Imagine you’ve finally decided to start your own dropshipping business. You’ve got a name, a niche, and now all you need is a platform to launch your business. That should be the simple part right? Well, it may not be as simple as you think.
Choosing what platform to host your business can very much make or break you. Don’t fret, however, there are some simple things to look out for when choosing who to work with.
This article will help you to understand why choosing the correct drop shipping platform is crucial for your business growth, and what to look out for when deciding where’s best for you.
What is dropshipping?
To understand why your dropshipping platform is important you must first understand what dropshipping is exactly, so you can see what aspects of the sector appeal most to you.
When procuring stock most retailers tend to buy a large quantity of the product they’re selling, and then keep it in a warehouse so it is immediately available to sell to the consumer. Any leftover product at the end of the season is then put on sale to empty out the warehouses and make way for new stock.
When dropshipping, however, you only purchase the stock you need. So you don’t need to worry about having sales to get rid of leftover products or to spend more money on larger warehouses to house all of your items. A customer will order a product from your business at retail price, and then you will purchase that product from a third party dropship supplier at wholesale price and have the product sent to the customer. Your business is making a profit from the sale and isn’t needing to house a bunch of unnecessary things ‘just in case’ they sell.
This is the essence of dropshipping. Limiting the need for storage maximizes your profits and alleviates the need for sales.
What are dropshipping platforms?
Now we understand what dropshipping is, we are moving on to what dropshipping platforms are and how exactly they relate to dropshipping practices.
Dropshipping platforms are online sites that host various different dropshipping businesses. There are other sites online that you can sell your dropshipped products from, for example facebook, but that site isn’t built with dropshipping in mind. Dropshipping platforms are websites built for the purpose of hosting dropshipping businesses. They support these businesses in their dropshipping journey and present a schematic that you can use to build your business and become successful.
That being said, not all dropshipping platforms are the same. If they all were then there wouldn’t be as many. A multitude of different dropshipping platforms exist, each with a different priority or ‘sell’ for why you should work with them.
Why is your dropshipping platform important?
On the most basic level having a dropshipping platform is important because it is what provides the framework for your business and allows you to start selling. But your choice of platform is more than that.
As stated previously each dropshipping platform is different and it’s crucial to know how they work so you can make the most educated decision.
Choosing the correct platform for your business makes sure that you are optimising its success. A platform that doesn’t suit your business may be able to host you, but you won’t be thriving while you’re there. This is why choosing the right dropshipping platform for you is important, as only then will you be reaching your full potential as a company.
Your dropshipping platform of choice can influence many different aspects of whether your business succeeds – a good dropshipping platform for someone else may not be for you. This is why it’s important to look out for the different facets of the platform and see which lines up the most with what you want.
What should you look out for when choosing your platform?
There are various different things to look out for when choosing your dropshipping platform – this list is not exhaustive but should give a good indication of what factors exist when choosing a dropshipping platform.
- Reputation. Different dropshipping platforms have different reputations and whether you like it or not you will be associated with it if you work with them. This can work in your favor, as bigger and more reputable sites often have more traffic, but can also be your downfall if you choose a less trustworthy site to host your business.
- Payment systems. Some dropshipping platforms make you use their payment system. This isn’t necessarily an issue but is something to keep in mind.
- Customer service and support. This is particularly important when just starting out. If there is a lack of customer support then if something goes wrong it may be harder to sort out and, depending on the severity, affect your business.
- Countries reached. If you’re looking to build your dropshipping business to the point where it can deliver globally it is important to keep this in mind from the beginning, as some platforms are more ready for global shipping than others.
- Running costs. Different platforms have different costs associated with them, some are one off payments, some take a percentage of the money you make. In some cases additional costs may be worth the reputation of the platform.
Conclusion
Choosing the dropshipping platform for your business is important because of the different positives and negatives that can be associated with it.
Your dropshipping platform is what’s going to be supporting you through your business growth so choosing the best one for you is what will enable you to make your business as good as it can be.
There are numerous different factors to consider when deciding so make sure to weigh them all up so you come to an educated and researched opinion.
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