Question about building a e-commerce brand with dropshipping

It depends on the model. If you are selling cheap generics (aliexpress, for example), I definitely recommend starting off with dropshipping, finding what the best products are, buying them in light bulk and then having them white label them as your own brand.

If you are dropshipping already well known brands (e.g. you are dropshipping band name computers), your goal is to develop your web store as a brand - just like Amazon, Wayfair, Overstock.com, Sears, JC Penny, Best Buy, Home Depot, etc. did.

A lot of people with a private label use Aamzon FBA, which is fulfillment by amazon. They store and ship all of your inventory for you. This is an option after you find the product you want to sell.

What you would need to start with is your personal goal. Dropshipping by itself has no goal apart from getting sales in.

If you want to build your own brand and store, like build everything from the ground-up, then dropshipping can be a good way not only to test the audience if they will bite, but also to refine your skills as an internet marketer without sacrificing the integrity of your brand if you make mistakes along the way (we all do!)

If you simply want to sell and have something up and running as a side hustle, then dropshipping can be a way to do that without going through the tediousness of creating a whole new product.

You can buy generics at first, from aliexpress, wish, etc. and test those out. You can then optimize on your margins by going directly to their alibaba suppliers, if your demand can now fulfill your MOQ.

Bonus tip if you want to start on internet marketing, the easiest and most risk-free way would be to sell someone else's ready-made product and ecosystem as their advertiser.

See, there are three parts to selling online: the marketing + product development + customer relations/operations.

If you're dropshipping, you're still doing all three. Lots of moving parts, a lot more factors for success or failure, which will eat a lot more time and money to perfect. As an affiliate, you can test out your skills with internet marketing while having the other 2 components (the product and aftersales) already taken care of. This way, you focus all your effort on training yourself in selling before tackling on other tasks.

Hope this helps!

First, you need to find a good generic product which can do well while doing drop shipping, once your product starts performing well, you can then try to sell it as your own brand labelled product.

As a dropshipper all you're really doing is brokering a transaction between two parties. Dropshipping is a preferred model because you do not have to carry physical inventory and that cuts down a lot on overhead. As already mentioned, if you're going to be selling someone else's product, then you should focus on creating your brand and establishing yourself as an authority in that niche. Research your competitors, find out what they're doing, and see if there's an opportunity for you to do something better than they can.

A business model to consider is to NOT be selling generic brands, which often have no appeal to consumers, but rather to sell a known brand.

You will need to contact and be approved by the manufacturer or a legitimate distributor of the brand(s) and they have to dropship to the customer. This way you can set up your website with multiple brands which will show the consumer that you carry a wide variety of the types of products that they are interested in.

A lot of business use Shopify as their platform for their site. While this approach requires more work than just selling generic items from Alibaba it may allow you to build a much better and longer lasting business.

It really depends on what you are looking for, there are a few other ways to do it.
You can run two concurrent stores. One for testing products and one for when the products work, contact the manufacturers to get it branded.

I agree with jmostic22 that A lot of people with a private label use Aamzon FBA, which is fulfillment by amazon. They use Amazon platform to fulfill your orders and make money for themselves

There is a much better way to test the market instead of buying from sellers on Aliexpress.

You can go direct to manufacturers on Alibaba (or you can buy unique products from manufacturers in countries other than China.) Ask me how if you want details.

IGNORE the big MOQ's and don't listen to the myths about having to place big orders.

I have taught thousands of new importers how to negotiate small orders. Once you have validated your product choice, you don't have the hassle of trying to find a manufacturer - you already have a relationship with one whose product you know sells.

You will also have a reliable supply, and the cost will be way under what you paid on Aliexpress.

Walter Hay
Importexport