As you start and scale your dropshipping store, you will encounter challenges. Many of these challenges are common in the industry, and I’ve experienced most of them. I almost wanted to give up back then, but I didn’t. Instead, I looked for ways to overcome these challenges and want to help you overcome them as well.
In this article, I’ll be sharing the best ways you can overcome five of the most common dropshipping challenges. Learn some of my personal experiences, and what I learned, and get tips on avoiding them altogether. Let’s get started!
How to Overcome 5 Common Challenges in Drop Shipping
1. Prevent PayPal Account Holds
PayPal is a popular and widely used online payment system. Adding it as a checkout option for my first online store actually helped increase our conversion rate. However, because my PayPal account back then was new, my balance got held. This is because there’s a lot of money going into the account so quickly. It was flagged, and they kept my money for six months.
This can be a scary issue if you’re a new business owner. It actually created some problems for me because I was in the process of aggressively scaling my business, and I was relying on that profit. After six months and getting my money, here’s what I did to avoid the same issue:
You can decide on a schedule of when you’ll offer PayPal in your store. Let’s say you add it for a week, then remove it, and then put it back after a month. This way, you can limit the amount and frequency of the money entering into your account. At the same time, withdraw from your balance as often as you want—don’t keep huge balances in your account. So, in case anything happens, you will have access to your money and can use it.
2. Don’t Dropship from China
Dropshipping from China means international shipping. This can lead to shipping delays and unhappy customers—you don’t want this to happen. In my experience, when I was importing my products from China back then, my products would sometimes get stuck in the ocean. Customers got angry, and there was a lot of stress.
Remember, these products will be transported across oceans. The weather is relatively unpredictable; waves can suddenly become erratic. All of these will result in slower transport to ensure safety, but it will also result in shipping delays for your customers. It can last for days or even weeks, and you can’t do anything about it. So, to avoid these problems, I highly recommend that you do not dropship from China.
3. Don’t Take Things Personally
Domestic shipping (USA to USA) can also result in shipping delays. I experienced this when I first got into dropshipping. Again, shipping and delivery are out of our control. But back then, I had an angry customer call me, screaming and complaining about their order not being delivered yet. It was both embarrassing and disheartening to experience.
If you’ve experienced or are experiencing this, don’t take anything personally, especially if it's out of your control. It doesn’t mean that you’re done and is the worst.
When you have an online business, you’re selling to everybody—some may be nice, but others may get angry easily. This happens in business, but don’t give up and get too down on yourself. Don’t get upset; be kind and understanding, and treat it as a lesson for improvement.
4. Avoid “Bronze” Suppliers
Bad suppliers are difficult to deal with and work with. In Drop Ship Lifestyle, we refer to them as bronze suppliers based on our supplier ranking. These suppliers are often those who don’t care about their businesses, those who don’t know how to run them right. They will mess up your orders and how you run your business.
In my experience, I noticed back then that some customers were complaining that they hadn’t received their orders yet. When I contacted the suppliers to ask, they either did not respond or simply said that they’d ship it in a few days or so. I classify these as bronze suppliers.
If you’re experiencing this now, don’t let it go on for long. Remove them from your business ASAP. At the same time, make sure that you’re only working with quality suppliers. You can follow our blueprint for this.
5. Outsource and Delegate
Lastly, customer service is one of the most common challenges dropshippers will face when running a business. I used to do customer service on my own and refused to hire anybody—one of the worst decisions I made back then.
Outsourcing is good for your business and for you as a business owner. When I finally hired someone for my customer service, everything changed. Customers are happier, and we’re getting more orders and more sales. So, learn to delegate and trust so tasks like customer service can be handled better.
Conclusion
The best way to overcome dropshipping challenges is to avoid them completely. Whether it’s about your PayPal, shipping delays, customer service, or suppliers, there are always ways you can prevent the worst. To summarize, here are the best ways you can avoid common challenges:
If you learned anything valuable from this article, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
