How Does Dropshipping Work & Top 15 Tips for a Thriving Business

Do not index

Running an online store can feel overwhelming. You have to manage inventory, fill orders, and handle shipping—tasks especially burdensome for new business owners. Dropshipping can help ease some of these concerns. Instead of stocking products, a drop shipping business relies on a third party to fulfill orders. This article will explain how dropshipping works and how to find dropshipping products with Shophunter.

Shophunter's Shopify sales tracker can help you achieve your dropshipping goals by tracking your sales, orders, and profit over time. This will help you identify trends and make informed business decisions.

What is a Dropshipping Business Model?

Dropshipping is a retail fulfillment method in which a store doesn’t keep products in stock but transfers customer orders to a third-party supplier, who ships the products directly to the buyer. It’s a win-win situation for both retailers and suppliers. Retailers can nurture customer relationships while suppliers maintain inventory and ship products. Dropshipping has gained popularity among wholesalers and manufacturers using the model to sell their products recently.

Why is Dropshipping so Appealing?

Dropshipping is a way to run an e-commerce business without dealing with physical products. It’s great for new entrepreneurs because it requires little upfront investment and eliminates the hassle of managing inventory. Instead of worrying about storing products or fulfilling orders, you can find an excellent dropshipping supplier and create a successful online store.

Who is a Dropshipper?

A dropshipper is a person or business that accepts customer orders and passes them to a supplier for fulfillment. Dropshippers often run online stores to market and sell products. When a customer buys a product, the dropshipper places a corresponding order with the supplier. A customer buys a cat collar from your online pet store. As a dropshipper, you forward the order to your cat collar supplier, who keeps the product in stock.

Who Are Dropshipping Suppliers?

Dropshipping suppliers fulfill orders made by retailers on behalf of customers. They:

Store products

Package them for shipping

Organize delivery to the customer’s address

You might work with an individual supplier or a platform that hosts a directory of suppliers, such as AliExpress. Some manufacturers, wholesalers, and independent makers also operate as dropshipping suppliers. The dropshipping supplier is the one, in the pet store example, the company that:

Receives the order

Packages the cat collar

Ships it to the customer

What Is A Good Profit Margin For Dropshipping

What Is The Success Rate Of Dropshipping

What Is The Most Profitable Dropshipping Business

How To Source Dropshipping Products

Is Dropshipping Still Profitable

How to Find Winning Products For Dropshipping

What Is AI Dropshipping

What Is Branded Dropshipping

How Does Dropshipping Work?

The most significant difference between dropshipping and the standard retail model is that the selling merchant needs to stock or own inventory. Instead, the seller purchases inventory as needed from a third party—usually a wholesaler or manufacturer—to fulfill orders.

Here's a simplified step-by-step overview of how it works:

1. Partner with a dropshipping supplier

Find a dropshipping supplier that offers products you want to sell. After signing an agreement, they’ll:

Handle storage

Packaging

Shipping of customer purchases

You could partner with an individual business in your niche. You can also use a dropshipping app to sell products from multiple suppliers.

Key Criteria for Evaluating Dropshipping Suppliers

How to select a drop shipping supplier:

The third party you choose as a drop-ship supplier will determine your supply chain’s success, so you must do your due diligence during selection.

Generally speaking, you want to set up drop shipping arrangements directly with the manufacturers of the products you want to sell. The fewer middlemen you must go through, the bigger your profits will be. Each additional fee charged by your supply chain partners affects your bottom line, so whenever possible, it’s best to work directly with a manufacturer.

Here are some questions for potential suppliers:

How much do you charge? Calculate the numbers before selecting a drop-shipping partner. If the wholesale price isn’t enough for you to profit from the products, look elsewhere.

Is there a handling fee? If so, assess how it may impact your profit margin. Again, every fee and each middleman affects your bottom line, so you want to streamline the process as much as possible.

How are products shipped? You want a partner who ships items via a service that provides tracking numbers (which they should send you). That way, if your customers inquire about the status of their orders, you can provide them with accurate, up-to-the-minute information.

Shipping comes with returns. Find out the return and warranty policies. If returns aren’t accepted or products are not guaranteed, steer clear.

What is the billing process? Do drop-shipping partners charge your credit card when you submit an order? Or do they send you a monthly bill? Choose a partner whose billing process fits your cash flow well.

2. Set up an online store

Create your online store. Your store will list products from your supplier at the price you decide.

Add a dropshipping app to your store to keep product listings updated and automatically forward orders to suppliers:

DSers connects Shopify stores to AliExpress.

Zendrop has a catalog with more than a million products.

Spocket includes dropshipping suppliers in:

The US
Europe
Brazil
India

AutoDS uses AI to help you find and import popular products to your store.

3. Receive a customer order

When a customer visits your store and orders, the checkout process happens normally.

The customer pays

Receives order confirmation

Awaits delivery

4. Forward the order to the supplier

Once your customer pays, send the order details to your dropshipping supplier. If you’re using a dropshipping app, this step is automated.

5. Supplier prepares and ships the product

The dropshipping supplier prepares the order and ships it directly to the customer. Many suppliers offer branded invoices and custom packaging to enhance the shopping experience.

6. Customer receives the product

The customer receives their product from the supplier while the store handles customer service needs.

Am I a Good Fit for Dropshipping?

Should you start dropshipping? Is dropshipping worth it for you? Here are some signs that a dropshipping business model could fit your business:

You’re All About Marketing

Dropshipping could be a great fit if you’re skilled in search engine optimization or social media marketing.

The primary goal of dropshippers is to drive traffic to an online store using platforms such as:

Google

YouTube

TikTok

Instagram

Dropshippers leverage content marketing and an understanding of ranking algorithms to connect potential customers with products.

You’re Sales-Driven, Not Brand-Focused

If your business strategy is more focused on generating a high sales volume than on building a distinctive brand, dropshipping could be a good option for you.

In other retail models, sellers add branding to their products, packaging, and communications to create a consistent brand experience and build customer loyalty.

How to Overcome Branding Challenges in Dropshipping

Dropshipping offers fewer branding opportunities. Packaging and delivery leave little room for personalization, and dropshipping products are rarely exclusive to a single retailer. This makes it harder to provide a unique experience that keeps customers returning.

If you want to sell branded products using dropshipping, explore options for private label drop shipping or print-on-demand products.

You Prioritize Product Variety

Dropshipping allows merchants to sell a wide range of products from a global network of suppliers without worrying about inventory.

This comes with a trade-off: less control over product quality and consistency. Beyond ordering samples, you may have little influence over the manufacturing process.

You’re Comfortable with Longer Shipping Times

In an era of super-fast delivery, most customers expect their purchases to arrive quickly. This presents a challenge for dropshippers who partner with overseas suppliers. Products from international locations, such as China with ePacket, can take significantly longer to arrive, risking customer dissatisfaction.

Dropshipping could be viable if you can source domestic suppliers or manage customer expectations around delivery times.

You’re Prepared for Customer Support

While dropshippers don’t deal with product fulfillment, they are customers’ primary point of contact. This means they often find themselves addressing customer service issues that are beyond their direct control, such as:

Shipment delays

Delivery problems

Product defects

Return requests

Dropshipping could be a well-suited business model if you can navigate these challenges and manage customer inquiries effectively.

You’re Ready To Grow

Dropshipping isn’t just for new stores. It's also a tool for established retailers looking to expand. By partnering with a supplier or another store that can handle fulfillment, retailers can add complementary products to their inventory without:

Sourcing

Purchasing

Stocking them

Offering customers a more extensive selection of products may increase your average order value. Using dropshipping to list additional products can also draw in new customers.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: The Pros and Cons of Dropshipping

Every business model has advantages and disadvantages. Let’s examine the pros and cons of dropshipping to see if it suits you.

The Benefits of Dropshipping

Lower Startup Costs: As a dropshipping business, you do not need to invest much in:

Leasing a store
Stocking inventory
Paying staff

All you need is an online shop front where you can direct the customers and sell your products. This online shop could be your website or on popular e-commerce platforms such as:

Amazon

Shopify

Squarespace

Easy to start: Running an e-commerce business becomes much easier when you don’t have to procure, maintain, and supply products. You can set up an online shop in as little as 15 minutes. Setting up the background processes, such as accepting orders, processing orders, forwarding them to the supplier, and accepting and making payments, may take several more days. When you compare it with starting a physical retail store, it is much easier to start dropshipping operations.

No inventory management: With drop shipping, you do not need to:

Worry about maintaining inventory
handling shipping and returns, etc.

Flexibility in business operations: Since your entire operation is online, you can set it up from anywhere. All you need is a laptop and a good internet connection.

Flexibility in product offerings: As you need to maintain the inventory yourself, it is much easier to diversify into other products depending upon demand.

Scalability: Since the only thing you are doing is advertising and accepting orders, scaling up the operations is much easier. You only need a robust platform that can handle traffic and accept orders. It’s the supplier who needs to worry about handling shipping and returns, so choose a supplier who can quickly scale up as your business grows.

The Limitations of Dropshipping

Many factors that make dropshipping a lucrative business proposition also have drawbacks.

Be sure to consider these before committing to a dropshipping setup.

High competition: Due to lower barriers to entry, competition is very high in the dropshipping business. Scores of businesses may be offering the same product as you. Product cannot be a differentiating factor, so you must focus on customer experience to stand out.

Less control over inventory and shipping: The supplier is responsible for maintaining stock and shipping products, so you need more control over product availability and quality.

Low margins: Due to stiff competition in the market, dropshipping businesses have low margins. You need to operate on volumes to make a good profit.

Limited customizations: As someone else is handling the shipping of products to customers, you are in no position to customize products or provide value-added services to improve customer experience.

Challenging customer support: As mentioned earlier, everything is fine when the customer is satisfied with the product received. When they need to return or exchange the product, it becomes difficult to coordinate the return with the supplier in a way that leaves the customer happy.

Best Dropshipping Products

How To Test Products Dropshipping

How To Add Dropshipping Products To Shopify

Best Place To Sell Dropship Items

AI Dropshipping Product Finder

Best Dropshipping Platforms

YouTube Ad Spy Tool

Digital Dropshipping Products

Dropshipping Pet Products

Dropshipping Beauty Products

Dropshipping Winning Products

Dropshipping Baby Products

Most Profitable Dropshipping Products

15 Expert Tips for a Successful Dropshipping Business

1. Research the Market: Find Your Niche.

Many dropship start-ups need help to enter a profitable niche that only lasts for a while in the business. Before you set up shop, research the demand for your products and overall niche. You’ll gain:

Insight into the industry trends

Your target market’s wants

Needs

Pain points

Products that may be missing and more

Strategies for Identifying High-Demand Dropshipping Products

Selecting the right products, not just the most popular ones, will help your business grow faster, build a loyal following, and increase profit margins.

How to find what’s trending:

Research your competition to see what they’re selling.

Explore social media to see what your target audience is buying.

Use tools like Google Trends to see what products are being searched for and purchased.

2. Use Data Analytics: Discover Insights to Drive Your Business Forward.

Data analytics is an essential tool in dropshipping. It’s not just about having data but using it intelligently to improve business operations. Consistent data gathering and analysis can help your dropshipping venture:

Uncover patterns

Insights

Potential opportunities

You can create more proactive, customer-focused business strategies by understanding your:

Target audience

Their buying habits

Preferred products

Overall market trends

The Role of Data Analytics in Optimizing Dropshipping Success

Data analytics helps you stay agile in a competitive landscape. It fosters efficient decision-making, helping you to react promptly and effectively to market changes or customer behavior shifts. It aids in examining the performance of your marketing campaigns, allowing you to invest wisely in strategies that yield success.

Rest assured, mastering data analytics will breathe life into your dropshipping venture and help you gain an edge over your competitors.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing Data Analytics in Dropshipping

Four fundamental steps for implementing Data Analytics:

Collection: Gather data from various sources, such as:

Your ecommerce platform
Social media channels
Customer feedback and more

Processing: Organize and categorize the gathered data systematically for straightforward interpretation. Data management tools can simplify this process.

Analyzing: Use analytical tools to interpret the data. This could influence your business decisions by looking for the following:

Patterns
Trends
Correlations
Valuable insight

Implementing: Implement the insights gained from the data analysis. Make the necessary tweaks to your strategies to boost efficiency and profitability.

3. Choose a Reputable Supplier: Find Your Dropshipping Partner.

In this business model, reliable suppliers can make or break the success of dropshipping stores. Partnering with a reputable supplier is an essential dropshipping tip and should not be taken lightly.

When vetting potential suppliers, be sure to:

Focus on product quality. Pay attention to shipping speed.

Prioritize communication and transparency. Understand the fees, including shipping costs and per-order charges.

No supplier is more reliable for order fulfillment than Gelato.

We support our partners in selling custom products without worrying about inventory or shipping, making it easy to embark on a dropshipping venture with confidence.

4. Order Samples: Test Products Before Selling Them.

Once you’ve found a reputable supplier you want to do business with, order samples of the products you want to sell in your online store. You’ll be able to:

Experience firsthand each product’s quality

How the fabrics or materials feel in person

The shipping process

The unboxing experience from the dropshipping supplier

The Importance of Product Sampling in Ensuring Quality and Building Trust

Samples are also an excellent opportunity to take product images for your listings. When you receive your product samples, note the product’s feel.

How does it feel when I try it on if it's apparel?

Does it fit true to size?

Is it soft?

Durable?

Would I buy it in a store?

Gauging the quality is critical because you’re putting your name behind any product you sell, and you don’t want to offer anything less than the premium to build a successful dropshipping business.

5. Create a Strong Brand Identity: Stand Out in a Crowded Market.

In any saturated market, a compelling, creative brand is the best way to stand out against the crowd. Your brand says:

Your company’s story

Who you are

Why you’re in business

Your team

History
Values
Mission

This is achieved through:

Powerful messaging

A memorable logo and business name

Fonts

Color palette

Graphics and more

Enhancing Brand Recognition Through Branded Dropshipping

Once you’ve established your brand identity, use it everywhere:

On your social media platforms

Website

Other online locations

As for your products, you can implement branded drop shipping, which involves custom packaging, labels, and package inserts that share more of your brand. Packing inserts can be a simple thank you card, a personal note, or a discount code that the dropshipping supplier will include in every package they ship.

6. Select an Appropriate Sales Channel: Where Will You Sell?

From the jump, you’ll need to select an appropriate sales channel to market yourself as a successful dropshipper and showcase your products to your target audience. Popular sales channels include:

E-commerce platforms like Shopify

Online marketplaces like Etsy

Using your site to sell products

Considerations When Choosing a Sales Channel

Factors to consider when selecting a sales channel for your dropshipping store include the following:

Budget and how much I’m willing to spend.

E-commerce platforms are more expensive to start and maintain than online marketplaces—technical prowess.
If I’m new to the digital world, an online marketplace is an easier and quicker way to get started than building my site or using an e-commerce platform—business growth goals.
Online marketplaces tend to be more competitive and saturated, while ecommerce platforms allow you to showcase your brand and unique offerings.

Desired functionalities. What are the must-have features and tools I need? Each sales channel offers different things that benefit various business models.

Products. Where does my target audience shop? Knowing this will help me determine what type of online shopping experience I want to provide.

7. Price Your Products Effectively: Find Your Sweet Spot.

Determining the retail price for your products can set the tone for the success and profitability of your dropshipping business, so offering competitive prices is one of the top dropshipping tips we can provide.

Many shoppers are searching for the best deal, so if my product is priced too high, I may lose out on many potential sales. On the other hand, if my products are priced way under market value, hitting my sales goals can take longer than projected.

Developing Competitive and Profitable Pricing Strategies in Dropshipping

It’s critical to have effective pricing strategies, such as:

When selecting competitive prices

Ensuring the price covers the cost of designing

Sourcing

Shipping the product

Along with my desired profit margins

8. Optimize Your Product Listings: Write for Both Shoppers and SEO.

Listing products involves much more than simply uploading them to a sales platform and waiting for the sales to roll in. I’ve got to put some serious effort into my product pages and the information I provide to entice sales!

My listings should include:

Titles

Product descriptions

Images

Videos

Relevant product details

Creating Compelling Product Listings to Boost Sales and Visibility

I consider the product details I want when shopping in an online store and include those in my listings. I use high-quality imagery and video to showcase my products appealingly. I include all sizing information so shoppers feel informed about products. I add relevant keywords to product descriptions and titles to rank higher in search engines.

9. Establish Clear Store Policies: Set Customer Expectations.

Store policies are an integral part of running a successful and scalable business. As a dropshipping store owner, establishing clear store policies for my online store is vital because it can make or break a customer’s decision to give me their business.

Another essential dropshipping tip is to be upfront and transparent about my store policies on my website or sales channel in a way that customers can understand. I may still receive customer inquiries about my policies, but this information should be available on my site.

Essential Policies for Building Trust and Transparency in Your Dropshipping Store

Important dropshipping store policies Return/refund/ cancellation policy:

Create an easy-to-follow return policy that caters to consumer behavior and the customer experience.

Privacy policy: Ensure potential customers' private information is secure when shopping in my store.

Simple shipping rules: Shipping costs can be unpredictable, and many store owners opt to offer flat-rate shipping fees.

10. Optimize Your Website: Build a Solid Foundation.

It may seem obvious, but the best way to build and scale a successful dropship business is by creating and optimizing a website that is easy to use for my target market. As an online business, your website is the backbone of my success. It’s how I drive sales, so the shopping experience and site functionality must be pristine. If my website is challenging to navigate, slow to load, or the buttons or links must be fixed, I’ll lose business quickly.

Optimizing Your Online Store for Seamless Mobile Shopping and Easy Checkout

How to optimize my website & online store:

Ensure my site is mobile-friendly. 79% of US adults make online purchases using smartphones, so my business will only benefit from offering a clean mobile experience. Familiar payment gateways should be provided to build customer confidence, such as:

PayPal
Apple Pay
Stripe, Square, etc.

Multiple payment options appeal to a broader audience. To get a feel for the buying process firsthand, test the checkout process by browsing my site:

Clicking “Add to Cart,
Editing quantities or sizes
Making a purchase

11. Automate Order Processing: Streamline Your Operations.

Automation can be a real game-changer in your dropshipping business. By automating order processing, I streamline my operations and save considerable time and effort, allowing me to focus more on other critical aspects of my business, like marketing and customer service.

Leveraging Automation to Streamline Dropshipping Operations and Save Time

Automation makes the process much more:

Straightforward

Faster

Error-free

The moment an order is placed on my online store, it directly connects to my supplier, who then processes it without any manual intervention from my end. Automating order processing through a reliable platform like Gelato can also mean significant savings in time and effort, allowing me to focus more on what I do best—building my brand and connecting with my target audience.

The Key Benefits of Automated Order Processing for Dropshipping Success

In a nutshell, automated order processing does:

Enhances order accuracy by reducing the risk of human errors.

Increases efficiency by enabling quick order fulfillment.

Saves time by eliminating the need for manual intervention.

Improves customer satisfaction with faster, more accurate deliveries.

Promotes scalability as it can handle increased order volumes without needing extra resources.

Allows more time to focus on other vital aspects of the business, like marketing.

Helps in inventory management by keeping track of available stock levels.

12. Monitor Your Inventory: Stay in Stock.

You’ve worked hard to build a customer base by offering in-demand products, but a lack of inventory can cause all your efforts to come crashing down. If a consumer can’t purchase the product they want through your dropshipping business, they will likely find another online store where they can. Monitoring your product inventory levels is mission-critical for any successful dropshipping business.

Mitigating Stockouts and Managing Inventory Risk in Dropshipping

The best way to avoid the dreaded “out of stock” notification is to partner with multiple suppliers in my niche who carry the same (or very similar) products. This way, if something does sell out, I can use another supplier to fulfill the item or offer customers a similar version at a discounted price. I can also ask about the typical availability of the products I want to sell. If one product is super popular, sells out quickly, and takes a while to re-stock, it may be better to choose a different item.

13. Promote Your Dropshipping Business: Drive Traffic to Your Store.

The success of your dropshipping business ultimately comes down to two things:

Partnering with a reliable supplier and

My marketing efforts

That’s one of the appealing aspects of using reliable suppliers; they take over everything after the initial purchase so that I can focus on:

Customer engagement

Marketing

Other business-related tasks

The more I focus on brand awareness and engagement, the more visitors I’ll get to my site, leading to the following:

More purchases

Repeat customers

A loyal following

It takes time, but my efforts will pay off in the long run.

Effective Marketing Strategies to Drive Traffic and Boost Sales in Dropshipping

Must-have marketing efforts for a dropshipping store:

Use paid ads and search engine optimization strategies to drive traffic to my online store.

Leverage social media to interact with:

Potential customers
Promote new products
Ask for feedback
Connect with my audience

Collect email addresses through my website and social media channels, then launch a newsletter to:

Share product launches
Discounts and promos
Special events and more

Incorporate influencer marketing into my strategy to advertise my brand within my niche.

14. Offer Exceptional Customer Support: Satisfy Your Customers.

Building and maintaining customer satisfaction is one of this list’s most important dropshipping tips. A positive customer experience increases the likelihood of:

Repeat purchases

Positive customer reviews

An increase in overall sales for your dropshipping store

By offering exceptional customer support, I emphasize how vital my customers are to my e-commerce business. I can attract customers and offer in-demand products like a professional. Still, I need to provide good customer support to drive sales and build a successful dropshipping business.

Handling Customer Service Challenges in Dropshipping with Transparency and Care

How to offer exceptional customer support. Own my supplier’s mistakes. Even great suppliers make mistakes, and with a dropshipping business model, I’m guaranteed to have fulfillment errors from time to time. So what do I do when my supplier sends the wrong item or nothing?

Here are three possible options:

Take the blame

Under no circumstances should I encourage my customer to contact my dropshipping supplier about the mistake. I need clarification, as my customer will likely not know my supplier exists. Instead, I need to:

Own the problem

Apologize

Tell the customer what I’m doing to fix it

Make it up to the customer. Depending on the level of the mistake, I suggest proactively offering the customer something for the error. This could mean refunding the shipping fee (our favorite) or upgrading if the customer needs a new item shipped out.

Managing Supplier Errors to Protect Your Dropshipping Business Reputation

If I have the supplier pay to fix it, I may have to assume responsibility for the error, but that doesn’t mean I need to cut into my profit margin. Any reputable supplier will pay to fix its errors, including shipping costs to return items. It probably won’t pay for any freebies or upgrades I gave the customer.

I need to consider those public relations and marketing expenses. Again, even the best dropshipping suppliers occasionally make mistakes, but be extremely wary of a supplier that habitually botches my orders. Unless I can get the supplier to change (unlikely), my business’s reputation will suffer. If this is the case, I should start looking for another supplier.

Handle Chargebacks Quickly

When a customer calls their bank or credit card company to contest your charge, I’ll receive a “chargeback.” My payment processor will temporarily deduct the amount of the disputed charge from my account and ask me to prove that my dropship business delivered the goods or services to the customer. If I can’t provide proof, I’ll lose the amount in question and be slapped with a chargeback processing fee.

If I rack up too many chargebacks, I could lose my merchant account. The most significant cause of chargebacks is usually fraud. Still, customers will also dispute a charge because they didn’t recognize my business, forgot about the transaction, or didn’t like the product they received.

Preventing and Managing Chargebacks in Dropshipping

I often have just a few days to respond when I receive a chargeback, so I need to act quickly. To get my money back, I’ll need to provide documentation of the original order, tracking information showing delivery, and likely a wholesale packing slip showing which items I purchased and shipped.

Unfortunately, if the chargeback is related to an order with different billing and shipping addresses, I will almost certainly not win. Most processors will only compensate me for fraudulent orders shipped to the billing address on the card. If I spot an order I suspect is fraudulent, simply pick up the phone.

Spotting and Verifying Suspicious Orders in Dropshipping

Fraudsters rarely put their actual number on an order. If the order is legitimate, I’ll likely have a 30-second discussion with someone who clears everything up. If not, I’ll get a dead number or someone who has no idea she ordered a 25-foot boat scheduled for overnight delivery. At that point, I can cancel the order and issue a refund to avoid any chargebacks or problems.

Consider Phone Support

If I’m bootstrapping a business while working my nine-to-five, I likely won’t be able to implement phone support for my dropship business. But if I’m working full-time on my ecommerce business, it might be a feasible option. When considering phone support for my online store, consider the type of dropshipping products I’ll sell. If I’m a diamond boutique selling jewelry in the $1,000-5,000 range, many customers won’t be comfortable placing an order that large without talking to a natural person.

Strategic Use of Phone Support to Enhance Customer Experience and Maximize ROI

Most people won’t need phone support if I sell products in the $25-50 range, assuming I’ve built a professional, information-rich website. If I do decide to offer phone support, be strategic about it. Slapping a large 800 number on the top of every page can lead to a surfeit of low-value phone calls that cost more to support than they’re worth. Instead, consider adding my number in targeted locations like the contact and shopping cart pages, where I know the visitor is highly likely to purchase.

Top Third-Party Services for Setting Up Toll-Free Numbers and Sales Lines

Fortunately, plenty of third-party services can help me set up a toll-free phone number and sales line, including:

Grasshopper. Grasshopper offers phone services and is geared toward smaller businesses and entrepreneurs. I can get a toll-free number, three extensions, call forwarding, and voicemail for a reasonable monthly fee (around $26).

Aircall. Aircall offers an essential plan that gives you phone, email, and help center, effectively making it basic help desk software. It allows me to have a toll free number and unlimited calling in the US and Canada (international rates apply). It also integrates with other popular help desk software, like Zendesk.

15. Implement Security Best Practices: Protect Your Customers.

In today’s world, there’s no excuse for running an online business with weak security or poor fraud prevention practices.

Here are some dropshipping tips for keeping my customers’ personal information safe while they're shopping online.

Storing Credit Card Numbers

Storing my customers’ credit card information allows for convenient reordering and may increase sales. But if I’m hosting my site, this typically isn’t worth the security issues and liability. I must abide by complex PCI (payment card industry) compliance rules and security audits to store credit card data. And if my server is hacked or breached, I might be liable for the stolen card information. The best solution is not to store my customers’ credit card data.

Choosing Secure Payment Options to Enhance Checkout Experience

Consider offering one or multiple payment options from third parties like Shop or PayPal. This speeds up checkout, reduces cart abandonment, and frees me to focus on marketing and customer service instead of security audits. I won’t need to worry about any of this if I have a Shopify store. But if I’m using a self-hosted cart or another e-commerce platform, disable the “store card information” feature in my configuration panel.

Dealing with fraudulent orders

The possibility of fraudulent orders can be scary initially. Still, with some common sense and caution, I can prevent the vast majority of losses due to fraud. The AVS, or address verification system, is the most common and widely used fraud prevention measure. When AVS is enabled, customers must enter the address on file with their credit card to approve the transaction. This helps prevent thieves with just the raw credit card number from successfully making purchases online. The vast majority of fraudulent ecommerce orders occur when the billing and shipping addresses differ.

Identifying Patterns to Detect and Prevent Fraudulent Orders in Dropshipping

In these cases, a thief enters the card owner’s address as the billing address and enters a separate shipping address for the goods. Unfortunately, if I don’t allow customers to ship to addresses other than the billing address, I’ll lose out on many legitimate orders. The good news is that fraudsters tend to follow patterns that make it easier to spot illegitimate orders before they ship. Individually, these signs won’t help me flag a fraudulent order, but if I see two or three of them, I should investigate

Different Billing and Shipping Addresses

Again, more than 95% of all fraudulent orders will have different billing and shipping addresses.

Different names

Other names on the billing and shipping addresses could be a red flag for fraudulent orders, unusual email addresses, or a gift purchase. Most people have email addresses that incorporate part of their name, allowing me to match part of an email address to a customer’s name. But if I see an address like dfssdfsdf@gmail.com, there’s a good chance it’s a made-up address, which is one sign of fraud—expedited shipping.

Since they charge everything to someone else’s card, fraudsters often choose the fastest—and most expensive—delivery method. This reduces my time to catch them before the item is delivered. If I spot an order I suspect is fraudulent, I simply pick up the phone.

Using Direct Communication to Verify and Prevent Fraudulent Orders

Dropshipping Amazon Products

Winning Hunter Alternative

AliExpress Alternative

Dropshipping vs Ecommerce

Niche Scraper Alternative

Koala Inspector Alternative

Ecomhunt Alternative

Dropshipping Products with High-Profit Margin

Wholesale2B Alternative

Sell The Trend Alternative

ShopHunter puts a spotlight on Shopify sales tracking. Its Shopify sales tracker tool helps:

ecom founders, particularly dropshippers, quickly validate product potential. The platform’s custom algorithm estimates sales for entire stores and specific products.

Beyond sales tracking, ShopHunter also features an ad spy tool that monitors advertising activity across stores. This combination lets users spot trending products and successful marketing strategies early on.

ShopHunter aims to streamline product research and reduce the risk of investing in low-performing items, whether you’re:

A dropshipper

A Shopify store owner

Someone looking to enter the e-commerce space

Sign up for a free trial (no credit card required) to our Shopify sales tracker tool to find your next eCom opportunity or to level up your current eCommerce store by learning from your competitors