Benefits Disadvantages Is dropshipping for you?

1. What Is Dropshipping?
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The dropshipping process
I briefly went over what dropshipping is, but you might not know exactly how it 
works. So here’s a step-by-step overview of the entire dropshipping process. I’ll go 
over what it looks like behind the scenes, and I’ll also look at what the customer 
experiences (and why it matters).

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1. What Is Dropshipping?
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Understanding the supply chain
In this guide, you’ll see the term ‘supply chain’ a lot. It sounds like fancy industry 
lingo, but it simply refers to how a product moves from supplier to customer. We’ll 
use this to discuss the dropshipping process.
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You, the retailer, are just one piece of the puzzle. A successful dropshipping 
operation relies on multiple parties all working together in sync. The supply chain is 
exactly that: the coordination of the manufacturer, supplier, and retailer.

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1. What Is Dropshipping?
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The supply chain can be broken down into 3 basic steps:
1. The manufacturer creates the products and sells them in bulk to suppliers 
and wholesalers.
Let’s say Manufacturer A makes water bottles. After the bottles roll off the 
production line, they’re sold in bulk to suppliers and wholesalers, who turn 
around and resell the bottles to retailers.
2. Suppliers and wholesalers sell the products to retailers.
A retailer like yourself searches out a supplier for a specific type of product. The 
retailer and supplier then enter into an agreement to work together.
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1. What Is Dropshipping?
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A small note here: while you can buy directly from product 
manufacturers, it’s often much easier to purchase from suppliers instead. 
Most manufacturers have minimum purchase requirements that can be 
rather high, and you’d also have to store, stock, and ship the products.
So it might seem simpler to buy straight from the manufacturer, but you’ll benefit 
most from buying from suppliers (and dealing with the slight markup).
Suppliers are also convenient because many of them specialize in a certain 
niche, so you can easily find the kind of products you need. This also means you 
can get started selling super quickly.