How To Start Dropshipping In South Africa

What is Dropshipping?

Drop shipping is a form of retail business wherein the seller accepts customer orders without keeping stock on hand

How To Start Dropshipping In South Africa

Researching your dropshipping niche

This is probably the most important step in starting your dropshipping business in South Africa. knowing exactly who you want to serve and what products you are going to sell them will go a long way to ensuring your success as a South African dropshipper.

The best piece of advice I was ever given about building online businesses was niching down as far as possible. So instead of trying to be all things for all people, find a specific group of people that you can serve better than anyone else is currently serving them on the internet.

Find dropshipping suppliers and products to sell

This is normally the first step that people start at when starting their dropshipping business. but it is very important to research the niche first

Once you’ve researched the niche that will dictate what products will be best to sell in your drop shipping business.

Create an online store to sell your products

Once you have researched your niche and found products and suppliers, you will need to build yourself an online store.

There are various ways to build your online store and various platforms to do it on, but two of the easiest are Woommerce and Shopify. (I’ve written this post on how to sell online in South Africa that you may find useful)

For someone who doesn’t have any technical ability when it comes to building websites, Shopify is probably the route to go. Shopify does, however, charge a fair bit to use their platform which could eat into your dropshipping margins.

Link a payment gateway to your dropshipping store

The next step to building a successful & profitable dropshipping business in South Africa is to set up a way to take payments online.

One of the easiest and most popular payment gateways is Payfast. Payfast integrates directly with both Shopify and Woocommerce which makes it simple to take payments online for your dropshipping business in South Africa.

If you are selling outside the borders of South Africa you will need a payment gateway that can handle international payments. The easiest to set up is PayPal, but there are other options like Stripe or 2Checkout.

Send potential customers to your dropshipping store

For most dropshipping businesses in South Africa, this is where the real challenge lies. Getting targeted traffic to your website will determine whether or not your dropshipping business in South Africa is profitable or not.

It is also for this reason that I researching and choosing the correct niche for your dropshipping business is vital.

If you’ve done the research correctly and found products your potential customers want at the right price, then driving traffic is not that hard.

Analyze and optimize your results

This final step is an ever evolving process. You need to think of yourself and your dropshipping store as a living laboratory. Just as a scientist would test different processes and document whether they worked or not, you need to do the same for your dropshipping business.

In order to create a profitable dropshipping business in South Africa you need to be continually testing and tweaking and taking note of what works and what doesn’t. The goal is to do more of what works over time and less of what doesn’t.

It is also important to remember that the online landscape is constantly changing. Something that works today might not necessarily keep working tomorrow. New products are always coming onto the market as are new competitors so it is vital that you stay nimble as a dropshipper and keep up to date with those changes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs.)

Who is the most successful dropshipper in South Africa?

Planet54 is undoubtedly the number one dropshipper in South Africa when it comes to clothing accessories with over 7000 products. Planet54 is an exclusive dropshipping supplier. According to their site, they currently supply over 100 online stores in Africa from South Africa

Does Takealot do dropshipping?

By utilizing dropshipping you can maximize your profits and streamline your shipping needs.

Is dropshipping popular in South Africa?

So can you make money with dropshipping in South Africa? The short answer is yes, dropshipping is profitable in South Africa.

Can you start dropshipping with no money?

Like we mentioned above, you can’t start dropshipping with no money. This is because you have to choose a supplier or wholesaler to get access to the inventory you’ll be selling. However, if you do research and choose wisely, then you can start dropshipping with few startup costs.

Is drop shipping hard?

However, contrary to popular belief, the dropshipping business model is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Sure, it seems like easy money — you sell other people’s goods and take a cut for yourself — but when you factor in all the drawbacks, obstacles and day-to-day management, it’s far from easy and can be hard work.

Can I sell on Shopify from South Africa?

Over one million merchants across the globe, including South Africa, are using Shopify to sell their products and services online. Shopify is ideal for anyone new to ecommerce or for merchants who want to get up and running fast.

Do you pay tax on dropshipping in South Africa?

Do dropshippers need to pay tax? Another very common question about dropshipping as a business model in South Africa is do dropshippers need to pay tax. Yes, dropshippers do need to pay tax. There are a couple of tax liabilities that you need to be aware of as a dropshipper.

Which platform is best for dropshipping in South Africa?

Shopify. One of the most powerful ecommerce platforms for dropshipping is undoubtedly Shopify. It claims to host around 500,000 ecommerce stores and dropshipping websites. In 2016, Shopify officially acquired Oberlo, a dropshipping plugin that makes product import and order fulfillment a painless process.

What companies do drop shipping in South Africa?

AliExpress
SaleHoo.
Worldwide Brands.
Megagoods.
Doba.
Wholesale Central.
Wholesale2B.
Sunrise Wholesale.

Why do most dropshippers fail?

One reason most dropshippers fail is that they are using the wrong platform to market their dropshipping stores and products. Some of the most prominent channels to market your dropshipping products are Facebook Ads, Google Adwords, and Bing Ads.

How do I find suppliers in South Africa?

Trade directories. Looking through business-to-business trade directories is an obvious way to find suppliers. Trade shows and exhibitions. Trade shows and exhibitions offer opportunities to identify suppliers.