Dropshipping – what it’s all about?

One of the most popular ways to start selling online is through dropshipping. This business model gained popularity alongside the rapid growth of e-commerce – in Poland, it has been attracting entrepreneurs for over 10 years who want to try their hand in this field.

Unlike traditional retail, where sellers must invest in warehousing and inventory management, dropshipping allows you to run an online store without stocking physical products. Instead, the wholesaler or manufacturer handles the entire process.

Advantages of dropshipping

The main advantage, which has contributed to its popularity, is the lack of need to own products. All it takes is signing an agreement with a wholesaler or manufacturer open to this model, and you can start selling almost immediately. This solution significantly reduces costs, which is crucial in the early stages of business development. Additionally, it minimizes financial risk, as there is no need to invest in a stock that may not sell.

For those new to e-commerce, dropshipping may seem like a flawless solution—an ideal way to make money without much effort. However, reality can be quite different. While this model remains popular, it has numerous pitfalls that only become apparent once you start operating your business.

Misconceptions about dropshipping

When talking to clients, I often hear statements such as: “Dropshipping will be a source of passive income for me,” “It will be a side hustle next to my full-time job,“ or “I just need to set up a store, connect it to a wholesaler, and the rest will run automatically.”

In reality, managing a dropshipping store can require more effort than running a store that sells your products. It’s essential to take a broader perspective and ask yourself: Why should customers order from my store? Remember that wholesalers offering dropshipping may collaborate with many sellers who offer the same products. As a result, these products often have identical descriptions, images, and even prices.

How to stand out?

Winning customers in a competitive market requires staying ahead of the competition. Where various marketing strategies come into play, such as paid advertising campaigns, SEO optimization, and modifying product descriptions to make them more engaging and informative. Hiring experienced specialists in these areas can also be beneficial.

As mentioned earlier, advertising campaigns are crucial. Without them, your store could wait months for its first orders—even if you take care of everything else. Paid marketing campaigns allow you to acquire new customers quickly.

A well-configured campaign is an investment that should make up a significant portion of your budget, especially in the early stages when your store has yet to gain organic search visibility. The budget required for advertising campaigns can vary significantly depending on the industry. Generally, the more competitive the industry, the higher the investment needed to reach profitability. In this regard, working with experts is highly recommended, especially for those new to online sales.

See how Media4U can help you with online advertising:
https://media4u.pl/en/offer/online-advertising-campaigns/

Integrations and costs

Now, let’s focus on the online store itself. In the case of dropshipping, the key issue is always integration with the wholesaler and the overall cost of setting up an online store. The same principles apply to a “traditional“ e-commerce store: the store should have a modern design that aligns with the latest e-commerce trends and include features that facilitate navigation and order placement. Today, it’s standard for online stores to offer integrated online payment solutions such as PayU, Przelewy24, or Tpay.

Another critical aspect is selecting the correct shipping carriers. You must ensure that your store’s delivery methods match what the wholesaler can provide. For example, if the wholesaler only uses courier services, you cannot offer parcel locker deliveries in your store. The same applies to delivery times—this must be confirmed with the wholesaler before you start selling.

Numerous integration options are available, ranging from API-based solutions to XML/CSV file integrations or platform-specific plugins (a standard solution for WooCommerce). Each method has pros and cons. The more tasks an integration needs to handle, the higher its implementation cost.

Some sellers choose to manage their store’s integration manually to minimize costs. While this can work with a small number of orders, it’s more efficient to focus on marketing rather than constantly updating product databases or order statuses.

How much does a dropshipping store cost? In our case, dropshipping stores built on WooCommerce start at 10,000 PLN (net). For this price, we provide a fully functional e-commerce website with all the essential features of a modern and efficient online store.

Conclusion

Dropshipping is an excellent solution for those who don’t want to deal with inventory management, warehousing, or logistics and prefer to focus on growing their online store. However, success in this field requires the right approach and hard work. It is advisable to consult with experienced e-commerce professionals first and assess the actual costs involved.

As an agency with over 20 years of experience supporting Polish e-commerce, Media4U is happy to assist you in growing your online sales.