Home » Resources » A Definitive Guide to Start Free Plus Shipping Business

A Definitive Guide to Start Free Plus Shipping Business

A Definitive Guide to Start Free Plus Shipping Business

Free plus shipping is an excellent option if you are looking to get into dropshipping. Under this arrangement, you sell products to customers at zero cost. 

Yes, you heard right: $0.00. 

We know what you are thinking. How do you cover the cost of the product, let alone make profits by selling products entirely free to customers? 

The trick is to factor in the cost of the product and profits into the shipping fee. 

For example, you can buy a product for $2 and pay $2 in shopping. Then you sell it for $0.00 but charge your customers $6 for shipping.  You keep $2 as profits. 

Free plus shipping has immense potential, as many dropshippers have cashed in on it to make thousands of dollars in profits.

Too good to be true? It probably is.

Is free plus shipping profitable? Definitely!

The key is striking a balance between cost and shipping fees. And that’s what this post is about. 

In this post, you will learn what free plus shipping is all about and how to make the most of it. We will also show you how to start. 

Let’s get the ball rolling. 


Blog desktop banner


Blog mobile banner

What is Free Plus Shipping?

“Free” is a buzzword that gets a lot of attention. It gets attention because, as humans, we are wired to like free stuff. Just let out the word “free” and you will hook a lot of people. 

Free Plus Shipping is a marketing tactic that allows you to leverage this phenomenon to build a profitable online retail business. 

But how exactly does it work?

For example, you can decide to sell, say, a T-shirt for only $0.00 and charge customers $10 for shipping. Many will jump on the offer without thinking twice. 

The thing is, many people won’t mind paying $10 in shipping fee just to get a product for free.

Why Should You Start a Free Plus Shipping Shopify Business?

Are you still in doubt and wondering if free plus shipping is worth the effort? Here are some reasons that will help you get over your misgivings. 

Free Products Attract People

Who doesn’t like free stuff? No matter how much money we have as humans, our instincts will always prompt us to jump on free offers. 

Free products attract people any day, any time. 

This explains why shoppers will instinctively pay $15 in shipping for a free bag instead of paying $10 as the cost for the bag.

Free shipping plus lets you leverage the “free” buzzword to drive traffic to your website and generate sales. 

A Quick Boost For Your Dropshipping Store

When starting a dropshipping store, you won’t have much experience and budget. But you need some early wins to build up momentum for your business. 

Selling products for free allows you to record some early wins to give your dropshipping store the much-needed boost it needs. And the best part is that you don’t need a budget or experience to get things going. 

With time, you can expand your business beyond the free shipping model. 

Grow Your Social Media Presence 

Promoting your free products on social media allows you to grow your presence online. 

You already know why promoting free products on social media will help grow your social media presence, don’t you? People love freebies and are always on the lookout for them. 

And social media is where most people hunt for free products. You just need to learn the art of hashtagging to drive them to your Instagram or Facebook pages and build a stronger presence for your business. 

Make Huge Profits by Selling More

One of the instant benefits of selling products for free is that it gives you the chance to sell products in huge quantities simply because shoppers find freebies irresistible. 

The more products you sell, the more profits you will make. It’s that simple!

Easy to Start Business Model 

One of the beauties of free plus dropshipping is that it is easy to start – possibly a lot easier than regular dropshipping. 

No inventory…no need for a website…no need to spend money on dropshipping apps. 

In fact, you can start from Facebook and then scale up your business with time. 

This makes it an ideal model for wannabe dropshippers looking to get their feet wet before diving into dropshipping. 

Pros and Cons of Free Shipping Model

How would you know if the free shipping model is a good fit for you? Knowing the pros and cons of it might help you figure it out. 

That being said, let’s look at some of the pros and cons of the free shipping model. 

Pros 

  • Easy to start: You don’t need a huge budget or a lot of experience to start a free shipping dropshipping business. Just grit is enough. 
  • Little promotion: Free products don’t need heavy promotion. A little marketing, and it will catch on like wildfire. 
  • Make a lot of profits: When done right, you can make a lot of profits by selling products at zero cost to customers. 

Cons

Free dropshipping might not always be the best choice for selling online. Here are some reasons why:

  • You are severely limited: There are certain products you can’t just sell for free. For example, you can’t sell electronic gadgets like headphones for free. Attempting it will make your store look fraudulent and make shoppers run away. 
  • You can run at a loss: A lot of costs go into running a dropshipping store, and the chief of them is marketing. If you don’t factor these costs into your pricing, you will run at a loss. 
  • It may not work out well when your business begins to expand: Free shipping dropshipping is best suited for starter dropshippers. It won’t work out well when your business starts to grow. 

A Beginner’s Guide to Free Shipping Dropshipping Business

Now that you have decided free plus shipping is a viable business model you would like to try, the next step is to determine how to start. 

Don’t worry; we’ve got your back on that. 

Here are some tips to help you get up and running and succeed. 

1. Pick the Right Product

As we earlier highlighted, one of the vital keys to succeeding with free plus shipping is selecting the right product. 

But then, how do you know if a product is right for this type of dropshipping model?

Simple. The price of that product is the most significant indicator. 

For example, products that cost $10 or less are an excellent choice for free dropshipping. The reason is that for such products, you can conveniently charge customers $15 for shipping, and they won’t raise an eyebrow. 

The shipping fee you charge will cover the cost of the product, and you will still make profits. 

But if the product costs, say, $15, charging your customers $20 for shipping might not go well. 

So, as a rule of thumb, select cheaper products. 

But what kind of products can you sell?

Select the Right Products

Here are some product suggestions you might want to try:

Pet Toys

Pet toys are hot selling products you can sell at zero cost but charge customers a decent shipping fee. 

You can buy these products for less than $2 on Aliexpress.

One good thing about selling pet products is that your options are near limitless. 

Phone Cases

Phone cases are another great set of products you can go for. They are in high demand, cost next to nothing, and are always in trend. 

Phone cases are popular on Aliexpress, and you can get them at competitive prices. 

Phone Stand 

Are you wondering why we keep adding phone accessories to this list? It’s because these items sell hot like wildfire. And phone stands are one of them. 

Expectedly, phone stands are cheap on Aliexpress and cost almost nothing. 

Consider the Price Range

As we have already established, if the product’s price is less than $10, go for it. If it is more, you are better off steering clear. 

How to Sell Free Shipping Products?

Now you have determined free dropshipping is good for you and have figured out the products to sell, the next step is to start selling by following the steps below:

Set up Your Online Store

The first step is to set up your online store. Selling on Facebook might be ok for a start, but that approach is not scalable. 

Luckily, you don’t have to be a guru web developer to build a stunning online store front for your business: all you need is Sell The Trend Shops

Sell the Trend Shops is an innovative website builder tool that lets you create nice-looking eCommerce websites in minutes. It’s easy to use and has an intuitive interface. 

Just offer “Pay Shipping”

Let your customers know that the only thing they have to pay for is shipping, regardless of the product they choose to buy. 

Use Free Shipping as a Sales Funnel 

When done right, free shipping can be a great sales funnel to convert visitors into lifetime customers and grow your business to heights you never imagined. 

Start Your Free Shipping Store Today

Ready to launch your free shipping store today and start making profits for yourself? 

Sign up for an account with us today and set up your store in minutes. No coding is required, and you can always get support whenever you need one.