Compensating LONG SHIPPING TIMES. Is it even possible?

[eTox]

Assuming you are targeting US and Canadian consumers. With Amazon and local eCommerce stores that import and sell within the borders, the assumption for shipping times is now withing a WEEK or less.

In order to compensate a longer shipping time (1-3 WEEKS) there are several options:

• Offer a UNIQUE product that is worth waiting for
• Offer a CHEAPER product than the competitors in order to justify the wait.

Assuming you are drop shipping from Aliexpress, then you are limited to

• A product that is not CUSTOM BRANDED or modified
• With an AVERAGE QUALITY most likely.

Would the best outcome be

• Find an audience with an existing need that is not oversaturated and offer a cheaper product than the competition in this niche?

How would you compensate for a longer shipping time?
Am I missing something (hopefully I am) ?

PS

Faster shipping => impossible shipping cost from china.

 

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[Anon38776]

Do you need to? Personally, I've never considered shipping times when buying something.

Just focus on what you can influence, not on the things that are out of reach. Compensating is stupid. Do your thing.

 

[rc08234]

Do you need to? Personally, I've never considered shipping times when buying something.

Just focus on what you can influence, not on the things that are out of reach. Compensating is stupid. Do your thing.

Really? I always look at shipping times, 1-3 weeks is crazy unless it's a considerably hard item to obtain. I think there is a reason amazon went to prime.

To OP, the deal would have to be super sweet for me to wait 3 weeks. Are you against housing product or using a fulfillment company?

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

Use a fulfillment company.

There's no reason for long shipping times.

Add the fulfillment cost into your product cost. And shift from drop shipping to starting with tiny amounts of inventory.

 

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[The-J]

I'm not in the importing game, so I really don't know, but...

...why are people still drop shipping?

 

[AllenCrawley]

...why are people still drop shipping?

Because there are still gurus still selling "Dropship your way to millions" courses. The big thing now seems to be throw up a Shopify store, find products on Aliexpress, run FB ads and dropship sold items directly from Aliexpress. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

 

[The-J]

Because there are still gurus still selling "Dropship your way to millions" courses. The big thing now seems to be throw up a Shopify store, find products on Aliexpress, run FB ads and dropship sold items directly from Aliexpress. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Whatever can be packaged into a sales funnel for $7, then $37, then $247, then $1997 for a complete business system

 

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[eTox]

I want to import, I want to use a fulfilment company. But how?! I am outside of Canada. I can't ship there. I don't know how to ship to a fulfilment center to drop ship for me. I do not know how to package a product within a fulfilment center. I can't even touch a product! I don't even have enough money to wait so long. I am going to fking dry out. Plus I fked up with fb ads. My shopify store looks like shit. And I am totally pissed off at myself.

WTF?!

It can't be that hard... I am definitely on the wrong path.

I just don't understand what I am doing wrong. Everything feels way over my head. Am I jumping to many things at once?

 

[eTox]

Because there are still gurus still selling "Dropship your way to millions" courses. The big thing now seems to be throw up a Shopify store, find products on Aliexpress, run FB ads and dropship sold items directly from Aliexpress. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

But it was mentioned multiple times on the forum. I want it to work because it seems compelling to me because I do not have to loose anything and I can get at it right away.

• I do not have to wait for the product to be improved and private labeled
• I do not have to deal with shipping and returns
• I do not have to spend time packaging and shipping

Instead this will grant me the freedom to experiment

• I will learn to identify the right products to sell to the right audience - I have no idea how to do this
• I will learn to run a proper FB campaign that will give me results - not burn through mindlessly
• I will learn to run adwords to my site - always afraid of this
• I will learn to build a trustworthy website with a brand - currently I am shit at it
• I will learn and improve my copywriting skills - I am sure I am good while reality sais I am totally not

I see so many oportunities with this for me. Ofcourse I may not earn a million or 100k but I will gain invaluable experience to rely upon when later in few months I will decide to import. I wont have to risk so much then and will instead focus on importing and managing all the other crap.

I am a noob, a complete null at all of this eCommerce game. But I want to learn and succeed. Aside from having all of these challenges there are my own moral challenges and fears of taking action, stoping to procrastinate, etc. But I believe I am on my way, the right way.

And even if I fail at dropshipping with Aliexpress, I will come back and post everything what went wrong and what I learned so other's can learn from my mistakes.

I am glad to be part of such a supporting community. I believe you all wish the best to each other, and I am glad to be here.

 

[DWX]

Bro, do what you want. It's your business, your life, and ultimately, your decision.

As for the shipping times, I would strongly encourage that you just state very clearly on your store the terms of shipping. Offer a guarantee or something; make people feel confident in their potential purchase.

Also, it might pay to slowly stock up on your best sellers and test to see whether importing is something you might want to adapt into.

 

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[eTox]

Bro, do what you want. It's your business, your life, and ultimately, your decision.

As for the shipping times, I would strongly encourage that you just state very clearly on your store the terms of shipping. Offer a guarantee or something; make people feel confident in their potential purchase.

Also, it might pay to slowly stock up on your best sellers and test to see whether importing is something you might want to adapt into.

You are right I can then easily test one product with a little quantity imported and shipped from a fulfilment center.

 

[TheGrind]

I've sold thousands of dropshipped items, people very rarely even care.

 

[DWX]

This might help you also:

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/why-you-should-care-about-aliexpress-dropshipping/

 

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[AllenCrawley]

But it was mentioned multiple times on the forum. I want it to work because it seems compelling to me because I do not have to loose anything and I can get at it right away.

• I do not have to wait for the product to be improved and private labeled
• I do not have to deal with shipping and returns
• I do not have to spend time packaging and shipping

Instead this will grant me the freedom to experiment

• I will learn to identify the right products to sell to the right audience - I have no idea how to do this
• I will learn to run a proper FB campaign that will give me results - not burn through mindlessly
• I will learn to run adwords to my site - always afraid of this
• I will learn to build a trustworthy website with a brand - currently I am shit at it
• I will learn and improve my copywriting skills - I am sure I am good while reality sais I am totally not

I see so many oportunities with this for me. Ofcourse I may not earn a million or 100k but I will gain invaluable experience to rely upon when later in few months I will decide to import. I wont have to risk so much then and will instead focus on importing and managing all the other crap.

I am a noob, a complete null at all of this eCommerce game. But I want to learn and succeed. Aside from having all of these challenges there are my own moral challenges and fears of taking action, stoping to procrastinate, etc. But I believe I am on my way, the right way.

And even if I fail at dropshipping with Aliexpress, I will come back and post everything what went wrong and what I learned so other's can learn from my mistakes.

I am glad to be part of such a supporting community. I believe you all wish the best to each other, and I am glad to be here.

Very good points. At least you seem to understand the limitations of the model and in a worse case scenario can walk away with valuable lessons and even some skills.

I will say that this type of model goes against the very nature of the 5 Fastlane Commandments. Mainly, no control over product and very low barrier to entry. Your first set of points sounds great but are reasons many look to this type of model. Fast, easy money. Funny how it very rarely turns out that way.

I think it's way easier to start a physical product company than most people understand. The second set of points you laid out above can be applied to your own business with it's own product(s). It may very well take more time to get started but the reward could be much greater.

I started my brand with just a few hundreds dollars. Progress thread here [INSIDERS]. Developed my own product from scratch and had my first sale within 5 months. Launched the brand on amazon.com (seller fulfilled, not FBA). Used Instagram for building a community, free marketing and outreach. No FB ads. No adwords. Zero advertising costs to start. Huge barrier to entry. Control over product and shipping (though I gave up an element of control using amazon). Massive need in the market. Ability to scale. Ability to eventually detach the business from time.

Bro, do what you want. It's your business, your life, and ultimately, your decision.

True but if you see someone blindly walking towards a cliff do you pat him on the back and say do what you want bro. Your life. Your decision. Or do you try to intervene and show him a better way? I know that analogy is extreme but work with it.

 

[OldFaithful]

Solution:
1) Buy crystal ball. Preferably used, so it has had some experience.
2) Use crystal ball to predict next week's orders.
3) Order next week's items from you offshore supplier.
Problem solved!

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

I want to import, I want to use a fulfilment company. But how?! I am outside of Canada. I can't ship there. I don't know how to ship to a fulfilment center to drop ship for me. I do not know how to package a product within a fulfilment center. I can't even touch a product! I don't even have enough money to wait so long. I am going to fking dry out. Plus I fked up with fb ads. My shopify store looks like shit. And I am totally pissed off at myself.

WTF?!

It can't be that hard... I am definitely on the wrong path.

I just don't understand what I am doing wrong. Everything feels way over my head. Am I jumping to many things at once?

It is hard. You have a huge learning curve ahead of you.

If you want the easier way out, and lower returns, then get a job.

If you want higher risk, harder work, and much higher returns, then figure it out.

 

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[DWX]

True but if you see someone blindly walking towards a cliff do you pat him on the back and say do what you want bro. Your life. Your decision. Or do you try to intervene and show him a better way? I know that analogy is extreme but work with it.

I'm not even going to dispute your notion as I'm all about helping my fellow man/woman avoid an unnecessary endeavour (especially if they gain nothing from it). However, as you stated, the extreme scenario was exactly that - extreme.

I believe the OP would benefit from trying the drop shipping route if that was indeed what he wanted to do. In fact, I would encourage a lot of newcomers to the ecommerce space to try out drop shipping as it is very low cost and low risk and they would get the chance to see what works and what doesn't before investing a good amount of time/money into importing.

Like I said, I do not disagree with your point, I just think right now this avenue would offer a lot of insight and know-how opposed to "blindly walking towards a cliff" and gaining nothing.

That's suicide. This is experience.

 

[Jake]

I think it's way easier to start a physical product company than most people understand

Agreed. Seeing it through and keeping focus is the hard part. Aim for small wins.

To OP..I started a business with 200 items back in December.(100 pieces, 2 products) I started it from Thailand and my main market is the U.S so I understand your fear of not handling your products.

You simply define what it is that you want to do and then figure out the steps that you need to take to get there. You grind...daily. Learning and doing.

You make noise! Your systems and processes may be imperfect but it doesn't matter. I show up..and make noise. I've been featured in a magazine, personally handed my product(s) to a world leader, I'm in over a dozen retail stores...even today a $50+ million dollar charity did a post about my products. Do I know exactly the best way to do things? No..I just do things and use this forum, a few books, and past screw ups as guidance. Just Decide.

I'm by no means "killing it" but frankly I don't even work that hard..but I do spend time thinking of the best way to construct this thing (my own pyramid) <- read this

Lay a foundation. If that means building a website with product images and descriptions that contain affiliate links to products that you intend to make and improve upon, then do so..But don't forget to lay your own foundation which you can insert your own product into as you build out your system.

Work within your own means but think about what it is that you would eventually like to build and begin working towards that goal.

 

[RulesForRebels]

Ali Express is becomming more well known everyday, the Ali dropship thing is going to come to an end. I know some people doing well with it but most people I talk to are having orders cancelled, are getting chargebacks and returns. IMHO it's just not worth the risk and headaches for the small margins.

Everyone seems scared to order inventory and acts as if drop shipping is risk free. With dropshipping your the contact for the pissed off customer, your the one taking the payment who's on the hook for the money, and you have 0 control over item quality, shipping times, etc. If you get a chargeback the item has already shipped and there's no turning it around. Your out the money and the product and even worse if your chargeback percentage gets over 1% get ready to have your merchant account shutdown and or have a 25% rolling reserve.

 

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[Walter Hay]

I think it's way easier to start a physical product company than most people understand. The second set of points you laid out above can be applied to your own business with it's own product(s). It may very well take more time to get started but the reward could be much greater.

I started my brand with just a few hundreds dollars. Progress thread here [INSIDERS]. Developed my own product from scratch and had my first sale within 5 months. Launched the brand on amazon.com (seller fulfilled, not FBA). Used Instagram for building a community, free marketing and outreach. No FB ads. No adwords. Zero advertising costs to start. Huge barrier to entry. Control over product and shipping (though I gave up an element of control using amazon). Massive need in the market. Ability to scale. Ability to eventually detach the business from time. /QUOTE]

A barrier to entry is for many people the barrier in their mind resulting from false information they have picked up on forums, blogs etc., leading them to believe that they need a large amount of capital to get started in importing. I have had many of my book users tell me of their success, having started off with a few hundred dollars.

Ali Express is becomming more well known everyday, the Ali dropship thing is going to come to an end. I know some people doing well with it but most people I talk to are having orders cancelled, are getting chargebacks and returns. IMHO it's just not worth the risk and headaches for the small margins.

Everyone seems scared to order inventory and acts as if drop shipping is risk free. With dropshipping your the contact for the pissed off customer, your the one taking the payment who's on the hook for the money, and you have 0 control over item quality, shipping times, etc. If you get a chargeback the item has already shipped and there's no turning it around. Your out the money and the product and even worse if your chargeback percentage gets over 1% get ready to have your merchant account shutdown and or have a 25% rolling reserve.

I agree that the Aliexpress dropship boom will come to an end. On another forum I asked for success stories from people using the model and the only positive response was from a promoter of an "Aliexpress dropship to be a millionaire" system. Many others recounted their tales of woe.

Walter

Somehow my post appears as a quote by me, so I will post it again.

 

[Walter Hay]

Very good points. At least you seem to understand the limitations of the model and in a worse case scenario can walk away with valuable lessons and even some skills.

I will say that this type of model goes against the very nature of the 5 Fastlane Commandments. Mainly, no control over product and very low barrier to entry. Your first set of points sounds great but are reasons many look to this type of model. Fast, easy money. Funny how it very rarely turns out that way.

I think it's way easier to start a physical product company than most people understand. The second set of points you laid out above can be applied to your own business with it's own product(s). It may very well take more time to get started but the reward could be much greater.

I started my brand with just a few hundreds dollars. Progress thread here [INSIDERS]. Developed my own product from scratch and had my first sale within 5 months. Launched the brand on amazon.com (seller fulfilled, not FBA). Used Instagram for building a community, free marketing and outreach. No FB ads. No adwords. Zero advertising costs to start. Huge barrier to entry. Control over product and shipping (though I gave up an element of control using amazon). Massive need in the market. Ability to scale. Ability to eventually detach the business from time.

There is a barrier to entry in the mind of many who have learned from forums and blogs the false idea that starting off an importing business is difficult and requires lots of capital. I have been told success stories by many of my book users who have started off with just a few hundred dollars.

Ali Express is becomming more well known everyday, the Ali dropship thing is going to come to an end. I know some people doing well with it but most people I talk to are having orders cancelled, are getting chargebacks and returns. IMHO it's just not worth the risk and headaches for the small margins.

Everyone seems scared to order inventory and acts as if drop shipping is risk free. With dropshipping your the contact for the pissed off customer, your the one taking the payment who's on the hook for the money, and you have 0 control over item quality, shipping times, etc. If you get a chargeback the item has already shipped and there's no turning it around. Your out the money and the product and even worse if your chargeback percentage gets over 1% get ready to have your merchant account shutdown and or have a 25% rolling reserve.

I agree that the Aliexpress dropshipping business model will come to an end, or at least shrink substantially. When people are willing to report how miserable their results have been, that will take the shine off the claims made by the promoters of the Aliexpress Millions schemes.

On another forum I called for success stories and the only serious one was from a promoter of one such scheme. Most responses were tales of woe.

Walter

 

[Walter Hay]

This might help you also:

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/why-you-should-care-about-aliexpress-dropshipping/

Although dated December 2016, this article contains obsolete information. It is also written by someone who is promoting the Oberlo system, and wants to get people to join up and work the Aliexpress dropshipping system.

His conclusion includes this interesting comment: "This article might raise more concerns on AliExpress dropshipping than enthusiasm. And yes, it’s far from perfect. It’s tough and complex. It requires time, careful research, and planning."

He recommends reliance on what he incorrectly calls the Aliexpress "generous buyers safety program". I would love to hear from anyone who has a had a good experience trying to get a refund through that complex and time critical program. It's full of loopholes and in its method of administration is heavily biased towards the Aliexpress vendors.

Walter

 

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[Kimmy XD]

Although dated December 2016, this article contains obsolete information. It is also written by someone who is promoting the Oberlo system, and wants to get people to join up and work the Aliexpress dropshipping system.

His conclusion includes this interesting comment: "This article might raise more concerns on AliExpress dropshipping than enthusiasm. And yes, it’s far from perfect. It’s tough and complex. It requires time, careful research, and planning."

He recommends reliance on what he incorrectly calls the Aliexpress "generous buyers safety program". I would love to hear from anyone who has a had a good experience trying to get a refund through that complex and time critical program. It's full of loopholes and in its method of administration is heavily biased towards the Aliexpress vendors.

Walter

Dropshipping with AliExpress is great. I for myself can speak about it because I have done it. In one of the posts here I've mentioned it too. The revenue was great -- ~$4-5k a month. However, the shipment is what gets you. I will try their service soon, so wish me luck. I'm still doing research and studying the system, so I will update you guys.

I never learn from my mistakes. Hey, let's give it one more shot though -- with a different system.

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

@eTox - Where are you at now vs a year and a half ago? Hopefully you've made progress?