Although dropshipping is a promising business, you need to be careful with some mistakes that many people make with this business. If you are planning to have a successful dropshipping business, you should consider reading this article. In this article, we are going to discuss some dropshipping mistakes to avoid, especially if you are a beginner in this industry. By avoiding any of these mistakes, you will be able to get your success easily.
10 Dropshipping Mistakes to Avoid for Beginners
1. Expecting Easy Money from this Business
This is the first mistake that you should avoid, especially if you want to be successful with your dropshipping business. Although this business is pretty simple and straightforward, you need to do some efforts for promoting your store or other products on the Internet. You need to find the best ways for attracting customers to your store. It requires you to research your products, suppliers, potential customers, etc.
2. Relying too much on the dropshipping suppliers
When you have a dropshipping business, you need to understand that this is pure business for you. You are the one who is responsible for any details in your business. For example, when you only have a single supplier for your store, they can go out of business due to any reason. You may run out of stock when your supplier doesn't have the product anymore.
It is a good idea for you to write up a contract for all of your suppliers, so they can also be aware of your expectations. You also need to have several backup plans, including some additional suppliers, so you can continue your business when something bad occurs to them.
3. Not enough brand display for your store
If you are looking for the best way to promote your dropshipping business, you need to put or display your brand in any place. You need to ensure that your customers can get exposure to your brand because you don't want your customers to forget about you or your business. Therefore, you need to insert your brand in any places, such as your packing slips, customized external packaging, inserts, etc.
4. Doesn't have a backup plan for handling any complaints
This is another mistake that you may want to avoid, especially if you want to be successful with your business. When any customers complain about their orders, you should get ready with all preparations and answers. You should be ready to offer them an easy and quick solution for them. Creating a smooth process for handling the complaints can increase customer trust in your company.
5. Doesn't have a clear return policy
It is highly recommended for you to have a clear return policy, especially when you want to be a successful dropshipper. Without a complete return system, things can go wrong very fast. You and your vendor need to discuss together for establishing a return policy. Creating a clear policy can help you and your customers avoid irritation and confusion, especially after the transaction is done completely.
6. Worry about shipping costs
If you have a small dropshipping store, you can find shipping costs for some of your customers easily. Things will get more complicated when your store is growing. When you have a lot of customers coming to your store, you may have difficulties when you need to check different shipping costs for them one by one. It is a good idea for you to set up a flat rate, so you can alleviate your stress. It will be easy and straightforward for your customers.
7. Have a complicated system to access
This is another common mistake that is commonly done by many beginners. Most beginner dropshippers don't have a clear system for managing all orders from their customers. They usually have some manual procedures for handling any orders.
When the system is complicated, your customers will have some issues and challenges in getting access to their order information. Therefore, you need to have a clear system that will tell your customers about the estimated shipping date, order status, delivery process, etc.
8. Sell your dropshipping products on the marketplace
Although it is very easy for you to open an account on some marketplace sites, such as eBay, Amazon, AliExpress, etc, you should avoid selling any dropshipping items on these sites. You may have a lot of competitors who are competing with you in terms of price, discounts, offers, and any other interesting deals for all customers. You can consider creating your store for starting your dropshipping business. It is a good idea for you to use BigCommerce and Shopify platforms for starting your dropshipping business.
Bonus Tip:
Whatever you choose, the online marketplace or your own dropshipping store, the integration and automation matter for dropshipping to reduce the workload. A professional dropshipping supplier like SaleYee.com, can seamlessly connect to your online stores for automatic information synchronization, including orders, tracking number, inventory, product information, etc.
Learn more:
Automated Dropshipping: 6 Ways of Business Automation
9. Only have a small variety of products
At the beginning phase of the dropshipping business, you need to build customer trust in your store. You should avoid having only a few products in your store. It is highly recommended for you to add some items to your store before you can run any ads to your store. A lot of products in your store can give flexibility and choices for your customers. They will be able to choose any of their favorite products from your store easily. A variety of product selection can be used to attract a lot of customers to come to your store because they are interested in buying any products from you.
10. Doesn't consider holidays
If you have your products, you can open your store at any time you want. However, when you are planning to open a dropshipping business, you need to consider some holidays on your calendar. You should take note when holidays are coming in the next couple of days or weeks. During these holidays, your suppliers may close their business. They are unable to send any products at these times. Therefore, you need to check when your suppliers are going to take a holiday before you promote your products to your customers.
Final Thoughts
Those are some common dropshipping beginner mistakes that you should avoid. By avoiding any of those mistakes, you can reduce the risk of getting failure in your new dropshipping business. You should prepare everything carefully before you can start your dropshipping business, especially if you want to achieve your success with this business.