You’ve probably seen many ads offering prebuilt Shopify stores. Although they seem enticing, especially if you want to start dropshipping quickly, you must weigh the pros and cons. I don’t personally recommend them for many reasons.
But to help you make a more informed decision, I’ll share what you’ll be paying for and what these stores include. At the same time, I’ll compare how using prebuilt stores aligns with the usual process of building a real dropshipping business. Decide whether it’s a worthwhile investment for you!
What Comes With a Prebuilt Store?
Prebuilt stores are ready-to-use stores built on the Shopify platform. Most of the time, you just need a little configuration, and it’s good to launch. Here’s what typically comes with a prebuilt Shopify store:
Low-Cost Working Store
Prebuilt stores are often offered at low prices, usually $10 to $40. Some are even offered for free if the provider earns an affiliate commission from the platform on which it’s built. This makes these stores appealing to people who want to get into dropshipping.
Existing Products
These ready-made stores come with existing product selections. Which products you get ultimately depends on what the provider chooses. You, as a buyer of the store, have no say in it.
Prebuilt Branding Theme
Since they’re made already, these stores use prebuilt templates with existing design elements, like color schemes. Take note that these design elements are either preselected or dependent on your business branding. This means that the theme the prebuilt store has is the same theme you’ll be using for your business—from color to logo, etc.
Prebuilt Shopify Stores vs DIY Dropshipping Stores
To build a real business designed for long-term success, there’s a proven process we follow. Here’s a breakdown of how using prebuilt stores aligns or doesn’t align with it:
Niche Selection
A profitable store depends on your niche. This makes niche selection essential before starting any business and building your store. You can brainstorm product ideas and choose the best ones—we follow specific criteria for this in Drop Ship Lifestyle.
But with prebuilt stores, this isn’t possible. You’re stuck with what comes with the store. You may have the option to change them, but that just puts everything to waste.
Market Research
Market research determines whether your products will sell consistently. Remember, you want an evergreen niche for long-term profitability. You can’t simply go along with what others say or give you.
Again, with prebuilt stores, you can’t conduct proper research because the products are already chosen for you. Although you can still check after acquiring the store, it destroys the idea of a prebuilt one. After all, it’s supposed to be ready to launch.
However, if you’re lucky enough to find a good prebuilt store after doing niche selection and research, good for you. Just remember that this isn’t always the case, especially since many people expect prebuilt stores to be the whole package.
Supplier Relationships
Supplier approval is something you should do yourself as a dropshipper. It helps build stronger relationships with suppliers. With a prebuilt store, you already have the products, so supplier approval is no longer necessary.
Store Development
Building your own store allows you to customize how your store will look. This means you have control over branding, themes, etc. Plus, it’s always better to do everything yourself so you know how they work. Again, this isn’t entirely possible with prebuilt stores.
Conversion Optimization
Most people expect prebuilt stores to just work right from the start—they won’t. But with DIY stores, you can optimize each page to improve conversions. For example, you can modify the product photos, especially since you have a personal relationship with the supplier.
Getting Traffic
Prebuilt stores often leave you struggling to make sales. Aside from conversions, you’re left to get traffic on your own. With products you’re not even confident selling or have many competitors in, it can be challenging to find a way to get online shoppers to go to your store.
But if you did everything from scratch, you can do proper research on what to sell. This makes it easier to pick one with a target audience that you can easily sell to.
Conclusion: Not Worth It
After weighing the pros and cons, I believe investing in a prebuilt Shopify store is not worth it. Here’s a recap of why:
Although it will take more time and effort to build your store yourself, we have a process you can follow. Join my webinar for a more detailed discussion on how.
If you have any additional questions, just let me know in the comments below!
