Introduction
Shoplazza just made its debut webinar on the west coast of Canada via Zoom in collaboration with Small Business British Columbia (SBBC), a non-profit organization that supports British Columbia's entrepreneurs. On September 22nd, 2022, Luk Chan, Shoplazza’s Associate Director of Enterprise Services, shared his expertise in dropshipping and global product sourcing with BC entrepreneurs. The webinar served Shoplazza’s dedication to supporting local entrepreneurs in BC who are interested in starting a dropshipping business through industry insights and practical resources.
During the webinar “Start Your Dropshipping Business With Global Product Sourcing”, Luk enlightened the audience with the essentials of a dropshipping business model – the mechanisms and challenges of traditional dropshipping and an introduction to proximity dropshipping. We’d like to shed some light on the key takeaways from Luk below.
Watch the full recording of our webinar on dropshipping here.
Traditional Dropshipping v.s Proximity Dropshipping
In a traditional model, dropshipping is combined of two steps – (1) customer places an order and the dropshipper “drops” the order to the seller (2) Seller locates, labels, and “ships” out the order directly to the customer. It sounds so simple and easy – no need to care about capitals, physical storage, etc. However, there is a number of challenges to classic dropshipping model:
- Shipping and delivery speed
- Shipping cost
- Return, exchange & refund speed
- Disruptions from unforeseeable events (e.g. COVID-19 pandemic)
- Potential damage to the reputation of your store/brand
These challenges led to an alternative model – proximity dropshipping. Proximity dropshipping still requires no capital, inventory, or storage. However, it can save up the shipping cost and time by sourcing the products from warehouses that are closer to target locations. For example, CJDropshipping, one of the dropshipping platforms, has its own warehouses in China, USA, Germany, Thailand, and Indonesia. With proximity dropshipping, the dropshipper can sell products that are available and closer to the customers.
Click here to learn more about dropshipping and eCommerce!
Shoplazza’s Tips and Solutions to Help Small Business Merchants
Through the webinar, Luk shared pro tips when starting a dropshipping business:
- Avoid over-subscribing to different dropshipping platforms
- Start with AliExpress and CJDropshipping as they require no upfront cost
- Start with products that are simple, non-perishable
Shoplazza has partnered with various product sourcing and fulfillment partners including CJDropshipping. These partnerships allow the merchants to leverage global product sourcing easily from the platform which can enhance online selling by faster delivery and return capacities. Committed to the mission “Open to More”, Shoplazza aims to break down technical barriers so anyone can build and operate an online store anywhere at any time.
In addition to the webinar, Shoplazza also offers two educational resources to utilize – the eCommerce Glossary Book and the Sourcing Book. These eBooks include explanation to eCommerce/dropshipping-related terminology and a detailed guide to different dropshipping platforms and tools with Shoplazza.
Click here to get your copies of eBooks today!
Start Dropshipping with Shoplazza
Dropshipping may seem more complicated than you expected when it comes to real practice – especially in product sourcing, shipping & fulfillment. However, Shoplazza can ease this process through built-in integrations and resources. Start dropshipping with Shoplazza today and let’s grow your business together!
Social Media Post
Shoplazza just made its debut presence on the west coast of Canada! In collaboration with Small Business BC (SBBC), Shoplazza delivered the webinar on dropshipping and global product sourcing. Shoplazza aims to support local entrepreneurs in growing successful and sustainable businesses through our expertise.
Missed the webinar? Watch the recording here:
