I am just like you, I’m interested in dropshipping and I read a bunch of content online and watch hundreds of YouTube videos to understand how to do it well.
One thing I have not yet seen talked about much though is the unique method of doing dropshipping with just one product.
I am not talking about having a bunch of products and promoting just one of them. I am talking about literally dropshipping with just one product.
Not too long ago I was having my usual mini-Instagram breaks in between my daily tasks and I came across the perfect example of a store (that is clearly a dropshipping store) promoting just one product.
What a brilliant idea – I instantly fell in love with the whole concept and I have been thinking about it (and doing research on it) ever since.
This post today is not meant to teach you the step-by-step process of dropshipping with one product, it’s my opinion on how and why (+ the benefits) of it all.
The Instagram advert got me into thinking about this and what led me to this discovery is this ad right here:
It’s an add for a bamboo toothbrush and the store sells only these types of toothbrushes.
Now I have seen this product on AliExpress before, and while I thought it was a cool thing (at best), this guy, whoever he is, managed to see a whole brand around it and went on to create it.
Now I apologie if this is your store and you are reading this. I am writing this in awe of your marketing tactics.
So what about these toothbrushes?
Well, they sell on AliExpress for €0.84 and this guy built a complete brand and store around them thus being able to pull off selling them for €4.99
The other incredible idea he (or she) had is to create a recurring fee where you get a new toothbrush every couple of months.
We all know we should change our toothbrushes every few months, but how many of us actually do it?
This store has given me a brand new perspective on how to do marketing, the smart way.
The delivery and execution of this brand are flawless and with the whole store dedicated to just this one product, it makes much more trustworthy (in my eye). I am sure, that this guy is making a killing selling these bamboo toothbrushes.
Now, this guy also seems to have white-labeled the toothbrushes and also has his own logo on it. He may have worked out a deal with the supplier or something but kudos to him for that extra beautiful touch of brand value.
Now that we’ve got that covered with a beautiful example of dropshipping with just 1 product, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of doing this method.
Since I have been overly cheerful of this idea, let me just start out with the negatives to balance it all out.
The Negatives
While I do like this idea of drop shipping with just one product, there are some negatives to it that you simply can’t ignore. The most obvious one being:
You Can Not Test Products
A great way that’s recommended to start drop shipping is by launching a generic dropshipping store.
What do I mean by generic? It means that you simply do not just sell products in a certain niche, you simply sell a variety of products in a variety of niches )kind of like Amazon and AliExpress do).
Of course, this is recommended because you do not have to keep launching a new store whenever you want to test a new product, you simply create a new “category” on your store and then test through there.
Now to find a product that’s a “winner” (meaning it’s a top seller), you need to test (on average) around 15 to 20 products just to find one.
However, with a store selling just one item, and building a complete brand around one, makes this impossible as you literally have to create a brand new store for every product that you want to test.
This is both expensive and time-consuming AF.
What else is not so great about launching with just 1 product?
There’s Not Much To Scale With
Now yes you can launch with just one product but if the whole focus is around that product, such as is the case with the bamboo toothbrush, you are very limited to what you can sell and you’re also going to have a hard time increasing your average order value.
You can risk getting a bit wider once you have successfully launched your initial product, but than that would take away from the original purpose of dropshipping with just 1 product.
You Are Going To Need To Buy The Product
What, you actually want me to but the product I want to sell myself?
Yes, I know it sounds crazy in the dropshipping world to actually buy the product you are selling, but in this case, you are going to have to do it.
Here’s why…
Having a Shopify with just one store means that (most likely), you are going to have one page (the homepage) and it needs to be extremely visual.
AliExpress product images are not going to cut it. You are going to need to buy the product yourself, wait for it to come (suks right?) and do a mini-photo shoot for it so you have your own images to use.
You can use a DSLR camera for this or you can even use your phone if you have a good-enough one.
To edit the pictures, of course, use Photoshop or if you find that complicated (like me), then try to create something great with Canva.com.
Ok, I hope I haven’t put you off completely as there are some benefits to taking this approach, and we’ll talk about that next…
The Positives
It Automatically Has Massive Brand Value
I see products like the Bamboo toothbrush example as the perfect brand.
They managed to pull it off so well that it just feels right and even I wanted to buy (I didn’t, but that’s beside the point).
Even with the “social cause” that they tied into it, the execution of the whole brand and store flow is flawless.
You Know Your Customer
When you take such a risk like that, you should know your audience and if you focus all your energy on understanding your exact audience, you are going to go far.
I have a bit of a problem when it comes to my audience, I admit. It can be a hit and miss sometimes for me but I am assuming that with just one product, and just “one” audience, you can properly laser target the best customers.
How To Do Drop Shipping With Just One Product
Ok, so now you may be convinced that starting a store with just one product may be something you want to try… but how do you do that?
Well first get a Shopify membership plan. If you don’t have one yet, you can get a free trial from here.
The second step is to install Oberlo, a beautiful app that makes the whole dropshipping process incredibly smooth and automated – you can see my Oberlo review here.
Now, finding the product. Where would you start?
Here’s a video that will show you how to find a winning product in 2018. It’s by one of my favourite “drop shipping gurus” and the system he laid out here is one of the most innovative I have yet seen.
Definitely a great guide to watch and an even greater dude to follow:
Now, my suggestion would be to find a product that also has a social cause. The whole “save the planet” narrative really works well with the Bamboo toothbrush.
You do not want to build a brand around some cheap kitchen gadget that has no social value right?
Find something that people will connect and resonate with. It doesn’t have to be magnificent, it just has to have some uniqueness to it and ideally some viral potential as well.
How To Promote One Item On Facebook
I think Facebook Ads are easier when you are running just one product.
Again, you can laser specify the target audience and you also do not have to be creating various different audiences and lookalike audiences to find your next customer.
A tip I can suggest that has worked or me in the past is to first get to the 100 sales and then create a lookalike audience from the purchases.
With a general store, that can be complicated to set up but with just one product, this would be incredibly easy to do.
Is One Product Sustainable?
This is a tough one to answer.
Taking the toothbrush example, people are always going to be washing their teeth (I hope) and they’re also going to be caring about the environment.
The only problem you have here is if a competitor comes in and takes over. Be careful of powerful stores that have million dollar ad budgets they can use to wipe you out.
Would I Start DropShipping With 1 Item?
I am very keen on trying it. I love testing new ideas out and learning something new and I am sure running such a store would bring with it more challenges than I could anticipate so yes I would try it out.
I do believe that if you find the right product and you find the right audience, you’re good to go.
As my father always said to me; find the right product, at the right price and at the right time and you will become a millionaire. 🙂
In Closing
Thank you for reading. I hope this post has sparked some ideas for you on an alternative way to do dropshipping and I hope you manage to build an incredibly successful dropshipping store using the 1-product method.
I will leave you to it and also suggest one last video to take a look at and that is how to best set up your Shopify store optimized for just one product.
Talk soon…
