Why do i have to pay to my supplier for dropshipping

[EdLeo126]

Hey there, so I've been trying to get products into my store but kind of hard to start with literaly 0$. So I started searching the web for the product I need , I found it but the suppliers keep telling me I need to pay for my order so that they could ship it out. My Niche is teas, got any ideas how to start with basically no costs ?

[Andrew]

Hi @EdLeo126, 

When it comes to dropshipping, the order fulfillment process starts with an order from a customer. This provides you with the money to then pay the supplier who will ship the order to the customer on your behalf.

You can become more familiar with dropshipping and make sure you understand it all by taking a look at our ultimate guide to dropshipping. It will walk you through everything you need to know about starting, finding suppliers, and maintaining your business.

While you can pay your suppliers from revenue earned from sales, you will also have a Shopify subscription to pay every 30 days. So if you do not have any money, then this might not be the best time for you to start a business.

[DevilsBasin2245]

You have to have some kind of capital when it comes to starting up any kind of business. Doesn't have to be thousands, even a few hundred will work depending on what your starting objective is. You'll have subscription costs just to run Shopify monthly and most vendors and wholesalers will want an MOQ. That means you can't buy piece by piece as you want. They want you to buy bulk and then you take the gamble on if you can sell them or not. Going through alidropshipping it's possible to order as purchased by your customers but then you have the waiting times which can range for over a month. Business is hard and starting isn't easy. I haven't even opened my company yet and the amount of work involved in wild. But there will always be some kind of capital needed.