Starting a dropshipping business is the first step toward your new business. You can sell products to potential customers, set the price for the items, and market your brand. You won’t have to pay for the inventory until it’s sold to the consumers. If you are willing to work it out then you can build a successful company.
If you are still considering the pros and cons of starting an online business, it will help you to know that an eCommerce platform earns millions of dollars every year. So if you want to consider the global statistics, then you have to consider eCommerce and dropshipping as lucrative options for money-making. Let’s find out more about dropshipping and its platforms.
What is a dropshipping service?
This is a service that you handle without having an inventory. You can directly buy from the wholesaler or manufacturer and sell it to other retailers or customers. This is the direct meaning of this service from online retail shops. You won’t have to store or pack the products as they will come to packed and as per you put the order. If there’s any fault with the items, you can easily replace that by asking the manufacturer or wholesaler. The manufacturer will handle the production of the items, shipping the same, and replacing the damaged product all on behalf of the retailer. You have to pay for the shipping cost and have set the cost of the items. Lastly, when a customer purchases goods from you, and if they wish to contact the retailer, they can directly contact the same person for that.
Shopify dropshipping:
Shopify has six hundred thousand e-commerce stores globally, with dropshipping retail businesses. To do business with this platform you have to pay a fee that ranges from $29 to $299 each month. Other than this, you have to pay for a theme, but there are ten free themes that you can select from. It will take time to start dropshipping stores with your business but it will be worth it. Setting up the store will not take much time though, but you have to hire a developer for the website to get better and more efficient work.
When you start dropshipping stores with Shopify you will get unlimited hosting and access to various languages which will help you reach more customers. You will get help from the Shopify community when you raise a ticket in the niche. It might not be the same as Amazon but it’s efficient. The platform is very easy to use, and you can support it via email, phone, or chat. You can customize the themes and get better features with the paid service.
Amazon dropshipping:
Before you start to navigate the benefits of Amazon drop shipping you have to understand they have the same so your account doesn’t get suspended. In 2021 Amazon sent a notification to sellers that Amazon has updated its policies and the sellers must understand and follow the same. This will help them to ensure better business with the company.
If you fail to follow the guidelines, you might lose the chance to sell through FBM or your account will be suspended. To fulfill the orders utilizing a drop shipper, you have to understand the rules below:
You must be identified as a certified seller on Amazon and all the invoices, external packaging, and packing slips. There will not be any mention of the manufacturer and suppliers.
The seller must be responsible for processing and accepting returns.
You have to follow the rules of Amazon based on the seller agreements.
The seller also has to make sure that purchasing from other online retailers and then selling on Amazon will cause the suspension of your account.
The pricing of Shopify vs Amazon:
Both Amazon and Shopify both have better Marketing Skills and based on that they have built their pricing strategies.
Shopify pricing:
Other than the huge range of tools and features the pricing is affordable too. When you have a business website or an online store that you want to sell your products from. Using Shopify customers can simply click on the Buy now button and purchase the products. In the case of the seller, they can add Shopify lite for $9 per month. However, the lite account will not help you build a website or get the additional features, but this account includes,
Basic Shopify: You will have to pay $29 per month and it will give you access to abandoned cart recovery, SSL certificate, discount codes, gift cards, social media integration, 24/7 support, staff accounts, online store ingredients, and unlimited product listing.
Shopify: For this, the seller has to pay $79 per month and this will provide the standard features of Shopify. From this package, you will get five staff accounts, five locations, and professional reports. There is a fraud analysis, multiple languages, and POS technology.
Shopify advanced: Any selling company has to pay $299 per month to get the top features of Shopify. You will get 5 languages, premium services, fraud analysis, get access to international domains.
Shopify Plus: This is the enterprise version of Shopify, but to get this you have to consult with a Shopify professional. The cost is around $2000, so you must have good ideas about the budget. Other than the additional features, when you opt for higher plans you will save more on transaction charges.
If you are using Shopify advanced your credit card score will go down 1.6%. So you have to check the rules before opening stores at Shopify.
Amazon pricing:
If you are a dropshipper at Amazon they offer some best choices for sellers. You must avoid choosing platforms where you have to spend a lot when you are not selling several items. The selling prices at Amazon are,
Individual selling packages: Other than express here also you won’t have to pay a monthly charge, but you have to pay $0.09 for the items you sell. In the case of alidropship, you will get different rules.
Professional plan: On this plan, you have to pay $39.99 each month. You also have to pay some selling charges. These are third-party charges which will depend on the products you intend to sell.
There are various benefits of having a professional plan, the first one is this will allow you to sell in different categories. However, there will be limited features. Additionally, you will get order-related feeds on your websites, and reports. You will get a top place on the item detail pages and you can avail more than ten categories, and you will get customized shipping charges.
As expected, there are more facilities on the professional package, and it will give you a perfect pricing strategy for better sales. When you select Amazon wholesale and dropshipping you will have to pay extra charges too.
In case fulfilled by Amazon, you will get easier shipping all over the world and you will access prime shipping. This is a better opportunity as you will get a badge from the retail center. However, you will not be able to predict the sum you have to spend on FBA, this is because you will not get the cost estimation until you contact the Amazon team and provide your requirements to them.
Amazon vs Shopify features:
Whether you choose your selling sites to attach with Amazon or Shopify, it’s crucial to check the features you will get from the places. Let’s know about the features of both platforms.
Shopify Features:If you choose lite for Shopify it will provide you the sales button only, but when you select other packages you will get numerous features. This is one of the best parts of Shopify and this is the reason this platform is popular among sellers. Here you can edit your website and use over 70 payment systems.
With Shopify, you will get the best free templates and premium to build your online store. Additionally, you will get to customize the features based on your requirements and you will get integrations and add-ons for the brands you are selling. You will also get analytics and reporting for your branded items. You will get features like,
SSL certificate for better security
Various payment systems
Better features than alidropship
SEO and marketing benefits
Dropshipping and fulfillment
Product reviews and testimonials
Automatic tax calculation
Free and premium themes
Order and inventory management and much more.
Amazon features: The features of Amazon are better than Shopify. Here you won’t have to build a store, just create an account to sell here and you will get a huge customer base. The features you will get here in 2022 are,
Automatic VAT invoice
Better discounts and business pricing
Get new customers using the business section of Amazon.
Better order visibility
Shipping calculation
Security and hosting are included
Unique deals and offers
Get Amazon fulfillment
Product video and picture support
You have to pay by invoice
Sellers will also get help in shipping the products from Amazon. Similar to Shopify Amazon also has extensions.
After you have evaluated the features of Shopify and Amazon you have to understand which one will help you start a better business. Lastly, you will find the winning platform is Shopify as it doesn’t charge various fees. Once you understand the features of Amazon and Shopify you will get the definition for dropshipping in both places. You can also check the features of Alibaba and understand its pricing and features.
