General Drop Shipping Success Stories

A Million in Less Than a Year

Irwin Dominguez from San Diego just heard about drop shipping from a friend, and in less than a year after starting his drop shipping venture, he had already earned $1 million from his store’s sales. Who could’ve predicted that this marketing consultant, who used to help out landscapers and plastic surgeons reach out to more clients, would someday run a thriving drop shipping business? How did he become a successful online entrepreneur and an inspiration for others?

One of Irwin’s friends jumped on the eCommerce craze before he did. He saw how much they were making and how minute the investment needed to start an online store was. Needless to say, Irwin was immediately enticed to do the same. He decided to dive in head first into drop shipping, though he didn’t read a lot about it beforehand as he was always a believer of learning by doing. Admittedly, he did Google a few questions that he had in mind; thankfully, drop shipping isn’t rocket science, so he was able to grasp the concepts easily.

Not long after, he found a drop shipping company that carried products that he wanted to sell. He then built his online store using Shopify and used social media to attract customers. He also had some knowledge of Facebook ads from participating in webinars and reading blogs, so he decided to use that to his advantage. This was actually his first time to try it out. While the steep learning curve gave him difficulties at first, once he understood the ins and outs, he was able to earn enough to cover the expenses and enjoy higher traffic in his store.

Three days after his store launched, he had his first customer ever. Little by little, customers started pouring in; he was on his way to becoming a big earner. His all-time record sales for a day is $30,000, and currently he runs on a daily revenue average of $10,000.

As with any other business though, his store has had its highs and lows: Sometimes customers would visit his store without buying anything; other times, he would find out that he had hit the ceiling with a specific target market and would need to expand to other audiences or find new products to offer.

But herein lies the strength of the Internet: Online, he is able to reach out to a lot of people and search for products in a short amount of time. More importantly, with drop shipping companies actively looking for more suppliers, finding them all in one place is definitely possible.

If Irwin has any regrets, it’s that he waited a month and a half after learning about eCommerce before getting started. Had he started earlier, there would have been less competition, and he could’ve racked up on his first million a lot faster. That said, earning it within his first 8 months in the business isn’t too shabby, either. He states that there is literally nothing to lose in this kind of business; building a website can be done for a minimal fee, and learning about the process is as simple as a Google search. His advice to those who may want to try their luck in eCommerce with drop shipping is to establish drop shipping processes as soon as you are making a few sales with your goods. If you have an ironclad plan for your business process, then you can take on sudden surges of orders, and you’ll end up with satisfied customers who won’t think twice of coming back to your store.

Financially Secured Thanks to Drop Shipping

Michael has been in Dubai for the past five years, but it wasn’t all pleasant when he first moved in. Living in a city known for its luxury and expensive cost of living started to take its toll. While he and his girlfriend enjoyed the comfort and security of the country, he soon found out that he needed another source of income–especially as his salary was barely enough for their basic needs. To make matters worse, his girlfriend wasn’t fluent in English at that time, so she had a hard time getting accepted for a job. Given their situation, he decided to actively search for ways to improve their financial stability, and, luckily, stumbled upon drop shipping.

Michael wanted to be sure about everything before opening his online store, so he contacted a forum user that once posted his own drop shipping success story online. After numerous sessions of counseling interviews, Michael signed up for the same drop shipping company that the user was in. He had zero knowledge about how to go about building a website, which is why it was fortuitous that the drop shipping company also offered a website building service. After 10 days, a full-fledged website was ready for Michael.

As for what niche products his store would carry, Michael considered several factors before zeroing in on his final choice. He took into consideration the climate in Dubai, where summer lasts all year long. He also took note of his own interests, and being a big fan of beaches, he decided to sell beach accessories. His drop shipper, luckily, offered numerous items under this specific category. Furthermore, he found out that raising the price from 300% to 500% of the wholesale price would still be cheaper for the same items, giving him an edge over competitors.

With the foundation of his eCommerce business all set, his focus turned to advertising his store. A little research showed that young expats were his ideal target audience, with a smaller portion consisting of expats with children. These people are the most common beach-goers in Dubai, and have the highest probability of purchasing beach accessories.

At first, he didn’t include locals in his target market because a majority of the population are expats, and the locals usually preferred to buy from premium shops. To his surprise, however, local traffic actually made up most of his page visits.

With this data in his hands, he decided to reach out to his target market. He primarily used social media to advertise his store; he made accounts in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube, and posted on local and expat forums and participated in blogs. He also made sure his website was optimized for search engines, and got 30% of traffic from searches.

After just three days of his store going live, he already had his first customer; a month afterwards, he was transacting with three to five clients a day. Since he still works and has a full-time job, his girlfriend stepped up and handled online store duties. After two months, the store enjoyed a net profit of $7,000, and even hit a $25,000 turnover a few months later.

Michael is currently thinking about leaving his full-time job for a more relaxed atmosphere–after all, working 70 hours a week can drain you physically and mentally. He has not yet made a decision though, but one thing is for sure: His online store won’t go anywhere soon. In fact, he is even gearing up to open two more stores that cater to different niches, given that his first venture into drop shipping became such a success.