In this article, we uncover three things ‘gurus’ don’t tell you about dropshipping…
Watch the video below:
Everywhere you turn your head, another ‘guru’ is flashing their fancy car, exotic location or rooftop party.
It’s a lot more fun to talk about these things… rather than chargebacks, refunds or PayPal disputes!
This is the other side of dropshipping gurus tend to hide.
Though all of these issues have a workaround solution, in the eyes of a newbie, what seemed to be a perfect business is now another scam, because they ran headfirst into a myriad of unseen problems without warning.
Long story short: Because they don’t know how to deal with it, they give up!
While other dropshippers continue being crippled by sudden obstacles, I want to show you how to calmly wave away the exact same issues.
By the end of this article, you’ll have awareness of what’s coming BEFORE you know it, and have the confidence to tackle any of these three issues should they pop up.
Issue #1: Getting Banned on PayPal
You might have heard stories about PayPal freezing dropshippers accounts out of nowhere.
But the truth is PayPal doesn’t hate dropshippers; they hate shady business.
By ‘shady’ I mean being unclear about shipping times.
Shipping times take two to three weeks on average for items coming from China.
This is pretty long compared to average shipping times (like Amazon), so newbies assume customers won’t buy the item if they know beforehand how long delivery will be.
And so they hide shipping times or aren’t straight up about it. Meanwhile the customer is confused and thinks they’re being cheated.
This lack of transparency drives customer’s mad to the point where they open a dispute on PayPal…
…and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happens next: PayPal freeze the seller’s account.
Unwanted scenarios like this can easily be avoided by firstly realizing that customers don’t care about shipping times, then recognising the real problem: you not being honest about shipping times!
If you’re open about how long shipping will take, instead of scaring customers away, it will draw them closer to your store, and they’ll trust you even MORE for being transparent.
They don’t care how long their order will take to arrive, they just want to ensure they know where it is and how long it will take.
Be aware that customer’s could’ve had poor experiences with online stores in the past…
…so being up-front about shipping times makes them feel more secure about purchasing from you.
We actually recommend that you add a ‘shipping disclaimer’ on every product page and order confirmation email.
The disclaimer could phrased like ‘FREE SHIPPING: Due to high demand, please allow 2-4 weeks for shipping.’
And another thing: bold it! Make it clearly visible enough so they can read it before deciding to add item to cart.
This prevents customers from making claims that they either have no clue about delivery times or where their order is located.
And that saves you, well — A LOT of PayPal disputes and customer complaints.
Issue #2: Getting Chargebacks
Nobody talks much about chargebacks, but this is a hiccup we see several newbies complain about.
The reality is every business has to face chargebacks from customers. It’s simply out of your control. No matter how amazing your business is, there’s always going to be an unhappy customer.
Credit card companies let customers chargeback for a range of things.
Fraudulent transactions
Not recognizing your store’s bill on their statement
Unclear about shipping times
Essentially, whenever they feel cheated out of.
The solution to this isn’t different from the above: If you are honest about everything, and can provide proof for any claims against you, you’ll have less chargebacks to deal with.
You might say “Sarah, this is all great. But how can I avoid chargebacks from happening in the first place?” And to that question is a simple yet powerful answer…
Communication.
Encouraging communication between you and unhappy customers through email goes a long way in helping to avoid negative reviews.
Dealing with the issue promptly through email helps to settle any ‘customer rage’ and allows customers to trust you even more.
At the bottom of each email you send, always mention something like:
“And if you’re having problems, please email us before leaving a review. We care about each and every customer.”
It also doesn’t hurt to mention that their order is on the way and they should please be patient about it. This way, you talk to and calm any upset customers before they attempt to do a PayPal dispute or a chargeback.
Issue #3: Getting Refunds
Dealing with refunds is part of any business.
So what do you do about them? A strict refund policy.
We strongly recommend that you have a strict refund policy in place that only allows refunds for items that are faulty or broken. Do not allow refunds for people that have simply changed their minds.
In addition, protect yourself by creating a page that has your refund policy on it, and link to it in the store footer. That way, it will be on every page in your store so customers don’t have an excuse for not having read it.
Bottom Line
Even though these issues have simple solutions, people get super negative when things go wrong.
Remember: there are solutions to every challenge and every stumbling block. With research and common sense, you can overcome anything.
Successful, rich individuals see these challenges as opportunities.
What type of person will YOU choose to be seen as?
Want to learn the blueprint wildly successful dropship stores follow to make six-figures?
Six steps to building a six-figure Dropship store:
In it, I’ve included:
· How just one “winning item” can earn $10k/month. Yep. A lot of people don’t realize this… but most stores make the majority of their money from just a handful of items!
· The right way to choose AliExpress suppliers. Picking the right AliExpress dropshipper is crucial to drastically reduce things like refunds. Learn how to pick the right suppliers.
· Why long shipping times DON’T matter. A lot of people are scared to start Dropshipping because of “long” shipping times. You’ll learn why this doesn’t matter inside.
· Why six-figure stores take ONLY 2 hours a day to manage. You’ll learn how they utilize apps like Oberlo to make their stores semi-automated… making managing orders super simple!
