"Life is what happens between one crisis and the next," says ironically on Twitter an Argentine immune to typical situations such as inflation, the soaring of the dollar and country risk and, once again, to the renegotiation of the external debt from Argentina.

Surely, at some other stage in recent history, he would have thought of using his savings to open a business with which to cope with a war economy. This plan today collides with the quarantine, a completely new issue for the local collective imagination. However, electronic commerce today offers a job opportunity for a large number of Argentines who work on their own and are not receiving income. In addition, it is in very good health: turnover through this channel grew by almost 80% in 2019 (22 points above inflation) and promises to advance even more in times of quarantine, with the vast majority of stores closed.

In this context, from the Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CACE) they assure iProUP that there is a modality that is generating very good income for many people and that it is advancing at a rapid pace: dropshipping, which allows reselling products on the Internet without having to carry out any previous investment, nor have its own stock or a storage place.

"We are in a position to affirm that it is an increasingly used alternative to earn money, since it does not require physical inventory or immobilized money," they point out from the entity.

In a nutshell, dropshipping is done as follows:

- A person (who acts as a seller) publishes products in his online store (Mercado Libre or Facebook Marketplace)

- Another individual (the client or final consumer) acquires one of them and pays it, for example, 500 pesos

- The seller sends the order to the corresponding supplier or manufacturer. It is paid at wholesale price, shipping included (for example, 300 pesos)

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- The manufacturer is the one who is in charge of sending directly the acquired merchandise to the client or final consumer

"It is the modern version of the merchandise 'on consignment', with the particularity that the product never passes through the hands of the person who sold it, but rather goes directly from the manufacturer to the customer's house," they graph from the CACE.

Thus, hundreds of Argentines wanting to take their first steps in Internet sales are taking advantage of this modality that, by the way, has very few entry barriers and offers returns of 20% on average without leaving home.

Advance

From the CACE they warn iProUP that the implementation of dropshipping "requires a certain degree of systems integration and operational planning". However, there are already platforms in the country that automate this entire process so that anyone can start selling online right now.

"Dropshipping has two sides: InBound, in which a person resells third-party products; and OutBound, in which that person acts as a supplier for others to resell," Mariano Stempler, CEO of Cucumart, an automated platform, explains to iProUP. founded in 2018 that matches sellers with suppliers.

This company alone already has 5,000 active users. It offers its service free for 30 days – subscriptions start at $299 per month – to encourage those who start selling online on MercadoLibre, Facebook or Instagram.

However, there are already other companies that are taking advantage of the dropshipping boom, such as Wholesale Fair. "With the model that we propose, those who want to sell online do not have to put a weight: they only have to pay for the product once it has been sold and collected," Pablo Castañeda, co-founder of the firm, tells iProUP.

The entrepreneur points out that the platform is used by thousands of users, of which more than 1,000 are active sellers. This modality shows growth rates of 30% per month and makes it possible to automate everything related to online sales:

- What to sell

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- Where to buy it

- How much to buy

- How to replenish inventory

- What are the prices of the competition

Both companies point out that they not only allow users to sell all kinds of products, but also contact them with companies from the interior that often cannot reach the big cities with their merchandise.

Regarding profits, Stempler assures that "it is usually variable, since it depends on the type of product chosen by the seller and the possibilities of placing them in a certain area."

Meanwhile, Castañeda points out that "the margin is chosen by each user, there is no specific one. So you can select to earn 15%, 20% or more." Speaking in silver, industry sources refer to a figure that ranges between $25,000 and $45,000 with little effort.

In the case of payments, everything is done digitally. In the case of Wholesale Fair, payments are made through Mercado Pago, while Cucumart also accepts PayPal.

Logistics is also a vital issue for dropshipping, which is why both platforms use Mercado Envios. "We make deliveries available in the country and abroad by Correo Argentino, which works excellently, but also UPS and DHL," adds Stempler for cases where it is sold through social networks.

challenges and opportunities

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To start selling items through dropshipping, executives confirm that you have to choose a market segment that is little explored or with high demand and make an effort to make the products known.

"Dropshipping does not work for those who seek immediate and easy results in a month, without generating clients or looking for opportunities," says Stempler, who remarks: "The platform provides you with third-party products, charges and sends for you, but does not find clients for you.

The manager recommends "starting with electronics, clothing and accessories. Then look for little-exploited niches and create branding." Start with a portfolio of clients in groups of friends.

"Then, grow in number of products, take time to create a business and passive income for life. For example, being specialists in articles for fishing, camping and adventure focused on parents for Latin America," he says.

For their part, at the Wholesale Fair they emphasize that they only make "high turnover products" available, and that "Beauty and Personal Care articles are the ones that stand out the most."

"In the last few hours we launched the Microsite function: we give each associated seller their own website to sell all products directly in bulk and without stock. This generates a new tool for online sales throughout the country", Castaneda points out.

In addition to creating possibilities for sellers, dropshipping is also an opportunity for companies of any size, from all over the country, that wish to add outlets for their products. "Suppliers obtain the advantage of joining an independent sales force with more than 1,000 vendors at no additional cost," says the co-founder of Feria Mayorista.

According to Cucumart's Stempler, "the great advantage is that a producer from the interior, who has never managed to have resellers, can generate income for himself and his resellers." In addition, he points out that it also allows you to sell abroad and collect in dollars with PayPal through Facebook or Instagram, solving the logistics through UPS.

In times of pandemic, dropshipping is configured as a way for the self-employed to sell and for SMEs to dispatch their production without worrying about collections or shipments. And that they add, thus, a new 4.0 tool to their anti-crisis kit.