Ecommerce Encyclopedia

‟Ecommerce is a powerful means to connect the unconnected to global trade” - Arancha Gonzalez

What we need to know about upfront cost?

Upfront cost is the basic cost anyone needs to spend on in the first step of their dropshipping business.

The growth of the eCommerce industry has exploded over the past few years, mostly thanks to the ability for independent entrepreneurs to start and grow a successful eCommerce business in no time. One of the main factors that stands behind this significant growth is that the cost for any seller to spend on starting an eCommerce store has dropped dramatically.

Still, traditional eCommerce stores have to pay upfront from hundreds to thousands of dollars for inventory. Luckily, thanks to the rise in popularity of dropshipping, this barrier cost has dropped even more tremendously as you no longer have to invest a ton of money into buying inventory ahead of time if you are opting for the dropshipping model. Instead, you do not need to order any products until your customers made a purchase from you first. 

Also, as you do not have to invest in inventory, technically you can start selling at totally no cost at all. And while it is not required for you to incorporate a business or buy a logo to get started, a recommendation for you is that you should create a Favicon for your brand if you want to boost up your business. And so, with all that being said and taken into account, what is the right amount of money you need to spend on launching your dropshipping business?

In fact, dropshipping could either cost you a lot of money or it can cost you almost nothing. In contrast to popular belief, you do not have to spend too much on starting your dropshipping business. 

You could actually get started your dropshipping business for just a little price, or even nothing, for a short period of time thanks to free trials offered by many platforms. Or if you want to, it is totally possible for you to spend thousands to get started. 

It is worth noting that there are a number of factors that play a role in determining the upfront cost for you. And also, spending money launching an eCommerce business is only painful to think about if either you thought it would cost nothing, and/ or you forget that this is just a small price that we have to pay in order to retrieve a much bigger amount in the long term. Do keep in mind that the money you paid on starting your business is actually an investment, and whenever we invest on something, we do actually expect a return.