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Beware. There's a whole lot of "start an e shop and get rich quick" bullshit out there. https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/117-the-worlds-most-expensive-fre

Beware. There's a whole lot of "start an e shop and get rich quick" bullshit out there. https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/117-the-worlds-most-expensive-free-watch#episode-player https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/117-the-worlds-most-ex...

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
thecatspaw 8y ago
> "PJ: That is the one thing that actually makes it look slightly scammy... like Nike's not like we just sold a pair of sneakers." I do have to disagree on this. This is them trying to increase the "social proof", proof that you are making a solid choice in buying this item. Nike doesnt need to do this because everybody knows nike, and feels that they are good shoes worth their money. Showing proof of other purchases increases that proof, and you are more inclined to buy it. Of course this all assumes legit "soAndSo bought it too" messages
- Splines 8y ago
  > Of course this all assumes legit "soAndSo bought it too" messages And this is why I would never trust such messages. It's way too easy to fake it, and too much work to make it real, and there's no way for customers to verify it's real anyway.
  - matte_black 8y ago
    Doesn’t matter. If it pops up you still have to actively remind yourself not to trust it to be immune to it’s effect.
fabricexpert 8y ago
This is different though - the gimlet podcast is about dropshipping, where you don't keep inventory and are literally just creating a sales pipeline for someone else, and absorbing all of the marketing costs (hint: why would a manufacturer / wholesaler let you do this for them if it was profitable?). In this case you're entering the supply chain of a product (cut fabric), which end customers cannot do for themselves and wholesalers cannot scale.
- swalsh 8y ago
  "(hint: why would a manufacturer / wholesaler let you do this for them if it was profitable?)." Wayfair is a 9.7B company, that dropships. They found a way to make it profitable.
toomanybeersies 8y ago
I got down to where he said he paid $10 for shipping and instantly clicked that it was a watch from Aliexpress and it was a classic dropshipping gig. There were some people a few years ago that managed to sell off a few hundred Hawaiian shirts that were most likely drop shipped from China by using some well targeted FB (and probably Instagram) advertising, and giving the shirts funny names (named after local alcoholic drinks). They were probably making $20 or $30 per shirt. An interesting take on the Aliexpress game is theive.co [1]. It's basically a curated list of stuff on Aliexpress with referral links. Since I last looked at the website they've apparently launched a product aimed at drop shippers, where you can get market insights. Morally it's murky, but it's clever. [1] https://thieve.co/ https://thieve.co/
- chatmasta 8y ago
  > Morally it's murky, but it's clever. No offense, but this is the kind of thinking that holds back people from succeeding in business. I see it a lot from non-biz engineering types. There is nothing, nothing “morally wrong” with dropshipping. The main value you provide is discoverability; if the customer finds a product through you that they would not have found otherwise, then you added value. Also, you provide customer service and return policies that the supplier may not. Finally, you also provide value to the supplier by selling their merchandise in channels they are unable or unwilling to reach. In fact, all that really matters is that the customer made a voluntary decision to purchase a product from you, and was not misinformed about the terms of purchase or shipping. You are under no obligation to inform the customer of your suppliers. If you disagree morally with that, then feel free to link them to a site where they can buy your product from someone else. The idea that there is something “wrong” with selling a product for more than you pay for it is ridiculous, at best. That is literally what business has meant since the dawn of civilization.
  - stickfigure 8y ago
    Having been in the (software side of the) digital marketing business for a few years, I generally agree with you. On the other hand, there are some complaints you can level at the industry. One is that they're exploiting an information asymmetry between the buyer and the seller; buyers as of yet haven't realized just how cheap and available things are on Aliexpress, and the sellers do their best to hide the source of goods. I think this will resolve itself over time as buyers get more savvy. There are also some questionable practices. "Free, you just pay [$10+] shipping" seems aimed at some sort of psychological defect in the part of the human brain that calculates value. And digital marketers often are often rather indifferent to IP rights. I guess my biggest complaint is that there are an awful lot of online marketers that really just don't seem to care all that much about the customer. They're often selling one-time impulse buys which are priced too low to be worth the trouble to return and they don't expect a repeat customer, ever. They've never even seen the products they're selling. I guess I want a little more value-add from my vendors - I've gone back to buying things offline where I can. (I'm sure the article author is in a very different category of seller, which is heartwarming!)
swalsh 8y ago
This episode only looked at one side of the business. There is a "legitimate" side of dropshipping, and there's the get rich quick, then die side of drop shipping. To dropship "for real" you need to build actual relationships with suppliers who are typically in the states. The margins are paper thin, and they're not very tech savvy most of the time. You typically have to prove yourself. Dropshippers provide real value. Good dropshippers are marketing experts. They build good customer relationships. It's a legitimate business. But getting into it is A LOT harder today. Consumer habits are different.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

thecatspaw 8y ago

> "PJ: That is the one thing that actually makes it look slightly scammy... like Nike's not like we just sold a pair of sneakers." I do have to disagree on this. This is them trying to increase the "social proof", proof that you are making a solid choice in buying this item. Nike doesnt need to do this because everybody knows nike, and feels that they are good shoes worth their money. Showing proof of other purchases increases that proof, and you are more inclined to buy it. Of course this all assumes legit "soAndSo bought it too" messages

Splines 8y ago
> Of course this all assumes legit "soAndSo bought it too" messages And this is why I would never trust such messages. It's way too easy to fake it, and too much work to make it real, and there's no way for customers to verify it's real anyway.
- matte_black 8y ago
  Doesn’t matter. If it pops up you still have to actively remind yourself not to trust it to be immune to it’s effect.

fabricexpert 8y ago

This is different though - the gimlet podcast is about dropshipping, where you don't keep inventory and are literally just creating a sales pipeline for someone else, and absorbing all of the marketing costs (hint: why would a manufacturer / wholesaler let you do this for them if it was profitable?). In this case you're entering the supply chain of a product (cut fabric), which end customers cannot do for themselves and wholesalers cannot scale.

swalsh 8y ago
"(hint: why would a manufacturer / wholesaler let you do this for them if it was profitable?)." Wayfair is a 9.7B company, that dropships. They found a way to make it profitable.

toomanybeersies 8y ago

I got down to where he said he paid $10 for shipping and instantly clicked that it was a watch from Aliexpress and it was a classic dropshipping gig. There were some people a few years ago that managed to sell off a few hundred Hawaiian shirts that were most likely drop shipped from China by using some well targeted FB (and probably Instagram) advertising, and giving the shirts funny names (named after local alcoholic drinks). They were probably making $20 or $30 per shirt. An interesting take on the Aliexpress game is theive.co [1]. It's basically a curated list of stuff on Aliexpress with referral links. Since I last looked at the website they've apparently launched a product aimed at drop shippers, where you can get market insights. Morally it's murky, but it's clever. [1] https://thieve.co/ https://thieve.co/

chatmasta 8y ago
> Morally it's murky, but it's clever. No offense, but this is the kind of thinking that holds back people from succeeding in business. I see it a lot from non-biz engineering types. There is nothing, nothing “morally wrong” with dropshipping. The main value you provide is discoverability; if the customer finds a product through you that they would not have found otherwise, then you added value. Also, you provide customer service and return policies that the supplier may not. Finally, you also provide value to the supplier by selling their merchandise in channels they are unable or unwilling to reach. In fact, all that really matters is that the customer made a voluntary decision to purchase a product from you, and was not misinformed about the terms of purchase or shipping. You are under no obligation to inform the customer of your suppliers. If you disagree morally with that, then feel free to link them to a site where they can buy your product from someone else. The idea that there is something “wrong” with selling a product for more than you pay for it is ridiculous, at best. That is literally what business has meant since the dawn of civilization.
- stickfigure 8y ago
  Having been in the (software side of the) digital marketing business for a few years, I generally agree with you. On the other hand, there are some complaints you can level at the industry. One is that they're exploiting an information asymmetry between the buyer and the seller; buyers as of yet haven't realized just how cheap and available things are on Aliexpress, and the sellers do their best to hide the source of goods. I think this will resolve itself over time as buyers get more savvy. There are also some questionable practices. "Free, you just pay [$10+] shipping" seems aimed at some sort of psychological defect in the part of the human brain that calculates value. And digital marketers often are often rather indifferent to IP rights. I guess my biggest complaint is that there are an awful lot of online marketers that really just don't seem to care all that much about the customer. They're often selling one-time impulse buys which are priced too low to be worth the trouble to return and they don't expect a repeat customer, ever. They've never even seen the products they're selling. I guess I want a little more value-add from my vendors - I've gone back to buying things offline where I can. (I'm sure the article author is in a very different category of seller, which is heartwarming!)

swalsh 8y ago

This episode only looked at one side of the business. There is a "legitimate" side of dropshipping, and there's the get rich quick, then die side of drop shipping. To dropship "for real" you need to build actual relationships with suppliers who are typically in the states. The margins are paper thin, and they're not very tech savvy most of the time. You typically have to prove yourself. Dropshippers provide real value. Good dropshippers are marketing experts. They build good customer relationships. It's a legitimate business. But getting into it is A LOT harder today. Consumer habits are different.