Ecommerce Q&A

Would be great to hear your thoughts @Brad Lyons @Philip Brookes @Quentin Aisbett 

Here is a list of tips to start your eCommerce Dropshipping business today!
1. Select a laser-focused niche
2. Do an extensive market and competition research
3. Diligently identify and communicate with potential suppliers
4. Strategize and build a dynamic and responsive eCommerce website
5. Attract customers through a customer acquisition plan
6. Analyze & optimize metrics responsible for your business growth
If you are looking for an eCommerce drop shipping company then my suggestion is Fortunesoft IT Innovations

Thanks @Allisha Martin ... Some others are Salehoo, , Oberlo, AliBaba, AliExpress... Some tips in this article here...  https://www.savvysme.com.au/article/1961-eCommerce-tips--tricks

Such great advice in the comments already. The small note I would add to that is to make sure you absolutely smash it with quality social media ads (and influencer) campaigns. In my experience, well run ad and influencer campaigns can really influence e-commerce sales.

Amazon is already in Australia. There are a lot of dodgy traders out there that will be in trouble, however they should be. So many people buying from Amazon and ebay then reselling with a massive mark-up. A few years ago I caught out Wow sight and sound doing this and a number of other companies. 

In reality if you are selling your own products there are no issues. If you are reselling products with massive mark-ups you should be worried.

Amazon isn't a company people should worry about. They are not the biggest threat to online business. You can buy the products Amazon sell direct from the factories if you wanted to compete with them. There is no reason why any online business can't do the same as Amazon.

I believe the biggest issue is import tax and internet. Australia is too far behind the rest of the world when it comes to this space. The internet in Australia is too slow. The NBN is not true fibre, and even if you get Fibre you're not getting the real deal. Your getting a massively restricted product that you have to pay extra just to get a half decent speed. 

So the real issue is, if you want to setup an online business that has any hope of expanding you need to be offshore. Australia does not have the infrastructure to accommodate. NZ, Thailand, Philippines, China, Russia, US, UK and most of Europe are all up to standards or well above. Australia, too far behind and there are no plans for attempting to keep up. 

Making money on the internet is easy. Scaling that up to compete with Amazon just takes time, and time is something a lot of people are not willing to spend. A lot of people just want to have a massive online business now.

It can work and it can fail like anything. You lose a lot of control compared to stocking and shipping goods directly yourself. Drop shipping adds another layer between you and your customer and the drop shipper is never going to care about your customer to the same level you will within your own business. It's all third party arrangements with mixed results. Depends on what you're selling and who you're partnered with to drop ship which will determine the viability and potential succeess.