Walmart Dropshipping in 2021: Affordable Option or Absurd Idea?

When you’re just getting started into the world of dropshipping, selling through a marketplace can sound like an excellent place to start. Between robust shopping platforms and established leads and customers, it can feel a lot easier than creating and managing a website, and we can’t argue with it! But Walmart dropshipping? What are you really getting into? Let’s talk!

What is Dropshipping

For those who may be new to the terms, dropshipping is an order fulfillment method where the seller (you) isn’t required to maintain an inventory of products. Instead, they go through wholesale suppliers or vendors to source products. Then through a website or marketplace, they sell the products at an increased price. 

This is a very enticing business plan for many as it is pretty risk-free and can prove to be super successful! Then as we mentioned above, dropshipping on a marketplace can be a good place to start versus starting your own store. Amazon is a popular choice for most first-time dropshippers, but due to that, it has become highly competitive now too. So that’s where Walmart dropshipping enters the chat.

Although let’s start first and ask the question, does Walmart even allow dropshipping?

If you are interested in entering the world of dropshipping, consider investing in a dropshipping mentor first to learn the ropes.

Does Walmart Allow Dropshipping?

If you have taken a browse through Walmart’s website lately, you may have noticed quite a few more options in your searches. Then if you were to click on the filter options, there are multiple choices for your preference of ‘Retailers’; Walmart being just one of the options.

This is where Walmart dropshipping comes into play.

So yes, Walmart does allow dropshipping; However, as long as you follow some fairly strict guidelines.

How to Dropship with Walmart

To dropship with Walmart you have three options: Become a dropship vendor, resell Walmart products, or dropship on the Walmart Marketplace as a seller.

Become a Dropship Vendor

One option that you have for Walmart dropshipping is to become a dropship vendor or supplier. Essentially you act as the wholesaler or supplier of the company and supply your products to Walmart. This is where you could work with a wholesale supplier to be that source and you would be the middle man.

In this situation, you can choose to either ship the product directly to Walmart’s fulfillment center and let them handle the fulfillment process or you can ship directly to the customers. In either case, Walmart has complete control of product listing, pricing, returns, customer service, etc.

Resell Walmart Products

Another option for Walmart dropshipping is to simply resell Walmart products. This isn’t your typical dropshipping strategy as it does require that you maintain product inventory, but it is a way to break into the industry.

When you resell Walmart products as a dropshipper, you would first buy the Walmart products and have them sent to you and then you would go on to disperse to your customers. There’s a fine art for working this because you certainly don’t want to maintain a considerable inventory or risk holding a lot of unsold products, but you also don’t want to make a sale without the product on hand.

It’s important to note that Walmart dropshipping DOES NOT allow purchasing products and having them shipped directly to customers.

If you’re looking for a way to get started reselling Walmart products through dropshipping, check out our article Dropified vs. Oberlo: Choose the Best Dropshipping App in 2021

Dropship on the Walmart Marketplace

Finally, the last option for Walmart dropshipping is the most common form of your typical dropshipping with a marketplace. This path is where you can utilize the Walmart Marketplace to sell products sourced from dropshipping suppliers directly to Walmart customers as a third-party seller. In this case, you have total control of your product listings, pricing, content optimization, etc. 

Once you are registered on the Walmart Marketplace, your products will be displayed in online searches right alongside Walmart products giving you the optimal opportunity for sales.

How to Get Started

The steps to getting started with Walmart dropshipping are relatively simple.

1. Find Suppliers/Vendors
2. Register as a seller with Walmart Marketplace
3. Complete the Onboarding Process
4. Fulfill Customer Orders

Walmart Automation Dropshipping

So let’s say you’re sold on Walmart dropshipping, but you don’t really have the abilities or knowledge to manage a fully functioning store. There are also Walmart automation dropshipping services that can help in that department. This is mainly for those who are looking for a passive income maker.

A Walmart automation dropshipping service handles the product research, store management, transactions, fulfillment, and all the in-between. Although, of course, with this level of “done-for-you” service, you ultimately won’t make AS much as you could since you’ll be sharing the profits with this management team.

Essentially all you need to get started is credit to fund the process, but other than that, they take care of the rest!

If you are interested in trying out Walmart automation dropshipping, plenty of businesses offer this service, which you can find through a quick Google search.

Why Use Walmart Dropshipping

Pros

• Huge Money Making Opportunity: Numbers don’t lie. The recent reports are that “Walmart expects to reach $75 billion in global e-commerce sales by the end of 2021.” There is a HUGE area of opportunity in the eCommerce industry with numbers like these.
• High Traffic: If you have had a chance to check out the Walmart Marketplace yet, you may have noticed that they do, in fact, weave in the outside sellers right along with the Walmart products. So, in that case, for any individual who just heads to the Walmart website to search for a dog bed, it is a pretty high chance that your product will be on that first page of results. Plus, it’s Walmart. So the marketing basically does itself.

Cons

• Highly Competitive: You’re not the only one who’s heard of this monstrous opportunity. Walmart automation dropshipping means you’ll have to compete against the hundreds of other sellers using the Walmart Marketplace. That means customer loyalty is a must.
• Limited Scalability: Let’s be honest, when customers find your product, it will be because they went to Walmart’s website, not your brand’s. The big drawback of Walmart dropshipping is that you aren’t building your own brand or driving traffic to your own website. Instead, you’re simply operating under the success of another business, which ultimately lessens your ability to scale.

Walmart Dropshipping – Affordable Option or Absurd Idea?

With the explosion of the online shopping world, Walmart dropshipping can be a great way to increase your revenue, right alongside the ever-growing giant of Walmart. Although, it’s important to note, while dropshipping through a marketplace can be a great route for beginning dropshippers and those new to the industry, in the end, you aren’t building a long-term solution.

So no, we wouldn’t say it’s an ABSURD idea. Is it a great way to make some outstanding profits? Yes. Is it an affordable way to enter into dropshipping? Yes! But is it your best bet for sustained success? We don’t think so.

Dropshipping for Sustained Success

While building a dropshipping brand and website can seem intimidating, it’s not as much as it sounds! The first step to creating a successful dropshipping business is finding the winning products.

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