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Avoid Dropshipping Shipping Problems

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Avoid Dropshipping Shipping Problems

Avoid Dropshipping Shipping Problems

Before you begin adding products, choosing a theme, uploading images, deciding on a domain name, or anything else there are two things you MUST make sure you do before setting up your store.

  1. Add Payment Preferences – This is super important because it’s how you will get paid when customers buy items on your website. Connect a bank account, preferably a business account that’s separate from your personal account, to your Shopify store. If you’re targeting worldwide, it’s a great idea to add an express checkout option such as PayPal. In my experience, the vast majority of international orders are processed through PayPal so it’ll be needed to increase the store’s conversion rate
  2. Update Shipping Settings – When you first open your store, Shopify will have preset shipping options available for your customers. You will need to delete all of them and add your own custom shipping rates to avoid hassles

Why Should I Change the Shopify Shipping Settings?

Many dropshippers forget to update the shipping info and soon realize that customers are paying for express shipping rates that aren’t possible for you to use. You’ll have to refund their orders or risk losing money.

Shopify presets domestic shipping rates to be weighted intervals available through USPS. You must delete all of them and create a new shipping method. We suggest creating a new one called “Free Standard Shipping” and set the cost to $0.

The real issues lie within Shopify’s preset international shipping rates. They use USPS and DHL options for customers to choose from. The problem is the rates are much lower than you would have to pay when you go to fulfill those orders. For example, a customer may choose express 5-7 DHL shipping on your website for $25. However, when you go to fulfill it through AliExpress you’ll run into two issues.

  1. The supplier doesn’t offer an express shipping method within the time frame your customer paid for.
  2. The shipping rate the customer chose is extremely expensive on AliExpress so you end up losing money if you go to fulfill their order.

Both issues are very common and can be easily avoided by updating your shipping settings to include custom free rates.

How to Update Dropshipping Shipping Settings to Avoid Problems:

When you log into your Shopify dashboard click Settings and then choose Shipping.

Dropshipping Shipping Problems

Then, select manage rates in the top right corner.

Dropshipping Shipping Problems

Select “Edit” for both the domestic and rest of world rates to begin deleting the preset shipping settings that Shopify provides.

Dropshipping Shipping Problems

Delete each rate by selecting the three dots and choosing “delete.” Once you’ve deleted each rate, go ahead and click “Add Rate.” Then, name the new rate “Free Standard Shipping” and list the price for free. Repeat this exact process for the rest of the world so that your shipping settings look like this screenshot.

Dropshipping Shipping Settings

Now you settings are all set and you shouldn’t have any dropshipping shipping problems. Too often I hear of beginners being excited that they just received their first few orders, then realizing they have to refund all of the money because the customers chose a preset shipping rate that couldn’t be fulfilled.

Avoid dropshipping shipping problems by following this quick guide before you begin setting up your store. Offering free worldwide shipping will also increase your conversion rate and decrease the amount of customer complaints. When customers have to pay for shipping they expect fast shipping times and to be given tracking information immediately. If you’re still fulfilling orders with AliExpress, it’s a good idea to offer free shipping.

However, if you use Zendrop to fulfill orders you can offer your customers express shipping. You can even charge customers for the express shipping by adding the rate to your settings. Zendrop is quickly becoming the fastest growing dropshipping fulfillment platform because they have the ability to offer express 5-7 day shipping.

Zendrop offers a free trial so you can test out there platform before upgrading your plan. But I bet that once you sign up for the free trial, you’ll never use AliExpress to fulfill your orders again. To learn more about Zendrop checkout this recent blog post.

Have you ever run into issues with shipping while dropshipping? Comment below and we’ll be happy to help you solve them.

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