When you think of dropshipping products, you think of small lightweight products from China. That leaves a huge market of products completely untapped and potentially huge gaps in the market for you to take advantage of.
In this article, I’ll give you my advice on whether dropshipping large products is profitable (It’s not for everyone) and how you should go about it.
Can you Dropship Large products?
Yes, you can dropship large or heavy products. Basically, most things you have seen for sale on an online store can also be dropshipped.
As long as the country you are planning to dropship to has the shipping options to be able to ship the product, then there’s no real reason why it can’t be dropshipped.
Whether your supplier will actually dropship the product for you is another question. You may have to be a little more persuasive to talk them into it. As long as they know that this benefits their business and makes them money, most suppliers are happy and will be more inclined to work with you.
Can you Dropship Large Products from China?
Yes, it is possible dropship large products from China, but should you dropship large products from China? Definitely NOT.
Most of the shipping lines from China won’t ship large or heavy products. The ones that do will charge a fortune and it just won’t end up being worth it.
Most shipping companies use volumetric weight to calculate your shipping costs. They will measure all dimensions of your parcel and you will be charged accordingly. Each shipping company will charge different amounts depending on the dimensions and the location you’re shipping it to.
When it comes to heavy products, most companies will only ship products that go up to a few kilograms. The ones that ship heavier products will charge a fortune making it difficult to actually make a profit.
This is why most of AliExpress is reasonably small and lightweight products. It’s just not feasible to dropship large or heavy products from China in general.
Is it Worth Dropshipping Large Products?
Yes, it is worth dropshipping large products, but only if the margins make sense. It doesn’t matter what you’re selling and where you selling it to, as long as you’re making a profit, it’s worth it.
This means working with suppliers to dropship domestically. In most countries, there are a lot of options for domestic shipping and the prices are low enough that you can still have decent profit margins. It means you will have to charge a higher price for products but often people are willing to pay it if they want the product.
If you’re going to ship large and heavy products internationally, it’s generally not going to be profitable. I would stick to selling domestically initially then you could look for suppliers in other countries if you wanted to expand.
You have 2 main options when it comes to shipping:
- You can charge your customer for shipping costs. You can either charge them a flat rate to most areas or you can charge based on the product dimensions, weight and their location. This can get more complicated as you need to know the exact dimensions of a product you are not in posession of. It’s a much easier option to charge a flat rate which sometimes you may profit or slightly lose out on.
- The next option is to offer free shipping. This is a better option in my opinion as it simplifies the whole process and it makes it more likely they’ll buy from you. The shipping is free for your customer but you really just add the shipping cost onto the price of the product so you don’t lose out.
When it comes to shipping a large product, consumers are freaked out by the thought of having to pay for a large product to be shipped.
If a product costs $150 to be shipped, your better off adding that $150 to the product price and offering them free shipping. It sounds like a better deal even if it’s not. People love the word FREE.
If the margins make sense, it can actually be a great option to dropship large products. You generally don’t have as much competition because most dropshippers just look for the easier choice.
At the end of the day who really cares how big the product is that you dropship. It’s not you storing, packing or shipping it. You may have to organize the shipping which can be a little more complicated, but it’s not difficult.
Depending on the country you’re dropshipping to, it may not be worth selling large or heavy products. Countries such as the US or the UK have the logistical requirements to make shipping large products a viable option. But other countries don’t have the infrastructure or logistical needs to make it worthwhile.
Add to that many counties are not as densely populated with many more secluded towns and cities that make freight companies charge a premium price to ship to certain areas.
Take all this into consideration when deciding if dropshipping large products is worth it for you. This list of niche ideas should help you decide which niche is best for you.
How Do you Dropship Large Products?
If you find a supplier who is happy to dropship their products for you, there are 2 possible situations:
- This is the ideal and most likely scenario in this situation. Most suppliers will ship the products for you on their account and will charge the shipping cost to your account. This will make it easier for you and most likely cheaper. Most suppliers have discounts with shipping companies because the are doing large volume and will mean you will also get these discounts.
- If your supplier won’t agree to taking care of the shipping for you, you’ll need to organize it which can be a little complicated initially. Different shipping companies will give you various options depending on the size of the products you are shipping. Using a site such as parcel monkey will enable you to comapre shipping rates and get you the cheapest pricing.
Even if they want you to take care of all the shipping yourself, just agree to it initially. It’s more important to secure the supplier even if your shipping costs eat into your profits a little.
Over time as you build a relationship with the supplier and you start making some sales, you can renegotiate and they may be happy to start shipping for you. You may need to prove yourself over time to build up some trust with them.
How Do you Dropship Large Products Cheaply?
If you plan to dropship products that are considered oversized, many carriers will charge a fortune to send these products. The most well-known shipping companies such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL aren’t built for shipping large parcels. They can ship large products by freight, but it’ll cost you a fortune and have you running your business at a loss.
Your best option is to use a freight carrier company to ship the products for you. They are built for shipping large B2B and B2C products.
You can work with international freight companies if you want to ship worldwide, but it will cost more and will be difficult to make any real profit. A domestic freight company will be a much more affordable choice.
There are literally thousands of freight companies in the world, so how do you pick the right one for your business? Your best choice is to use a freight broker.
A freight broker is essentially a middleman between the freight company and the person requiring the shipping. They handle all communication between the two parties and assist with finding the lowest price, tracking the freight and planning the routes.
Using a freight broker provides far less work for you in searching all over the internet for the lowest possible price. You simply go to a single location to make all your shipments instead of dealing with multiple freight companies for each individual shipment that needs to be made.
For a list of freight brokers in your country, click on the links below:
Intek Freight and Logistics USA
Canada Transportation
Another thing to consider is that shipping large or heavy packages to rural or secluded areas can be very expensive. For example, shipping a lounge to someone in a remote area of Canada in the middle of winter when access is difficult can be very expensive or if you dropshipped a pool table to a remote area of Australia, you would end up running at a loss.
The best option would be to only offer free shipping to major cities but charge either a flat fee to other areas or a different fee based on each specific order.
This is more work and more complex, but if the margins make sense, it’ll be well worth your time.
Summary
Don’t discount dropshipping large products because it seems like more work, that’s actually a good thing. If it was was easy everyone would be doing it.
Just remember, once you have your supplier on board and they’re happy to ship the product for you, it doesn’t matter how big the product is. You simply click a few buttons and the product is shipped to your customer. Shipping a pillow is as easy as shipping a dining table.
As a standard retail store, size matters. You only have so much floor space and can only fit a certain amount of stock in your store. As an eCommerce store that holds no stock, you have unlimited floor stock. You can have an eCommerce store selling furniture, sheds, pianos and jumping castles if you really wanted.
As long as the margins make sense, dropshipping large products can be very profitable.
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