Alternative to dropshipping?

[onyxdragon]

The bigger issue with dropshipping is that, although some dropshippers exist for some of the products I sell (Ancient Wisdom, Something Different, Limini Coffee), there is some things where there is an absolute lack of wholesale companies that have dropship as an option. If I wanted to sell board games, for instance, there really isn't that much option for dropship companies as a whole.

 

[Jeric Torreon]

You're right! One of the biggest challenges with dropshipping is the limited availability of suppliers, especially in niche categories. While some sectors, like those you're working with (Ancient Wisdom, Something Different, Limini Coffee), have solid dropshipping options, other markets, like board games, are much trickier. The problem is that many wholesale suppliers simply don’t offer dropshipping as a service, or they focus on bulk orders rather than individual shipments.

It’s frustrating because, without those suppliers, it’s tough to scale without holding inventory or dealing with fulfillment yourself. So, in cases like board games, you either have to get creative by partnering with smaller niche suppliers who might offer dropshipping on request, or you could even look into hybrid models where you hold limited stock but still offer dropshipping for other items. Unfortunately, the industry just hasn’t caught up to those kinds of products in a big way yet.


You will need to do marketing research to find the type of products you wish to sell

 

[Jeric Torreon]

Hi
I originally started a shopify store.
It was to sell home and garden organisational products using the dropshipping method via Alibaba etc
Having placed test orders myself and not received the products, I’d hate to imagine what it would be like dealing with a vast number of unhappy customers should the orders scale up rapidly.
Does anyone have advice on how else you could monetise from this without the risk of international shipping or all the time consuming maintenance of customer relations? Any alternative directions to explore would be appreciated.
Thank you

If you're looking to monetize without the risks of dropshipping and international shipping, consider these alternatives:

1. Affiliate Marketing: Promote relevant home and garden products and earn commissions without managing inventory or shipping. There are a lot of dropshipping platform that allows you to earn commission when you sell products. For example, you can reach out to them and request a commission by marketing their products through social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and etc.
   
   
2. Create and Sell Digital Products: Offer e-books, printable planners, or online courses related to home organization and gardening.
   
   
3. Print on Demand: Design custom home and garden products (like décor or accessories) and have them printed and shipped on demand.

 

[Jeric Torreon]

There are 100s of UK dropshippers. Go to trade shows, talk to people. Many don't even advertise the fact they will dropship. Why anyone would try and start a business using Chinese suppliers is beyond me.

Most UK dropshippers source their products from China. However, I really like your idea of building connections within the community, as it’s ideal to dropship products that resonate with the local market. That said, dropshipping from China remains one of the best ways to start, as products are often more affordable while still maintaining decent quality.

 

[wayzgoose]

That said, dropshipping from China remains one of the best ways to start

No, it doesn't !

 

[Dandan2]

So as someone who's probably spent the last 10 months researching and trying to find a business model that is viable I've come to the conclusion that dropshipping is completely dead, unfortunately the likes of Alibaba & Aliexpress aren't great and personally if I was going to order something from China I'd want to fly out there first, check the factory & the products first rather than ordering blind.

The best Shopify business models at the moment seem to be DTC where people are selling own branded mattresses, toothbrushes, body washes etc and then promoting them on TikTok, Instagram & Facebook via other content creators who would then receive a share of the profit for driving the sales.

A great example of this which I've seen has been HiSmile, essentially all they're doing is selling multi coloured toothbrushes and toothpastes and they seem to be everywhere I turn on social media. I'm pretty sure they hit $10m of revenue within 18 months which is absolutely nuts.

The trickiest part of all this is going to be the purchasing of the stock and then storage, whether you rent somewhere out or use a micro 3PL to start with to dispatch orders.

This is why you start by dropshipping to prove the concept, then you buy in bulk/white label and develop your brand.

 

[Dandan2]

That said, dropshipping from China remains one of the best ways to start, as products are often more affordable while still maintaining decent quality.

Couldn't agree more!

 

[zane zhu]

Do you need import alibaba products to shopify?If you need,

You can use this plugin: apps.shopify.com/easy-publisher, which provides free import product quota every month.