What you have to focus on is Marketing. So you have to find the right audience to which sell your products.
Of course on the other hand there are some disadvantages such as:
- Low margins
- Inventory Issues
- Supplier Errors
With time and experience you’ll understand how to find the best dropshipping suppliers and how to deal with those problems.
What is Shopify and why to use it?
Shopify is the leading ecommerce platform and it enables entrepreneurs to start their own online stores.
While there are several ecommerce solutions out there that can power your dropshipping business, Shopify continues to be one of the most popular platforms for merchants.
Shopify in fact is:
- Dropshipper-friendly: many apps for dropshipping integrate with Shopify and enable you to start selling online (e.g. Oberlo)
- Easy to use: Shopify is one of the most user-friendly software out there for e-commerce businesses.
- Great features: Shopify offers a lot of features that let you create a real ecommerce business, not just a website.
These are the main features of Shopify:
- Fully customizable Website, Online Store or Blog;
- Unlimited product inventory;
- Possibility to sale on multiple channels (Facebook, Pinterest, Amazon, Ebay)
- Accept payments via credit card (Shopify Payments,Paypal, Stripe)
- Shipment Service to save you money and time (Shopify Shipping);
- 24/7 customer support;
How to start a Dropshipping Business with Shopify?
Dropshipping is the perfect business model for entrepreneurs who are looking to set up their own business with little up-front investment, and Shopify is the simplest platform you can use to create and run your store.
1. Creating a Shopify Account
First of all decide what name to choose for your Shopify store, try to keep it simple, creative and memorable. You can use a business name generator if you don’t have any idea.
Check by using Google search if your name is available, especially the .com domain extension.
Creating an account for your Shopify dropshipping store is a simple and quick process. To start, you’ll need to visit Shopify’s homepage and sign up for Shopify.
You can start with the basic Shopify plan for $29/month, which includes pretty much everything you need to run your own online store (Free 14-day trial).
In order to sign up, you need to provide an email address, password and store name.
Next you’ll need to configure the settings to launch your Shopify dropshipping store.
2. Optimizing the settings of your store
It’s time to optimize your store and go through the settings of your newly created Shopify account.
You need to set up the basic settings in order to run your store:
Payment Providers
The first thing you’ll need to do is add a payment option to your Shopify dropshipping store. This is a mandatory step, as you won’t be able to receive money from customers if you don’t add a payment option (I recommend adding at least Paypal).
Store Policies
When you’re launching your own Shopify dropshipping store, you’ll need to make sure that you have created the necessary store policies (Shopify has an automatic tool to help you generate the policies).
Shipping
It’s important that your Shopify dropshipping store has clear shipping rates. I usually recommend that you always offer free shipping, as this is the easiest option and people will be more enticed to buy. You can include the shipping rate directly in the selling price of the product.
Taxes
Set up the taxes if applicable for you country, depending on your company profile (I recommend you talk to an accountant in order to be sure what laws apply to your case).
Checkout
It’s very important to correctly set up the checkout settings. By default they should be fine, take a look in order to check if are fine for you.
3. Launching your own Shopify dropshipping store
It’s almost time to launch your store. Just few more details and then you are ready to go live.
First of all you need to choose a theme for your store, meaning the frontend that will be visible to the customers and create a logo.
It’s important to have a good first impression of your business, therefore you must have a good design of your store (mobile friendly).
If you’re interested in creating a logo, you can use graphic design software, like Photoshop or Canva, or you can also outsource the logo design to external freelancers, through freelance platforms, like Upwork or Fiverr.
Fortunately Shopify has a theme store that you’ll be able to use to source a wide variety of themes. You will find both free options and premium options.
If you need more details you can check this other guide: how to create an online store with Shopify.
Once you store is ready you can use apps like Oberlo to import automatically the products to your store.
Oberlo and Shopify are seamlessly integrated, so you’ll be able to start importing and offering products immediately.
Store is ready to launch, it’s time to start generating revenue and making sales with your Shopify dropshipping store.
Shopify Dropshipping Guide: Recap
Let’s summarize how to start a dropshipping business with Shopify.
Dropshipping isn’t a perfect successful business. The model has some definite advantages but comes with a number of built-in complexities and problems you’ll need to be able to address.
Starting a dropshipping business with Shopify is surprisingly easy, and requires very little upfront investment.
Here the 3 simple steps to follow to get started:
- Creating a Shopify account
- Optimizing the settings of your store
- Launching your own Shopify dropshipping store
When you find a good product, experiment with different marketing methods and see which tactics successfully drive traffic and sales.
We hope you found valuable information in this Shopify dropshipping guide, leave a comment below if you have any question or you are already using Shopify to run your dropshipping business.
If you are ready to launch your Shopify Store, just click the button below and start your free 14-day trial.
READ MORE: Shopify Review - Why Is The Best Ecommerce Website Builder