To do Costco dropshipping, you will need to:
1. Set up your dropshipping store
2. Sign up for a Costco membership
3. Use tools such as Importify, AutoDS, and WebAutomation.io
The process is tricky but the right software can help you solve the problems you may encounter.
Conversely, with lead generation, you can earn passive income without having to worry about customer inquiries, order monitoring, or losing a membership. Once you rank a business website on Google, you get paid by your clients for the organic traffic
Can I dropship from Costco?
You can dropship from Costco, although the company does not directly support dropshipping. Also, Costco is a member-only warehouse, meaning only members may purchase items from them. However, there are tools that allow dropshippers to order and dropship products from Costco.
Costco Facts and Costco Dropshipping Strategy
Costco is a multi-billion global retailer headquartered in Issaquah, Washington. As of April 2023, the company has an estimated net worth of $220.42 billion and operates 849 warehouses in North America, Asia, and Europe. The company is ranked #11 at Fortune 500’s largest corporations in the US based on overall revenue.
With the dropshipping business model, ecommerce and online store owners can sell products without investing in and maintaining a physical inventory. As customers purchase from your website or online store, orders are immediately forwarded to third-party retailers who handle all the work (including packaging and shipping items). You can then earn money from the profit margin between your asking price and the wholesale cost.
As mentioned, Costco currently does not exactly encourage nor does it have an existing support system for dropshipping. However, ecommerce entrepreneurs can take advantage of relevant tools to make it possible for them to dropship products from Costco.
What tools can I use for Costco dropshipping?
The tools you can use for Costco dropshipping include Importify, AutoDS, and WebAutomation.io.
Importify
Importify allows dropshippers to find, import, and sell products from Costco, along with Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, Etsy, Snapdeal, Taobao, Walmart, Wish, and other suppliers. The app also does automatic order fulfillment, price automation, and product customization.
AutoDS
AutoDS is an all-in-one dropshipping solution that can help simplify the dropshipping process. This tool makes it possible for dropshippers to import Costco products directly to their Shopify stores. Other features include order automation, price monitoring, product research, stock monitoring, and more.
WebAutomation.io
WebAutomation.io is another useful tool. It provides pre-built extractors that make it easy to scrape Costco products into Shopify CSV compatible format. The user-friendly tool gets detailed information from Costco’s product listings in minutes.
What are the benefits of Costco dropshipping?
The benefits of Costco dropshipping include a massive catalog of products, exclusive offers and discounts, plus great flexibility.
Great flexibility
Generally, dropshipping offers ecommerce business owners the flexibility to experiment. You can test different products to discover which sells best. The best thing is that you won’t have to spend much on purchasing stocks.
What is one major drawback of Costco dropshipping?
Despite these advantages, Costco may not be the best supplier out there since they don’t exactly support dropshipping. We’ve heard of reports of orders suddenly being canceled. In a YouTube short video, vlogger @PaulJLipsky described Costco as “not the most dropship friendly” platform. He went on saying that many people have had issues with Costco in the past, adding "You can only send stuff to a certain number of addresses per month before they start canceling orders."
Meanwhile, Ecom Ejay also made a video, sharing that Costco canceled 4 orders because the indicated addresses were far from Costco warehouses. Apparently, the retailer does not ship to certain cities in the country. “It’s hard to rely on Costco because we don’t know where they don’t ship to,” he wrote in the comments section.
How much money do you need to start dropshipping?
You will need a minimum of $200 to start a dropshipping business. Upfront costs include:
What other stores can I dropship from?
Other stores you can drop ship from include:
These platforms are among the most popular retailers and suppliers for dropshipping products. Go check out their websites to compare products and offers to find out which works best for your dropshipping business.
Is dropshipping a profitable business?
Drop shipping can be a profitable business because you can earn 40% gross profit and 20% net profit or a monthly income of $1,000 to $5,000. Overall, your earnings will depend on the products you sell. You can make more money if you sell and advertise viral items to your target market.
So, can dropshipping make you rich? While dropshipping can be potentially lucrative, the business model can be challenging and time-consuming. You will need to work hard on promoting your products, plus you’ll have to deal with customer concerns most of the time. Also, competition can be tough because of the saturated market.
Related Articles on Dropshipping
Conclusion
Local lead generation is your best bet for earning passive income. Your goal is to build a website and then rank it on local Google results. As you focus on specific cities or towns, you will only be competing with 20 or more small businesses so ranking and attracting organic traffic won’t be as hard. Then you can start making money as you rent out your digital properties to local businesses wanting to grow their customer base.
With dropshipping, you're basically aiming to sell to thousands of buyers and you're directly competing with many other sellers. Local lead generation, on the other hand, is more area-specific and you're targeting small businesses. Competition isn't as fierce, plus the earning potential can be rewarding - especially if you run, rank, and rent out several business websites.
