Optimizing Your Dropshipping Business And More Ecommerce Tips And News
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February is coming to a close, so Spring is just around the corner. If you want to take your online business up a notch this quarter, subscribe to our newsletter! Every Tuesday, we showcase top tips and trends online sellers need to know — like this statistic from Statista: Clothing products made up nearly 16 percent of all products dropshipped by Spotify as of April 2021.
Today’s tips have 815 words and take 3 minutes and 15 seconds to read.
This month’s Tuesday Tips newsletter featured tips on how you can optimize your product sourcing channels to create a more efficient online business. We covered general trends along with helpful tips for market research and wholesale ecommerce.
To finish the month strong, we’ll look at another ecommerce business model that enables entrepreneurs to start an online business and run it from anywhere in the world. Dropshipping is taking the world by storm.
According to a report from Statista, the global market share for dropshipping businesses will reach 476.1 billion by 2026. If you’re just getting started or looking into a dropshipping business model, here are some tips to help you start smoothly.
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3 Tips for Dropshipping Beginners in 2023
1. Keep your inventory levels in check
Managing inventory across multiple suppliers will be your biggest hurdle. Poor inventory management can cause frequent out-of-stock notifications, which will stifle your growth. Mitigate this issue by implementing the following tips for inventory management:
Choose products carefully. Sell items carried by all your suppliers. This way, you’ll have at least two potential fulfillment options for each product you sell.
Take advantage of generics. If two suppliers carry near-identical products, consider writing a generic product description that allows you to fulfill orders from either supplier. Be sure to list both suppliers’ model numbers to streamline the order process.
Confirm item availability. Check with your sales representative to ensure products under consideration are consistently in stock. Avoid ordering products that are frequently out of stock or difficult to reorder.
Handle out-of-stock orders proactively. If you’re unable to fulfill an order, offer a complimentary upgrade to a similar or better product. This will help keep the customer’s loyalty and your business in good standing.
To simplify the inventory management process, consider using tools like Ecomdash. While suppliers don’t always offer real-time data feeds, these tools can help improve your management system and reduce the number of out-of-stock items you sell.
2. Generate a clear and Customer-Friendly Return Policy
When creating a return policy for your dropshipping store, it’s important to understand how each of your suppliers handles returns. If one supplier has a strict return policy, it may affect the terms you’re able to offer to customers. Be aware of these factors when creating your return policy.
- Some suppliers may charge restocking fees, but don’t pass these fees to your customers, as it creates a negative impression of your store.
- If an item is defective, most dropshipping suppliers won’t cover return postage. However, it’s important to compensate your customers for the return shipping fees on defective items if you want to build a reputable business. Sometimes, it may make sense to ship a replacement product to the customer instead of requiring them to return the defective item.
- For non-defective returns, most suppliers expect the buyer to pay for return freight. While offering free returns on everything can be a great way to differentiate your store, it can also be expensive. Most customers will understand that they’re responsible for paying return shipping fees if they decide they don’t want a product.
3. Supplier screwed up? Take the hit.
In the world of dropshipping, suppliers make mistakes. When you receive incorrect or missing items from your supplier, you have three courses of action:
- Take responsibility. Blaming your dropshipping supplier for the mistake is never the right move. It creates confusion and makes you look unprofessional. Acknowledge the issue, apologize, and explain what you’re doing to address it.
- Compensate the customer. Depending on the severity of the error, consider offering compensation. This could involve refunding the shipping fee or providing an upgrade if a new item needs to be shipped.
- Request the supplier to cover the cost. You may have to take responsibility for the error, but you don’t have to absorb the costs. A reputable supplier should cover their mistakes, including the cost of returning items. However, they likely won’t cover any freebies or upgrades you provided to the customer.
Even the best dropshipping suppliers may make occasional errors. But if it happens on the regular, it can affect your business. At that point, it may be wise to explore alternative suppliers.
If you’re looking for alternative suppliers for your dropshipping business, review our List Of The Best Dropshipping Suppliers.
Also in the news
- GoDaddy launches Payable Domains. GoDaddy.
eBay bounces back in 4th Quarter. eBay.
We are a drop shipping business selling on the major selling websites. The reason stated for 90% of our returns is "not what I expected". I would object, but we don't decide the return policies, the major selling websites set the rules.