If you’re looking to get into ecommerce or start a profitable side business, you’re probably considering dropshipping. With a lower cost of entry and reduced risk if your store goes down, it’s a great alternative to “traditional” ecommerce for new entrepreneurs.
As with any entrepreneurship, you can start by finding the right ecommerce platform. The one I think is best for dropshipping is Shopify. It offers integrations, great customization options, and even Turkish guides and ticket support to help you build your brand for dropshipping.
Best of all, Shopify is very easy to use, even if you have never used a website builder before. It is available in Turkish, so you don’t have to deal with translation. If you want to start a dropshipping business but don’t know where to start, you can start with Shopify. Without further ado, I will explain how to set up a dropshipping store with Shopify.
Why Shopify is a Great Option for Dropshipping
You will also have everything you need to set your brand apart from the rest. There are over 100 free and paid templates to get your brand started. You can also find thousands of third-party templates online. You can add custom codes to all of these templates to make them stand out from the crowd. Considering that other stores will be offering similar products, it is very important to establish a different and profitable business.
Shopify has guides to help you start your dropshipping business. You’ll find plenty of free guides and courses that will teach you everything from deciding on your business to marketing your products. If that’s not enough, Shopify’s 24/7 customer support will point you in the right direction.
With all of this being said, I’m not saying Shopify is the ideal choice for everyone. If you sell alcohol, e-cigarettes, or car parts, you won’t be able to use Shopify’s ecommerce tools. However, as I’ll explain in a moment, product regulations on Shopify aren’t as strict as they are on other platforms.
What Products Can I Sell on Shopify?
Almost every ecommerce platform regulates the products you will be selling. These platforms do not like to deal with scammers and companies selling illegal goods. This means that it does not matter which platform you use for dropshipping. Shopify is no exception.
A Note on Terminology
If a product is prohibited, you cannot sell it. Restricted products will have additional terms and conditions. These may include using a specific payment gateway, having to maintain a license, or only selling the product to certain countries.
The following products are completely prohibited from being sold on Shopify:
- Weapons and weapon parts
- Illegal products and contents
- Products and content that violate copyright or trademark law
Although the list of prohibited items is short, the items whose sale is restricted are slightly more numerous.
The products that are restricted from being sold on Shopify are:
- Age-restricted products such as alcohol and tobacco products
- Drugs and drug paraphernalia
- Financial services including cryptocurrencies
- Medical devices and equipment
- Fire explosives, including fireworks
If you sell a product on the restricted goods list, you won’t be able to use the Shop app or some features of Shopify, like the Shopify Payments gateway. You’ll also need to prove that you have a license for products in the medical devices and supplies category in order to sell those products.
However, don’t let these restrictions on Shopify scare you away from using the service. In fact, Shopify’s product regulations are much more relaxed than other platforms. For example, WooCommerce completely bans the sale of alcohol and tobacco products.
Product Regulations and Payment Gateway
Shopify Payments is not a payment gateway that restricts the products you can sell. Most payment gateways will only allow you to use it for “low risk” products. Similarly, most payment functions will only work with businesses operating in low risk industries. While there are no clear rules about what products are allowed on payment gateways, a good rule of thumb is that if there is an age restriction, then it is likely that the product will be stuck with the payment gateway.
Before you dropship these types of products, make sure your payment gateway (and payment processor) allows high-risk businesses under their terms of service. Otherwise, you risk not being able to open a merchant account or having your account closed without warning. For more information on high-risk merchant accounts, check out our expert PaymentCloud review . PaymentCloud is one of the best payment gateways for high-risk businesses.
How to Start Dropshipping with Shopify: A Detailed Guide
1. Research Your Products, Product Market and Customers Thoroughly
First, research whether your product will make you money. It is very easy to check if there is demand for the products you want to sell. In this regard, Shopify regularly publishes lists of products with high demand. You can also use Google Trends to see where, when and to what extent users are searching for similar products.
However, finding a product with high demand is not enough for a good business. I also think you need to find a business area with fewer competitors. There is a very fine line between a product that you think will bring profit and a product that has a narrow market that will not bring enough profit. If you scroll down the results page on Google Trends, you can see topics that will help you determine the details about your product.
Discovering these points is also very important in determining the target audience. Considering all these issues, you want to work with a target audience that will not have any restrictions on your sales. During your research, you need to determine who will buy your products, whether they like the product or not, and how they will benefit from your product. Over time, you will begin to determine the personalities of your buyers and determine whether you need to adjust your route in terms of your product making you profit.
Important Tip: Market Research and Branding:
When doing market research, keep track of all the details that may affect your brand. Competitor research is vital at this point. You will have an idea of how other businesses have built their brands. When you start working on improving the appearance and quality of your online store, keep this detail in mind when doing research to save time.
2. Create Your Shopify Store
When you create your Shopify store, you’ll need to answer a few questions about your business. The more specific you are about these questions, the more personalized your quick start checklist will be in your dashboard. You can go through each step individually or pick and choose specific sections of your store that you want to work on.
Honestly, I recommend that you create your store before deciding on the products you will sell. To do this, click on the Customize Theme section in the checklist . Then you will be directed to the Themes page. There are over 100 themes in this section, but only 11 are free. There are many customization options so you can make each of these themes your own.
Keep in mind that the layout of your products page is based on the theme you choose . You can also edit the layout of your home page in the same way. If you don’t like Shopify’s themes, you can choose from one of the many third-party templates.
Important Tip: Business Names and Custom Domain Names
When you create your Shopify account, you’re presented with a free subdomain (.myshopify.com) that matches your business name. You don’t want your own site on that subdomain, though. A custom domain name makes it easier for customers to find your store and makes it more secure.
Of course, you’ll want to use a domain name that matches your business name exactly. I recommend choosing your domain name early in your customization process so you don’t end up using a domain name that doesn’t match your business.
3. Connect a Dropshipping App
If you’re happy with the look of your store, you can now start adding dropshipping products to your page. Shopify makes this easy with the help of dropshipping apps. You can either go directly to the store to search the app store or click on the Products section. Then, you can go directly to the dropshipping app store and choose the option to find your products to sell.There are over 400 dropshipping apps out there, so you should take some time to find one or more that works for you.
While some dropshipping apps have free plans, you’ll usually have to pay a monthly fee to get the most out of them. This is because free plans often put limits on the number of products you can ship, how many orders you can place, or how many stores you can have. Spocket, for example, lets you dropship from AliExpress for free, but you’re not allowed to choose a product that’s specific to Spocket.
When you find a dropshipping app you like, click on the Add an app section.
The next page shows the data the app collects and the editing permissions needed. I recommend taking some time to review this. Then, you need to know where customer data is used to write your privacy policy. If you are OK at this point, click Install app .
Let’s start buying products! The exact method you use to source products depends on the app you use. When you search for product suppliers, you add the ones you choose to the import list. Once you find a list of products you’re happy with, you add them to your Shopify product sales page.
At this point you can edit your product page to change prices, add more details, etc. Unfortunately, this is where I ran into a major problem during my testing: AliExpress’s verification service wasn’t working, so I couldn’t import any products. All I could do was put together a basic product page that only showed the settings I could change.
4. Review Your Business’s Eligibility
Before publishing your page, make sure that your business is not in violation of the law. There are many details you need to check for this. However, I cannot cover all of them in this review. I will only go over the most important points.
Do you have to pay VAT in Turkey? If your online store is located in Turkey, Shopify will add VAT to your invoice; however, if you provide a 10-digit tax code, Shopify may exempt your invoices from VAT.
Although dropshipping is less expensive than regular e-commerce, it is important to register your business as a limited company . Yes, this process does incur additional costs, but it keeps your business legally separate from your personal assets. Many limited company services provide additional support for legal compliance for those new to the world of e-commerce.
Make sure your website has a privacy policy posted for your customers. This is very important for dropshipping businesses because you will not be the only one using your customers’ data. This data is sent to your supplier through the dropshipping apps you use. Various data protection laws have privacy policies. It also creates trust in your company.
Finally, you must comply with various security and privacy laws. At a minimum, you must be compliant with PCI-DSS (for financial data) and COPPA (for privacy of children under 13). Depending on where your customers live, you may also need to comply with the GDPR or the California Privacy Act.
5. Market Your Products
The final step is to market your products. You already have a head start thanks to the research you’ve done before. Now that you know who your customers are, you can use that data to find areas they’re likely to frequent.
Marketing is much more than just advertising on forums and social media. Email marketing, content marketing, and search engine strategy work hand in hand with paid marketing to drive more customers to your website. You need to invest in every method to create a marketing strategy that builds your brand.
Marketing can be overwhelming, especially if you’re new. But Shopify has its users covered. It offers a free marketing guide and course, and also has a built-in email marketing tool. Shopify emailYou can send 10,000 free emails per month . Each subsequent email is charged as you use it. This way, your overhead costs are kept low.
For everything else, Shopify offers thousands of paid and free marketing apps. Apart from the usual marketing apps like search engine tools and other integrations, you can also find tools that help you understand how customers navigate your site. These apps are great for helping you optimize your site by making it easier for customers to find the products they are looking for. They help you sell more related products.
Marketing is essential for any business, but it’s even more valuable for dropshipping stores. But considering that other stores will be selling the same products as you, you need to build a great brand to stand out. Brands are built on well-designed websites, as well as your own marketing efforts.
Is Shopify a Good Option for Dropshipping?
Shopify is one of the best ecommerce platforms for dropshipping. It ’s user-friendly for novice users and you get tons of customization options to build your brand. Plus, with over 400 dropshipping apps, you can find a supplier, source products, and import them into your store in minutes. You’ll also get support in marketing your brand and products with the built-in email marketing tool and thousands of marketing apps.
Sure, it’s not the cheapest dropshipping ecommerce platform out there, but you get what you pay for. In my experience, no other platform supports and encourages dropshipping as much as Shopify. So while you’ll pay a higher monthly fee to use Shopify (and your optional apps), you’ll get a much smoother experience with fewer restrictions.
FAQ
Is dropshipping on Shopify a profitable business?
Yes! If you think you are ready to explore profitable business lines and market your products, you can make money from dropshipping on Shopify. This eCommerce platform provides you with all the tools you need to build your business . It is up to you to use them effectively.
Can I start dropshipping on Shopify for free?
Unfortunately, no. Shopify’s trial version is only available for 3 days. You also need to be on the paid version to publish your site. However, you can get started with Shopify’s dropshipping apps for free. Many dropshipping apps offer free and limited plans. These apps are a great way to see a variety of suppliers and reduce overhead while setting up your business.
Do I need to set up a limited company to dropship on Shopify?
No, but it is in your best interest to register your business as a limited company . Although it does have some additional costs, it is worth the extra benefits it offers. Having a limited company creates a legal separation between you and your business, so if anything goes wrong your assets are safe.
Is Shopify good for novice users?
Yes! Shopify is one of the best platforms I recommend for eCommerce beginners. They offer tons of support to help with setup and branding , and hundreds of free guides and courses covering everything from the basics to advanced marketing techniques. If you’ve never built your own site or tried dropshipping before, then Shopify is the platform for you!
