5 Things to Know Before Buying a Pre-made Dropshipping Store

If you have ever thought of starting an online business, you must have heard about “Dropshipping”. This is one of the most trending businesses across the globe and is growing really fast.

The main reasons for the dropshipping business model to succeed are: You need not be exclusive about what you want to sell, you don’t need a lot of money for buying products, and you do not need an inventory to stock the products.

As per a study, the estimated value of the global Dropshipping market which was US $128.6 Billion in 2020 is expected to grow and reach the US $ 476.1 Billion by 2026. Hence, you can imagine the pace at which this market is expanding. However, if this term seems unfamiliar and you are still wondering what are we talking about. Don’t worry! We will explain everything in detail. Keep reading.

What is Dropshipping?
What is a Pre-made Dropshipping Store?
Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying a Pre-made Dropshipping Store
Things to Know Before Buying a Pre-made Dropshipping Store

What is Dropshipping?

Dropshipping is kind of an online retail fulfilment method. Here, you don’t buy or stock products. If you have a basic understanding of marketing and selling products, an online store, and a laptop, you are ready for this business.

It has opened the doors to eCommerce for people not having big budgets. But, how is it done? Let us explain in steps:

• First, you prepare a list of products you want to sell online.
• Next, you find a supplier who sells these products at minimum cost.
• After this, you set a higher price of your choice for all these items in your online store.
• When a customer orders this product from your store, they already pay you the retail price.
• Using this money you directly order this product for your customer, from the seller.
• You mention the details of the customer in the delivery instructions. Hence, you don’t have to take care of shipping either.
• Now, the difference between your price and the seller’s price is your profit.

But, why would anyone buy a product at a higher price instead of buying it from the seller?

The answer is simple. The Internet is vast. Not everyone has the time and energy to scroll across the web and look for cheaper options. Mostly people prefer to buy from some renowned website or go through the top 3-4 options that appear in the search engine.

So, all you need to do is focus on the right marketing techniques.

There are two ways you can get into dropshipping business. If you are well-versed with all the details you can build your own online store from scratch. However, if you are still new to this field you can also buy a pre-made dropshipping store. In this blog, we will focus on pre-made dropshipping stores.

What is a Pre-made Dropshipping Store?

Pre-made dropshipping stores are the ones where everything required for the online store such as sellers, products, payment gateways, etc. has already been set up by the store builder.

If you do not have the time for building a dropshipping store yourself, you can also buy a pre-made one. There are several market places where people buy and sell such stores.

There are majorly four types of dropshipping stores available in these markets:

1. Basic pre-made dropshipping store: Here, the store builder has set up all the basic requirements of the store. However, brand identity, name recognition, or customer base, have not been set. These stores are available at the price as low as $50.

2. Turnkey dropshipping store: The store builder in this case sets up everything and then just hands over the store to the buyer.

3. Fully-established dropshipping store: These are the pre-made online stores that have been run by the builder for some time already. These stores have a developed clientele, sales, brand identity, etc.

4. Custom-made dropshipping store: It is the same as the basic pre-made store. However, the buyer can get it customized as per his needs.

Out of these, you can choose the option that suits you the most and then buy that for you. If you are already into this business and know the ins and outs, we would recommend you to go for a basic pre-made store. They are inexpensive and serve your purpose. However, if you are looking for something with a certain profit-building capacity, fully-established stores, although costly, can be the best option. They have been in the market for some time and hence, can become a source of regular income, with estimated profits.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying a Pre-made Dropshipping Store

Like any other investment, there are certain advantages and disadvantages associated with buying a pre-made dropshipping store as well. Let’s have a look:

Advantages of Buying a Pre-made Dropshipping Store

The advantages of buying a pre-made online store are:

Lesser Chores: Your burden is reduced by having to build everything from scratch.

More time for business: If you have your requirements listed, you can easily buy an established store and start your business right away.

Reduced miscalculations: If you are not yet experienced in the market, buying a pre-made store would help you avoid or at least reduce your miscalculations.

Additional learning: When you buy a pre-made store, you also get to learn the intricacies of the store builder. This may prepare you to build your next store yourself.

Disadvantages of Buying a Pre-made Dropshipping store

Even though it is a great source of business, several disadvantages also accompany a pre-made Dropshipping store. They are:

Less control: Especially in the case of an established pre-made store, the buyer has lesser control over its development.

Pre-existing niche: The products on the list have already been decided by the builder. You do not have much liberty to search and choose more products of your choice.

Foregoing suppliers: The store builder chose the product supplier at the time of setting it. This gives you less control over features such as prices, quality, etc.

Build-in brand identity: Owing to the already developed store, it has a brand identity that is recognized by the buyers.

Greater investment: If you try building a dropshipping store yourself it wouldn’t cost you much. However, buying one can be expensive.

So, when you have understood the basics. Let us understand how to determine the value of a pre-made dropshipping store, or what you should know before buying a Dropshipping store.

Things to Know Before Buying a Pre-made Dropshipping Store

If you are a retailer who is thinking of buying a pre-made Dropshipping store, you certainly need to estimate its value before you agree with the price quoted by the seller.

There are a number of factors used by the sellers to determine the cost of a Dropshipping store such as supplier list, logo, web address & domain, social media accounts, etc. However, the authenticity, accuracy, and profundity of these factors have to be analyzed by the buyer.

In this section, we will look at the 5 points that you need to verify before you give a thumbs up to the deal.

Previous Statement:

The most basic but reliable step will provide you with the most crucial information. Look at the monthly profit and loss statement of the store. Although there is no standardized pricing model, the usual price for buying a store varies from 10 to 30 times the monthly profit of the store. Therefore, as a buyer, you will have to ask for the documentation of the store.

Examine the documents for expenses, revenue, and profit earned by the store. Also, look for the rate of returns and refunds. This will give you an idea of the quality being served by the associated manufacturers.

Analyze User Traffic Information:

Ask the seller to provide you with access to Google Analytics on the website. Here, you must keep in mind that using certain bots and third-party buyers some sellers can inflate user traffic. However, the Audience review function of Google Analytics helps you to recognize such activities. Some of the features that you can look for to identify fake traffic are:

Extremely high or very low bounce rate: This can serve as a very strong indicator. Look for bounce rates above 90% or below 10% to identify fake traffic.

Small average duration of sessions: If the average duration of sessions is too low i.e. around 30-50 seconds, it may be fake traffic. For an authentic online store, this duration should be longer as the shoppers browse frequently.

Low pages per session: On average, an authentic buyer sees at least 2 pages per session. Anything less than this can be a sign of fraud.

Find the Source of Traffic:

Use Google analytics and visit the Acquisition Overview to find out the source of traffic turning to this website. This section divides the source of traffic into various categories such as organic search, referral search, affiliate traffic, paid search, etc.

For an authentic Dropshipping store, the maximum traffic should be derived from organic searches and minimum from paid sources. This also means that the store is appearing higher in Google searches. Also, there are a number of tools available to evaluate the SEO of the store.

Check their Social media Handles:

Social media largely dominates our daily lives. For any online business to succeed it must connect with its customers using this powerful tool. Therefore, the number of followers or engagements a brand gets on social media also defines its potential.

Look for Email Subscribers:

Email marketing has been recognized as one of the most potent sources to boost conversion rates. An authentic email subscriber list is proof of a profitable store. This is because a long email subscriber list means more leads and ultimately, more opportunities for conversions. You can also ask the seller if they are using any email marketing tools.

How was Dropshipping Started and What is its Future?

Dropshipping is one of the most important models in the E-commerce business. Find out how it started and what will be its future.

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Conclusion

We wish you all the best for your Dropshipping store and insist that you make a 5 point checklist before you finalize your deal.

FAQs

How much does it cost to buy an established dropshipping store?

A dropshipping store can cost you around 500 to 1000 or more than that, the cost of the store depends on the features and seller.

Which store is best for dropshipping?

SaleHoo, Wholesale2b, Modalyst, Doba, and Inventory Source are some of the best stores for dropshipping.

Is it worth it to buy a dropshipping business?

You can earn a sizable amount of income from your dropshipping store but only if you're dedicated to investing your time and money.