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An Honest Shopify Dropshipping Review (2024)
Updated:
15
minutes read
Though it took a different, more primitive form way back in the 60s and 70s, the general idea of dropshipping has been introduced for decades.
The whole outlook of having a dropshipping supplier prepare and ship out the products to your customers under your business’s name seems alluring to hopeful store owners, since it eliminates the need to keep the goods in stock themselves.
With the upswing of the ever-prevalent World Wide Web, business owners are presented with a growing array of platforms that help materialize an online dropshipping store in a matter of minutes.
Shopify is often, if not always, on the top of the list. This multi-functional website offers all the tools required to build your dropshipping store from scratch. But how exactly does it work? And is success guaranteed? Our Shopify dropshipping review will answer all these burning questions, and then some.
Dropshipping with Shopify
Keeping the essence of dropshipping while putting its own spin on it, Shopify is considered the go-to platform for both aspiring and seasoned business owners.
With its various dropshipping apps to choose from, the process of searching and connecting merchants to a supplier is hassle-free.
We will dive further into every nook and cranny of Shopify dropshipping in the following sections.
Not ready to commit but still want to kick the tires?
No problem! Get started with GemPages' free plan. Explore wonderful features that can do wonders for your store.
How Does Shopify Dropshipping Work?
Quintessentially, Shopify acts as a hosted site for you to explore all the possibilities surrounding this convenient business model. In this section, we will walk you through the most essential steps to take to start dropshipping through Shopify whenever you are ready.
Although the platform makes it possible for first-time entrepreneurs to assemble an online store without much experience, doing proper research to see whether dropshipping is the way to go before following the below guide is highly recommended.
Now let’s cut to the chase.
Step 1: Find A Dropshipping Niche
Research, with a capital ‘R’. What do you want to sell? What kind of products are trendy and/or never go out of style? How to build a niche to set your store apart from the others?
The questions are endless, and so are the opportunities.
The official Shopify dropshipping guide suggests that, instead of importing products in a broad category, merchants are advised to opt for niche goods in that category instead. For instance, “vegan coffee” is more appealing than just plain ol’ “coffee”.
The same goes to other types of product as well. While “pet products” is a good enough key word for visitors to find your website, shifting your focus onto a specific collection of pet products (i.e. grooming products, pet toys, health supplements, etcetera) will make your Shopify pet store more presentable to a niche, thus, increases the time spent onsite and boosts sales.
By finding your niche, you can weed out the competitors and determine your target audience at the same time.
But it is certainly easier said than done. Coming up with a niche requires references and aided tools. An amazing product idea without an audience and supplier is forever just an idea.
There are many different platforms and means that can speed up your brainstorming, namely Facebook Audience Insights, Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends. By entering your product ideas into the search bars and tweaking the settings to your liking, you can be clued up with what people are interested in.
Google Trends makes it easy to stay on top of your audience’s interests.
Once you have had a hold of your products of choice, it’s time to give your store a catchy name. It doesn’t necessarily need to allude to the merchandise that you carry, so let your imagination run wild.
Conveniently, Shopify has a free business name generator tool that you can make use of.
Learn more: 150+ Trending Dropshipping Products to Sell in 2023
Step 2. Build Your Shopify Store
Shopify did not become people's favorite eCommerce platform for nothing. The website ensures that the process of setting up your store is as effortless as possible. Let’s take a peep through the main steps.
- Create an account: or login right away if you have already had a Shopify account. If not, simply enter your email and click ‘Start free trial’. You can explore Shopify for a 3-day free trial and then pay only $1 per month for the first 3 months.
Easily start a free trial with Shopify.
Start selling on Shopify for $1/month
Try Shopify for free, then enjoy the next 3 months for $1/month on select plans.
- Get your store ready: Enter your chosen store name, which is also your default URL. Other settings are also available in the Shopify admin tab. Should there be any part that you are unsure about, a setup guide section will help you configure these features better
The setup guide helps you configure your store faster
- Import products into your store: Based on your niche and budget, you can pick a dropshipping supplier accordingly. There are many factors that influence this phase of setting up your store, with having a suitable dropshipping app being the top priority. We will dissect this topic further in a bit.
The keyword ‘dropshipping’ yields hundreds of results
Step 3. Promote Your Store
The great thing about dropshipping is that it gives you more time to focus on marketing and driving sales to your store. The whole planning procedure should definitely include a coherent marketing strategy, at least for the first period after your store has been published. Having paid ads on social media is a good place to start. But don’t get too comfortable. Relying on one game plan is a risky move. Make sure to observe and implement changes if needed.
Check out our blog post for more useful tips: How to Increase Sales on Shopify: 17+ Proven Strategies
We tried to keep this section brief, but we didn’t oversimplify this process on how to dropship on Shopify at all. As long as you have gotten a plan and a budget, your own Shopify dropshipping business is just a few clicks away.
The Best Shopify Dropshipping Apps
Of course, there is no best-in-show prize for one particular app for dropshipping on Shopify.
Depending on your preferences, what does not work for others will work wonderfully for you and vice versa. In this section, we will jump through a short list of the dropshipping apps with unique features that we think will impress you.
1. CJdropshipping - Best for Wholesales
CJdropshipping is an outstanding choice for a supplier.
This China-based dropshipping supplier and fulfillment service is an incredible source for almost all types of merchandise that you have in mind. With warehouses in China, USA, Germany, and many more, you could find everything AND a kitchen sink through this supplier.
Pricing and plans: Free to install, you only have to pay for products and shipping.
Key features:
- Lower product prices than AliExpress
- No minimum order
- Bulk dropshipping orders via Excel
- Print-on-demand service included
- Product sourcing and auto-listing features
- Easy order syncing and automatic order fulfillment
- Product and packaging customization
- Strict quality control system
- Shipping cost calculation and tracking
- Global warehouses for faster delivery times
- Outstanding customer support
- Decent shipping times
2. Spocket - Best for US and EU Dropshipping
Spocket is a trusted app for US and EU dropshipping.
This company houses suppliers in the US, EU, and globally. If your business is based in America or an European country, Spocket could be a shining contender when you are supplier hunting.
Pricing and plans: 14-day free trial
- Free plan
- Starter plan: US$29.99/month
- Pro plan: US$49.99/month
- Empire plan: US$99.99/month
Key features:
- Branded invoicing for your business
- Discounts/wholesale prices (30% - 40%) with no minimum order required
- Offers product sample orders
- Automated syncing with pre-existing online stores
3. Printful - Print on Demand
Try out Print-on-demand with Printful.
Print-on-demand is a unique business model, where you have the freedom to customize your own products (usually apparels) with a supplier to fulfill pre-orders from your customers. Printful is one of the most popular apps that help you do just the thing, with outstanding reviews and features.
Pricing and plans:
- Free plan
- Plus plan: US$9/month
- Pro plan: US$49/month or US$539/year
Key features:
- A wide selection of premium-quality custom products
- Free and quick set-up
- State-of-the-art machinery
- Easy-to-use design tools
- No upfront or hidden costs
- Product personalization options
- Custom branding
- Global warehouses
- Reliable customer support
The three examples above are just a fraction of what a dropshipping app can do for you. There are other wholesalers, as well as niche suppliers that are able to cater to your exact demands. Whether it is clothings, foods & beverages, toys, pet supplies, etcetera; when there is a will, there is a way.
The transparent ratings and reviews from sellers are noteworthy as well, as they play a big role in exposing the bad, sketchy apps, if there is any. Be sure to dot your I’s and cross your T’s before making an investment and partnering with any supplier.
Is Shopify Dropshipping Profitable?
There is no definite answer to this very question. However, anything is possible if done right.
Needless to say, jumping on the dropshipping bandwagon just because you get FOMO from all the other entrepreneurs doing it is not the best idea. A business of any form can only thrive when the person behind it knows what they are doing.
Logistically speaking, dropshipping will be easier and more affordable to start with. When a seller can partly rid themselves of the dreaded financial burden when starting a business from scratch, there is more time and room to build and develop other aspects of the business. This is a huge plus of dropshipping that makes it so popular among the entrepreneur community.
There are anticipated doubts from sellers with a business model in which so many things are seemingly out of their hands, in comparison to the traditional method. However, we do not think dropshipping proposes more risks, given the current state of the industry where more and more small businesses come to the party, dropshipping can be a steady source of income for them without spending the big bucks. We’ll also touch on this topic a little bit below.
Specifically speaking, managing a no-inventory online store on a well-established platform like Shopify gives you a helping hand in steering your business into the right direction.
To conclude, there are positives and negatives in everything. With a reasonable budget, marketing plan, and adaptiveness, you can totally build a viable and profitable dropshipping business.
Learn more: Is Dropshipping Worth It? (2024 Updated)
Not ready to commit but still want to kick the tires?
No problem! Get started with GemPages' free plan. Explore wonderful features that can do wonders for your store.
Is Shopify Dropshipping Good for Beginners?
Short answer, yes. Long answer, huge yes.
But seriously, when it comes to newcomers in the entrepreneurship game, dropshipping is a great move.
The two most important factors that directly impact one’s business are money and experience. Although adopting dropshipping does not magically eradicate the inadequacy of these two elements, it can help ease the potential risks and mishaps.
To simply put, dropshipping allows your online store to operate without having a huge upfront investment to stock up on products yourself. With Shopify, connecting with trustworthy suppliers is as easy as pie. Therefore, even the most inexperienced sellers can experiment with this new way of doing business without compromising on money and time.
The website also makes it incredibly easy to navigate when it comes to setting up your own store from square one, as demonstrated above.
That being said, do your research before spending those greenbacks!
The Pros and Cons of Shopify Dropshipping
Similar to everything else in life, there are gains and losses with this business method. To help you get the full picture, let’s look at the pros and cons of dropshipping with us.
Pros of Shopify Dropshipping
- Inventory and shipping are taken cared of: I’m sure this has been made clear to you at this point. Nevertheless, this is a huge plus of dropshipping that is definitely worth a mention.
- You can set up a store lightning fast: Back when the internet was still foreign, the average person had to potentially jump through several hoops to open a business of their own. In this day and age, becoming an online store owner is as easy as ever, with the help of Shopify and other Shopify apps namely GemPages.
Fyi, GemPages is a powerful visual page builder that makes it super quick and easy to style your dropshipping store. You can choose from the extensive library of professional templates, make some tweaks to match your brand and your page is already good to go. Or, you can customize your page to your heart’s content by dragging and dropping pre-made sections and some elements to any position. Whatever way you choose to design your page, it will look more stunning and sell better. 100% guarantee!
Customize your Shopify store pages your way
The powerful page builder empowers you to create store pages that bring unique experiences and convert customers. No coding needed.
- Work at your own comfort: Whether dropshipping is just a side hustle on the weekends or your full-time job, you are able to make your own hours. This business model is a nifty alternative for people who are not too fond of the 9-to-5 routine.
- Easy to scale: The internet is a magical place. With only a working computer and a steady connection, you are capable of having customers in every corner of the world (as long as the goods are shippable). If your business is blooming, finding local suppliers at your target market is totally feasible with various Shopify dropshipping apps to utilize from.
Cons of Shopify Dropshipping
- Not being in total control: Especially when you order from a large scale supplier overseas. The supply chain is often not too transparent and difficult to control. The issues with shipping products from country to country also poses a high risk of package delay, loss and/or legal customs issues.
- Low profit margins: When your store is freshly established, the possibility of ordering merchandise in bulk is unrealistic. Thus, products are ordered based on the numbers of orders, which can be low at first. The various costs of shipping out a single unit each time adds up to the price of the goods from the supplier’s end, hence the profit that you receive might not be much. However, this problem can be fixed as the business progresses and the merchant has gotten a hang of running their store.
Learn more: Dropshipping Pricing Strategy: A Complete Guide for Beginners
- There are many competitors: As we have mentioned, the industry is rapidly expanding. Great minds think alike, therefore, you may come across other sellers with the same product idea as yourself. The brownie points now go to the one who knows how to run their business better.
The cons are there, but they are not necessarily concrete and uncrossable. If you are confident in what’s in your wheelhouse, a fruitful and profitable dropshipping store is still perfectly obtainable.
Our Final Verdict
Whether you are a first-time entrepreneur who is doing research on the best website for dropshipping, or a veteran eCommerce store owner who is looking to migrate from another platform, we hope that this blog post has helped you in making the next decision to further zhuzh up your business.
By the way, if you are looking for a powerful and user-friendly solution to raise the bar for your very own Shopify dropshipping store, you may want to check out GemPages.
GemPages is a drag-and-drop page builder for Shopify that allows you to create stunning and responsive landing pages, product pages, homepages, and more, without any coding skills. With GemPages, you can customize every aspect of your store, such as fonts, colors, images, and layouts, and optimize it for conversions.
Unlock the full potential of your dropshipping store
The better your store looks, the more sales it makes. Try GemPages for free to create a dazzling dropshipping store that sells like hot cakes.
FAQs about Shopify Dropshipping Reviews
How to start a Shopify dropshipping business?
Dropshipping with Shopify is effortless. Simply add a dropshipping app to your Shopify store and follow the setup guide to start dropshipping today.
How much does the average Shopify dropshipping store make?
The average Shopify dropshipper can earn from as little as US$100 to thousands of dollars per month. The income largely differs from business to business.
Is Shopify dropshipping worth it?
It is beginner-friendly and takes minutes to set up. It is definitely worth a try, in comparison to the standard business method.
What are the pros and cons of Shopify dropshipping?
Pros:1. Inventory and shipping are taken cared of2. You can set up a store lightning fast3. Work at your own comfort4. Easy to scaleCons:1. Not being in total control2. Low profit margins3. There are many competitors
