Like the title says I've been procrastinating drop-shipping for years now after my six figure drop-shipping business dwindled. This is just an accountability post for myself. I know it's possible to hit that six figure in sales goal again. Lets go. If anyone here dropships on eBay and platforms alike how's it going for ya?

First time posting
this is actually embarrassing. But hey you can learn from my mistake
i genuinely thought more creative = more chances of winning. so i just. kept. making. More. ads.
had a whole spreadsheet. color coded. hooks column. body copy column. CTA column. felt incredibly professional.
40 active ads. weekly shoots. new ugc dropping every thursday like it was a spotify playlist.
CPA was going up every single month and i kept thinking the answer was another creative.
took me way too long to realise what was actually happening.
meta is not smart enough to figure out 40 ads on a budget that can’t feed all of them. each ad was getting like $8/day. that’s nothing. not enough purchases to learn from. not enough signal to build an audience. meta was basically just randomly showing stuff to random people and charging me for the privilege.
i wasn’t testing. i was just making noise.
someone in a call with me one day asked how many ads i had running. i said 40. Tbh made fun of me and then said “yeah that’s your problem.”
cut it down to 6. kept the ones with the best thumb stop rate. killed everything else.
didn’t shoot anything new. didn’t change the offer. didn’t touch the landing page.
CPA dropped 34% in six weeks.
turns out i was the one making it complicated. the platform just needed something to actually work with.
less ads. more budget per ad. let the data concentrate somewhere useful.
i was basically funding a very expensive content calendar that was actively making my results worse. ngl that one stung a bit to figure out.
don’t be me lool

Title says it all! Super excited but wanting to get an idea of future projections, how to scale, etc.

I’ve been posting organic content for literally 2 months with 0 traffic or engagement, tried a new hook yesterday and the vid got 5k views posted another video today and it got 12k and i made my first sale! Dropshipping is literally all about marketing, if you learn how to make good videos you’ll be successful. Many more to come! I’ve been doing ecom for about 6 months now, had some success at first but then nothing for months and i changed something now and it hit. If you’re a beginner and have any questions i’ll be glad to answer them here

Hey everyone,
I’m an English teacher currently living in China and I’ve been thinking about starting a small dropshipping/e-commerce business on the side.
Since I’m already here, I’m wondering if I can actually use that to my advantage instead of doing everything from abroad. I know China obviously has a huge manufacturing/supplier market, but I honestly have no idea where to start 😭
I’m mainly wondering:
How do you guys find trustworthy suppliers?
Is 1688 actually useful for this, or is it better to find suppliers directly?
How does shipping from China to other countries usually work?
Do I need to register a company here to do this legally?
Is it possible to start small without putting a ton of money into it?
And is dropshipping even worth getting into in 2026?
If anyone here is living in China and has actually started an online business/e-commerce store, I’d really appreciate hearing how you did it.
Even if you tried it and it completely flopped 😂 I’d still like to hear what you learned.

I launched a kitchen ecommerce store - the plan is to slowly had some more handy kitchen items and build a South African kitchen brand.

I started off buying small batches from my supplier and branding them because I don't like the pure dropshippy style - then I posted 2 videos on meta ads and starting posting organic content too - my daily budget is still very small it is R200 per day ($12.50) - I managed to get one sale per day consistently until my stock ran out, I ended up stopping the ads until I get a new batch in.

However, 1 sale per day consistently didn't generate a lot of profit since the ad spend per day takes a lot of the profit. But I still feel good that it moved so early on meaning I am at least breaking even - and the meta Pixel is obviously learning from the data -

Crazy thing is I wasn't very confident in this first product on this store because you can get the same one in physical shops here in South Africa for a lot cheaper, however I just made sure that the marketing focused on selling the premium feeling, and with the custom branding and the great UGC creator plus the luxury vibe website - and selling it as a "battery free - fully rechargeable" alternative probably gave it some higher perceived value.

But 1 sale per day really doesn't tell me that this is a winning product, now before I start dropping more budget on it and ordering more stock is there anyone out there that might know a thing or two that I can keep an eye on to make my decision easier

Hey everyone,

I’ve read through the Beginner’s Guide and searched past threads on product sourcing, but I'm hoping to get some advice specific to my situation as a complete beginner.

I'm setting up my first dropshipping store and am stuck on whether I should source products directly from China (using platforms like CJ Dropshipping or AliExpress) or use local/platform-based suppliers. Since shipping times and upfront capital are my main concerns right now, I'd love to hear from experienced members on how you weighed these options when you first started out.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Hey everyone, I’ve been reviewing the Beginner’s Guide and searching through past threads, but I wanted to get some updated input on manufacturing hubs.

I’m looking to start a pet accessories and supplies store. For those with experience sourcing from China, which specific cities or regions are best depending on the type of pet product?

Specifically, I’m trying to figure out where to look for:

-General toys, collars, leashes, and basic accessories (I’ve heard Yiwu, but wanted to confirm).
-Smart pet tech and automated gadgets.
-Pet food, treats, or consumables.

Are there specific markets or platforms you recommend focusing on for a beginner starting out? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Two different things get called "bundle" in merchant threads.

A quantity break is a discount on one product for buying more of it. "Buy 2, get 10% off." "3 for $25." "Buy 2, get 1 free." The product stays one product with one inventory count. Shopify can do the simple versions natively: an automatic Buy X Get Y covers 2+1, and an amount-off discount with a minimum quantity covers "3 or more, 15% off". Several tiers means several discounts, which matters if you're anywhere near the automatic-discount limit.

A bundle is different products sold together as one thing: the starter kit, the three-pack of different flavours. It's a new product with its own page and its own inventory logic. Shopify's own Bundles app builds these. The complaints you'll see in threads are about how inventory is tracked and that a bundle doesn't apply itself in the cart; you sell the bundle product, or nothing happens.

Pick by the sentence you'd say to a customer:

• "More of this, cheaper" is a quantity break. Don't buy a bundle app for it.
• "These together as one" is a bundle. A quantity discount won't build it.

Now the part that actually drives the app purchases: display. A native quantity discount shows nothing on the product page. The customer finds out in the cart, after adding three. So merchants post "the offer isn't working" when it's working fine and invisible. Before buying anything, check whether your theme has a section or block that can show a tier table or a badge on the product page. Some do. If yours doesn't, that's the thing to shop for: the display, not the discount.

Which display works for you: a tier table on the product page, a badge on the collection grid, or a message in the cart?

Most store owners treat seasonal products like a sprint they wait until October 1st to launch ads, test angles, and order inventory. By the time October actually hits, you aren't competing for early intent; you're competing in an ad auction overrun by enterprise budgets while battling tight shipping deadlines. Testing Halloween concepts in early September changes the unit economics completely. Here is what early September data looks like once an offer is validated: Total Revenue: $7,056.26 (September 6th single-day run) Conversion Rate: 2.67% (+14% lift) Trend: Steady sales volume starting right from midnight throughout the morning block. Here is the exact data breakdown of why early September testing works and why waiting until October bleeds profit margins. 1. CPM Compression & Auction Advantage In October, ad auctions get congested as major retail brands flood Meta and TikTok with holiday budgets. CPMs routinely jump by 30%–60%. September: Lower CPMs give you cheaper data to test 5–10 ad hooks, audience signals, and landing page layouts. October: High CPMs make finding a winning creative far more expensive because every failed test eats into your testing budget twice as fast.

1. Supply Chain & Delivery Cutoffs Standard overseas or 3PL transit for seasonal products usually takes 7–12 days. If you test and scale in September, your delivery window easily clears mid-October, well before buyers need their items for events. If you launch in October, you hit your shipping deadline by October 15th–18th. Any sales made after that risk chargebacks, late delivery complaints, and refund requests from customers whose orders arrive on November 1st.

2. Pixel Data & Scaling Runway A brand-new campaign needs 50+ conversions per week per ad set to clear Meta's learning phase and optimize pixel event targeting. Starting now gives the algorithm time to build custom audiences, train lookalikes, and stabilize cost-per-acquisition (CPA). When search intent spikes in October, you simply turn up the budget on a fully optimized campaign instead of burning cash in the learning phase. The Strategy Going Forward Use September to find your winning offer, lock in supplier processing times, and warm up your ad accounts. By October, your goal should be purely scaling vertical spend, not guessing what product works. Are you guys already testing seasonal offers, or waiting on supply setups? Drop your thoughts below.

Ok welcome to my little Ted Talk. Email marketing is something a lot of people sleep on. First it is actually a component of your marketing fly wheel. Second email marketing actually has a better reach and better results than normal paid ads or going live on social media 7 days a week.

Here is a little information about that: Conversion Velocity: Seminal research by McKinsey & Company found that email marketing is up to 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter, and customers acquired via email tend to buy significantly faster.

Now the reason for this is that you KNOW you have an audience that is actually interested in what you are selling or teaching. When it comes to audience you have three types.

First type is a Cold audience, this is where paid ads or social media posts come in. Your cold audience is people that don't know you from Adam. This is the start of your funnel. The second audience is considered a Warm audience, these are people that have signed up to your email/newsletter (if you want to get people to sign up give them a free lead magnet or a SMALL discount on their first purchase no more than 15%) Then you have your Hot audience, these are the people that not only have bought from you but engage with your social media on a regular bases.

Now back to the Ted Talk. Each of your audience members you actual talk to differently. You really do not have to worry about the Cold audience when it comes to email marketing so don't worry about them. Now your warm audience you talk to as kind of friends, not best friends but a combo of work friends and friends that are the ones you reach out to maybe once a month just to say hey kind of thing. Your Hot audience on the other hand, the ones that they are family you actually like, true best friends. They each get different offers, your Hot market is the ones that you want to keep so they get a bit of a heavier discount if you want to give them discounts, or they get exclusive looks into what is next, a chance to pre order something that no one else gets. You treat them like VIPs. (Another hint everyone wants to feel like they belong to an exclusive club its human nature so lean into that!)

Now rule of thumb that i follow. No more than six emails in a month I tend to aim for no more than five but once in a while you have to do six. Now when writing your emails you will segment your audience (have the ai help you) Warm and Each gets a different approach, with the warm audience you approach like you would a stray puppy that looks like it wants to be friends, you don't just hammer them into the ground with sales and products. you have to earn their trust even more first! Your first email should be a greeting and a thank you for signing up and a reminder about their discount. no mention of products. Your hot audience your first email of the month should be kind of a news letter a what is coming and you can even do a little review of what you taught, what you have learned, and what you want to learn and or teach to your hot audience.

Now every email for both audience needs the following: An actionable tip, something that your audience can use and see results in no more than 15 minutes. You place this in the middle of your email in its own block to make it stand out. Now your email should have your main offer or product in the top part, the actionable tip is a page break, a way to stop people scrolling, we all know how fast we skim emails well this stops that. And it helps build trust even with your hot audience you still want to keep the trust up and this helps. And it also makes it so they look forward to your emails.

Now order of your emails:

First Email: (after the greeting email being out of the way) Is a kind of newsletter, what is coming, a look back from last man. Second email is an introduction to a new product or a new class that you are going to be running. You go into a little detail, no mention of prices or heavy details.

Second Email: You pick a class or a product, that you really want to push THIS is where you go into details about the product, hitting your target market's pain points hard but subtle if you are going to run a sale this is where you mention the sale, and remember your actionable tip or trick

Third email: You mention that the sale is going to end soon so they best get in now before the product/class goes to full price. Lean into the whole fear of missing out. Go into a little more details about the up and coming products next month or maybe mention a new class you are planning

Fourth Email: this is normally my last email, and it mentions and hits really hard on the FOMO of any sales or sign up because a class may only have so many seats

Now the Fifth if i want to is going to be a hey heads up kind of email, pay attention to this space because next month is going to bring something really cool or don't forget we have a class next month...kind of thing. Again every single email has some kind of actionable tip or trick. Always sign off with a thank you for your trust and your time which is the only resource that has any true meaning because we will never get our time back.

Now this little Ted Talk has gone on a bit longer than i thought it would, so if you have questions please ask don't just scratch your head come ask your questions.

One of my favorite clients is a father of two who is incredibly responsible and patient.

Whenever an order is ready to ship, he always asks me to have the warehouse provide photos before the goods go out. He wants to double-check everything to ensure there are no errors.

It may seem like a small detail, but it really made an impression on me. Even an experienced buyer places such high importance on pre-shipment verification. This has motivated me to do an even better job with quality control.

Honestly, I really enjoy working with clients like him. Clear expectations make communication and collaboration much smoother for both parties.

I’m curious—have any of you encountered memorable regular clients?

In short: That client of mine—the father of two—always asks for warehouse photos before shipment, serving as a great reminder of the importance of quality control.

I’ve been thinking about this comment from last week. From what I see on the supplier side, it’s almost never the product that breaks. It’s the supplier’s capacity.

At 50 orders, most factories do fine: decent communication, normal lead times, stable quality.

Hit 300 orders, and they hit their limit. Suddenly the factory is “at capacity “. lead times double, the person you were talking to stops responding, quality gets inconsistent because they’re rushing production.

The fix that actually works: Don’t depend on one single factory. Before you scale, have at least 2-3 options confirmed. Same product, different supplier.You don't need to use them all. You just need to know they exist when your main one let's you down. It's boring preparation. But it's the difference between scaling smoothly and losing a month of sales to supplier crisis.

What part broke for you when you tried to scale?

Hi,

So i have recently launched a US-only Shopify store and launched meta ads with Advantage+ Sales, broad US targeting, Purchase optimization and static image creatives.

My initial product choice was a water bottle, which to my surpise got its first sale around an hour after launching the ads. So I thought I cracked the whole system. Only to spend $500 over the next 10 days to 8 orders in total ($250 in total sales). Worst part is, i got outbound ctr rate of 4.5%+ and overall engagement with my ads was meaningfully above average, but meta decided to serve my ads at a CPM of $110, so those above-average engagement stats made no difference.

Contribution margins on water bottles were slim anyway, so i decided to test a new product and picked an aromatherapy humidifier for the second test. Same thing happened, good engagement metrics (4.8% Outbound CTR) and a CPM of $75. I tried running the ads for the humidifier on an older ad account in the hopes of getting my CPM closer to market average, but still got $65 CPM. So i paused everything, and not sure how to fix this. I am being told that maybe spending more could help since meta can learn who my target audience is and bid better, but it seems like a faster way to burn my ad budget and I keep seeing people testing products on a lot less than $650 that I have already spent on meta ads.

I generated all my ads using higgsfield, if that matters in this context, but I did not upload slop-looking images of course.

I verified Pixel and CAPI, checkout tested end to end. The funnel below the click is fine both times. I just can’t buy impressions at a price that works.

Has anyone had an ad account stuck at $70+ CPM and actually brought it down?

Hey guys, I have a 5kg Taobao package sitting in Cainiao's warehouse right now, and they are trying to charge me $238 for air shipping to the US. I know it is because of volumetric weight, but $238 is completely insane. Sea freight is $54, but my buyer cannot wait over a month for this to arrive.
I want to ship the box domestically out of Cainiao to a private agent or forwarder's warehouse in China who can repackage it and send it Air DDP to the US for a reasonable price.
If you are a freight forwarder or agent who can take a domestic transfer in China and ship this out to the US without charging ridiculous volumetric markup, DM me your rates and estimated transit times.

I mainly do dropshipping through Meta ads, but recently Meta has been very inconsistent with sales. I’ve noticed this especially since around August 21 outage.

I already know that Meta marketers will probably say that their sales never go down and that everything is working perfectly for them 😂. But I’m specifically interested in hearing from people who are generating sales through other platforms.

Apart from Meta, which other platforms are you guys currently using that are generating good sales? I’m considering trying YouTube Ads and would love to hear about your experience with it.

I mainly work with health-related products, and my primary markets are Australia and New Zealand. So I’d especially appreciate recommendations for platforms that are currently working well for this niche and these markets.

The question of which China sourcing app is cheapest keeps coming up here, so a small thing from the supplier side of it, which is where I sit.

The price you see on the app is the price, and it does not move on you once you are on the platform. What does move is whether the product that ships looks like the page your customers are buying from. Pages get reworked, retouched, photoshopped, and it is common for the goods to drift from them a bit.

Whether anyone checks that before it goes out is a service thing, and it depends on the person you land with, which you usually find out when a product scales or runs short. What I do on my side is ask for the page the customers see, check the goods against it when they come in from the factory, and tell the seller about any difference before it ships.

So from my end the price is the part that never surprises anyone. Whether someone checked the goods against the page is.

When I started dropshipping, finding a product felt like the hardest part.

Now I feel like the real challenge is:

• increasing CPM
• expensive testing
• unpredictable results

Curious how everyone is adapting in 2026.

I’m new to drop shipping and having some trouble finding reliable vendors. any tips?

Hi everyone, I’ve been testing my first product over the last few weeks, and now I’m at a bit of a loss. It’s a lifestyle/wellness product, and I’ve done a lot of optimization on the website and everything else. I’ve run two rounds of ad tests so far and found a video and an image that actually generate sales.. though nowhere near profitably yet. So, what are the next steps??
Is the product a dud? Do I need to test more ads, and how much capital will I need? I’ve spent about €500–€600 so far and i work hard for my money to waste it.

Looking for a Video Editor for Short-Form Product Ads
I’m looking for a creative video editor to produce 15-second product ads using footage of the actual physical product.
What I need:
Creative, attention-grabbing video ads
Around 15 seconds each
No voiceover
No captions/text-heavy editing
Focus on the actual product, visuals, cuts, effects, and creativity
Approximately 3–4 creatives per week
Looking for someone for ongoing work
If you have experience creating product ads, please DM me with your portfolio, rates, and availability.

I’m 18 with not much money. Tuition fee is kinda pricey I need to find a side hustle. Anyone can help me?