June 27, 2018

What Exactly is Drop Shipping ?

Drop shipping in India is a great cost-effective way for new entrepreneurs to start an e-commerce business. Drop shipping allows an entrepreneur to sell products online without having to carry inventory or ship out products making it a low-risk business model for those just starting out. The best part of drop shipping is that you only buy your customers products after they’ve made the purchase on your store saving you more money. In 2016, Indians spent $16.08 billion in online sales with an annual growth of 24.5%. By 2021, online sales are expected to reach $45.17 billion in sales making this a growing market you should jump onto sooner rather than later. Indian drop shippers are free to market their businesses to those outside of India but it’s evident that the Indian e-commerce market will continue growth making it a worthwhile market.

Thinking about starting an online business, but unsure of where to source your products from? Wondering where to find suppliers selling at wholesale prices? If yes, drop shipping may be the answer you’re looking for.

But what exactly is dropshipping? It is a business model where you, the store owner, do not keep stock of the products being sold on your website. Instead, you forward all your orders to a manufacturer or wholesaler, who ships them to your end customer. You earn your profits gaining on the difference amount between the wholesale price and retail price.

If you are able to work out the processes well, you can go ahead and increase your sales from a number of products you get from your drop-shippers.

How are manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and drop-shippers different from each other?

A manufacturer is the first person in a supply chain. He is someone who creates and produces their own products, usually at a factory or workshop. The distributors purchase directly from the manufacturers and sell across to wholesalers. These wholesalers in turn sell to retailers.

Some distributors play the role of wholesalers and sell to retailers. A drop-shipper is someone who keeps stock of the goods and is ready to ship products when orders are forwarded to him.

How do I find Drop-Shippers in India?

Before you start looking for drop-shippers, you need to decide upon the type of products that you plan to sell. Having an incredibly large catalogue is not necessarily the best way to open an online store.  Instead, do a little research about your target audience and display only those products that you are certain will sell. There is another major advantage to this approach which we will cover in the latter part of the post.

List of some Drop-Shippers websites.


1. Search on online marketplaces

Many drop-shippers sell across online marketplaces such as Flipkart, eBay and Amazon. Try searching for such sellers and message them there seeking help. Else, check if they have a website from which you can find out their contact number.

Drop shipping is a supply chain management method in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer, another retailer, or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer.

As in retail businesses, the majority of retailers make their profit on the difference between the wholesale and retail price, but some retailers earn an agreed percentage of the sales in commission, paid by the wholesaler to the retailer.





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