You have heard that starting a dropshipping store would cost almost nothing. It is the impression most people have when joining the venture. It is not false, but it is not true either; as with every business, even ecommerce startups, an investment is required. Dropshipping on Shopify will cost nothing for the first few weeks but would require more cash input with time. Some factors have to be considered to scale the business and improve the quality of service offered that require money to be invested in certain aspects for it to grow. Below we shall consider how these factors may affect the budget of an ecommerce dropshipping store.
Requirements
Some of the important aspects of the store would be a domain, a Shopify account, and a dropshipper or supplier. The supplier fulfils the order placed; hence you will require no inventory or storage space. On the other hand, a Shopify account helps you improve the appearance of your ecommerce store. It is usually free for the first couple of weeks, but there is a monthly subscription fee after that, together with add-ons offered in the app that will improve your service. The subscription is around $20 per month; the domain comes with a yearly subscription of around $15, and the dropshipper subscription of around $75, depending on the level you would require in the case of AliDropship. The free trial would help you grow to afford such costs with well-planned management and sales in the first few days but are limited to the number of products offered.
Quality and Quantity
The quality of the product determines how the customer will view your brand or store. Any new purchases from the e-shop will tell whether the customer will return. There is no way of telling how good the product is without actually purchasing it yourself with no inventory. This requires money. Testing the product from different vendors and asking friends what they would pay to gauge the prices relative to the quality received. Upgrading the apps is required, and upgrade costs are not free. Shopify offers such upgrades at a cost. Creating discounts and product bundle sales would be difficult to incorporate later on, but they have fixed this for you at a certain fee every month.
Marketing and Competition
Ecommerce dropshipping is a good source of income and could earn more than six figures. Getting there requires having high volume sales and a wide range of products. Making these products visible to buyers involves advertising and marketing. It will cost a certain amount to provide such services if you can not do it yourself. More professional video ads are more expensive. This can set you apart from your competition. There would be other brands showing the same product at the same price; thus, having a better attraction to your site will set you above your competition.
Functionality
Well-planned and functional domain sites can be the difference between a sale and a buyer never returning to your e-shop. Dropshipping on Shopify solves this issue by introducing add-ons that help improve your store's outlook and contain popups to encourage buying. These additional features won't be free. When paired with quality products and good branding, they can make all the difference.
Depending on the niche you have selected for your e-shop, dropshipping can range from no cost to start to a few hundred dollars in the first month. Generating revenue for your store would ultimately require some money to be put in. Your budget would range from zero to $1000 to keep all the costs checked before the profits eventually roll in.