Getting Started with Drop Shipping?

[adjectival]

I'm strongly considering making myself an LLC and starting up a drop ship business with a website, adsense ads, etc. If it's profitable I'd love to rent a little space and buy wholesale, but drop shopping seems like a good acid test to see if I can pull off an ecommerce business. It'd be my first real business, but I have taken a lot of business classes and have some small business friends (running a flight school, a print shop, etc.) to rap me on the knuckles if I do something too stupid.

But my questions is this: how much money did most of y'all need to start your drop ship businesses? At this point in my life I'd feel okay with investing 3-5k as a learning experience, but much more than that and I might have to reconsider.

Also, if this isn't too much information to ask, what were your profits like about 10-12 months in? I think I'd have about that much time, maybe a few months longer, to decide if it's something that I should really continue working on.

Thanks in advance for any info. I'm new here, but I'm sure I'll be sticking around.

[Online Super Sale]

You could probably get yourself started for $3,000. I would recommend a shopping cart that lets you easily customize a template. Of course, getting a professionally done design will cost more and probably look better, but you'd be amazed with what you can do with a template. Always budget a little extra because there are almost always surprise costs. I wont say my profits but you should expect to cover your initial investment within the first few months, obviously depending on your profit margin. Of course that's if you're successful and its not something where you're losing money, been through that countless times!

Drop shipping can be really good, but it can also be your worst nightmare! Imagine your sales start to climb to a number where the warehouse doesn't have enough stock to keep up with you! I know it would be great to have to turn away customers, but it doesn't work that way, bye bye reputation.

[adjectival]

Imagine your sales start to climb to a number where the warehouse doesn't have enough stock to keep up with you! I know it would be great to have to turn away customers, but it doesn't work that way, bye bye reputation.

Ha, I think that's when I'd have to go from drop shipping to buying wholesale ASAP. My living room might get filled with stock for a while, though.

Do you have any advice for not finding myself in a situation where I'm losing money? I know not to set my focus too broad and to find something besides clothes and electronics, but anything else?

Oh, and thanks for replying!

[Online Super Sale]

Ha, I think that's when I'd have to go from drop shipping to buying wholesale ASAP. My living room might get filled with stock for a while, though.

Now imagine mixing that with marriage.

You may have heard this advice before, "Don't invest what you can't afford to loose."

Hope that helps, anyone else have anything to add to that?

[StevenRictor]

You can get started with about 500 dollars in all honesty. Just re-invest your earnings. Do not pocket anything at the start.

[adjectival]

Thanks, Steven. Five hundred seems like an amazing low-priced way to start up. I think I'm going to invest a little more, though, getting a Worldwide Brands membership, a copy of CRE Loaded to use for my store, etc. It's all making me a bit nervous, but in the excited and happy sort of way.

OSS, I'm lucky enough to not have to worry about an angry wife. My SO is more likely to be mad about being po' than being cluttered.


Another question, how much bandwidth should I expect to use? I am not sure, really. The largest site I ever had (a blog) only received about 200 visitors a day, tops. Does anyone else here use DreamHost? They're who I use now and probably the company I would choose for my business too.