BRUTALLY HONEST Dropshipping Store Review (Shopify Aliexpress Store Review)
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- Sarah Reviews a Subscriber’s Dropshipping Store! Find Out What the Expert Had to Say…
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We gave a brutally honest review of Lucas’ store - Kitchen Platform.
And we broke it down into 3 major points:
Whether you’ve chosen good products for your store
Your strategy when advertising products on Facebook
Your store design and branding
Here’s what we had to say…
(Along the way you’ll also find some helpful tips you can even use for your own store)
Aspect #1: Whether You’ve Chosen Good Products for Your Store
The right product is the “life-blood” of any store.
For Lucas, his products were kitchen gadgets. Sort of like kitchen “hacks” designed to make cooking easier.
The problem was, these so-called kitchen “hacks” can often be a trap. For 3 reasons:
1. It’s cheap junk that solves fake problems.
Unfortunately, the creators of these gadgets often invent or create “fake problems” that very few people have as an excuse to sell a product to merchants.
This anti-soup spill funnel is a prime example. Have I ever tipped soup from a pot and had it spill? Definitely. Did it happen enough that I thought I needed to go buy a piece of plastic to fix the problem? No. Instead I just got better at pouring the soup into my bowl.
Using the Amazon method I demonstrated in the video is a great way to “verify” whether a product actually solves a problem.
*TIP*: If you want to find products that SELL, make sure they 1) solve a REAL problem or 2) Adds an additional bonus to someone's life.
2. There’s no niche to target your Facebook ads
Kitchen is a broad niche, so it’s easy to spread yourself too thin when running ads. Not only is it too broad - but you need to find the right product to promote. And promote it in the right way.
So what’s the RIGHT way to promote kitchen gadgets? VIDEO ADS!
If you weren’t shown how any of these gadgets worked, some of them could easily be mistaken for Star Trek props. A video of these items “in action” is the difference between viewers going from “What the hell is that thing?” to “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!”
*TIP*: Use video when it’s hard to tell what your product does.
3. They are easily available in local stores
For example, a gadget of yours - a pineapple corer - can easily be found at supermarkets (next to the pineapples). Which makes it seem pretty mundane and reduces its “wow” factor.
*TIP*: Find products that customers won’t easily find elsewhere. This makes it seem rare and exclusive.
Aspect #2: Your Strategy When Advertising Products on Facebook
My first concern was how low you’d priced your items for. As a rule of thumb, I recommend selling your items at 3x the price of its cost. This leaves you a 30-15% profit per sale after expenses.
Example: A mug costs $3 and sold for $9. For most winning items, ½ of the revenue from the sale goes towards advertising costs (your Facebook ad). So when we deduct the advertising expense ($4.50) plus the cost to buy the mug ($3) - we’re left with a profit of $1.50.
Now let’s do the math with one of the products you’re selling: Vegetable slicers.
You currently sell this in your store for $6. On AliExpress, the cost to buy a vegetable slicer is $2.75. When you deduct advertising costs plus the price of the item, you’re left with just $0.25 profit. Which isn’t even close to making a “decent” profit.
*TIP*: Go through and check the prices of your items to make sure that they are priced high enough to be profitable.
Aspect #3: Your Store Design and Branding
Here’s the brutal truth: Your store lacks in branding and purpose.
It’s clear that your store is designed to solve annoying problems and make cooking easier using kitchen “hacks.” Yet, you fail mention ANY of this on your site.
Instead, you talk about how you’re here to help people “design a kitchen” in “their own way.”
*TIP*: Change the language on the site to not only reflect WHAT you’re selling, but to make it look like you’re passionate about it too.
On the plus side though, you did an awesome job in adding trust badges and emphasizing the benefits in your product description copy.
But now to take your store from “good” to “great” - consider the following areas:
*Your trust emblems are placed awkwardly. Align them to the left with the text and “buy” button to give it that professional look
*Get rid of ANY low quality images in your product listing that look pixelated. You can often find it just by doing a Google image search for the title of the AliExpress item you want to sell.
*Add a favicon to your store. A great image for that would be your logo image. So just take this and turn it into a favicon!
Thank you very much for the review of my Store
Hi Lukasz, I was checking your website while I was checking Sarah's video. I did the process as if I was going to check out a product and then it asked me about my address in order to calculate the shipping cost. Since I'm in the US it says it was free....are all your products free shipping? If yes, probably you could remove that step from the checkout process and add a legend in your front page that says "Free Shipping to US" . I hope Sarah agrees :)
Store has potential
@Rick B What do you sell that makes you a winner?
Rick B ummmm the kitchen niche is a evergreen niche
Wish ya luck lukasz
Why has every person that ever offered me constructive criticism; never sounded like you?
They had a lot of criticism to express,
but absolutely nothing constructive to say.
Awesome Job Sarah!
👍🌹🌹🌹👍
Did they charge money?
@Pernection
No, they didn't charge me anything but the valuable time they stole criticizing me while having neither right nor business to do so.
I hear you man. My gf is excellent at finding reasons why something won't work or why it will fail and why it's a bad idea, yet when I ask for suggestions on how to improve, she goes quiet, as if by magic!
Don't assume that most people can be as intelligent, observant, and analytic as Sarah. In my experience, only 1 in 10,000 are as good as she is.
So - do you guys have any advice/tips for Kitchen Platform?
More products. Change the default refund policy to one customised to your store. Contact - have a real email address (e.g. contact@kitchenplatform.com [Google Apps email is only $5 a month]). Get on to social media. You can harvest kitchen tips etc once a week then use a tool to publish them over the next week. Etc. Seeing the store owner has put himself out there, we'll buy something in support.
The PayPal payment email address is gmail, sorry dude that just looks scammy. Customers will feel much easier sending money to sales@kitchenplatform.com and not lpotokbusiness@gmail.com
Probably dump all of these worthless products and sell something people actually want. For example, sell kitchen knife sets.
How does facebook ads work if no one knows if your site? I used the ad feature to test it out through Kit from Shopify
Can you check my store out www.chosd.com
Need to import reviews
That was a wonderful video. I have no interest in opening an online store but it's always entertaining to watch a wonderful video like this one.
Oh my this is the review that I'm looking for since we kinda sell similar things. You're the best Sarah!
Best ever store review I have seen till date! Thanks Sarah for letting us connect everything that you've been teaching to actions in reality. Absolutely great value delivered. Have a great day.
Wow Sarah what a great review. absolutely loved it. Also your drop ship club package is awesome and very cheap. I would definetly recommend it to anyone who wants to get into drop shipping. It will prevent newbies from making mistakes and ultimately save them a lot of money. Keep up the great work.
Thank you Lukasz for offering up your store. Great review Sarah; very, very informative!
Love all the sunshine, too! Thanks again
I've learned so much from her! These simple sales tips will go a long way. Invaluable content! Thank you for these videos and make more!!!! :)
This is my favorite video of yours. PLEASE DO MORE LIKE THIS!! Your commentary was so honest and true and your delivery was absolutely hilarious.
Love your videos!
By the way, i never comment on your videos, but I've learned a lot on your course. my website has been live for 2 weeks and i have made 3 sales!
Keep up the good work Sarah!
Trollis hows it doing now?
@@CalebKotz11235 Now 16 sales. Insane.. this is the fastest $200 iv'e ever made. Here is a little tips, reach out to people on Instagram and send them free poducts in exchange for a
shoutout. I hope Sarah will read this.
@@trollistrollkarlen9766 if i may ask sir what platform did you use.
@@chocofield shopify
@@trollistrollkarlen9766 how is it going now?
The one thing I would suggest is to create OTOs (aka Upsells) off the original product. This will increase your average revenue per sale and give you more money to reinvest into your FB ads. Select complimentary products as your OTO. So, let's say you send people to the 3 in 1 avocado tool, after the click add to cart send them to a page with the veggie slicer. Some people will buy both and that means more money. And the person who can spend the most money on ads WIN!
The store definitely has potential it just needs some tweaking a bit :-)
Hey Sarah, I'm a fellow Kiwi from Palmerston North. I want to thank you in person one day for all of the value that you've provided here on this channel and to countless others around the world. Maybe one day when you're not too busy I can buy you a coffee since you're a coffee nut or lunch. Thanks for everything Sarah.
Im so glad i found your videos. Thanks for all this knowledge you're sharing. Im going to side hustle and save up a few hundred and try print on demand. Im super excited
Hi Sarah! I watch your videos all the time! You’re awesome keep being you 🤩🤩! Thanks for your insight !
Love these!! Thanks Lucas for being available for this! :D
I have never thought about the "fake problem" thing before but it makes total sense! I would love to check back in with Lukasz's store in a few months to see how things have improved.
Thank you so much!!! I have 5 of these items on my Aliexpress that I was going to purchase for the store winter sales so now I will reevaluate the sale potential - I thought the Angry Lady micro cleaner was a cool idea. I also liked the page set up and think that his sales will be great with the right items
Love wholesale Ted
Very honest and she keeps it simple and no flashy gimmicks love that
Does everyone love this girl I do so smart
I can listen to this girl all day
Awesome. Sarah, please create more analysis videos: analysing website shops and also Instagram shop that sell directly on Instagram. Thanks
Hi Sarah, I just found you yesterday and your advice is amazing! You really know how to get the old brain ticking and help us think for ourselves. Keep up the great work! Cant wait to watch more and I'm loving the NZ accent as well he he xxxx : )
That spill item on pots is actually huge. I didn't even know that existed. I'm not a chef by any means, when I try to poor something out of a pot, the liquid runs down the side and makes a huge mess. I think that's awesome and now I want one, lol.
When I saw the soup pourer I thought just use a ladle why pour the soup out. Same with the avocado slicer. My wife has been eating avocados for over 40 years so she uses a knife plus a spoon isn’t dangerous. I like the sites design though, very nice. Good review Sarah.
Another valuable video! Thank you
Soufiane Ech Chentouf Agreed!
Always posting very usefull videos, thank you so much
:( i tried to checkout as a test to see how much is the shipping but it has been disabled. I hope lukas hasn't given up.
Here is some shipping advice. With some of the Ali Express stores, they use automatic information blocks. This is when you complete the shipping information and you allow your information to be submitted from history or the block thinks it knows your exact location. Here is the problem I had and never received my product. Plus when I went to dispute it the store claimed that they sent it to the address I offered. Here is the location Auto fill placed: Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The confusion began with Fairfax County. I live in the county, but my actual city is Alexandria, Virginia. The postal system reader got confused because there is a Fairfax City, Virginia. The United States Postal made an attempt to find my package but was unsuccessful. So with that said. Always complete your shipping information yourself and don't use auto fill.
Thank you Sarah. I love your vids. Learned alot from your review!
I love your accent too:) Thanks again I have watched this video more and working on some of your suggestions.
I had to chuckle with you showing all the products that you critiqued. Lukasz can now say: at least one person bought them...
It's interesting that your advise is solid for even a brick and mortar store.
Thanks for your time im new to your channel but I have been watching some of your videos you are awesome!
That Angry Lady microwave cleaner is super popular! We have one and I know several people that do! I remember a couple years ago when it was huge. Oh and it works really well :)
You should put that plastic doll on your desk. You look hilarious with it.
Filming this video with it was so much fun that I both hate it and love it now. It's definitely got a spot on my desk!
@@WholesaleTed when would be a good time to look at my site?
this is one of your best video :)
Sarah, you are the greatest. I love you. Every video I learn something. You inspire me and give me motivation (along with many other people) you exert so much positive energy into this world. I'm just wondering, what are your thoughts on a yoga store? I have a store selling yoga and meditation supplies, I've only made 2 sales, do you have any advice on the things I should try to sell or try to avoid? Thank you!
I have a crush on Sarah
His logo is awesome.
btw that vegetable slicer thing looks like a hair comb
My thought exactly..My mom was a cosmetologist & had several that looked just like that around the house..
it looks like a lice remover lol
Lesson = don't sell junk. Unless it's a value added addon bundled to convince your customer to buy the main products that will make you real money. ;)
Great and very helpful review Sarah!
Hello Sarah I build a Shopify store following EXACTLY your instructions (I just struggle with the descriptions but I'm getting better day after day) I officially opened it on 24 May and today (17/06, 3 week and 3 days) I get my 5th order with a total of more than 80 $ in sales. I get 400 likes on my Facebook Page and almost 300 followers on Instagram. I don't want to share the website because I worked hard to find this niche and I want to preserve my new-born business. I'd like to ask, am I in the good path? I don't have point of reference to judge myself. Thank you very much for your passion and ALL your advice!
i bought two of those spiky onion slicers from ali for like .17 each, not 2.75 lol. Spoiler alert: they're terrible. Using your hand as a cutting board is probably less likely to injure you than those things.
thanks Sara this was really insightful
Personally, I would always calculate product costs and shipping charges with the ORIGINAL-NORMAL prices that show up in AliExpress, because the above prices you showed were a special discount for a few days from AliExpress (I am talking about the Onion Slicer btw). That way, you already have calculated your profit, and when there is a special discount (the ones that are for 2-3 days in AliExpress), you end up increasing your profits, without having to touch your original MSRP (which was calculated with the normal prices)...
Love this videos guys! Great job
Hi Sarah! This video was super helpful, thanks. I have a bit of trouble picking a niche for my store. One idea I had was space/galaxy-themed jewelry or phone cases. Do you have any tips? Thanks!!
My tip there would be that is extremely niche and you can expand that niche out to be space/galaxy in general :) you don't just have to focus on phone cases for that niche.
@@WholesaleTed thanks so much!
Best Review I seen by far
I'm left thinking how do you know products selling in US Malls when you're living in Asia?
Hello Sarah, I was wondering when doing drop shipping is it okay to use photos from reviewers on Aliexpress, until I get enough revenue to buy those products myself then make (video demos, photos, and reviews).
First problem that stood out to me was ‘Dumping Maker’ when it should be ‘Dumpling Maker’. Nothing worse than bad grammar and spelling on someone’s website. I’m not a grammar nazi, my grammar is shit sometimes - but it looks so unprofessional on a website. I don’t trust them to get my address right.
I scrolled through a lot of comments to find someone mention the dumping maker mistake but most people these days do not eat dumplings or know what one is and most likely cannot spell dumpling let alone need a tool to help them so they do not even notice lol
What a fantastic upload, great work 👍. I just made my first a few days ago and even a return buyer but it’s stopped🤪 great timing on the upload as doubt setting in.
How long do you think 1 should test a product before moving on? 4 full days?
Should I change audiences during those days?
Congratulations on your first sale! I would move on after 4 days for a test. I find for beginners it is usually better to test a new product than try and optimzie the ad audience.
Best videos ever, thank you!!
Awesome video !!! Useful tips 😊👍🏻
The vegetable slicer can also function as a hair pick.
He wrote “dumping” instead of “dumpling” too
Hi Sara! your videos are amazing! as a dropshipping virgin, the concept of everything was very daunting to me. But thanks to your videos i am on my way to building my first shopify store. Hopefully i will be able to get a brutally honest review from you. I have one question regarding this video: Should we still put a product on our store even if its available on amazon like this avocado cutter is? I mean wouldn't it be more feasible for people to just buy it from amazon than an online store as that is the first source people go to. It gets really really confusing and hard to keep oneself motivated as no matter what product i chose, it is already there on freakin amazon!
I think it's funny that you have quite a few of these devices!
Google images also alows you to search for image size so you search for different sized megapixels.... or the exact size you need....
Man I wish I invented that avocado device
Love your videos Sarah. Love to be able to do other things in my life and not be living in the rat race and constantly paying bills. Be able to leave the USA and go where there is no rat race and keeping up with the Joneses! 😘🙂
I love these reviews
Love the brutal honesty. a bit Spicy Ey.
Thanks Sarah!
Lukasz, your store looks nice. Only use more of videos as much as possible. If you have to use a featured image, make it a lifestyle image - meaning an image that shows a gadget being used. Like your pizza slicer.
When selecting products, see first if it is saleable in Amazon via Unicorn Smasher or Ebay using watchcount.com.
I might go ahead and create an Instagram and a Facebook for your site. Clean looking site. Good on ya.
I know you don’t typically reply to comments, but could you (or someone else) help me sort this out? I have been researching shopify/AliExpress dropshipping for months, and I am still confused about one flaw: How can you possibly BUILD a BRAND by marking up AliExpress products? Wouldn’t customers eventually discover that they can buy from the supplier instead? You say in your videos “this is why you should rely on getting impulse purchases”, but that only goes so far. What happens when a customer comments on your ad “Hey everyone! Get this product for $10 cheaper on AliExpress!” What happens when customers start talking about your brand, and word gets around that all of your products are from AliExpress?
I wonder what she has to say about this lol...
thinkgeek .com and hottopic .com are basically dropshipping sites. (some of their stuff I've seen on aliexpress!)
What is a "Feathercon?" That's what it sounded like in your video
A favicon is the image next to your website's name at the top in the tab.
(If you don't understand, just google favicon)
Interesting video, but I would love to see more about selling print-on-demand products, and how to deal with common pitfalls/issues, especially returns and things like that.
its good to know that you different than all other youtubers
Sarah is awesome
Well sitting your coffee with a spoon isn’t a problem but many people sell self stirring mugs
Great review!!!! I need this
Love your videos
Again a great presentation
I dont really know for sure but I feel like the "Add to Cart" button should not be red. I feel like red is usually a color used for a warning or danger or something negative. I feel like Green is a better color to use but thats just me I could be way off in my thinking.
solving fake problems 😂is the problem
Tip: if you’re in southeast Asian countries, especially Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Facebook advertising does not work very well if your target audience is teens and youth. They’re a all on Instagram!
Great video. That store is really good. And he doesn't sell! So weird. I thought about making a kitchen store after my failing sports store, now I am wondering what to do. I don't get how to find a specific niche and products which actually solve problems, despite having spent hours et euros in training. I spent hours in AliExpress and I thought about: a sport accessories store, a kitchen store and a black jewels store. I haven't seen one item that actually can solve a problem.
You are sooooo right!
Hi Sarah I discovered your videos on Saturday just gone now it has been 3 days straight just watching your videos and preparing what to do next. I'm a beginner and if I start up a Tshirt business online: My question is: Am I able to BUY from my own shop and how?
Brutaly Honest question.
Why do you wear the same cloths in all your videos?
Brutally honest reply: other UA-camrs who make videos on similar topics wear the same clothes in their videos and nobody comments about it. What is the difference between them and I? I am a female, which is why people comment on my appearance and clothes.
Because she uses a washing machine
what a moronic question
more videos like this one pleaaaase :)))
😂😂 , you actually had those products on hand 👀
Were you previously in the kitchen gadget niche ?
I usually buy the products I sell, just to make sure my pricing is reasonable with the quality of the product.
helps cut down returns and chargebacks 😫😩
Anyways props for the review/feedback I was waiting for you to mention the placement off the trust banner seemed kinda awkward and off putting. Thanks for the tips on pricing, will keep that in mind 🙌
Haha no I bought these specific ones for the video, although I have had experience with other kitchen gadgets: and they too benefited immensely from video marketing!
I also do recommend purchasing products in advance - but if you do due diligence it isn't necessary.
@@WholesaleTed plus now you can deduct the price of the purchase from your taxes as a video production cost/marketing expense (at least in the USA) :-).
Damn! the cute little cat spoon again :P
How do i research Facebook ads?
Dear Sarah, thak you for all the information....I have a question as a newbie, what do you suggest to begin? Dropshipping or amazon fba? and if dropshipping, shopify or woocommerce?
You should definitely check out this: ua-cam.com/video/PjyQ9ffydv4/v-deo.html
Just wanna say that you kinda look like young Ellie from Disney's Up, and I think that's why I find you very adorable :)
Thank you. very enlightening
Should i start a store with a specific niche or a store with multiple different niches (general store)?
Is there a professional site reviewer service? Could you mention that and recommend some? I think that would be helpful for some of us. Thanks
I'm afraid I don't offer this service - sorry - but others out there might.
Hi Sarah, I think you are amazing, thank you for your videos. However I'm thinking, should I create a different shopify store for each niche, or should I add new products to my store (on a different category). This way I could only pay one monthly fee to run my shop. Thanks and all the best.
One shop different categories
Excellent video
Hi Sarah, are your still doing reviews on website stores?
Great video! By the way working on my own AliWoo store. Hate Shopify!
That's totally fair - a lot of people prefer Woocommerce :) now that semi automated plugins like Alidropship exist using Woocommerce has become way easier.
Well presented
This really discourages me. His store is beautiful, his descriptions are great, he’s running ads including video, and yet he’s only made his first sale. I mean sure everything Sarah said was true, but he should definitely be generating some sales with what he has. If he can’t sell by doing what he did, I have no idea how I’m going to.
we really don't know anything about how he is advertising. i'm guessing that is where most of the problems are
Hi
Could you please give your advise regarding the Alidropship as I want to buy a premium or prebuilt store from them. Is it a good step to buy these sort of stores and the sale they show us in their videos of that premium store is real. Thanks
when you "add" the products dont you got to buy all of them or you just add the ones you want to sell and then just buy them one buy one? when someone buys it? are you requried to buy 20 plus products before you start?