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The NEW Way to Start Dropshipping in 2026 (Step by Step) — Transcript

by Andy Stauring · 4,001 words · 564 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Most people who try drop shipping are
0:01doing it completely backwards, and I
0:03know this because I did that for years.
0:05Random products, stores that went
0:07nowhere, ads that just bled money. And
0:09every single time something didn't work,
0:11I would convince myself it was the
0:12product. So, I would scrap everything
0:14[music] and start over. New product, new
0:16store, new ads, just to get the same
0:18result. [music] And it took me way
0:19longer than it should have to figure out
0:21why. And once I did, everything changed.
0:23The store started working, the ads
0:25started converting, and it wasn't
0:26because I got better at finding
0:28products. So, in this video, I'm going
0:30to show you exactly how to start drop
0:31shipping from scratch in 2026, and I'm
0:34going to be doing it all on Wix so you
0:35can follow along. We're going to cover
0:36how to find your product, how to
0:38validate it, how to build a store and
0:39get it connected to a supplier, and
0:41drive traffic to it. Everything in
0:43order, everything from scratch. So,
0:45let's get into it. So, if you're brand
0:46new to this, here's the short version of
0:48what drop shipping actually is. You set
0:49up an online store, you list products
0:51you want to sell, and when someone buys,
0:53your supplier ships it directly to them.
0:55You never hold the inventory, you never
0:56buy anything up front, and you keep the
0:58margin between what the customer pays
1:00and what the supplier charges you. And
1:01the reason why I like this model,
1:03especially when you're just starting
1:04out, is that you're not putting a ton of
1:06money on the line before you know
1:08anything works. You're not ordering a
1:09thousand units of something and just
1:11hoping it sells. You find out if it
1:13works first, and then you can invest
1:15more into it. All right, so let's start
1:17with finding the right product, and
1:18specifically finding the right person to
1:20sell to before you even think about what
1:22to sell them. Let me show you how I do
1:23this. Most beginner guides on how to
1:25start drop shipping just jump straight
1:27into finding your product. They show you
1:28how to scroll TikTok, use a product
1:30research tool, look for something that's
1:32trending. And look, that approach can
1:34work, but here's the problem with it. By
1:36the time that you find something that's
1:37trending, you validate it, you get your
1:38store up and start running ads, there's
1:40a good chance that that window is
1:42already starting to close. So, you're
1:44essentially chasing something that
1:45someone else has found two weeks before
1:48you. And the deeper issue is this. When
1:49you start with the product, you spend
1:51the whole time guessing. You're guessing
1:53who's going to buy it, what angle to use
1:55in your ads, and what actually matters
1:56to the person on the other side of the
1:58screen. Now, the approach that I'm going
1:59to show you, it flips that. You find the
2:01person first, you understand their
2:03actual problem, and then the product
2:05becomes obvious because you already know
2:07exactly what they need. Now, when you do
2:08it in that order, your ads are sharper,
2:10your stores convert better, and you
2:12waste a lot less money figuring it out.
2:14So, let me show you how it works. So,
2:15the first place that I go to is Reddit,
2:17and I know that might sound a bit
2:18random, but here's why it works a lot
2:20better than any product research tool
2:22out there right now. Reddit is where
2:23people are completely [music]
2:25unfiltered. Nobody is performing trying
2:27to get followers, nobody's trying to
2:29build a brand or promote something.
2:30They're just genuinely stuck on
2:32something and just asking for help. And
2:34that honesty is exactly what makes it so
2:36valuable for this. So, what you're going
2:38to do is find a specific community. Not
2:39a broad topic, a specific subreddit. And
2:42I'm going to be using r-running as an
2:44example here. These people, they take
2:46running super seriously, everything from
2:48marathon training, long runs, the whole
2:50nine yards. They spend real money on
2:52gear, [music] and they have very strong
2:54opinions about what works and what
2:56doesn't. Now, what I'm going to do is
2:57I'm going to search for something super
2:59simple. Like, for example, water on
3:02runs. And the top result that comes back
3:04[music] is a post called what gear do
3:06you use to bring water on runs with a
3:07bunch of upvotes and a bunch of
3:09comments. Now, what we can do here is
3:11read what this person [music] wrote.
3:12They said, "I'm training for a marathon
3:14and on my long runs, I really feel like
3:16I need to be bringing water with me. The
3:18issue is that I don't want to just hold
3:20the water bottle in my hand the whole
3:21time, and I don't want to spend a ton of
3:23money on a vest, especially if I don't
3:25know if it'll work." So, [music] that
3:26one post right here, it tells us so
3:29much. It tells us that this person has a
3:31real problem, they've already thought
3:33through all the existing solutions that
3:35are out there, and every [music] option
3:36it either cost too much or it just feels
3:39wrong to them. Now, we can look at this
3:40one right here. 121 comments, everyone's
3:43recommending something different from
3:45Solomon [music] vests, Osprey packs.
3:47Someone else is literally tucking a
3:48water bottle in their shorts waistband
3:49[music]
3:50because nothing else seems to work well
3:52enough. A guy right here says, "The
3:54cheaper ones will chafe you." Another is
3:55saying, "I've been looking at these
3:58vests, but it's really [music]
3:59expensive. Any cheaper alternatives?"
4:01So, what is this really telling us? It's
4:02telling us that there's currently no
4:04affordable, comfortable solution for a
4:07regular runner who isn't doing ultra
4:09marathons, but still [music] needs to
4:11carry water on long training runs. So,
4:13that middle ground, which is the
4:15lightweight, affordable, non-chafing for
4:17the everyday marathon trainer, basically
4:20is unsolved. [music]
4:21And we can even pay attention to the
4:22language that people are using here.
4:24"Bouncing in my pockets, the cheaper
4:26ones will chafe you, it's a bit much to
4:28carry around." That is gold because
4:30that's the exact language that you're
4:31going to use in your ads. [music] And
4:33you don't have to guess at what
4:34resonates with these people because you
4:36literally just have to read it from
4:38them. All right, and then one last check
4:40before we build anything, there is a
4:41brand right here. As you can see,
4:43they're called FlipBelt. They make
4:45[music] running belts specifically
4:47designed for this problem. If we pull up
4:49the Meta Ad Library, and then we look at
4:51these start dates, some of these ads
4:53have [music] been running for weeks,
4:54even months, testing tons and tons of
4:57different creatives, different videos,
4:59different image ads, different copies.
5:01Now, nobody is going to keep spending
5:02money on these [music] ads if they
5:04aren't converting, aka if they're not
5:06making them money because it's simply
5:08too expensive to keep these ads running
5:10for this long. So, [music] if they have
5:12the same creative, same set of videos
5:14that have been running for three, four,
5:16five weeks, they're making money, plain
5:18and simple. That is going to be your
5:20green light. All right, so we've got our
5:21green light. FlipBelt has been running
5:23their ads for months and months on end.
5:26Clearly, there is money in this niche.
5:28Now, let's actually go ahead and build
5:30out our store. So, for this tutorial,
5:31I'm going to be using Wix specifically
5:34because they just dropped, as you can
5:35see right here, Wix Harmony, which is an
5:38AI store builder that combines vibe
5:41coding with drag and drop. Right here,
5:44you can see you simply describe what you
5:46want for the website [music] and it
5:48builds exactly that for you. So, I'll
5:51make sure to leave a link for you guys
5:52to access it below. We can just press
5:54chat with AI. And then from here, it
5:56says, "Hi, I'm Arya, your AI web design
5:58expert. I'm here to help you create your
6:00site. First, tell me about your site or
6:02your business." And here, you want to
6:03give a brief description of your
6:05website, your brand, the products that
6:07you're selling. So, I went ahead and
6:09already created a prompt for myself. I
6:11said, "I'm building a drop shipping
6:12store selling running accessories,
6:13specifically lightweight running belts
6:15for marathon training. My customers are
6:17serious runners who need to carry water,
6:19keys, and their phone on long runs
6:21without holding anything or spending
6:23$150 in a vest. Clean, minimal design."
6:26So, that is my prompt. Of course, you
6:27want to cater this prompt to whatever
6:30you're selling, whatever your brand is
6:32all about. So, I'm going to press next.
6:34And then right here, it says, "Do you
6:35have a business name in mind for your
6:38store? If you're still designing, here
6:40are a few ideas." And it gives you some
6:42ideas: Stride Belt, Pace Pack, Marathon
6:44Minimalist.
6:45So, it's actually a pretty good name.
6:47For the sake of this example, let's just
6:49go with that Stride Belt. And then we'll
6:51just input that. All right, now it says,
6:53"Based on what you shared about Stride
6:54Belt, I've updated your site description
6:56on the left. Feel free to edit. Okay,
6:58you have two great options: design with
7:00Arya, I'll generate fully tailored site
7:02based on your business vibe and goals,
7:04or you can explore the recommended
7:05templates I've selected for you." So,
7:07you can choose any of these templates
7:09right here to build off of. Now, you'll
7:12see that a lot of these templates are
7:14geared to a specific niche or style. You
7:17can see t-shirt store, a toy store, a
7:19home goods store, an electronics store.
7:21I'd rather just design it all with AI,
7:24so that's what we're going to do. So,
7:26based on the questions that we've
7:28answered, you can see that it has
7:29already created a prompt for us. So,
7:31we're going to go in and use AI to
7:34create the store itself. So, I'm going
7:35to press design with Arya. And then as
7:37you can see, it's starting to work on
7:39the brand colors, the typography, the
7:42site vision. It's doing all the building
7:44on the back end. So, here it says I put
7:46together a brand identity and business
7:48goals for your stride belts for your
7:50brand. I've selected sleek, technical,
7:52and minimalist visual profile. Nice,
7:54nice. To drive your business forward,
7:56we'll focus on these primary goals. Sell
7:58products, connect with clients. Nice.
7:59What do you think? Should we make
8:00adjustments? No, that for the most part
8:02sounds pretty good. So, we'll just go in
8:05with just say move on. And what's cool
8:07with this vibe coding type of interface,
8:10we can make any adjustments that we
8:12would like simply with chat. So, it's
8:14like having chat GPT or Claude
8:16integrated into your online store and it
8:19will do anything [music] that you would
8:21like it to do. So, it's going to ask you
8:22a couple follow-up questions. So, your
8:24business name, whether you want to add a
8:26store. So, just answer all these
8:28questions. Takes maybe 30 seconds. All
8:31right, now it has prepared everything.
8:33We're just going to press generate our
8:35site now. Now, it's starting to work on
8:37building out our store for us. We don't
8:39want to leave this tab because it's may
8:41screw things up on the back end. And
8:43bam, just like that, our site is in fact
8:46ready. This is exactly what it looks
8:48like. Just like it said, it built
8:50something that's clean, minimal, and
8:52this is what it looks like on mobile.
8:54That looks really good. I mean, this was
8:56within a few minutes. We click the drop
8:59down. We have all of our pages. So, we
9:01have the about, we have the product
9:03page, we have the category page, the
9:05cart page. All these pages that it'll
9:07direct us right here. So, this is the
9:10example product page that we have, just
9:12like so. Looks really clean. We have
9:15free will to change the background, the
9:18colors, the fonts, pretty much anything
9:21that we like. So, we can make pretty
9:22much any adjustment that we would like
9:24with the AI chat. So, you want to select
9:27something that you want to edit. So, for
9:28example, if I want to change this image
9:30right here, I select this image. Then we
9:31can go in and say that we want to change
9:34this image of of male runner to a female
9:36runner. And we'll have it do its thing.
9:38And then simply like that, we have made
9:40that change. Now we can go in and
9:42regenerate this entire site. If we don't
9:45like any of it, we can enhance it. We
9:47can do anything that we would like
9:49within this AI chat. So we're currently
9:52happy with what we have. All we have to
9:54do is press publish right here. All
9:56right, nice. Our store has been
9:58published. All right, so once you're on
10:00the dashboard where we're just editing
10:02the site, a few things that you want to
10:03do is go through this checklist and make
10:05sure that you check off each one of
10:07these. Shouldn't take you too long. So
10:09for example, if we want to connect a
10:10domain or have our own custom domain, if
10:13you know, our brand is called Stride
10:15Kits, we want to get the dot com. We
10:17could just type that in and press let's
10:19go. And then from here, it's going to
10:21direct us to Wix Domains where we can
10:23see if that brand name is in fact
10:26available. All right, so it looks like
10:27this one is taken. So let's just put
10:29Stride Kit Belts. Let's say you wanted
10:31to go with this. And since this one is
10:33available, all we have to do to claim
10:35this domain is press make it yours right
10:38here for $0 per year. And if you guys
10:41subscribe to Wix Premium, you can see
10:43that you can get the domain for free. If
10:45you don't want to drive, then you just
10:46go and buy the domain only. You guys
10:48don't have to do it for 3 years. If you
10:50just want to do a single year, it's only
10:51eight bucks. And that is going to be the
10:53URL that gets directed to your specific
10:56website. So someone types in Stride Belt
10:58Stride Kit Belts.com, they're going to
11:00be directed straight to your website
11:02that we just went ahead and built with
11:03Wix Harmony. All right, so the store is
11:05live. Now we need to actually these
11:07products onto our store. And this is
11:09actually something that I didn't expect
11:10from Wix. They have product sourcing
11:13built right into their dashboard. So you
11:16never actually have to leave the
11:17platform. The first thing that you want
11:19to do from the main dashboard, from your
11:21home page, is go right here to catalog.
11:25Then we'll go to store products. And
11:26then we'll go to find products to sell.
11:28So there's going to be two main options
11:30right here. There's going to be Modulus
11:32right here, which is going to be like
11:33the top created drop shipping products
11:36uh that you can simply just import with
11:38a single click like this. Now, this
11:41works totally fine if you just want to
11:42get something live super fast. And the
11:44difference really matters here because
11:45with Modulus right here, you're paying
11:48the retail drop shipping prices. But, if
11:49you're going straight to the source,
11:51which is going to be Alibaba in this
11:53case, you're going to get the same
11:54products. You're going to get better
11:55pricing, which, you know, in turn is
11:57going to be better margins for your
11:58brand. if we want to just sell all those
12:00running belts, we just go into explore
12:02products right here. And then we can
12:03literally type in running belt just like
12:06so. And then it's going to populate all
12:09the different running belts that we can
12:11sell. This one probably looks the most
12:12similar. And you'll see that the pricing
12:15is typically going to be a lot better
12:17from what we have on Modulus. Now, the
12:19only caveat here is that sometimes there
12:21will be an MOQ for these products, which
12:25is a minimum order quantity. You'll see
12:26this one is five. You'll see this one is
12:2850. However, there are some that are a
12:31single minimum order quantity. So, you
12:33just need to buy one, and that will get
12:35shipped over to your customer. Now, the
12:36reason why you might want to use Modulus
12:38is because the pricing is going to be
12:40better. So, you're kind of paying for
12:42the convenience. So, if we just go into
12:45add products right here. So, we'll just
12:47go right here into view more products on
12:48Modulus. And then we just type in
12:50something running belt. And then it
12:52looks like this is probably the closest
12:54variation to what we're looking like.
12:55The product cost actually isn't bad,
12:57285. Uh the retail we could probably
12:59sell it for more. I don't know why it
13:01has it at 850, but it is sourced from
13:03Alibaba. So, this is actually not a bad
13:06option right here. So, if you want to
13:07add this product right here to our
13:09online store, all we have to do is add
13:11to import list like this. You can also
13:13order a sample, and then we'll view it
13:15in our import list. And then we just
13:17change the name to whatever our brand
13:19name is, whatever we would like to name
13:22it. Pricing, we could change the pricing
13:23per unit, but I'll just leave it just
13:25like this. Now, all we have to do here
13:27is add this product to our store. We can
13:29change the product page as well on Wix
13:33Harmony, but the main thing is that when
13:35someone buys the product, it's going to
13:37be linked to this fulfillment right here
13:39at the product cost of 285. We can then
13:41select the shipping options that we
13:43would like, but the main thing is that
13:44the back end is now set up. Now, when
13:46someone orders your product, you just
13:48have to go to the Modulus dashboard,
13:50we'll go into orders, and then you will
13:51go and fulfill each of these orders
13:54individually. And then, what will happen
13:55is that supplier that you've chosen will
13:57then ship the product to your customer,
13:59so you don't have to touch or hold any
14:02of the inventory. That order will then
14:04get fulfilled, the tracking codes will
14:05get synced, and you'll be pretty much
14:07good to go. All right, so your store is
14:08live, the products are connected. Now,
14:10you need to actually get people to it,
14:11and there are two ways to drive traffic.
14:13You have paid ads or organic. Both work,
14:16but before we get into paid, I want to
14:17be real with you.
14:18>> [music]
14:18>> You are going to need some money set
14:20aside for this, somewhere between $250
14:22to $500 per product just to get an
14:24actual read on what is working. So, if
14:26that's not where you're currently at
14:28right now, organic is going to be your
14:30starting point. Just post consistently
14:31on TikTok and Instagram using the
14:33language that you pulled [music] from
14:35Reddit, and give it a few weeks. But, if
14:36you do have some budget, here's how I'd
14:38run it. One Facebook campaign, sales
14:39objective, and for the targeting, just
14:41keep it broad. Don't touch the interest
14:43settings. Don't try and get super clever
14:45with it. Literally, just select your
14:47country, and leave everything else
14:48alone. Facebook at this point has so
14:50much data that it's just better at
14:51finding your buyers than you are when
14:53you're just starting out. So, let it do
14:54that. $50 a day, load up anywhere from
14:56three to five different videos [music]
14:58inside of that one ad set. So, you have
15:01everything from the same product, the
15:02same text copy, but every video has a
15:04different hook or different way of
15:06opening on the problem that you have.
15:08So, you're not trying to figure out the
15:09perfect campaign setup here. You're just
15:11trying to figure out which version of
15:13the message actually gets someone to
15:14buy. Then, you just leave it, give it
15:16three to five days, and I know you're
15:17going to want to go in there and start
15:19tweaking things. Don't do that. Just
15:21simply let the data build up. Now, after
15:23that, you're going to want to check your
15:24cost per purchase. This is basically how
15:26much did it cost you to get one sale.
15:28You can compare that to what you're
15:29actually making per order. So, if you're
15:31spending less than you're making, you're
15:33good. Keep going. Let it run. If not,
15:35that's fine. That's literally what this
15:37test is going to be for. Now honestly,
15:39when it's not working, it's almost never
15:41the targeting or the budget. It's the
15:42video. It's the message didn't land. So,
15:44you want to go back, change the
15:46creative, and then run it again. Now if
15:47you're actually making those videos,
15:49don't start from scratch. Go back to the
15:51Meta Ad Library, the same place that we
15:53went and validated the product earlier,
15:55and find the ads that have been running
15:57for the longest period of time. [music]
15:58Actually go in there and study them. So,
16:00how do they open? What was the first
16:02thing that was said? What problem were
16:04they leading with? That's going to be
16:05your reference point because you're not
16:06copying it. You're just trying to figure
16:08out why it works, and then build
16:10something new on top of that. And then
16:11for the actual footage, your phone is
16:13completely fine. But, if you want to
16:15skip filming everything yourself
16:16entirely, which I do recommend when
16:18you're just starting out, better to use
16:20AI UGC right now at this moment. There
16:22are tools now where you basically feed
16:24in the script and it generates a
16:26realistic video of someone using the
16:28product. They have tools like Arc Ads,
16:30Hicksfield. Doesn't really matter what
16:32platform that you use. I actually made
16:33an in-depth video on exactly how to do
16:36that. So, if you guys are curious, you
16:37can just watch it right here. Because
16:38for testing angles early on, this is
16:40what works really well, really
16:42efficiently, and will help you gain that
16:45first mover's advantage. Look,
16:46everything I just walked you through,
16:47that is the foundation. And honestly, if
16:49you execute on it, you're already ahead
16:51of most people that are trying to do it.
16:52The part that I can't put into a YouTube
16:54video is the real-time judgment call.
16:56So, knowing whether the product that you
16:58found is actually worth testing or if
16:59you're just simply excited about it.
17:01Knowing if your ad numbers are telling
17:03you to keep going versus if they're
17:05telling you to pull the plug. That stuff
17:07only comes from doing it or having
17:08someone next to you who has already done
17:11it at scale. That's what my one-on-one
17:12program is. Me and my team are working
17:14through it directly with you. Now, this
17:16is not a course you just sit through and
17:18close a tab on. You bring your store,
17:20your numbers, and we figure out
17:21together. Now, if that sounds like
17:23something that you need right now, I'll
17:24leave a link below for you guys to learn
17:26more. Now, if you take one thing from
17:27this, go find your community first.
17:29Spend 20 minutes on Reddit. Read how
17:31people actually talk about a problem.
17:34Write down the exact words that they
17:35say, [music] and everything else flows
17:37from that. Other than that, thank you
17:38for watching. I'll see you guys in the
17:39next one. Peace.

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