As you all already know, a number of factors go into building a dropshipping store: from the quality of your stock and delivery times to the profit margins and brand identity, each aspect plays a big role in the success of your online store.
This is why apps like Spocket can be a big boon to your business.
Integrations like Spocket help you tackle all the above- which is why nearly 30,000 entrepreneurs use it!
In light of all that, we’re going to break down everything you need to know about this drop shipping solution. That way you can see for yourself whether or not this program is a good fit for your business.
Let’s dive in!
What’s Drop Shipping?
Before we delve into the meat and potatoes of this review, it’s crucial you understand what ‘drop shipping’ actually is.
In short, this is a business model that enables entrepreneurs to run an e-commerce store without warehousing their inventory or paying huge upfront costs for their stock.
Instead, with drop shipping, you just add products to your online shop, and when you make a sale, the order is then sent to the supplier to be fulfilled.
All you have to do is focus your precious time and energy on marketing and providing the best possible customer experience for your consumers.
So, this begs the question; how can Spocket help with that?
Let’s find out…
What’s Spocket?
In short, Spocket is a drop shipping app that integrates with both Shopify and WooCommerce stores. With a few clicks of a button, you can launch a dropshipping business selling products from suppliers located in both the States UK and the EU (you may also find a few merchants based in New Zealand and Australia).
This is what primarily makes Spocket different from all the other drop shipping apps on the market, as most other solutions focus on products sourced from Aliexpress.
In addition to that, you’ll be pleased to hear Spocket has a colossal marketplace to peruse; there are literally tens of thousands of products on there (including print on demand goods)! This is where you can research potential suppliers who might be able to help you better meet the needs of your customers.
Moreover, you can order sample products from a variety of suppliers on Spocket. This is amazing if quality control is important to you (and it should be!) You can also use these samples to test the speed of delivery, and take your own product photos.
Once you’re satisfied with your choice of product(s), you can import them to your ecommerce store.
Best of all, Spocket’s high-quality goods come with pre-negotiated discounts as large as 60% off the retail price. That way you have the opportunity to make more of a profit on each unit sold.
Last (but certainly not least), you can offer customers incredibly fast delivery times. Primarily, because 70% of Spocket’s suppliers are in either the U.S or Europe. As such your customers usually receive their orders between two and five days (not the usual one-month waiting period that’s all too common with other drop shipping companies).
How Does Spocket Work?
As we’ve already said, Spocket allows you to select high-quality products and print on demand goods (which you can use alongside Printful and Oberlo).
👉 You can choose from a variety of product categories, including-
- Fashion and Clothing
- Electronics and Tech
- Home and Garden
- Automotive
- Toys
- Gaming
- Computing.
You can look through their massive array of products by typing keywords into their search bar or using their price filter.
Rest assured, all of Spocket’s products come with discounts between 30-60% of their retail pricing, which allows for a healthy profit margin.
How Do I Start Using Spocket?
As you now know, you can directly integrate your Shopify or WooCommerce store to work with the Spocket app. If you want to get started with this, here’s what you need to do.
1. Link Your Store
If you’re a Shopify seller, head over to the Shopify App Store and search for the ‘Spocket Shopify App‘, then select the ‘Add App’ button. This will prompt you to enter your login info.
Once you’ve done that, you should have successfully linked your online store with your new Spocket app. From there, you can begin to peruse Spocket’s catalogs and get a feel for the products you want to market and sell.
2. Take a Tour Around Spocket
Spocket provides users with a quick tour which you can access via their dashboard. We thoroughly recommend using this resource so you can make the most of this app from the get-go.
3. Find Products to Sell
Just type in the products you’re looking for in the search bar. Or, find goods using their various filters, including-
- Product categories
- Price
- Location
- Spocket’s premium products
4. Import Products to You Store
When you’re ready to add a product to your store, drag your cursor over it. A green bar should appear saying; “add to import list’. When you click this, that specific product will save to your “import list”.
When you later view you ‘import list’ you can take your time to evaluate each product before you make it live on your digital store. It’s also at this point you can modify the details of your product(s) (should you wish to). When you’re happy with all the info, select the “Push To Store” button which will automatically publish these goods to your e-commerce store.
Yes, it really is as simple as that.
How Much Will Spocket Set me Back?
One of the things we love about Spocket is that you can get started for free.
We encourage you to test the app first to see if it’s a good fit for your business before handing over any of your hard earned money on their paid plans.
👉 The free plan also entitles you to:
- The importation of up to 25 Spocket products to your e-commerce store
- Real-time inventory updates
- Email support
- An unlimited number of product orders
- Global pricing rules
- Tracking numbers for all shipments
As your business expands, there’s a good chance you’ll want to sell more than 25 of Spocket’s products. At this stage, you’ll have to upgrade to the ‘Pro Plan’ for $49 per month ($29/month when paid annually). This permits you to import as many as 250 products.
However, if you still need more, you’ll be better with the ‘Empire Plan’ which entitles you to an unlimited number of products. However, this is the most expensive option and will set you back $99 per month ($79/month when paid annually).
👉 With the Pro Plan, you’ll get everything in the free package in addition to:
- Live chat and email support
- Branded invoices
- Access to Spocket’s ‘premium products’
- Access to exclusive deals
Both the Pro and the Empire bundle offer exclusive products. These work wonders for helping you stand out from an increasingly competitive marketplace.
You can also send branded invoices to your customers which exude professionalism. Spocket will automatically create them on your behalf and they’ll include-
- A personal note
- The name of your customer
After all, it’s the little touches that make your brand more memorable!
You’ll also get access to phone-based support if you find yourself in a pickle which is available around the clock. Spocket’s dedicated support team is specially trained to provide the advice you need to make the most of their app.
💡 You should also note: Each Spocket product plan includes an automatic currency exchange feature. So, if you’re selling to customers across the globe, it shouldn’t matter.
What If I Want to Cancel My Spocket Subscription?
If you want to cancel your Spocket subscription, you’re free to do so at any time. You aren’t locked into any lengthy contracts. Again, this is just another reason why opting for one of Spocket’s paid plans isn’t a massive gamble.
What If I Want to Become a Spocket Supplier?
Virtually anyone shipping products within the States or from Europe can become a Spocket supplier.
👉 However, to qualify you’ll also need to:
- Offer a live CSV feed
- Prove you’re an official business
- Offer Spocket’s users a discount on your usual retail prices
- Provide a flat rate shipping fee and tracking for both domestic and international deliveries
If you’re able to do all the above, you should be good to go.
Best of all, it’s free to register as a supplier!
💡 You should note: Spocket keeps your payments while the products are shipped. From there, you’ll then receive your funds each Friday.
👍 Pros of Using Spocket
There are tons of advantages to using Spocket.
Here are just a few of them:
Your Inventory Automatically Updates
You can access fully updated stock levels at all times as Spocket automatically handles your inventory. This means you’ll never accidentally sell anything to customers that your suppliers have run out of!
Order Tracking (In Real-Time)
You can track the status of your order every step of the way, so you and your customers can rest easy knowing your orders are progressing at the rate they should be.
Import Products with One Click
We love how much time this feature saves.
As we’ve already explained, Spocket has a one-click import button. Gone are the days whern entrepreneurs are forced to add product images and descriptions manually.
However, you still have the option to edit these details to ensure you’re happy before the product goes live on your e-commerce store. You can also go through all the different product variants to ensure you don’t publish a variant you’re not comfortable selling.
💡 Top Tip: We highly recommend spending a little time re-writing the product description as this significantly improves your SEO efforts. You can also add and edit “alt” text to your product images. Just like original product copy, this also helps your product pages to rank higher in the search engine results.
Automated Order Fulfilment
As soon as a customer orders from you, the details they plugged into the check out page (like their name and address) are sent directly over to the Spocket supplier. You’ll then receive an email confirming that your customer’s request has been sent to the supplier. From there, the vendor will prepare the products and ship them to your consumers.
Simple.
Once the order is sent out for delivery, you can use the ‘track order’ button located on your dashboard. This provides you with the exact location of your products at any given time, so you and your customers can enjoy some peace of mind.
Automate the Pricing Process
Spocket has a pretty awesome pricing mark-up feature which enables you to automate your entire pricing process. You can choose to calculate your profit mark-up using either a:
- Multiplier
- Percentage
- Fixed price rate
This helps to ensure you don’t accidentally under or overcharge your customers.
👎 Disadvantages to Using Spocket
As with any e-commerce app, there are a few limitations to be aware of.
The Location of Suppliers is Limited
Like we’ve said throughout this article, Spocket enables entrepreneurs to mainly use the services of suppliers located in the States and the EU.
So, if you want to ship products from suppliers residing outside these parameters, you’ll need to prepare for more costly shipping rates and longer shipping times.
Customs Duty and Taxes Aren’t Included
As you’ll already be aware, customs duty and taxes vary between countries. As such, Spocket doesn’t include these fees in the overall cost of their products. Therefore, you’ll need to factor this into your bottom line before selling the product.
You Can’t Sell on Some of the Most Popular E-commerce Platforms
Yes, there are a lot of places you can sell Spocket products:
- Shopify
- Facebook shops
- YouTube
- WooCommerce
However, if you’re an online seller relying on the following platforms:
- Amazon
- eBay
- Etsy
- Wish
- Groupon
Then Spocket isn’t the app for you. At this time, you’re unable to sell Spocket merchandise on the above platforms.
You Can’t Customize Your Packaging
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, entrepreneurs are unable to customize their product’s packaging to reflect their unique brand. If this is important to you, Spocket isn’t the drop shopping solution for you.
You Can’t Directly Contact Spocket Suppliers
If you’re someone who likes to form close relationships with suppliers, then you should know that this isn’t possible with Spocket. Unfortunately, users can’t communicate directly with Spocket’s suppliers.
It stands to reason, that due to the vast quantity of merchants associated with Spocket, it’s near-on impossible for these vendors to answer each and every query.
Instead, if you have any questions, you’ll need to contact Spocket’s central support team.
Who Should Use the Spocket App?
Spocket is a fabulous solution for any brand using the drop shipping business model. This is especially true if you’re new to the world of e-commerce and have either a Shopify or WooCommerce store. With the help of this app, you could import and start selling products within minutes!
We love that Spocket has dedicated itself to giving online sellers the tools they need to build a profitable drop shipping business. They only associate themselves with top quality suppliers so that their users can provide their customers with a premium experience.
Have any of you got experience using Spocket? If so, we would love to hear your thoughts on the subject in the comments box below. Speak soon!
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