Stuck at home with no way to earn an income? Need cash but don't have any to invest?
It's time to discover how a droppshipping business can help put money into your pocket.
Nearly 85% of online companies say dropshipping was key to starting their business. Fifty-percent of those that use dropshipping are more profitable than those that don't. And a third of online stores now use dropshipping to fulfill their orders.
But I don't have any spare cash to start a web store. How can I do dropshipping with no money?
If you haven't two beans to rub together don't worry. This article gives some great advice on how to harness the power of dropshipping to build your own business.
You can get a web store up and running within a few days for free!
What are you waiting for? Read on to discover how you can be your own boss and start earning an income dropshipping with no money down.
What Is Dropshipping?
If you want to sell online but don't want to keep stock or deliver orders, then the dropshipping business model is for you.
A dropshipping provider acts as your supplier and fulfillment center. They hold all the products then package and post the orders you send them.
Remember the old inch-thick catalogs you used to order from?
Imagine your name and brand on the cover. Now put it online with your web address and hey presto! You've got an online business with potentially thousands of products to sell.
How Does Dropshipping Work?
There are five simple steps to sell online using a dropshipping provider:
1. Create your web store
2. Add the dropshipper's products to your site
3. Accept orders and payments
4. Send your orders to the provider
5. The dropshipper will pack and deliver the orders to your customers
Shipping rates are kept low as they fulfill hundreds of items a day. You can pass those rates onto your customers or add on a margin if you want.
Money arrives in your bank account from your website. You don't have to wait on a third party to pass that on.
What Can I Sell on My New Store?
Although starting a dropshipping business sounds like you can sell whatever you want, there are limitations.
Listed below are the types of items that work best with the dropshipping business model.
- Mid-price range
- Small and lightweight
- Non-branded goods
- Simple to use
Bulky and heavy items cost a fortune to ship so don't sell them. Everything should be small and lightweight. That also means you can ship internationally, increasing your potential catchment area.
Dropshippers sell white-label style goods which in this case means no brands. You can brand some items yourself which they can stock but this usually costs extra.
To reduce returns and customer complaints, keep your items simple to use. Fewer mechanical parts, for example, means less likelihood of them breaking.
Dropshipping With No Money? Really?
It's true! You don't need to spend any money up-front to start dropshipping and sell online. We've outlined some free ways you can get going below.
However, the goal of creating a passive income does have one major cost: time.
If you have hours to spare and a keen work ethic then you can make this work. You don't need to be a computer genius or be business savvy either. You just need to be smart in how you start dropshipping with no money.
Where Do I Begin?
The first step is finding the right dropshipping provider to suit you.
A simple Google search of dropshipping providers returns a long list of results. Some of them are better than others so which ones work best?
Here's a list of the top FREE providers and directories to check out.
AliExpress.com
It's free to sign-up and hosts millions of products you can sell on your own store. They ship worldwide and offer a full range of product types.
OfficeCrave.com
Apply to be a dropshipping partner to access 100k products including office and school supplies.
Sprocket.co
Your free account gains access to dropshippers across the US and Europe. Thirty thousand businesses currently use this service.
WholeSaleCentral.com
This free to join wholesale platform is perfect for online e-commerce stores and independent retailers. It is a directory for all types of items so dig in and find the right provider.
Web Store Apps
So, you have found a great dropshipper and want to sell from their catalog. But you still need your own web store.
Which ones are free but will actually make you money?
WordPress and WooCommerce
WordPress powers a third of all websites and you can use it to build your online store.
It is free to install as is the e-commerce plugin WooCommerce. Many dropshippers offer integrations with WooCommerce to make the process easy to manage.
One thing you will need is a web host.
As this article promotes free the good news is there are some great free WordPress hosts out there. That includes WordPress.com itself but do a Google search if you want ones without adverts.
Shopify Free Trial
Trusted by over a million businesses worldwide, Shopify offers a great selling experience. Although there is a monthly charge of $29, you can use their free trial to see if they can work for you.
Payments and Marketing Your Store
The free and easy way to accept payments online is of course PayPal.
They won't charge you a monthly fee but will charge for every order you receive. Make sure you factor that into your price margins when setting prices.
Advertising your new e-commerce store can cost a fortune so be smart.
Use your social media pages to spread the word. Get your friends to leave reviews on your product pages. Start a business page on Facebook for free and tie it with your store.
Sell Online the Smart Way
This article demonstrates that dropshipping with no money isn't impossible but actually achievable.
Investigate further to see if you can start earning an income by selling online via ecommerce. You don't need to carry stock and you don't even need to fulfill orders!
You can learn more ways to make money online on our website. We have thousands of articles for startups to seasoned business pros. We give you guidance on how to make the most using the least in e-commerce and online retail sales.
Earn more and spend less. Be smart and dropship like an ecommerce pro!
