Dropshipping Vs Mini Importation Business: Which is More Profitable in 2024?

Have you been longing to get a clear and detailed comparison of Dropshipping and Mini Importation? You might be led to ask questions like Dropshipping vs. mini Importation which is more profitable? Which is easier? Which one should I go for?

The truth is dropshipping is making a wave in recent times, it is gradually becoming a popular business model in Nigeria and the world at large.

Not to worry, I’m going to be uncovering everything you need to know about these two business models in this article, their advantages and disadvantages, and then at the end you will be able to know which of the two business models to go for.

Just a quick reminder, both business models are very profitable business and beginner-friendly, and judging from my experience in both businesses I can boldly scream out to you that success is sure for you if you follow the right techniques.

First I will have to say this, in as much as both businesses are lucrative, there will always be an upper hand ( the oga kpatakpata lol ) but not too worry, with my experience in these two business models, I will provide an honest clear and detailed review or comparison as you may choose to call it.

Dropshipping VS Mini Importation: Which is more lucrative?

Although mini importation and dropshipping can be a little bit confusing as both looks exactly like the same type of business model but then there is a little difference.

Keep reading to know more!

Let me start by saying dropshipping is the opposite of mini importation. Thinking hard about these? Let me explain!

Let’s start by explaining what dropshipping is all about.

What is Dropshipping?

Dropshipping is a very cool and lucrative business model, easy to start with and request little or no capital or upfront costs. What do I mean?

Dropshipping is a business model which allows drop shippers or store owners to market and sell products without coming in physical contact with the product.

What this means is that you as a store owner can display the products you wish to sell in your store without physically owning them, now when someone comes across your store, sees your product, and decides to buy, he makes payment for the product and submits his shipping address.

Then you can forward the purchase details including shipping address to your supplier which is the owner of the product, and then they would supply the product directly to your customer.

Dropshipping vs mini importation: How do I make money from this?

Now this is how it works, when you set up a dropship store with any e-commerce platform like Shopify, Woocommerce, BigCommerce, or even WordPress.

Now there’s a popular platform called “AliExpress” AliExpress is a popular large wholesale market place known for selling products at a super cheap prices.

Depending on your dropshipping platform, there’s a way to import the products from Aliexpress into your store all you just need to do is to import from Aliexpress and edit the price.

For example, let’s assume you run a fashion store, and you get to see this bikers short which is selling for $1 on Aliexpress.

All you need to do is to edit the price of that shorts on your store to $1.5 or $2 or even $3 (depending on your choice) after importing them to your store,

now when you get an order, you will only have to go back to AliExpress website, pay the $1actual amount and submit the details of your customer’s purchase then AliExpress can now ship the shorts to your customer on your behalf and you make your money. Cool isn’t it?

Very cool if you would ask me!

Moreover, with dropshipping business, you don’t have to be bothered with the stress and troubles of producing products, storing products, setting up a warehouse space, tracking inventory, carrying out fulfilment such as shipping orders.

These clearly shows that dropshipping is a low risk business model, making it a great choice for anyone who wants to start a dropshipping business.

I’m sure you are liking this business model already, now let’s talk about how to actually start a dropshipping business.

Dropshipping vs mini importation: How to Start a Dropshipping Business?

Do you know you can Build a dropshipping store on WordPress?

As you already know, AliExpress is a very popular retail platform, with millions of orders volume that exceeds that of Amazon and eBay combined together.

Moreover, AliExpress’ prices are so low that even if you multiply prices of product by 10 on your store, you will still have the best price offers in your market.

And that is why many online retailers are so eager to start dropshipping from Aliexpress.

Now to start a dropshipping business on WordPress, all you just need to do is to install and activate the AliDropship plugin on your WordPress site, the AliDropship WordPress plugin is a unique WordPress based solution that assist you with the creation of AliExpress drop shipping stores and easy importing of Ali products. It does everything for you on auto pilot and in less than 20 minutes you will have your store built .

To be really honest, starting a dropshipping store can be very easy and fun too, and it’s highly recommended to start with WordPress as it is more easier and cost less compares to other e-commerce websites all you just need is your AliDropship Plugin and everything will be done in a matter of minutes.

Having talked about dropshipping, let’s now talk about mini importation.

Dropshipping vs mini importation: What is Mini-Importation Business?

I’m sure you might have come across this term, of course it’s flying around the internet, Facebook pages, WhatsApp, spornsord posts, blogs etc so it’s probably not a new thing to you.

Now an English dictionary defines the word “import” as;

1. Something brought in from an exterior source, especially for sale or trade. I.e The practice of importing.

2. To bring (something) in from a foreign country, especially for sale or trade.

So basically, the word “Import” or “Importation“, means buying things from another country and having it sent or shipped down to your own country.

Now as someone who have been into mini importation, I will say mini importation is also a very lucrative business that can make you rich in a short while.

But then mini importation unlike dropshipping requires a lot of time, hard work, resources which includes delivery and shipping troubles, promotion and inventory etc.

But what does this mean? Mini importation as earlier said means buying goods in bulk from a foreign country and having it shipped down to you in your own country.

Let me explain the process using 1688 as a case study.

1688.com is a Chinese company that sells product at a relatively low cost, but then the website is designed for Chinese citizens, but you can still import goods from them using an agent.

How do I do this?

All you just need to do is to use Google translate to translate the site into English, then you can check out what products you want to buy and their prices.

After that, you can now copy out the link and send it to your agent who will now check out if the product is coming from a supplier that sells quality products.

After a thorough check, your Chinese agent will now buy the product on your behalf and ship it down to your destination country.

Well things doesn’t end there, you will get to pay for shipping according to the shipping method you discussed with your agent.

Let me explain these methods!

Express Method (2-3 days): your supplier will take approximately 2-3 days to ship the product you ordered to your agent, then your agent will also use 2-3 to ship it down to your location, and everything should be around 1 week before you get your goods.

Cargo Method (10-20 days): This particular method takes around 10-20 days before your goods can get to you, once you send the links to the product you want to your agent, the product cost, Shipping cost, and the total KG of your products will be calculated and sent to you.

This is the method I use, and I trust the process.

Meanwhile, you can only pay for the goods and then the shipping cost will be paid when your product has arrived in your destination country.

If you are living in Nigeria, the product will be shipped down to Lagos State, but if you don’t stay in Lagos is no big deal, your agent in your country will get a logistics company that will deliver it to you no matter the state you live in.

One thing you should know is that there are many AGENTS around, so you should make sure that you are using a trusted agent.

Download our ebook to get the list of quality suppliers and trusted agents.

How to Start a Mini-Importation Business?

Starting a mini importation business shouldn’t be a hard nut, all you just need is to get a “Trusted Agent” and your journey will be smooth.

Secondly, you should know the right places to get products from, basically there are 4 popular market places you can order from.

1688 ( I use this).
ALIBABA
TAOBAO
ECHANMALL.

The list above is in priority order, I use 1688 because they sell at a relatively low cost, and have quality suppliers. Though I recently discovered “ECHANMALL” a Chinese company also but unlike y1688 everything is written in English.

That’s not to say that the other two are not good enough, No! It’s just about choice and to be fair most importers prefer Alibaba to 1688 and others prefer Taobao is just all about choice.

To import from 1688.com, first log in to their site and translate the site to English since everything is in Chinese language.

Then search for the product you want and and copy out the link to your clipboard.

To copy the link, long-press the picture of the product, and a list of options will be displayed on your screen, click
on copy link address, and paste on your note pad.

The thing is 1688 is made for local markets in China, this makes it impossible to buy directly from them. And this is where a shipping Agent like NBC Logistics comes in,

So after copying the product link to your clipboard, message any of the NBC Agents on WhatsApp and send them the link. My favorite agent is Alice, and she has never failed me.

After contacting them, they will calculate the price of the item together with the local shipping cost and give you the total amount in naira.

Unlike Alibaba, you will be paying in naira and to a naira account so no stress of converting or looking for a payment gateway.

After payment, it will take 2-4 days from the local supplier to the NBC warehouse in China. It will now take another 2 days for Express shipping to Nigeria.

But if you are importing from Alibaba follow these steps:

Go to Alibaba.com and search for the product you want to import, probably a hot product that would sell well in your demographic.

Once you have gotten the product, you have the privilege of chatting up the seller to discuss the price with him or her unlike 1688 where your agent does everything on your behalf.

After discussing the price of the product and the quantity of product you want to buy, the supplier will now send you an invoice and ask you to pay with either your credit card, debit card, PayPal, or Zeller.

You need to discuss with them about the payment gateway that will be convenient for you.

After payment, tell them they will be shipping to your agent in China.

Once the goods get to your Agent in China, your agent can now ship it down to your destination country, this would take approximately 6-7 days.

Provide your agent with your shipping details such as your “Full Name, Phone Number, and Shipping Code” and they in turn will provide their WhatsApp number for you so you can easily reach out to them.

Do you want to get our practical ebook guide on Mini importation? You can contact us at dropshipguide84@gmail.com.

Dropshipping vs mini importation: Comparisons of Dropshipping and Importation

Since we now know what dropshipping and mini importation businesses are all about, let’s now compare both business model, discuss their advantages and disadvantages, and know which business model is best for you.

Manufacturing Products.

In dropshipping, you are not in charge of manufacturing or developing products. You only get to promote and sell other people’s products. However, in dropshipping, you can sell single products you can also sell in bulk.

Although in mini Importation you are still not in charge of manufacturing and developing products, as an importer you mostly buy from your supplier as a wholesaler, not a retailer, this is because buying in large quantities comes with discounts better than when you are buying a single product.

Meanwhile, you can buy ( import ) as a wholesaler and sell as a retailer.

Purchasing Product

With dropshipping, you don’t need to buy any product, you only need to display images of the product you are selling with your price tag, and sometimes create videos about that product and upload them to your store.

Then when you get an order, you can now provide your supplier with the shipping details and have them ship it down to your customer.

Again, you are not displaying the exact amount a supplier is selling his or her goods in your store. For example, if a product costs $3 on the part of a supplier, you can sell it for $16 in your store and make a profit.

Whatever price you choose to tag a product on your store is no one concern, no one will question you on that.

In the mini importation business, you buy the product in bulk and make sure you are already in physical possession of the product before planning on selling it.

Shipping and Delivery

While dropshipping doesn’t allow you to worry about shipping and delivering your products simply because you are not in physical possession of the product. Your supplier does everything on your behalf.

On the other hand, Mini importation lets you take charge of everything including shipping and delivery and all the troubles that come with it.

dropshipping vs mini importation – Selling at Fixed Price?

While dropshipping allows you to sell a particular product at even x10 of the price of the product on Aliexpress, you can still make massive sales, all you just need is a good marketing strategy, and boom! You are making crazy sales.

In dropshipping business, you have full authority and can fix any price tag you want and no one will question you for that.

Also in mini importation, you are in full authority of the price you want to sell your products but then, there’s a limit to how far you can go in fixing prices to avoid the product being labeled “overpriced” and therefore resulting in your products not getting sold on time or even not getting sold at all.

Physical Product?

Dropshipping as said earlier, doesn’t allow you to get physically in touch with the product,

Most times it is advisable to purchase even if it is one piece of any product you want to dropship to know the quality of the product you want to drop ship to your customers in other to build and gain trust.

While in mini importation, you get to see, feel, and touch the product and know what you are planning to sell to your customers.

Which Business model do you Prefer – Rolling the Dice!

To be honest, some intending mini-importers right now and people who are already into mini-importation are also trying to have a taste of the dropshipping business to know how it tastes.

What about you, which do you prefer?

Mini importation or dropshipping?

I want to be fair in judging, both business models are very easy, but dropshipping is way easier and stress-free.

Your supplier does all the work that needs to be done on your behalf, you only act as a middleman between a supplier and a customer. However, you need good product promotion and marketing to make sales.

However, you might still have to be worried about your products getting to your customers in good condition to avoid dirtying your reputation and having bad records.

But with a legit supplier, you have nothing to worry about.

However in mini importation, your goods get to you first, then you take up the problem of marketing and delivering the products to your customer when they make their order.

So to be fair, dropshipping has
the highest points in terms of risk-free, stress-free, and the most profitable.

Conclusion

Dropshipping vs mini importation, which is more profitable? Which would you choose over the other? Which do you think is more lucrative?

If I’m placed in a position to choose, I will, first of all, compare both and see which has a high-profit margin, requires little capital to start, requires little marketing and promotion, has little or no stress, and has very little risk.

With these statistics, of course, you already know which business model I’m going to be choosing.

So what about you? Have you made up your mind? Which business model are you going to be choosing over the other? Or are you going to be trying both out?

Let’s hear what you have to say in the comment box!