My today’s element is what is dropshipping vs drop surfing? and how they dominate the eCommerce industry. Here is a deeper look at both models.
Dropshipping is one of the most profitable business models today. It allows breeding money faster. Besides, you might have heard about the “fantastic new trend” called dropsurfing. It is also helping people to sell products.
Also, you’ll learn here who invented dropshipping, what business type is dropshipping, how old to start dropshipping, why is dropshipping so hard, and more things. So you can decide if should you start dropsurfing instead of dropshipping. Let’s start reading;
Differences Between Drop Surfing VS Dropshipping
What Is Dropsurfing?
Dropsurfing, also called the “fantastic new trend” is running-through through dropshipping. It allows checking many vendors to minimize cost, increase inventory, faster delivery, and find the trendiest items for the customer. Dropsurfing also ensures the probable highest profit margins for the seller and the best products for the customer.
Dropsurfing Benefits
- Offer a wide range of vendors and products.
- Makes greater sales.
- Low start-up investment.
- Form a scalable business.
Dropsurfing Risks
- Narrow knowledge about the vendor.
- Imperfect knowledge of products.
- Complex fulfillment.
Example Dropsurfing
You receive an order for some sunglasses. You may already work with a vendor for it. But you do some online research to find a vendor for this item who offer the same quality products at a lower price and faster delivery option. So you send the order to the new vendor for fulfillment. They will send the product straight to the customer’s door.
What Is Dropshipping?
Dropshipping is an eCommerce model where the seller makes sales without having inventory, needing to buy products, or taking any logistic responsibility. Here, the dropshipper just needs to confirm the order; the supplier takes care of all kinds of shipping procedures.
Dropshipping Benefits
- Straight a forward method.
- Faster profit.
- Simple delivery process.
- Not require vast sourcing & marketing knowledge.
Dropshipping Risks
- Low profit.
- A bit more investment.
- High competition.
Example: Dropshipping
You receive an order for some sunglasses. You already work with or find a vendor for sunglasses and forward this order to them for fulfillment. They will send the item straight to the customer’s door.
What is Dropshipping VS Drop Surfing?
In short, dropsurfing is a product-sourcing tactic for dropshipping businesses, and dropshipping is a business model. Dropsurfing allows you to sell the cheapest products from multiple vendors you source online. But dropshipping typically allows you to sell specific products from a specific vendor. Let’s see more details;
Key Difference Between Dropsurfing And Dropshipping
Dropsurfing Business
Don’t rely on any particular vendor.
Not loyal to one vendor and consistently seeking the lowest price.
Search and compare the price to multiple vendors.
High chance of profit-boosting.
More time-consuming.
A bit lengthier process.
Unstable profit margins.
Needs further commitment.
A bit high risk with multiple vendors.
Sourcing and marketing knowledge is most important.
Dropshipping Business
Depend on any particular supplier.
Typically, loyal to one vendor whatever the price.
Fixed with the pre-decided price.
Low chance of profit-boosting.
Less time-consuming.
Faster process.
Stable profit margins.
Lower commitment.
Low risk with the fix or limited vendors.
Marketing knowledge plays a good role.
What Business Type Is Dropshipping?
Simply put, dropshipping is a way to fulfill product orders. Here the business owner- dropshipper doesn’t need to keep the products that they sell. They even are not responsible for shipping the product they sold. Instead, the seller just places the order with a third party- supplier to fulfill orders.
Who Invented Dropshipping?
Dropshipping wasn’t just invented but grew into this shape from what it was in the 1960s before the internet. And it was underway when two giant retail brands JCPenney and Sears made the first fulfillment warehouses in the USA at the end of the 1970s. Another popular company CompuCard fined warehouses a great opportunity to use.
So they start adding products from the warehouses to their mail-order catalog, a small booklet that is sent to the mail for a markup price & products ad. Customer orders from the catalog over the phone and have it at home. This system was widely and successfully used by JCPenney & Sears during this period.
But as they are growing faster, they started searching for a faster and further effective shipping way. Some tycoons took the opportunity and opened their warehouses/stores to make a profit. However, in 2006, dropshipping was spread when AliExpress started eCommerce shops in China. Because of low-price and easy-to-buy/sell products, dropshipping became a prevalent business model rapidly.
Why Is Dropshipping So Hard?
Plenty of reasons that could make dropshipping difficult to run; some of those are below;
- High level of competition.
- You must depend on a third-party vendor.
- Your customer support could be a big issue.
- The lowest profit margins can demotivate you.
How Old To Start Dropshipping?
This is not about age but you can start your dropshipping venture whenever you feel you’ve done all the research about this business model like;
- Where do you want to sell your products?
- What type of products do you want to sell?
- The niche you prefer to go with.
- The trending products in your targeted area?
- What is your target customer- age, sex, and others?
- The eCommerce platform to select for your dropshipping store.
- Where to find the best, most reliable and most capable suppliers for your store??
- How to market your products?
- What channels to use to advertise your products?
- What is a lifelike budget to start with?
If you are satisfied that all these things, you can start dropshipping.
Can Dropshipping Be A Full-Time Job?
Sure, but not from the beginning. It is better to start with a small dropshipping store to taste the waters as a side venture. And whenever you feel happy with its profit margins that are sufficient for your living, you should convert it into a full-time job.
What Is Dropshipping VS Drop Surfing? | Final Words
Dropsurfing is fairly a newborn baby that described the fulfillment way of dropshipping business. On the other hand, dropshipping is a such business model that you will use if you want to build a successful online selling store. This is mostly all about what is dropsurfing vs dropshipping.