Dropshipping with Droppery: How We Build a Successful Webshop Without Inventory
From Dream to Reality: Our Story
When we first started developing our webshop two years ago, we faced a classic dilemma. We had the passion, the vision, and the entrepreneurial spirit, but not the capital to invest thousands of euros in inventory that might never sell. It’s a familiar story for many aspiring entrepreneurs: big dreams, small wallets.
That was the moment we discovered Droppery. And that changed everything.
What is Dropshipping Actually?
Let’s start at the beginning. Dropshipping is a smart way to run a business where you sell products without having to keep them in stock yourself. Sound too good to be true? Here’s how it works:
- A customer orders a product in your webshop
- The order is automatically sent to the supplier
- The supplier ships the product directly to your customer
- You only pay for what you sell
No inventory risks, no storage costs, no thousands of euros tied up in products gathering dust.
Why Droppery is Different
When we decided to start dropshipping, we quickly encountered the limitations of traditional dropshipping. Long delivery times from Asia, unreliable suppliers, manual order processing with CSV files, and countless email exchanges. It felt outdated and inefficient.
Droppery addressed these frustrations by focusing on three core principles:
1. European Quality, Fast Delivery
Droppery works exclusively with verified European suppliers and brands, meaning our customers receive their orders within 1-2 days instead of having to wait weeks. For us as an online store, this is crucial – satisfied customers return.
The platform offers access to over 500,000 unique products from more than 200 high-quality brands. From furniture and home accessories to electronics and fashion – all from trusted European partners.
2. Full Automation
This is where Droppery truly shines. The platform offers complete automation of product data, inventory management, and order processing. In practice, this means:
- Real-time inventory synchronization: No more annoying situations where you sell something that is out of stock
- Automatic order processing: As soon as a customer orders, the order goes directly to the supplier
- Seamless integration: Works perfectly with Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop and other platforms
- Track & trace automationCustomers will automatically receive updates about their shipment
3. Mutual Approval Process
What immediately appealed to us was that not everyone can just get started. Droppery uses a mutual approval process to ensure quality for both retailers and suppliers. This means you’re working with reputable partners who also take your online store seriously.
How We Do It: A Case Study
Step 1: The Setup (Day 1)
We started by creating our Droppery account. The onboarding process was surprisingly easy. We entered our webshop details, installed the Shopify plugin, and within an hour, everything was set up.
The investment? Just €19 per month for retailers. A fraction of what we would have had to spend on storage space or inventory.
Step 2: Choosing Suppliers (Day 2-5)
In the Droppery supplier overview we could filter on:
- Product category (we chose living & lifestyle)
- Location (Netherlands and Belgium for fastest delivery)
- Minimum order value
- Delivery time
We sent collaboration requests to five brands that perfectly matched our vision. Within three days, we had approval from four suppliers.
Step 3: Importing Products (Day 6)
This was the best part. With one click, we imported hundreds of products, including:
- Professional product photos
- Complete product descriptions
- Current stock levels
- Recommended retail prices with good margins
The products automatically appeared in our Shopify store. We just had to adjust some text to reflect our own tone of voice.
Step 4: Marketing and Growth (From Week 2)
Here, in our opinion, lies the real secret to successful dropshipping: without the constraints of inventory management and logistics, you can focus all your energy on what really matters – attracting customers and optimizing conversions.
We invested our time in:
- Sterke social media content
- Google Ads campaigns
- Email marketing
- SEO optimization
- Top quality customer service
The Numbers: Our First 6 Months
We’re transparent about what works and what doesn’t. After six months of dropshipping with Droppery:
- Month 1: €2,400 turnover, learning and experimenting
- Month 3€8,700 turnover, first profitable month
- Month 6: €15,200 turnover, stable growth
The average margin is between 25-35%, depending on the product and our marketing costs. The great thing is that we only pay for what we sell – every week, we receive an invoice from Droppery with our sales from the past seven days.
Challenges and How We Solve Them
Challenge 1: Competition
Dropshipping is popular, so there’s definitely competition. We differentiate ourselves by:
- Excellent customer service (we respond within 2 hours)
- Authentic content and stories about products
- Strong Instagram and Pinterest game
- Focus on niche market within living (Scandinavian design)
Challenge 2: Optimizing Margins
Marketing costs can sometimes be tight. We learned that:
- Organic channels (SEO, Pinterest) give the highest ROI in the long run
- Not every product is suitable for paid advertising
- Bundles and upsells increase our average order value
Challenge 3: Managing Customer Expectations
Even though suppliers ship quickly, the customer experience remains our responsibility. We are transparent about delivery times, proactively send updates, and have a flexible returns policy. This translates into a customer satisfaction score of 4.7/5.
Why Droppery Works for Us
Looking back on our choice of Droppery, there are three reasons why it’s a perfect fit:
1. European Focus
At a time when consumers are becoming more critical about sustainability and fast delivery, working with European suppliers is a huge advantage. We’re proud to say that our products are shipped within the Netherlands or Belgium.
2. Professional Ecosystem
The brands on Droppery aren’t just random Chinese manufacturers. They’re established European brands like Rivièra Maison, Bazar Bizar, and HSM International that take their products seriously. That makes our work easier and our webshop more credible.
3. Scalability
We started small with four suppliers. Now, six months later, we’re working with ten suppliers and actively expanding into Germany. Droppery’s technical infrastructure scales effortlessly.
Practical Tips for Starters
If you’re considering starting dropshipping through Droppery, here are our tips:
- Start with a niche marketDon’t try to sell everything. We chose Scandinavian home accessories, and that works perfectly.
- Invest in contentDroppery provides great product photos, but add lifestyle photos, videos, and authentic stories.
- Focus on customer serviceThis is your biggest differentiator. Be approachable, friendly, and solution-oriented.
- Test and optimizeNot every product sells well. Track data and be prepared to remove underperforming products.
- Build relationships with suppliersAlthough everything is automated, personal contact helps. Some suppliers give us early access to new collections.
- Be transparentTell customers about your approach. Many people appreciate the honest story about dropshipping and European partners.
The Future: Where Are We Going?
Our ambitions don’t stop at just one webshop. Thanks to Droppery’s scalable infrastructure, we have plans for:
- International expansionGermany and France are next
- Multiple niches: A second webshop for outdoor & lifestyle is in development
- Own brand: With the knowledge we gain, we eventually want to launch our own product line.
The beauty of it is that we can do all this without millions of dollars invested or massive warehouses. Droppery offers us the flexibility to experiment, grow, and scale at our own pace.
The Hard Truth
Let’s face it: dropshipping isn’t a get-rich-without-doing-anything scheme. It requires work, dedication, and smart marketing. The first few months were challenging, with lots of learning and adjustments.
But what Droppery does do is remove the technical and logistical barriers. Instead of worrying about inventory, shipping, and supplier management, we can focus on what we love and what we’re good at: reaching our customers and building a great online store.
Conclusion: Is Droppery Right for You?
Droppery stands out as a specialized platform that connects e-commerce entrepreneurs with reliable suppliers, primarily European ones. For us, it was the perfect solution to realize our webshop dream without significant financial risks.
If you:
- Want to start a webshop with minimal investment
- Values European quality and fast delivery
- Want to focus on marketing and customer experience instead of logistics
- A professional, automated platform is looking for
Then Droppery is definitely worth considering.
Our adventure has only just begun, but we’re proud of what we’ve built in six months. From an idea at the kitchen table to a growing online store with satisfied customers – all made possible by cleverly using dropshipping with the right partner.
Want to start dropshipping with Droppery? The platform offers a user-friendly environment with integrations for all popular e-commerce systems. Learn more at droppery.io.