
The Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping - allsop8184
http://ecommerce.shopify.com/guides/dropshipping
======
kitcar
Out of curiosity, if drop shipping enabled you to quit your job in finance a
few years back ([http://ecommerce.shopify.com/guides/dropshipping/about-
the-a...](http://ecommerce.shopify.com/guides/dropshipping/about-the-authors)
) , why are you now 'giving away your secret sauce' by running a website
dedicated to teach people how to setup "copycat" businesses?

Is it that the drop shipping business has gotten so competitive that there is
more money in teaching people about it than the business itself, or were there
other reasons?

~~~
spiredigital
Co-author here, and a totally valid question! I started my blog about
eCommerce / drop shipping for a number of reasons:

1) To expand my professional network and opportunities

I just finished co-writing a book with Shopify on drop shipping, which is
something I never would have had the opportunity to do without the blog. It's
allowed me to build credibility and expand my network.

Additionally, the blog allows me to reach out to really interesting people
when I otherwise wouldn't be able to. For example, I recently interviewed Gary
Vaynerchuk - something I never would have been to do without leveraging
eCommerceFuel.

2) To connect with other eCommerce entrepreneurs

I've had the chance to connect with hundreds of other eCommerce merchants and
share strategies and tips. I eventually hope to build a really vibrant
community for small eCommerce merchants (as I think that's lacking online),
and this is helping me accomplish that.

3) To eventually diversify my income stream with something new

Like all entrepreneurs, I think the desire to try new things is strong -
especially after you've been doing the same thing for a while. I saw the blog
as a way to create another income source that leveraged the experience I have.

While one of my eventual goals is to make money from the blog, my first
priority is to keep the content extremely high quality, genuine, authentic and
USEFUL. I wanted to give away a ton of useful information before I asked for
anything in return.

Take the eBook on my site, for example. I spent 2 weeks solid writing it and I
give it away for free. If you download it and don't think it's one of the
better free resources you've come across online just let me know and I'll send
you $20 via PayPal for wasting your time. :-)

4) To dispel the the idea of "easy money" online

You asked why I'm teaching people to setup "copycat" business, and I'd argue
I'm doing nothing of the sort. 80% of success with any kind of business
involves the execution and strategy - and not picking the perfect niche or
having some "secret" sauce.

If Alexis Ohanian released a killer guide to programming in Python that
doesn't mean someone is going to be able to create a Reddit copycat... ...at
least one that will successfully compete with them. Also, just because someone
is sharing their knowledge and/or tactics doesn't mean that their original
project is no longer viable. It simply means they're interested in sharing
their experience.

If building a profitable drop shipping business was an easy 48-hour project,
I'd be less likely to share so publicly - you're right! But just like any
business, it takes a lot of hard work. The knowledge is important, but the
legwork is really what makes it difficult to implement.

I completely understand your skepticism as the online business space is full
of scams. But hopefully if you invest a few minutes reading our guide, and my
blog (<http://www.eCommerceFuel.com>) you'll realize we're committed to
publishing quality, useful content and not trying to rip people off.

Let me know if you have any questions - happy to answer them.

~~~
seanlinehan
This is a great answer. I think it is important to note that all of the
information you have provided is already available on the web, so you aren't
_really_ revealing super secret information. You have provided a very well
written and properly structured guide for information which could have been
gathered anyways. I went down the dropshipping information wormhole recently
it was a super annoying process. You're guide has definitely helped provide a
strong structure the information I gathered.

Thanks!

~~~
spiredigital
Thanks! You're right - most of the information is publicly available, and we
just consolidated it into one spot. Some aspects are a bit harder to find
publicly - like some of the tricker aspects of managing the logistics of
operating a drop shipping business - but still not impossible to find. You
just have to dig a bit deeper, or talk to someone with experience.

~~~
rodolphoarruda
And... you touched a point which new people to dropshipping will hardly read
somewhere else: that you take responsibility and accountability for your
suppliers' mistakes. This happens all the time. I did some dropshipping in the
past with suppliers in China. I can tell you it wasn't for those with faint
hearts. Having customers calling/emailing you 10^2345 times a day to complain
about the product they had received wrong, while it's not your fault, sucks
big time. Back to the point, I'm glad you have made a note about this aspect
in your website.

------
callmeed
Your guide looks really good, but you're definitely correct in your 1st
paragraph: when I hear "guide to drop shipping" I immediately think back to
the days of "MAKE THOUSANDS FROM HOME SELLING PRODUCTS ON EBAY" ... it has a
bit of a snake-oil perception to me and I'm glad you addressed that right
away.

My wife started an Instagram printing business (<http://cheergram.com>) a few
months ago and it's going very well. All products are dropp-shipped from our
partner lab so I know it can work.

I haven't finished the guide yet, but so far it looks really good.

~~~
allsop8184
Thanks so much. Part of the reason I decided to write this guide with my co-
author Andrew is there's so much bullshit out there regarding drop shipping.
It's really bad.... and if you go to Google to learn more about the topic I'm
afraid most results are scams. I wanted to change that. Shopify was gracious
enough to give me the time out of my regular duties to pursue this project and
I'm really happy with how it turned out. Tell your wife Cheergram is awesome,
and a huge congratulations for getting her drop shipping business up and
running! Happy reading callmeed - I really hope you enjoy the rest of my
guide! :)

~~~
callmeed
That's great ... it's probably a good time to tackle this since people seem to
be gravitating away from Ebay and toward more direct selling through social
media, shopify, and all the recent "SELL ANYTHING WITH STRIPE" services we see
here on HN.

If you have any specific questions or need quotes related to print/photo drop-
shipping, let me know. I actually just got back from a big photo industry
trade-show. Lots of interesting things going on.

------
mrchess
Would love to get a PDF version of this. I'll make one once I get home but if
someone beats me to it... ;)

~~~
allsop8184
I just launched the online version today so I haven't had time to make a PDF
yet. But yes, I'll definitely get on that ASAP. Glad to hear you think that
would be useful mrchess.

------
charlietran
Great job! One typo in Chapter 3: "drop hipping" (though that would be a cool
name for the official Shopify dance)

~~~
allsop8184
Haha drop hipping sounds awesome. I think I'll just keep that there as an
easter egg. :-)

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sachingulaya
This is especially ironic considering shopify does not offer dropshipping.
I've had multiple people inquire about dropshipping our products but we've
never been able to make it work.

~~~
rexreed
And they link to a specific inventory management system which is expensive and
isn't tailored for drop shipping when there are other alternatives, at lower
price, in the Shopify app store.

------
terrellm
This guide has some great information. A dropship commerce store can be a
great complement to a software company if you are able to integrate a
company's products in with your software.

My wife and I develop a cattle management software called CattleMax and began
operating two dropship e-commerce stores several years ago. Our stores help us
offer customers a full solution (identification + weighing/measuring +
management software) and also provide a nice supplement to our SaaS revenues.

Our first store, The Cattle Tags Store (CattleTags.com), sells cattle
identification supplies including visual ear tags and RFID tags & readers. Our
software is useless of the rancher hasn't identified his or her cattle, so
good identification is important.

Our second store, The Cattle Scales Store (CattleScales.com), sells digital
weigh scales designed for weighing livestock. It is a natural fit since our
software can import weights from the scales and these scales also integrate
with the RFID readers we sell at The Cattle Tags Store.

In the beginning, we were hesitant to create the stores but got through that
hesitation by saying "OK we will try it out for a few months".

------
refuteit
Dropshipping = Chargeback risk that you can't control.

~~~
jetti
The amount that you save on inventory and warehousing could offset that risk.
Plus depending on your niche I would imagine that the risk varies.

------
xlevus
I'm not entirely sure if it's still classified as dropshipping.

But I've been told that some postal services (e.g. NZ Post) are able to
provide dropshipping like logistics for you.

e.g. You manufacture your product in China. The postal service will then
manage logistics for you from factory to your customers.

------
jes5199
okay, I've never heard the term "drop shipping" before and I read the entire
intro page and I still have no idea what it is. I guess you plan to tell me in
Chapter One, but that's a lot more commitment than I want to make when I have
no idea what you're talking about.

~~~
spiredigital
Good feedback - we'll have to incorporate this into our 1st round of
revisions.

Drop shipping is a fulfillment model where a merchant doesn't carry any
inventory. Instead, they only purchase an item from a wholesaler when they
receive an order from a customer. Then, they have that item shipped directly
from the wholesale warehouse to the customer.

It allows a merchant to start a store without having to invest up-front in
inventory, and without having to manage a warehouse.

~~~
whatshisface
So, now we have merchants with no store, no warehouse and no inventory... what
exactly is left for the merchant to do?

~~~
prawn
Marketing, making the sales happen, etc. They wouldn't exist if they didn't do
something useful.

It's like asking why affiliate marketing exists. It does and it's huge.

~~~
whatshisface
I suppose I was thinking about the wrong kind of product, I now realize it
would be much more viable for one-time small purchases than it would be for
repeated purchases or large purchases. (where the incentive to cut out the
middleman would be powerful)

------
cm2012
As a manufacturer who drops hips for online sellers, this is a pretty god
guide (jewelry)

~~~
cm2012
Embarrassing number of typos made on train home yesterday. Can't fix now, but
good reminder to proofread when tired.

------
cbhl
There's a typo on this page[0]:

"per-order drop hipping fee"

[0] [http://ecommerce.shopify.com/guides/dropshipping/finding-
sup...](http://ecommerce.shopify.com/guides/dropshipping/finding-suppliers)

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arbuge
I just read the section of your guide about finding suppliers. So you
recommend supplier marketplaces like Doba? I've heard alot of strong opinions
either way on them. Is the pricing you can get there really competitive? Most
of their clients appear to be really small mom-and-pop online stores.

~~~
spiredigital
DOBA's interface can be convenient because they integrate seamlessly with big
suppliers, but they have a limited number of end-suppliers and the service is
more expensive. So while I'm sure some people have used them successfully, I
think starting from scratch there are more compelling options. I've never used
them, however, so I can't speak from personal experience.

If you can find and work directly with your suppliers, that's preferable. Next
best is going with a directory like World Wide Brands if you're struggling to
find suppliers or need a solid brainstorming tool. Instead of serving as the
go-between, they simply connect you directly to suppliers via their listings.
Additionally, they'll have a larger selection of smaller niche suppliers which
is where I see people have the most success with drop shipping. I've used WWB
for years and they're a good source for legitimate wholesaler suppliers.

Full disclosure: I've been interviewed / posted on the DOBA-affiliated blog to
promote eCommerceFuel.com as they have a well-known blog in the drop shipping
space.

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terryb100
I work at a Wholesale supplier and he pretty much nailed the 3 points
regarding the Google searches.

------
themonk
Is right supplier best kept secret in dropshipping?

It would be nice if you can provide at least one supplier for any product you
wish, this would give us fair idea about suppliers.

------
kentwistle
Does anyone have any experience with pixmania-pro drop shipping? I am
specifically looking for a merchant that sell automated vacuum cleaners.
(iRobot / Samsung)

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timtamboy63
Very awesome. Might be worth adding ecommhub.com in there somewhere - makes
life a hell of a lot easier for a drop-shipper :)

~~~
swib
Thanks for the mention :) I'm Kurt, founder of eCommHub. I think it was an
editorial mistake, so hopefully we'll get included in the guide soon.

Just to give others some background, we started as a Shopify app a few years
ago, so our whole platform is built around dropshipping (with Shopify).
eCommHub helps with automating the inventory management and order processing,
which can otherwise be quite manual and tedious. Some of our clients are
automating as many as 5,000+ orders per DAY through Shopify using eCommHub.

Anyway, this truly is the ultimate guide on drop shipping, so congrats to Mark
and Andrew for putting together such a great resource!

Here's our app listing if you're interested in checking out more:
<http://apps.shopify.com/ecommhub> or <http://ecommhub.com>

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DenisM
Could you make it into a kindle book please? 9.99 looks like a good price to
me. Thanks.

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maaku
Gonna burn karma here but... I read the title as "The Ultimate Guide to
_Dropshitting_ " and realized I have a great new name for 2HWW-inspired fly-
by-night fulfillment companies :)

