Before we look at the actual e-commerce platform, one thing you’ll absolutely need is a way of accepting money to your e-commerce site. The easiest and most popular way is PayPal. If you don’t have an account or even if you have one but it’s a personal account, you’ll need a Business account. It’s free to create, so go do that right now, just click this link to be taken directly to the proper section and come back to this email once that’s done.

Now, now that you have a way (or soon will) to accept payments, you need the e-commerce actual platform to start selling items…

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Drop shipping is a method of retail sales that allows the retailer to sell items without having to physically hold any inventory.

The retailer has an agreement with either a manufacturer, wholesaler or distributor to have items drop-shipped directly to their clients.

Here’s a simple example transaction to illustrate how it works.

1) Bob is a retailer, he sells painting supplies. 2) Acme Painting Supplies, Inc. agrees to drop-ship items directly to Bob’s clients. 3) Bob lists some items for sale.  4) Jane buys a paintbrush from Bob for $20.00. 5) Bob, turns around and buys the paint brush from Acme Painting Supplies, Inc. for $17.00.  6) Acme Painting Supplies, Inc. ships the paintbrush directly to Jane. 7) Bob made a profit of $3 without having to buy and hold any inventory or having to ship any items.

Here’s a diagram showing visually what a transaction looks like:

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