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What does a Shopify dropshipping store cost to run each month?
Summary
At the low end, just the Shopify plan: Basic is $29 a month on annual billing or $39 monthly, and both Shopify Collective and the entry plan of DSers are free. If you source from AliExpress and want your prices to follow supplier cost changes automatically, DSers' paid Advanced plan brings the total to $48.90 a month. You skip the inventory bill, but ad spend, per-supplier shipping, and import duties still come out of your margin.
A store built three ways
Take a new store on Shopify Basic, billed annually.
Collective only. Shopify Collective is Shopify's own supplier network of vetted Shopify brands, and the app is free. Monthly software cost: $29. Shopify's blog puts typical margins on Collective products at 20% to 50%.
AliExpress with DSers Advanced. DSers' free Basic plan handles product import, bulk ordering, and tracking sync. Advanced, at $19.90 a month, adds automatic syncing of supplier cost changes, store-wide price updates, and a branded tracking page. Monthly total: $48.90. On annual billing for both, it's $348 plus $190.80, or $538.80 a year.
Several suppliers and channels with DSers Pro. Pro costs $49.90 a month ($478.80 a year) and adds multi-supplier and multi-channel management and 24/7 live support. Monthly total: $78.90.
DSers warns that both paid plans charge extra once your product count passes a usage limit, but the listing doesn't say where that limit sits.
How many orders cover the bill
Shopify's own blog says margins on products dropshipped from open marketplaces usually land between 10% and 15%. Sell a $40 item at 15% and you keep $6. The $48.90 setup needs nine of those orders a month just to cover software. At 10%, it's 13 orders. Any advertising goes on top of that.
The same math on a Collective product at a 30% margin gives $12 an order, and there's no app fee, so three orders clear the $29 plan.
Who can use Shopify Collective
The app is free, but full access has conditions. Your business has to be based in a supported country and use a supported currency, Shopify Payments must have active payouts, and Shopify Network Intelligence has to be turned on. You can only connect with suppliers in the same country using the same currency. The US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan, and many EU countries are on the list. Stores on the Pause and Build plan can't use it, and digital products and gift cards aren't supported.
When an order comes in, it's forwarded to the supplier automatically, and the supplier is paid once it ships.
What stays your problem
Your name, not the supplier's, is on the packing slip and invoice. Customers come to you about late deliveries, damaged items, returns, and refunds. With more than one supplier, you have to work out shipping and taxes for each one separately, and Shopify warns that a wrong HS code on imported goods can mean surprise fees and customs delays.
Shopify's App Store lists 483 sourcing apps split into dropshipping, print on demand, and wholesale, and our App Store guide looks at how to sort through them.
Sources
- https://www.shopify.com/pricing
- https://www.shopify.com/blog/what-is-dropshipping
- https://www.shopify.com/blog/how-to-start-dropshipping
- https://apps.shopify.com/dsers
- https://apps.shopify.com/collective
- https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-sales-channels/shopify-collective/retailers/requirements-and-considerations
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