Drop shipping as a business model can be pretty controversial. Some people claim that drop shipping is dead and it’s impossible to make a profit while others make a healthy living with their drop shipping e-commerce stores.
As a company that allows you to private label and dropship supplements directly to your customers, we’re a little biased when it comes to our opinion on drop shipping. That’s only because we’ve seen it work and we’ve seen many customers succeed at building and growing their own supplement companies using this business model.
Many people have the misconception that drop shipping is all about selling cheap products from manufacturers in China. Some see it as a get rich quick scheme while others call it a scam. In reality drop shipping is a business model that can be used to grow your own supplement business.
There are a few different ways that you can use drop shipping to grow your supplement business but first let’s discuss some basics.
What is Drop Shipping?
There are a lot of questions and misconceptions when it comes to drop shipping, especially if you’re new to the industry. So what exactly is drop shipping?
Wikipedia defines drop shipping as a, “supply chain management method in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock but instead transfers the customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer, another retailer, or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer.”
Basically your customer places an order, you send us the order automatically thanks to software, we ship the order and you pay for the inventory and shipping. All you have to do is market and sell the supplements you decide your store should offer.
Here’s a list of all the steps involved!
- Choose the supplements you want to sell.
- Integrate your platform.
- Customers place orders.
- On Demand receives orders.
- We label and pack your supplements.
- Orders ship directly to your customers.
- You can track every order.
- Grow your business!
Is Drop Shipping Profitable?
There’s a myth that keeps circulating that for some reason drop shipping is dead but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We have many, many customers that run profitable supplement business using our drop shipping + private label business model.
Remember that drop shipping is simply a business model, it’s not a magic bullet that guarantees success. Keep in mind all the costs as you set your prices – cost of goods sold, shipping, marketing, website and merchant account fees, etc.
The biggest benefit of using a drop shipping business model is that we take much of the work and risk off of your hands. You don’t have to pack and ship your orders yourself or hire anyone else to do it for you. Drop shipping helps to reduce your overhead costs. In addition you get to take advantage of our extensive inventory (over 100+ supplements) without the risk that comes with holding that much inventory yourself.
In addition at On Demand fulfillment we take drop shipping to the next level with private labeling to help you set yourself apart. This allows you to increase your profitability because you can start building your very own brand.
3 Ways Drop Shipping Can Help You Grow Your Supplement Business
There’s more than one reason and more than one way that drop shipping can help your supplement business. Whether you’re just starting out, trying to grow your business or have an established company, you can use drop shipping to your advantage.
1. Low-Startup Costs
One of the biggest advantages of the drop shipping business model is that it is very inexpensive compared to other businesses. If you don’t have a lot of money to get started drop shipping is definitely a good option for you. This is probably the top reason drop shipping has exploded in popularity.
Drop shipping supplements allows you to start selling products without actually having to buy any inventory at all. This also means that you don’t have to pay for storage for your supplements as well.
This allows you to expand your product line much more quickly. With traditional private label supplements you have to buy a minimum of at least 50 units which makes it difficult to expand your product offering quickly. With drop shipping you can offer a full line of products quickly because you don’t have to buy the inventory.
2. Outsource Operations
Scaling your business can be difficult. Keeping track of all of your inventory and packing and shipping all your own orders can be time consuming and difficult to keep up with.
From hiring employees to leasing out enough space, growing your business can be expensive. By drop shipping your supplements instead you get to outsource all of that labor instead of taking it on yourself. This is especially useful in the supplement business as sales fluctuate seasonally and you don’t want to have to hire and fire people as your sales fluctuate.
Additionally, with drop shipping you don’t have to manage your own inventory levels. Managing the inventory of a growing business can be difficult. It’s easy to buy too little and stock out or buy too much and interrupt your cash flow. Drop shipping means you don’t need to worry about either of these potential problems.
3. Test New Products
It can be expensive and time consuming for an established company to test out a new product. Most of the time it’s necessary to do extensive research and execute elaborate campaigns. Unfortunately even when you do everything correctly a new product can still flop and you’re stuck with all those supplements you can’t seem to sell.
Drop shipping takes the risk out of launching a new supplement. You can quickly add new supplements to your product line and see how they perform immediately. This allows you to hop on new trends right away with no need to delay because you’re doing research or putting together a big campaign.
The Takeaway
Unlike every other supplement drop shipper, On Demand Fulfillment allows you to private label your supplements and then ship them directly to customers. This is essential when you’re trying to build a unique brand. Plus we keep over 100 of the most popular supplements stocked in-house!