Understanding how Dropshipping Works
Dropshipping is one of the most cost-effective ways of starting a new business. It allows
entrepreneurs to sell their products online without having to deal with any physical inventory.
With plenty of benefits such as low-risk and flexibility for businesses, dropshipping might
seem the best option. According to a report, 34% of Amazon sales in 2011 were fulfilled using
a dropshipper, and that number has only grown since then.
Dropshipping is а рrосеѕѕ in whісh a rеtаіlеr trаnsmits the оrdеrѕ and shipment details from
a customer tо еіthеr thе whоlеѕаlеr оr а drор ѕhірріng соmраnу, whо thеn ѕhірѕ thе gооds
dіrесtlу tо thе сuѕtоmеr. As a result, the seller does not have to handle the product directly.
One of the best things about dropshipping is that the rеtаіlеrѕ dо nоt have to kеер any
inventory іn ѕtосk. Furthermore, thе dіffеrеnсе bеtwееn thе rеtаіl рrісе аnd the whоlеѕаlе
рrісе іѕ а рrоfіt fоr rеtаіlеrѕ. Hоwеvеr, іn ѕоmе саѕеѕ, the rеtаіlеrѕ еаrn аn аgrееd реrсеntаgе
оf
ѕаlеѕ
іn
соmmіѕѕіоn,
раіd
bу
thе
whоlеѕаlеr.
While selling online, sоmе rеtаіlеrѕ рrоvіdе оnlу а саtаlоg оr а wеbѕіtе consisting of the
products for thеіr сuѕtоmеrѕ tо іnѕресt what thеу саn рurсhаѕе. Hоwеvеr, іn ѕоmе саѕеѕ
rеtаіlеrѕ mау dіѕрlау the іtеmѕ on the ѕtоrе tо gіvе сuѕtоmеrs, соnfіdеnсе аbоut thе рrоduсt
thеу intend tо purchase.
To keep thе whоlеѕаlе ѕоurсе a ѕесrеt in dropshipping, ѕоmе rеtаіlеrѕ often term their
shipping method as “рrіvаtе lаbеl ѕhірріng” оr “blіnd ѕhірріng.”
What are the different types of Dropshipping?
Business Extensions:
If you take the example of Sarojini Market, which is in Delhi, it was so famous that a few
people executed this idea and made a living out of it. So what is a Business Extension? When
you are thinking of expanding your business online, you can choose any one person or
organization who can dropship for you. Every time they get an order on the site, they ask the
retail store to deliver the product to the customer. It is an excellent option for people who
want to have their presence online. This is a great business model option that is based out of
smaller cities but can be too hard to do it in rural areas.
Print on Demand:
It is a successful kind of dropshipping in India where a firm sells the printable articles which
have their names or images on it. They can have a wide range of products such as mugs, tshirts, curtains, pens amongst a variety of daily use products. You can also offer customized
stuff which can be used as gifting options. You see these kinds of stores by musicians or bands
who want to sell their merchandise. This kind will require you to have an idea about what to
print on the products. It can be witty one-liners or anything, but it requires a specific group of
people involved in it. If the particular brand you are trying to sell has gained popularity only
then, this model will be successful. This model works on demand.
Creation of the Product:
This type is a challenging one, and it can be possible in India only if you have a good
understanding between you and your supplier. This is the dropshippers manufacturing some
products on their own and combining them with the products that are bought from other
suppliers. This type is a creative way of implementing the dropshipping model. They can make
DIY kits.
Product Reselling:
This is the most common type. It is where the dropshipping happens in the purest form. They
make contacts with suppliers; they bring out the unique content in the products and sell them
to the customers. It is excellent for someone who wants to do reselling of popular products.
Product reselling is suitable for people who are good at marketing. They can attract customers
and also be successful in selling the stuff.
Now lеt’ѕ talk about sоmе bеnеfіtѕ and Rіѕkѕ invоlvеd in Dropshipping:
Dropshipping in India – Pros and Cons
Bеnеfіtѕ
Dropshipping in India has several benefits. Aѕ thеrе wоuld bе оnlу a single wаrеhоuѕе to рісk,
расk аnd ѕhір thе рrоduсt, іt еlіmіnаtеѕ duрlісаtіоn оf еffоrtѕ. Thіѕ аррrоасh саn mіnіmіzе thе
tоtаl ѕhірріng аnd іnvеntоrу mаnаgеmеnt соѕt, whісh ѕubѕеquеntlу rеduсеѕ thе рrісе for thе
сuѕtоmеr. Let’s have a deeper look into the benefits of dropshipping in India
Low Setup Cost
Dropshipping eliminates the need to maintain inventory and warehouse operations. You can
save on a huge margin of the initial investment. You can utilize these funds to run your
website efficiently and attract more customers to your store.
No Overhead Cost
Since there is no need for any additional infrastructure, you save up on several overhead costs
like electricity, water, rent, etc. You only have to pay for your digital infrastructure which
includes the website and domain etc.
Abundance of Wholesalers
India has abundant wholesalers who export products to different countries. You can reach
out to them and arrange for deliveries. Furthermore, you can provide them with custom
packaging to promote your brand too. It will be a win-win situation for you and the
wholesaler.
Greater Accessibility
Dropshipping is easier to run as you do not need to be fixed to a warehouse or supplier. You
can opt for dealing with multiple suppliers and provide them the orders. You can be situated
in Delhi while your supplier can be in Bangalore and you can still run the business smoothly.
What more? It hеlрѕ еlіmіnаtе thе uрfrоnt іnvеntоrу аnd helps establish роѕіtіvе саѕh flоw
сусlе. Wondering how? Well, a роѕіtіvе саѕh flоw сусlе occurs when the ѕеllеr іѕ раіd by the
customer via сrеdіt саrd оr сrеdіt tеrmѕ, and thеrе іѕ а tіmе frаmе іn whісh thе ѕеllеr hаѕ thе
сuѕtоmеr’ѕ mоnеу but hаѕ nоt уеt раіd thе drор ѕhірріng соmраnу tо dеlіvеr thе gооdѕ.
Rіѕkѕ
Along with the benefits ѕоmе rіѕkѕ аrе іnvоlvеd іn drор ѕhірріng tоо. Fоr іnѕtаnсе,
Dropshipping in India hаѕ рrоmіnеntlу featured as scams іn hоmе bаѕеd buѕіnеѕѕ. This
shipping method is usually рrоmоtеd аѕ а luсrаtіvе wоrk frоm hоmе орроrtunіtу, еаѕу
mоnеу-mаkіng орроrtunіtу оr mаkіng mоnеу оnlіnе орроrtunіtу tо ѕеll а dіrесtоrу оf
buѕіnеѕѕеѕ frоm whісh thеу саn оrdеr drор ѕhірріng рrоduсtѕ tо bе dеlіvеrеd tо thе
сuѕtоmеrѕ. In mоѕt саѕеѕ, thеѕе buѕіnеѕѕеѕ аrе nоt whоlеѕаlеrѕ but mіddlеmеn bеtwееn
rеtаіlеrѕ аnd whоlеѕаlеrѕ, wіth nо рrоduсt оf thеіr оwn tо ѕеll. Thеѕе mіddlе mеn оftеn сhаrgе
hіghеr рrісеѕ thаt lеаvе lоw рrоfіt fоr rеtаіlеrѕ
Bасk-оrdеrіng іѕ аnоthеr bіg rіѕk іnvоlvеd іn drор ѕhірріng buѕіnеѕѕ. It mау tаkе рlасе whеn
а рrоduсt іѕ ѕоld оut аnd ѕеllеr рlасеѕ а ѕhірmеnt dеmаnd wіth а whоlеѕаlеr. Bасk оrdеrіng
mау соmе wіth а lоng wаіt tо dеlіvеr а рrоduсt аѕ whоlеѕаlеrѕ wаіt fоr nеw рrоduсtѕ tо bе
mаnufасturеd оr tо gеt іt іntо а ѕtосk, whісh mау lеаvе unѕаtіѕfіеd сuѕtоmеrѕ fоr rеtаіlеrѕ. It
іѕ thе buѕіnеѕѕ оwnеrѕ јоb tо bе аwаrе оf thе quаntіtіеѕ thаt thе whоlеѕаlеrѕ hаѕ аvаіlаblе
but rерutеd whоlеѕаlеr аlwауѕ.
Lack of Exposure: This is one of the most notable drawbacks of Indian dropshipping. Most of
the companies aren’t fully exposed to the dropshipping concept. That is to say, they lack the
knowledge and skill required to do dropshipping on an international scale. This makes their
activities limited in terms of scope. You may be affected by this limited operational and
transactional scope since your business may not reach as many people or locations as it ought
to.
Poor Integration: Some of the websites aren’t integrated with top ecommerce websites all
around the world. This can prevent you from exploring some of the benefits that such
websites would have been able to offer to your business. Bluember is a typical example of
companies with this problem at the moment.
Lack of Support: Although most of the dropshipping companies in India do promise to give
resellers the best of support, only a few of them have been able to live up to their claims over
the years. Hothaat has been discovered to be very poor in terms of support and customer
service that it gives to dropshippers. Your business may suffer for this reason. Another
problem is that most of the websites haven’t been able to make it possible for their products
to be easily accessed by resellers. In a nutshell, their sites can’t be easily navigated.
Planning to Opt for Dropshipping? Keep These Points In Mind
Find a supplier
Finding a reliable and cost-effective dropshipping in India company that ships the right
products and services at the desired location is a challenging task. There may be scope for the
customer to get the wrong product or late delivery of the product. The product may not be
of good quality, as displayed in the eCommerce store. Whatever the reason may be, this may
also lead to loss of sales.
Read the policies
It is also essential that you read and understand the company’s policies. The policies would
lay down the Terms and Conditions in the case of lost or damaged goods, and who will be
responsible, or how the problem will be handled, or will the buyer get a refund, and so forth.
Do not rely on a single supplier: Make sure that you have a network of suppliers who are
ready to deliver the product. Relying on a single supplier can put your business in a bad
position in times of adversity such as when the demand increases.
The Indian Dropshipping Market
Dropshipping in a country such as India seems to be gaining more popularity with each day
that passes by. People are delving into it due to its undisputed profit potentials. There are lots
of companies being formed in recent times with the aim of meeting the needs of resellers
such as you. One of the benefits of this is that as a dropshipper, you will have access to lots
of companies which offer not just the best deals on product quality but also prices that are
affordable.
These companies fall into two categories. The first category of companies are those which
connect manufacturers and resellers such as you while the other ones are companies that
deal in various products. Some of these companies may decide to focus on a particular niche
such as phones, laptops, leggings, jewelry, laptop accessories and others.
However, it is very important that you understand much about dropshippers in a country such
as India. This will increase your chances of being successful as a reseller. There is no need to
rack your brains about where to get such information. This is because this article will be
helping you out with every necessary detail needed about the List of Dropshippers in India.
There is no doubt that these details about such companies will help to ensure that you are on
the right track as a reseller.
Growth in Indian industries
The growth experienced in Indian industries is motivating the formation of these companies.
For instance, the fashion industry is experiencing an unimaginable growth rate at the
moment. It may still be developing but has been able to earn about $400 annually. According
to experts, it has the potential of yielding 10% increase every year. This is one industry which
has got a very bright future given the population of the country.
Another typical example of growth in dropshipping is the smartphone industry in India. In the
first quarter of 2018, it has been recorded that over 30 million units of phones have been
shipped out from India. The best part is that experts have predicted that this industry will only
get better as time goes on. This has been evident in the fact that over the past 3 years, it has
experienced 11% annual growth.
Considering the evergreen nature of the phone industry and the constant innovations which
companies are introducing into the market, there is no doubt that it will be worth billions of
dollars in a few years’ time. Some of the top brands you can find as a reseller are Lenovo,
OPPO, VIVO, Xiaomi, and Samsung. Their respective market shares are 8.3%, 7.2%, 8.7%,
13.7% and 20.5%. This shows that it is a market any reseller can profit from today.
List of 10 Wholesale Dropshippers In India
There are lots of wholesale companies in India. However, you have to understand that most
of them may not be able to meet your needs in the best way possible. Below is a
comprehensive List of wholesale dropshippers in India. These are trusted companies which
have proven to deliver on their claims over the years.
1 - Bluember
This is one of the best dropshipping companies in India. It is one of the first to come into
existence in the country. There is something that has made this company very popular over
the years, and this is its ability to provide fully automated dropshipping services. It majorly
exists to connect suppliers with resellers like you. This is to ensure that resellers or
dropshippers have access to different categories of products. Also, as a reseller you will be
able to brand goods that are sold to your customers through this website. If you are searching
for genuine and reliable Indian suppliers, you may want to check out what this website has
got to offer.
One major reason for its credibility is that it has a professional team whose mission is to
ensure that retailers and resellers are empowered through the removal of every obstacle
required to get an inventory set up.
2 - Baapstore
Baapstore is another company which is dedicated to dropshipping. It is also amongst the first
set of dropshipping websites that were founded in India a few years back. If you are searching
for some of the best Wholesale Dropshippers India, this company has proven to tick all the
boxes. It is a platform where you will get access to different types of products that you can
dropship for profits.
This is a company that keeps upgrading its services to ensure that resellers have the best
dropshipping experience. For instance, they have started partnering with top brands such as
Speed Post, Aramax, Ecom Express, FedEx and Delhivery. These partnerships have enabled
them to get items delivered in a timely manner. They also ensure that customers are
protected whenever products fail to meet required standard.
3 - Indiamart
IndiaMART definitely deserves to be mentioned amongst the best dropshippers in India. This
is a company which primarily exists to serve as a platform where suppliers are linked with
retailers. This simply means that you will not have to struggle in order to find suppliers that
will offer you products of your choice. It is a very competitive website in terms of price and
products offered by suppliers.
Some of the product categories you will find suppliers are jewelry, building & construction,
fashion, furniture, electronics, food and others. It is also one of the top Indian pharmacy
dropshippers. Once you sign up with this company, you will immediately be given access to
thousands of suppliers to choose from.
4 - TradeIndia
TradeIndia is a company which was formed in the year 1996. This is a company which
functions as a B2B (business to business) platform. This implies that it helps retailers get
connected to the right suppliers. It doesn’t really matter the product you are searching for as
the platform provided by this company will help you out.
This company has done very well most especially in the aspect of ensuring that dropshippers
have access to trusted suppliers. There are lots of suppliers in its database to meet your
dropshipping needs. The best part is that it is absolutely free to join. Register today and get
connected to some of the best manufacturers and suppliers in India.
5 - JimTrade
JimTrade has been on a mission ever since it got founded. This is to ensure that dropshippers
are exposed to lots of products. If you have always loved Indian products, then you need to
check out what this website has got to offer. This is because it will give you access to
thousands of products from Indian manufacturers. Please note that just like TradeIndia which
has been explained above, this is a B2B portal which connects dropshippers and suppliers
from India.
6 - Tradeford
Tradeford is another trusted company that deserves to be mentioned amongst Wholesale
Dropshippers India. This company gives dropshippers access to different products from Indian
manufacturers. The best part is that these are top products which have gone through various
procedures to ensure that they meet up to required standards. It will give you access to manufacturers
and suppliers of various categories of products including Indian pharmacy dropshippers. Although this
company is still growing as compared to the others that have been mentioned above, there is no doubt
that your needs can still be met.
7 - ExportersIndia
Just as the name implies, ExportersIndia is a business to business (B2B) portal where Indian
suppliers and manufacturers are connected with resellers from all over the world. This
company has earned lots of positive reviews over the years due to the support which it has
been known to provide to resellers. It is absolutely free to join. As a reseller, there are lots of
benefits registering with a company such as this since it is completely dedicated to
dropshipping. This is a business directory that will give you access to brands such as ACE,
NAULAKHA, PARAG, MIRAJ, Pmark and others.
8 - Webdealindia
Webdealindia functions as an Indian online wholeslae marketplace. This means that
manufacturers from India and other countries around the world can display their products.
This website has been known over the years to give dropshippers access to premium
companies all over the world. It is a website that is very easy to navigate as you can browse
by category. It also enables dropshippers know when new products are introduced into the
market by manufacturers.
9 - Hothaat
Hothaat is a dropshipping company which came into existence in the year 2012. Being one of
the modern dropshipping outfits in India, it has been able to ensure that top features are
integrated into its website to enable dropshippers make the most money from their
marketing endeavours. This is a different company as compared to those other ones stated
above. Also, it is always in search for new and innovative products which dropshippers can
sell. A major advantage of working with this company is the support it gives. It ensures that
dropshippers don’t have any problem selling products which are from its platform.
10 - Snazzyway
Snazzyway definitely deserves to be mentioned in this comprehensive List of India
Dropshippers. This is a top company that is specialized in providing dropshippers with access
to lingeries. You will be getting access to top quality bras, panties, bikinis, and lots of others.
This is a website that has managed to perfect its niche over the years by ensuring that only
fashion lingerie of the highest standard is available to dropshippers. These are items you can
sell without any fear of them falling below standard.
Shipping strategies for dropshipping
Even though dropshipping businesses don't ship products themselves, they are usually still
charged shipping fees from their suppliers. Dropshipping businesses can choose from a
variety of strategies to address these shipping fees:

offer free shipping and have the shipping costs come out of their profits

offer free shipping and increase the price of their products

charge a low flat shipping rate and slightly increase the cost of the products

charge the customer a flat shipping rate

pass on the exact cost of shipping to the customer
Businesses can also choose to have different strategies for different products, such as peritem shipping rates.
Free shipping: Offering free shipping to your customers can provide the following benefits:

marketing opportunities

a simpler shipping setup

an increased likelihood that a customer will place an order
If your supplier offers free shipping to you, then it can be a good idea to pass on the free
shipping to your customers. If your supplier doesn't offer free shipping, then you can choose
to either include the cost of shipping in your product pricing or have the shipping cost come
out of your profits.Including shipping in the cost of your products can help you provide an upfront cost to your customers. Many businesses who do this advertise that shipping is included.
Knowing the full price up front helps customers feel confident that there won't be any hidden
fees in your checkout.
Single flat shipping rate: Offering a single flat shipping rate to your customers can
provide the following benefits:

marketing opportunities

help offset your own shipping costs

an increased likelihood that a customer will place an order
Advertising that any order comes with a flat shipping fee shows customers that there are no
hidden fees in your checkout.
You can determine what you should charge for shipping by forecasting the orders that you
will receive in any given week. If you add up all the shipping fees from your supplier and divide
that shipping amount by the number of orders, then you'll see what flat rate you need to
charge on each order to cover your shipping costs.
Example:
Product
Shipping cost per item
Number of orders forecast
Total
shipping
cost
forecast
Plate
$5
4
$20
Bowl
$4
4
$16
Mug
$4
10
$40
18
$66
Totals
The store is expecting to receive 18 orders, with a total shipping cost of $66. The store needs
to charge a flat shipping fee of $3.67 ($66 / 18) on each order to cover all shipping costs.
Tiered flat rates: Offering tiered flat shipping rates to your customers can provide the
following benefits:

help offset your own shipping costs

more accurate shipping rates based on what is ordered

an opportunity to provide discounted shipping on larger orders
You can set each shipping rate to apply to a range of values based on price or weight. For
example, you might create three shipping rates for carts whose price falls between $0-$9.99,
$10-$29.99, and over $30.For example, suppose that you sell unique sticky note papers. Your
supplier charges you $1 to ship one pack and $0.25 for each additional pack in the order. If
you set each pack to weigh the same weight, 1 lb for example, then you can set different
shipping costs based on the weight of the order. For orders of 1 pack, or 1 lb, you could charge
$1. For orders of 2-5 packs, or 2-5 lb, you could charge $2. For orders of 6-10 packs, you could
charge $4. This helps pass on the shipping savings you receive from the supplier to your
customers.
Per-item shipping rates: Offering per-item shipping rates to your customers can provide the
following benefits:

can offset your own shipping costs completely

very accurate shipping rates based on what is ordered

an opportunity to provide discounted shipping on larger orders
If your suppliers charge a flat fee for each product and don't provide a high-volume discount, then
per-item shipping rates help to keep shipping costs accurate and prevent profit loss from larger orders.
You can add each product to a shipping profile that has appropriate shipping rates. At checkout, the
shipping rates of all products in the cart are combined to give a total shipping cost.
For example, suppose that you sell AA and AAA batteries. Each pack of AA batteries costs $3 to ship
and each pack of AAA batteries costs $2 to ship. You can create a shipping profile for each size of
battery and the appropriate shipping rates. If you made a $3 rate for AA batteries in one shipping
profile and a $2 rate for AAA batteries in another, then an order of one pack of each would result in
the customer seeing a $5 shipping rate at checkout.
Per-item shipping can get complicated if your store receives orders that contain products from many
different profiles. For more information, refer to Combined rates at checkout.
Advanced shipping rate example
Depending on how your supplier determines shipping costs, there might be a few more factors
to consider when setting up your shipping rates:

Some suppliers charge different rates to different countries.

An order might contain multiple items for which suppliers charge different shipping rates.

Some suppliers might offer an express shipping option.
Suppose that your supplier provides you with the following shipping fees:
Products
order
Plates
Bowls
Mugs
in
Base
shipping
Base shipping price
Cost
additional item to
to
additional item to the
Canada
States*
United States
Standard: $5
Standard: $2
Standard: $3
Standard: $1
Express: $11
Express: $2
Express: $8
Express: $2
Standard: $4
Standard: $1
Standard: $2
Standard: $1
Express: $9
Express: $2
Express: $6
Express: $2
Standard: $3
Standard: $1
Standard: $1.50
Standard: $1
Express: $8
Express: $2
Express: $5
Express: $2
cost to Canada*
Cost
of
each
the
United
of
each
Products
in
order
Base
shipping
Base shipping price
Cost
additional item to
to
additional item to the
Canada
States*
United States
Standard: $7
Standard: $2
Standard: $6
Standard: $1.50
Express: $13
Express: $3
Express: $11
Express: $2
Standard: $6
Standard: $2
Standard: $5
Standard: $1.50
Express: $11
Express: $2.50
Express: $9
Express: $2
Standard: $6
Standard: $2
Standard: $5
Standard: $1.50
Express: $11
Express: $2.50
Express: $9
Express: $2
Standard: $8
Standard: $2
Standard: $6
Standard: $1.50
Express: $15
Express: $2.50
Express: $13
Express: $2
cost to Canada*
Plates
and
Cost
of
each
the
United
of
each
bowls
Plates
and
mugs
Bowls
and
mugs
Plates,
bowls,
mugs
and
*The base cost includes shipping one of each item in the "Products in order" column.
Based on your market research, you estimate that you'll receive the following orders and have
to pay the following shipping fees:

5 orders of 1 mug to Canada using standard shipping: 5 x $3 = $15

1 order of 1 mug to Canada using express shipping: 1 x $8 = $8

7 orders of 1 mug to the United States using standard shipping: 7 x $1.50 = $10.50

2 orders of 2 bowls to Canada using standard shipping: 2 x $5 = $10

1 order of 2 bowls and 2 mugs to the United States using express shipping: 1 x $13 = $13

4 orders of 4 plates and 4 mugs to Canada using standard shipping: 4 x $18 = $72

4 orders of 2 plates, 2 bowls, and 2 mugs to United States using standard shipping: 4 x $10.50
= $42
The results predict 24 orders that will cost $170.50 in shipping fees. To cover your shipping
costs, you would need to charge $7.11 for shipping on each order.
Offering free shipping: If you want to offer free shipping and advertise that your price
includes shipping, then you could distribute the $170.50 shipping cost across the price of your
products. Based on the estimates, you'll sell 77 products. This would require you to add $2.22
to the price of each your products to cover the cost of your shipping.
However, because you estimate that two orders will want express shipping, you need to decide
whether to offer express shipping for a fee to customers, or keep everything standard shipping.
If you offer express shipping at a cost, then you first need to determine the cost to cover only
your standard shipping, because that determines how much to increase the cost of your
products. There are 72 products in orders with standard shipping, with a combined shipping
cost of $149.50. This means you need to increase your product prices by $2.08 to cover your
shipping costs.
There are two orders with express shipping that cost a total of $21 in shipping fees. These
orders contain a total of 5 products. Because the product prices have already been increased by
$2.08 to offset standard shipping, $10.40 of the $21 total express shipping fees is already
accounted for. This leaves $10.60 to be collected from the two express orders, meaning you
could charge $5.30 for express shipping to cover your predicted costs.
If you decide not to offer express shipping, then you need to recalculate all the express shipping
orders to use standard shipping instead. Your shipping cost would now total $160.50, meaning
you'd need to add $2.09 to each product to cover those costs.
Offering a single shipping rate: Because your supplier offers standard and express
shipping, it makes sense to offer a single flat rate for each option. Based on the estimates, you
expect to have 2 orders with express shipping, which will cost you a total of $21. You also
expect 22 orders with standard shipping, costing $149.50. To cover your shipping fees, you
should charge a $10.50 flat shipping fee for express orders and a $6.80 flat fee for standard
shipping orders.
These shipping rates will likely need to be adjusted frequently as your business grows to
account for your actual order numbers and shipping costs, instead of those you estimate at the
start.
To be even more accurate, you could create different flat shipping rates based on which country
an order was placed from.
Offering tiered shipping rates: You can also offer tiered flat rates to keep your shipping
costs more accurate in case your predictions are incorrect. Remember that you can offer tiered
flat rates based on weight or price. If you set each product to weigh 1 lb and created flat
shipping rates based on weight, then you can calculate what the average shipping cost is for
each weight.
Costs for orders of 1 lb
Products in the order
Shipping
cost
to
Shipping cost to the United States
Canada
1 plate
$5
$3
1 bowl
$4
$2
1 mug
$3
$1.50
The average cost to ship 1 lb to Canada is $4 and to the United States is $2.17.
Costs for orders of 2 lb
Products in the order
Shipping cost to Canada
Shipping cost to the United States
2 plates
$7
$4
2 bowls
$5
$3
2 mugs
$4
$2.50
1 plate and 1 bowl
$7
$6
1 plate and 1 mug
$6
$5
1 bowl and 1 mug
$6
$5
The average cost to ship 2 lb to Canada is $5.84 and to the United States is $4.25.
If you continued the calculations for 3 lb, 4 lb, and heavier orders, then you can set more
accurate shipping rates, which helps reduce any loss of profits from unexpected shipping costs.
Offering per-item shipping costs: For each product, you can set up a shipping profile and
set shipping rates based on the products that are ordered.
When an order contains products from different profiles, their shipping rates are combined at
checkout, which can lead to higher shipping costs for your customers. For example, if you set
up a shipping profile for plates with a rate of $5 and a shipping profile for bowls with a rate of
$4, then a checkout with a plate and bowl would result in a $9 shipping rate.
A basic method to set your shipping rates for each shipping profile is to find the average cost
for the products in the profile, regardless of what else is part of the cart.
The cost of shipping plates to Canada using standard shipping:

1 plate = $5

2 plates = $7 ($5 + $2)

3 plates = $9 ($5 + $2 + $2)

1 plate and 1 bowl = $3.5 ($7 x 0.5)

2 plates and 1 bowl = $6 ($9 x 0.66)

3 plates and 1 bowl = $8.25 ($11 x 0.75)

1 plate and 1 mug = $3 ($6 x 0.5)

2 plates and 1 mug = $5.33 ($8 x 0.66)

3 plates and 1 mug = $7.50 ($10 x 0.75)
The average cost of shipping any amount of plates is $6.04.
The cost of shipping bowls to Canada using standard shipping:

1 bowl = $4

2 bowls = $5 ($4 + $1)

3 bowls = $6 ($4 + $1 + $1)

1 bowl and 1 plate = $3.5 ($7 * .5)

2 bowls and 1 plate = $6 ($9 * .66)

3 bowls and 1 plate = $8.25 ($11 * .75)

1 bowl and 1 mug = $3.5 ($7 * .5)

2 bowls and 1 mug = $6 ($9 * .66)

3 bowls and 1 mug = $8.25 ($11 * .75)
The average cost of shipping any amount of bowls is $5.55
The cost of shipping mugs to Canada using standard shipping:

1 mug = $3

2 mugs = $4 ($3 + $1)

3 mugs = $5 ($3 + $1 + $1)

1 mug and 1 plate = $3 ($6 * .5)

2 mugs and 1 plate = $5.33 ($8 * .66)

3 mugs and 1 plate = $7.50 ($10 * .75)

1 mug and 1 bowl = $3.5 ($7 * .5)

2 mugs and 1 bowl = $6 ($9 * .66)

3 mugs and 1 bowl = $8.25 ($11 * .75)
The average cost of shipping any amount of mugs is $5.07
Based on these numbers, you would make the following profits on each expected order for
Canada:

5 orders of 1 mug to Canada using standard shipping: $25.35 - $15 = $10.35 profit

2 orders of 2 bowls to Canada using standard shipping: $11.10 - $10 = $1.10 profit

4 orders of 4 plates and 4 mugs to Canada using standard shipping: $44.44 - $72 = $27.56 loss
To use per-item shipping effectively, you'll likely need to add tiered shipping rates that are
based on weight or price to each shipping profile.
Final Say
With eCommerce growing exponentially in the country, dropshipping in India is rapidly
gaining momentum. For selecting a reliable, drop shipping company, it is advised to research
thoroughly, evaluate the company’s customer satisfaction levels and the fee. Remember,
when you opt for a drop shipping method, it should be for long-term professional use.