How to start dropshipping if you don't have a website

While it's better to have your own website for a dropshipping business, you can start earning without one.

Perhaps you don't feel confident with creating a website, it certainly is a lot of initial effort, especially without hiring a web designer or developer to assist.

You may want to test the waters of dropshipping before committing to the task of getting your website up and running.

Online marketplaces

The easiest way to sell without owning a website is to use someone else's. This is a prime example of not reinventing the wheel.

There are online marketplaces that have been around for years and have established themselves with a large number of loyal customers.

It makes sense to let these marketplaces do the hard work for you in terms of advertising and attracting customers.

All you have to do is make sure your product listings are well written, informative, and optimised to convert into sales.

What is an e-commerce marketplace?

Before we dive in, let's define what a marketplace is. According to Forbes:

"An online marketplace is a website or app that facilitates shopping from many different sources.

The operator of the marketplace does not own any inventory, their business is to present other people’s inventory to a user and facilitate a transaction."

Which are the most popular marketplaces?

Data from Statista, April 2021, shows that the most popular online marketplaces at this time were:

1. Amazon

2. eBay

3. Mercado Libre

4. Rakuten

5. AliExpress

6. Shopee

7. Walmart

8. Etsy

9. Taobao

10. Pinduoduo

So, now that's clear, here are 5 of our top marketplaces to sell online.

Top 5 online marketplaces to sell

Amazon

Amazon is the largest e-commerce marketplace globally. In June 2021, Amazon.com had over 2.7 billion website visits, as reported by Statista.

eBay

One of the global leaders as an e-commerce platform, eBay was the second-most visited marketplace in 2021, according to Statista.

Mercado Libre

Mercado Libre is the largest e-commerce marketplace in South America. It comes third on the list of the most visited marketplace globally, as shown in the graph sourced from Statista above.

Kaufland

A German hypermarket chain, Kaufland purchased online marketplace Real.de in 2021. Kaufland is owned by Schwarz Gruppe, who also own Lidl.

In March 2021, Kaufland launched its e-commerce marketplace, which integrated Real.de, to offer over 25 million products.

Walmart

A huge player in the United States, Walmart increased sales by 79% in 2021.

Some analysts predict that Walmart could overtake Amazon in online retail sales, as Jungle Scout reported it was growing five times faster than Amazon in October 2021.

Summary

That rounds up some of the best ways to make money from dropshipping without setting up your own website. Of course, we recommend selling from your own domain name to maximise your profits.

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