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So, you’re now convinced in the dropshipping business model and considering starting your dropshipping side-hustle. But, chances are you’re confused which one should you go with, eBay dropshipping Vs. Shopify dropshipping. Is that right?
Dropshipping is a lucrative business model, but picking the eCommerce platform can be intimidating, especially for beginners. eBay is a big trusted marketplace with a bunch of sellers that people trust and buy from. Shopify is a retail shop where you need to develop trust for your own brand.
What is dropshipping and how does it work
Dropshipping is a business model where you instead of stocking products and inventory, sell someone else’s product.
In fact, dropshipping is a business partnership but without contracts between parties.
In this business, the seller doesn’t need to meet up with the supplier, you just look for a supplier and for a product.
With all that our planet witnesses, people are flocking towards online businesses, because in fact, the traditional retail industry is dying!
What makes the dropshipping a lucrative business opportunity for entrepreneurs is that they don’t need to have their own products, and it doesn’t require huge capital to get started.
Dropshipping Process Simplified For Beginners
🔰 The seller (You) will set up an online storefront.
🔰 You will then select a product niche to dropship and sell.
🔰 After deciding what you want to sell, you need to find a reliable supplier to ship products from his warehouse directly to customers.
🔰 After finding a reliable supplier, you will place the images of the chosen products on your store, showing the exact features through the product’s description.
🔰 A customer will find an item they like while surfing your store and end up placing an order and paying you.
🔰 You as the site’s owner and the reseller will receive the order that contains their information (address, name, phone number, etc…)
🔰 You will then forward the order to the supplier, with a pay cut for the item’s cost.
🔰 That’s it for your side. The supplier will handle packaging, shipping and delivering the item directly to the buyer.
Is dropshipping dead
Dropshipping is dead! The more you think that way more room for me!
I’ve been a dropshipper for over 5 years, and all that I can say is that eCommerce is here to stay! And it’s the future.
According to a recent study by Statista, worldwide retail eCommerce sales of Amazon alone have jumped from $292.97 in 2018 to $468.78 in 2021 (Sales in billion U.S. dollars).
And that’s from Amazon alone!
Day after day, the traditional retail industry is dying because eCommerce is killing it significantly!
Have you heard about the retail apocalypse before? It’s the phenomenon of closing and shutting down numerous brick and mortar stores.
I’ve already mentioned in my other article that over 8500 retail stores have closed in 2019. The numbers are rising day after day and year after year!
According to Business Insider analysis, over 3300 stores are closing in the first half of 2020 only. And it’s going to be worse as the retail apocalypse drags on…
We are not talking about small businesses and brands here, we’re talking about big brands like Victoria secrets, Gap, GameStop, Chico’s, Bath & Body Works, and many many others!
The image below shows the global stats of eCommerce sales from 2014 to 2021.
This shows a future of steady upward trend with no signs of decline.
With all that the digital world is offering today, do you still need to set up a store offline?
Related: If you want to learn how to get started with your dropshipping journey, this article could be a good start (Open in a new tab)
By the way, Shopify is the leader company in the eCommerce industry. It’s home for over 1M business owners around the globe!
Bottom line: Dropshipping is not dead! It’s still showing huge potential. If just 1 million businesses are powered by Shopify, imagine how many dropshipping stores are over the internet. $4.9 trillion! Create an online store, you may be able to get a share of that big pie!
Is drop shipping legal
No one wants to put his feet into an illegal business. Do you?
So, if you’re considering starting a dropshipping side-hustle, it’s critical to ask yourself whether dropshipping is legal or not.
My quick answer is a big YES!
There are no laws by any government that make the business unlawful. You just need to enroll in an eCommerce platform that encourages the dropshipping business model!
And nowadays, most well-known companies like eBay, Amazon and Aliexpress encourage dropshippers because it’s a win-win situation for all parties.
Dropshipping is like any other business, there are details that you need to pay attention to.
Legal stuff that can lead to troubles, and in some cases to the jail.
A lot have been asking
Is dropshipping legal in Canada? Is dropshipping legal in Africa? In the US or Malaysia?
The good news is that most countries have legalized the dropshipping business model.
In the USA for example, there are some requirements to comply with when starting selling online.
If you are dropshipping from outside the US, you need to comply with relevant tax laws. You’d also need to have a USA reseller permit.
This all indicates the seriousness of this business model.
The same goes for the UK. Every dropshipping business must do a VAT registration before start selling to customers.
Now, your job is to learn more about the laws issued from your government to familiarize yourself with those policies and cut down the road on any troubles in the future.
The biggest challenge that may cause trobules in dropshipping is dealing with unreliable suppliers.
A bad supplier has the power to ruin your whole business.
When you create an online storefront and start selling online, you would need to set your own policies and work hard to build trust with your customers.
Because trust what leads to sales, and how you can convert surfers into customers!
Your customers don’t know your suppliers and the majority of them don’t know much about the supply chain at all.
They only know you, and if you fail to deliver as per your guidelines, customers will raise their issues with you.
That’s why you should be picky with your suppliers. You should only go with trustworthy, verified, and trusted suppliers.
So, if you’re serious enough about raising a healthy business that can bring you a good ROI (return on investment) you better check out my other article about picking the right suppliers for your dropshipping business (Open in a new tab)
Is dropshipping worth it
So, Is dropshipping still profitable in 2020 and beyond? Actually, your niche determines how profitable is dropshipping for you!
It’s absolutely worth it and a lot of expert dropshippers like —- are killing it and making a 7-figure a month.
Also, in dropshipping, you can set your own prices and margins, so you would have a clera idea what your profit per sale would be and how many item should you actually sell to break-even.
eCommerce is a multi-billion dollar industry, and the fact is that shopping is becoming more transactional.
People are not shopping the same way they used to. They would rather choose to shop online from the comfort of their homes while wearing pyjamas, than going to a mall for a shopping!
The Corona Virus pandemic in early 2020 has accelerated the global eCommerce total sales and forced people to shop online.
This is the perfect time to start an online business and start selling online.
Remember, it’s just never too late to be a part of this! The global eCommerce sales are projected to hit $6.5B in 2023.
At long last, eBay dropshipping Vs Shopify dropshipping. Which one is the best for you?
eBay Dropshipping
If you’ve considered dropshipping on eBay recently, I believe that you’ve got to think twice!
They have updated their policies and threatened to remove resellers’ listings from search, display them lower in search results, or remove them completely from the site.
You definitely wouldn’t be going after something that won’t last and bring sustainable growth. That’s literally a hit-and-run business!
However, dropshipping on eBay without PayPal is possible. Because you don’t have to pay any fees, it’s cheaper than eBay’s standard pricing. This primarily benefits those who need the product right away but are unable to pay right away. Additionally, it resolves a lot of the problems with credit cards.
Is dropshipping on ebay worth it
eBay is a big trusted marketplace with a bunch of verified sellers, and being a part of this awesome community is great for your creditability and absolutely worth it.
If you’re just concerned in making some extra money in the short-term, then it’s the optimal choice for you.
Shopify, on the other hand, gives you more functionalities and scalability for the long run.
Is dropshipping on eBay legal
So, is dropshipping allowed on eBay? Technically yes! But it’s restricted.
You’re not allowed to resell a products from another retail or marketplace that ships directly to customers.
What is actually allowed on eBay is to buy in bulk and promote your products on eBay. That’s totally fine!
But, is dropshipping banned on eBay? Not really! Above all, dropshipping is completely legal, but you have to comply with their terms and policies.
eBay dropshipping benefits
🔰 Being a reseller on eBay adds a lot to your creditebility.
🔰 May be good for the short-term, instant orders and cash.
🔰 No need to handle customer support or any kind of promotion.
Disadvantages of ebay dropshipping
⚠️ Customers are not yours.
No matter how hard you work your ass off, at the end of the day the customers and sales coming in are not yours.
You’re just taking your share out of that particular transaction and that’s it.
⚠️ Lot of competition. You need to stick to a specific range of prices.
⚠️ Low scalability!
⚠️ They may lower your status or rating. So, if you’re a long-time seller that will definitely affect your score on the platform, and there’s nothing you can do…
Shopify Dropshipping
Working with a big brand like eBay instantly gives you a trust badge because they have worked hard to develop their reputation and built that trust with customers along the years.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t built your own reputation for your own brand!
Having a self-hosted dropshipping store is key, and can give multiple advantages over selling on eBay or other eCommerce platforms.
So, unless you’re not concerned about developing your own brand, building your own reputation, and not willing to handle customer support and marketing, eBay will be a good fit for you!
What is Shopify and how does it work
Basically, Shopify is the leader company in the eCommerce industry.
It will act as your hosted eCommerce solution. This will allow you to easily create a professional-looking store, display your products, and take payments from your customers.
No matter what you’re background or skills are, they have already done the hard work for you.
Upon registering on Shopify, you will receive a 14-day trial to set up your store, populate it with products, and needed pages before even paying a dime.
After signing up for Shopify, you’ll be assigned a unique back-end office where you’re allowed to upload a special theme, update your pages and policies, and add your desired products.
Long story short, Shopify is the one-stop eCommerce solution that allows you to start your own dropshipping business and develop your own brand!
Advatntages of Shopify
Dropshipping on eBay is awesome, but Shopify has some cool features and advantages over other eCommerce well-known companies!
Having a self-hosted dropshipping store on Shopify has multiple advantages, here are some:
✔️ It will act as your hosted eCommerce solution, and their innovative drag and drop builder allows you to create the store of your dreams with ease! No technical or coding skills required!
✔️ Shopify has the capabilities to handle your markeitng, sales, and payments!
✔️ They are very supportive and encourage dropshippers! They provide a variety of tools and integration to help you succeed in this business! They have an app store of free and paid apps.
✔️ While you’re building your brand, Shopify tracks, processes and manages all your orders and payments.
✔️ Unlike eBay, Shopify allows you to add your own domain and set a unique name for your brand.
✔️ They have awesome reporting system that will allow you to measure your store’s performance.
✔️ They have awesome tools to help you succeed in this journey. Starting with Shopify business name generator to a variety of free theme templates.
✔️ Anyone who has tried or worked with a server before knows very well that servers crash at the wrong times.
They usually crash on big events like Black Friday. Shopify is a cloud network. So, it won’t ever crash or go down!
✔️ Shopify’s plans are so affordable for beginners and experts alike. You can get access to all of their features and functionalities from as low as $29/month! You can update as your business grows, for sure!
✔️ Low Barrier to Entry. It’s a lot easier than it was to build an online business 20 years ago.
✔️ Higher scalability. It’s your own zone, your own rules, and policies and you determine your profit margins and prices!
Disadvatnates of Shopify over eBay
Big brands like eBay and Amazon have high conversion rate because they are already trusted for people and have been around for years!
Here are some of the disadvantages of creating a Shopify store over eBay store:
⚠️ You need to build your own trust and reputation, because trust what leads to conversions!
⚠️ Be responsible to handle the customer support for your brand
⚠️ Promote your business yourself (Or hire an expert to do this for you)
⚠️ Monitoring and fulfilling orders by yourself
Overall, I don’t count these as disadvantages. For sure, there’s nothing better than building your own brand name that will remain with you forever.
And even if you end up deciding to quit the business in a couple of years, you could still sell it for a decent amount of money!
Shopify pricing
Unfortunately, Shopify is not a free eCommerce solution! It will help you start and grow a highly profitable business, and you know, there’s nothing in life for free!
However, its prices are so affordable. If you’re just starting out, you need no more than the basic package.
The cool thing about Shopify is that you can upgrade as your businses grows.
To learn more about Shopify pricing and their different plans, check out their full pricing guide (Open in a new tab)
How to start a shopify dropshipping business
Starting a Shopify dropshipping store is even easier than you may think!
To start a Shopify dropshipping, you need:
1️⃣ Brainstorm ideas and pick a profitable niche and product/s.
2️⃣ After deciding your niche and the products category, it’s time to pick a unique name for your business.
3️⃣ Get a domain name. You can either buy it from Shopify when you create your account or buy it separately from any other domain registrar and integrate it into your Shopify store!
4️⃣ New websites do obviously need a host.
Shopify will act as your hosted eCommerce solution, and your next step would be to purchase a monthly plan subscription to Shopify, and just let them handle all the hard work for you!
Honestly, the Basic package is more than enough for you, but if you’re looking for more features and functionalities, the Shopify and Advanced plans could be better solutions for you!
Tip: Although Shopify offers a free trial of 14-day, you won’t be able to receive actual orders and transactions unless you pick a paid subscription plan.
The free trial is designed to get you familiar with the dashboard, set up your store, add products, run test orders, populate your store with the needed pages, and set your own policies and prices!
5️⃣ After setting up your store and picking a paid plan, your next step would be picking reliable suppliers to ship directly to your customers.
Related: If you want to get connected to trustworthy and verified suppliers from the US, EU and Canada, you got to check these awesome resources written by me 🙂
⏩ What Is Spocket? Best Way To Find Quality Suppliers From The USA & EU (Open in a new tab)
⏩ How To Find Quality Suppliers For Your Dropshipping Business? Salehoo Full Review (Open in a new tab)
6️⃣ Now, after finding desirable products and suppliers you’d like to dropship from, you would need to place their products’ images on your site, edit descriptions, and set your own prices.
7️⃣ Populate your website with the needed pages, policies, and just make it look inviting by picking a professional theme.
Find good-looking, inviting and professional themes for your dropshipping store (Open in a new tab)
Best free Shopify dropshipping course
Because no one has ever become poor by giving, I’ve created a free mini Shopify course to help you put your feet into it and test its water.
You, our readers, are the reason behind creating this awesome the EcomDimes blog (the site you’re currently on).
When I’ve created it, I had a clear vision for helping people who are financially struggling and help them live their best life!
This free online course explores the strategic steps you need to follow in order to hopefully someday become a full-time dropshipper.
It is basically an 8-video series training that you can watch and learn in less than a day, and you can have lifetime access to it.
For more info about what you’ll learn in this course, frequently asked questions and the course’s modules, go to this link, please 🙂 (Open in a new tab)
eBay Dropshipping Vs. Shopify Dropshipping
It’s totally up to you whether you want to start with eBay dropshipping or create your very unique self-hosted eCommerce store on Shopify.
You can definitely do both! But you’re the best to know your finances, skills, capabilities, and intentions.
eBay is a well-trusted marketplace with tons of sellers that people already trust and purchase from. Doing dropshipping on eBay may get you instant orders and cash. Good for the short term.
Shopify, on the other hand (or any other online store), is going to be harder because you’re actually building a complete brand new brand, which involves building trust and reputation.
And trust takes time to be gained.
But, that shouldn’t prevent you from creating an online store that you’re proud to own and promote.
Bottom line: Shopify is definitely better for long term goals, sustainable growth, and scalability!
Conclusion
While retail is dying, people are flocking towards starting online businesses and reaping the reward of being their own boss!
The dropshipping is a great business model that requires a decent amount of work and effort in the beginning, but it for sure doesn’t require as much as a brick and mortar business.
This blog post aims to help you differentiate between working on eCommerce companies like eBay or having a self-hosted eCommerce online store on Shopify.
Each has its own pros and cons which I’ve already projeced in this article, to better help you decide which one is the best option for you!
Last but not least, global eCommerce sales are projected to hit $6.5B in 2023. So it’s definitely a journey worth taking!
Wouldn’t it be awesome to be a part of this multi-billion industry?
Thanks to platforms like Shopify, it allows you to start selling online, anywhere and they are supportive of dropshippers.
If you’d like a step-by-step tutorial on how to set up a Shopify store with 7 simple steps, this article is for you (Open in a new tab)
To help you succeed in your dropshipping journey, put your feet into it, and test its water, we’ve created this awesome step-by-step course for you. And it’s FREE!
This free online course explores the strategic steps you need to follow in order to hopefully someday become a full-time dropshipper and build a 6 or even 7-figure online business.
Are you considering starting a Shopify store? This free course could be a good help!
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Cheers,
Odeh Ahwal
