dropshipper
Ships without stocking
A dropshipper is a retailer who sells products without keeping inventory—when a customer orders, the dropshipper purchases from a third party (usually a wholesaler or manufacturer) who ships directly to the buyer.
The model requires minimal upfront investment, making it popular for e-commerce startups: He runs a dropshipping business from his laptop.
The term often carries connotations of low-margin hustle culture and get-rich-quick schemes.
Source of goods
- nicheRecessed wall space
- marginsEdges of a page
- profitabilityCapacity to generate gain
- arbitrageExploiting price discrepancies
middleman · markup · reseller · vendor · wholesaler · Shopify · print-on-demand · white-label
Source of goods
- deliveryConveyance of goods
- trackingMonitoring location over time
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- importObtain from overseas
freight · carrier · packaging · returns · refunds · backorder
Venue for commerce
- SEOImproving site discoverability
- ShopifyE-commerce website builder
- eBayWeb auction marketplace
- storefrontRetail facade facing street
checkout · analytics · branding · retargeting
New business enterprise
- founderOne who begins something
- self-employedWorking independently, not hired
- risk-takerOne who courts peril
- solopreneurSelf-employed business owner
hustler · home-based · bootstrapped · mentor · guru
supplier
Source of goods
- nicheRecessed wall space
- marginsEdges of a page
- profitabilityCapacity to generate gain
arbitrage · middleman · markup · reseller · vendor · wholesaler · Shopify · print-on-demand · white-label · automation
supplier
Source of goods
- deliveryConveyance of goods
- trackingMonitoring location over time
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
import · freight · carrier · packaging · returns · refunds · backorder
marketplace
Venue for commerce
storefront · checkout · analytics · branding · retargeting
startup
New business enterprise
- founderOne who begins something
- self-employedWorking independently, not hired
- risk-takerOne who courts peril
solopreneur · hustler · home-based · bootstrapped · mentor · guru
- online jobsfreelancer, virtual assistant, content creator, blogger, web developer
- supply chainsupply, supplier, delivering, suppliers, vendor
- solopreneursfreelancer, Etsy seller, content creator, startup founder, shop owner
- commercetrade, banking, merchant, imports, sales
- online shoppingAmazon, cart, checkout, e-commerce, Walmart
- dealersantique dealer, art dealer, book dealer, coin dealer, furniture dealer
dropshipperstockist
Retailer carrying specific goods
wholesaler · distributor · department store · boutique owner · shopkeeper