There are many different websites and webshops that use dropshipping to sell products over the internet. Dropshipping has grown in popularity in recent years and is now waning again as the general public learns more about it. In this blog post, we take a look at the world of dropshipping and the many 'get rich quick' courses that recommend it as a way to get started.

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is selling products on your website from third parties, mainly suppliers, with the largest provider in the cheaper dropshipping segment being AliExpress full service. The products are manufactured in factories in China, displayed on AliExpress, then advertised and sold on your website (with a markup, of course), after which AliExpress takes care of further processing and delivery.

Customer contact, support and the associated responsibility remain with you as the seller. This differs from normal sales from your own warehouse, where you can just as easily buy your products from AliExpress, but then sell and deliver them from your own warehouse. With this method, you have more control over the product itself and its quality. You have more control over the packaging, branding and shipping method. And you can act much faster with some support issues and customer care. With dropshipping, on the other hand, this is often a gamble and a great deal of uncertainty for you as a webshop operator.

Long delivery times

One of the biggest characteristics of dropshipping is the long delivery time of the products. In the best case scenario, products are delivered within around 10 days. In the worst case, however, this can also take several months. As was the case with Corona. In today's world of ordered this morning = delivered tonight, or within 1 day delivery, which is what most people have come to expect, this is a sharp contrast in this. And if you don't communicate this clearly, you'll soon be out of business. Also, in most cases, product delivery cannot be specified exactly. So if you are asked this question by one of your customers, you will often have to give a vague answer. This is anything but customer-friendly.

Mysterious parcels

Another disadvantage of dropshipping is that the parcels often don't look like a professional sale either and anonymous cardboard boxes and white plastic mailing bags are the standard delivery method. Often with an overkill of adhesive tape around it.

So as soon as one of your customers receives the package, it is questioned.

The product itself may be of high quality and carefully selected by you, but the packaging and delivery are also an important pillar of the customer's shopping experience.

Webshops are easy to set up these days

Anyone can set up a website and webshop with the available software, and external website builders such as Shopify have made it even easier. With a few clicks and customizations, your webshop is up and running within an afternoon. As a result, webshops are more numerous than ever before. And thanks to advertising on social media, such as Instagram, people are being introduced to this industry in record time.

A webshop can also be set up completely open source, and with WordPress and WooCommerce, a webshop can also be set up very quickly. Take a look at our hosting to see what we have to offer!

Customer satisfaction is hard to find

The bottom line is that customer satisfaction is often hard to find in a dropshipping webshop. And people let each other know, after a negative experience people will share it and warn others away from your webshop. This means that a webshop that uses dropshipping and does not make it transparent often has a short life. The experiences of others will quickly put newcomers off.

Courses on the topic of dropshipping

What has also made dropshipping popular are the many "gurus" who recommend this way to quickly build up a "sidehustle", i.e. something that anyone can do to earn extra income alongside their regular job. This is also true, but it simplifies the whole process so much that the conditions and possible consequences fade into the background.

With any webshop, you now have some responsibility and can be put in default for every order. You also need to get your terms and conditions, privacy policy and other legal issues in order. And you can get into serious legal trouble if something goes wrong or isn't true.

Many of these courses originate in America and make all their profit from selling a course that promises you can make a lot of money quickly with minimal effort. This does not reflect the reality of entrepreneurship. Every business requires a lot of commitment and work to make something out of it. So don't fall for such promises and do your research before taking these steps.

Increase in direct sales via Aliexpress, Temu, SHEIN

Recently, direct sales to consumers have also increased by a considerable percentage. This is mainly due to the aggressive marketing of suppliers such as Temu or SHEIN. As a dropshipper, you are then left out in the cold and consumers can order the product cheaper and often at ridiculously low prices themselves. As more and more people get used to ordering products directly from faraway countries at rock-bottom prices, it becomes increasingly difficult for you as a dropshipper.

Local suppliers and storage centers for dropshipping

It is therefore no longer advisable to set up a dropshipping webshop based on one of these Chinese parties, and the larger dropshippers who have been doing this for a long time are increasingly turning to other solutions. They are either setting up local warehousing centers themselves or using third-party suppliers that eliminate the biggest disadvantages of dropshipping. Namely, faster and more reliable shipping and better packaging.

Dropshippers are also increasingly looking for local partners to do business with in order to support the market closer to home again. If you're looking for a way to sell products on your website, you can also look into affiliate marketing. This is a method of monetizing a website that comes with much less risk. And you can still promote products on a website. More on this in a later blog post this week. Be sure to keep an eye on our blog for the latest tips and tricks not only for hosting, but also for online business!