So, how successful is dropshipping in 2025 , really? To sort things out, we looked through some real dropshipping stories on Reddit, where those with actual experience share gather to drop some knowledge and answer questions about launching their stores and making profit. We included dropshipping success stories from the last couple of years as well, and not just the most recent ones — all to get you a broader idea of how some values remain crucial no matter the year and how the dropshipping business allows store owners to adapt to changing and unpredictable economic situations.
Here’s the outcome.
Important: There’s no doubt that the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic caused fear and doubt in the community. But here’s the thing: you can absolutely make a dropshipping business profitable using the “new normal” to your advantage. You will find the details in Wang’s Dropshipping Success Story.
Table of contents
- Success story #1: We made $250K last month
- Success story #2: How I went from $0 to $25k a month
- Success story #3: How I made $145 in a single day
- Success story #4: I did $25K
- Success story #5: A Rewarding Side Gig
- Success story #6: A Simple Success Story
- Success story #7: Mastering Dropshipping with Branding and SEO
- Success Story #8: Maximizing Seasonal Dropshipping Profits
- Success Story #9: Achieving Consistent Profits in Dropshipping
- Success Story #10: Leveraging Viral Marketing for Dropshipping Success
- How to learn dropshipping success stories?
- How to start your successful dropshipping business?
Success story #1: We made $250K last month
It absolutely is possible to be successful in this field without even making it your main activity: one of the best ecommerce dropshipping success stories here proves it. Jacky Chou, with his business partner Albert Liu, launched a home decor dropshipping site on Shopify while still working somewhere else: Chou as a founder of an SEO agency Indexsy, and Albert as a freelance Facebook consultant.
The outcome was impressive:
- going from negative $3k to $250k a month in 8 months at 30-40% margins;
- generating over $700,000 in revenue in less than a year.
So what are the key points of their success story?
- Invest in product research and building a brand/niche store.
“Having multiple products that appeal to the same customer will increase your AOV.”
- Also invest in ads. You’re paying for them to buy data so Facebook and Google can optimize better. Be prepared to lose some money, but don’t fret, and take action.
“Losing money initially on Facebook is almost unavoidable but you have to dive into the data to learn from it. Whether it’s one segment of the audience performing better or one creative doing better, you have to continuously tweak your targeting/creatives/product offering based on the results.”
- Always screen your suppliers for packaging and product quality.
“Better packaging will increase perceived value and help to build trust. Also, make sure suppliers are not putting their own promotions on their products.”
- Even with a lower startup budget, you can still proceed with a dropshipping business.
“You can focus on lower-priced items which should stretch your budget further. Doing some outreach on Instagram also is a low-cost way to generate some traffic initially.”
Success story #2: How I went from $0 to $25k a month
This user, who owns a niche online store, delivers their dropshipping success story in 2021 in the form of a concise month-to-month timeline. They are open about the rookie mistakes and overcoming the uncertainties all the way to making $25k a month in revenue with 40% profits.
January. After learning how successful dropshipping was for many entrepreneurs, u/EcomWizard gave it a try. But he went in blind, with no idea what he was doing, and earned just $643.
“Initially, I did a free + shipping offer on a baseball cap and I got some decent sales but lost money because of ad spend. Was using Facebook ads only at the time.”
February. After people began to take an interest in the user’s store, he figured out what items were the most sought-after. He ran single image ads to them, which boosted sales significantly — the profit now was $3,000.
“I also began doing work on SEO this month. That included writing small blog articles, rewriting product descriptions, etc.”
March. The user’s SEO from the prior work started to pick up so he began getting free traffic from Google searches which increased sales. The profit ended up being $6,900.
“I also started an Instagram page to build an audience related to my niche that I occasionally promote products to.“
April. Using a dropshipping wordpress plugin, he searched the web for potentially successful products to test, and, indeed, ended up with some winning ones, which increased sales even more. The revenue doubled, showing $13,200.
“I also began running re-targeting Facebook campaigns at this point and learning more about effective advertising.“
May. After discovering a new sub-niche for his store thanks to the web scraper bot results, he started targeting a whole new audience, resulting in more sales. The revenue this month was $18,400.
“I [also] added an upsell app to my store which increased my average order value from $20 to $45.”
June. This month ended up being an important lesson: you can’t afford slacking. The revenue decreased to $15,800 — see the reason below.
“This was largely because I had recently moved and didn’t have a ton of free time to work on the business. Things like being slow to answer customers, not optimizing ads, etc. can all add up to a revenue loss! Totally my fault.“
July. The best month so far — not only because he made up for the previous month’s loss but also because he started to be more daring with ads. The revenue was a whopping $25,000.
“I scaled all my Facebook ads up a ton and it didn’t end up hurting my conversion cost. I also found another “sub-niche” that contained multiple winning products. I think my lesson here was that I was previously too scared to mess with my winning ads, which included scaling. It obviously worked out in my favor when I decided to get out of my comfort zone!“
How to be successful in a dropshipping business: his tips
- “Focus on multiple sources of revenue. I have a lot of sales coming from places like Pinterest, Google searches, my Instagram account, etc. Try not to get caught up in only doing Facebook ads.“
- “If you have a skill, use it. [This will] get you ahead of everyone else who’s doing the same thing. In my case, I’m a programmer and was able to create the product finding bot.“
- “Find profitable niche. 80% of your revenue will come from 20% of your products! [Find] that handful of bestsellers that you can rely on to bring you sustainable income. (…) Browse other successful stores to see what they sell.“
- “Don’t be lazy. It takes hard work and thinking outside of the box! (…) Keep pushing forward and the results will be endless. I could easily maintain the business spending 15 minutes a day on it, but it took a lot of hours to get there.“
Success story #3: How I made $145 in a single day
This dropshipping success story will be the most helpful for those who may feel a little lost and discouraged.
“On the 27.02 I made $145 in a single day. It might not be a lot for most of you, but having in mind that I started dropshipping on the 23rd, I guess it’s a good start. So what did I do?“
- Investing in an Instagram theme page to keep advertisement costs low.
“[In the] long term it will save me more money trying out different products, as I can test those there for free. I could also sell the page again — probably even with a win!”
- Testing different styles of video ads: in this case, 4 varieties. The first one was a regular advertisement video. The second one was a 100% organic post, the third one started as an organic post, changing to the typical ad style in a few seconds, and the fourth was a 100% organic post with product images to swipe. They all performed differently.
“[The ads were] getting reach from around 1’000 to 30’000. (…) First I thought, the organic ads would perform best, but now after a few more days, I found out (at least for my page) that the biggest influence on a post’s performance (and sales of course) is how unique the product is.“
- Turns out, AliExpress was the key to success. The first product from the store that performed well was unique to the local market: you could only find it on Ali. The post featuring it attracted a lot of interest and drove traffic.
“The first 3 products were a complete fail, even though some of the posts reached thousands of people. Those products had in common that you can buy them basically everywhere in your local shops. Then the 4th product [from AliExpress] was my first good one and I made $145 in sales (around $80 profit).”
Success story #4: I did $25K
One of the great AliExpress dropshipping success stories comes from this Reddit user who started the whole journey with a VERY modest budget. He started with investing $148 in Facebook ads, $12 in the domain, and $5 to order 3 products from AliExpress.
“$200 got me my start with no other initial investment. Now I have spent about $8k on Facebook ads to yield that $25k.“
Key points of the success story
- Start a niche brand to stand out.
“I started a niche brand because it’s 10000x easier to target on Facebook ads than it is with a general store, I made my first sell within 8 hours of our first $5 Facebook ad.“
- Put in the time and research.
“Build a clean niche brand, don’t sell junk, sell useful products that can be used daily, and NEVER give up!”
Success story #5: A Rewarding Side Gig
Another real dropshipping story from Reddit use that bring a lot of value and insights!
The Beginning
I’d like to share my journey as a dropshipper—a side gig that has turned out to be quite rewarding. While I don’t devote all my time to it and I’m not currently running any ads, I’ve managed to carve out a niche for myself.
Consistent Sales
For the past 18 months, my store has consistently averaged about one sale a day, bringing in around £400 this month alone. The best part? All of these sales have come through organic SEO. I’ve been fortunate enough to rank for some solid keywords, which has helped me gain traction without spending a dime on advertising.
A Global Audience
Based in the UK, I source my products from China, and surprisingly, my customers are generally okay with the longer shipping times—as long as I’m transparent about my shipping policies. I don’t just cater to UK customers; my audience is diverse, spanning the US, Canada, Germany, and France, with the UK being just one part of the mix. To make it easier for everyone, I’ve implemented multi-currency options on my site.
The Importance of Communication
One key to my success has been clear communication. I make it evident what customers can expect regarding shipping times. Yes, there have been inquiries about delays, especially due to COVID, but I explain that our products come directly from our factories in China. This honesty helps build trust and manage expectations.
Building a Strong Brand
The branding of my website plays a crucial role as well. The products are well-packaged and align perfectly with the brand’s image, contributing to a strong perceived value. This is vital; I can’t stress enough how important it is for customers to feel they’re getting something valuable.
To illustrate this point without revealing specifics about my products: imagine a handmade wooden coffee table. Depending on where you look, prices can vary widely—from £100 to over £400. Customers find it hard to pinpoint its true value, and if they trust your brand, they’re willing to pay a premium.
Strategic Pricing
My product line follows this same principle. Some items could easily fetch £100+ on high-end websites, while others might be priced between £10-£30 depending on the brand. I strategically price my products to convey quality without being labeled as “cheap.”
It may seem straightforward, but the golden rule is this: don’t sell something that people instinctively know isn’t worth much. Regardless of whether they’re from the UK or the US, most consumers have a good sense of product value.
Room for Growth
If I dedicated more time and resources to this venture, I believe I could significantly boost my profits. But even as a side hustle, dropshipping has opened doors for me and proven that success is achievable with the right approach.
Success story #6: A Simple Success Story
One more real story from Reddit user that shows you how to choose products, get traffic and make sales.
April 2021 marked the beginning of my dropshipping adventure in the toys niche. Fast forward to now, and I’ve sold over 60 products, maintained a clean record with 0 ad account bans, and have managed to turn a profit of about $300.
I want to share my experience because it feels like all I hear are horror stories from others who struggled for years before tasting success. I’m here to tell you that dropshipping is absolutely viable and profitable— and my journey proves it.
While I haven’t done anything groundbreaking, I’ve navigated through the challenges of this business model with relative ease. On average, I dedicate about 10 minutes a day to fulfilling orders and spend around 40 minutes if any issues pop up. So, it’s not as time-consuming as some might think.
If you’re contemplating diving into dropshipping, I wholeheartedly
My Path to Profitability
After investing roughly $400 in ads, I reached profitability. Initially, I was breaking even on sales, but after a few lucky days, I found myself in the green.
I stumbled upon my winning product while browsing through AliExpress. It caught my eye because I thought my girlfriend would love it. The supplier had a treasure trove of high-quality images, one of which turned out to be my most successful ad after testing various formats like carousel and video.
What made this product special was not just my personal connection to it but also its impressive profit margin. I currently sell three similar products, primarily varying by shipping costs. Interestingly, about 60% of my orders go to the UK, where I typically see a profit of around $30 per sale. Customers usually pay about $56, while I fulfill orders at around $26.
Of course, it’s essential to factor in ad spend when calculating profits. After considering all costs, I’d estimate a profit margin of about 20% per sale.
Shipping Insights
Shipping times can vary significantly. For my best-performing countries, delivery ranges from 7-14 days, while smaller countries may take 12-50 days. To the US, it’s generally 12-18 days, though this can fluctuate.
The Power of Organic Content
I began my research into dropshipping on January 26, 2021, and I’ve also been leveraging organic posts for content creation. Using Canva, I create engaging content that performs exceptionally well on platforms like Instagram. This organic approach has been a game-changer for driving traffic to my store.
The Learning Curve
When it comes to figuring out what works, I had to kill over 20 ad sets before discovering my winning product—ironically, one of the first interests I tested! My advice? Let your ads run on a $10 budget for at least three days before deciding whether to pull the plug.
In conclusion, while my journey hasn’t been filled with extraordinary feats, it has been a consistent path toward success. If you’re willing to put in the effort and learn from your experiences, dropshipping can indeed be a rewarding venture. Don’t hesitate—take that leap!
Success story #7: Mastering Dropshipping with Branding and SEO
In this dropshipping success story, the entrepreneur excelled by collaborating with suppliers who offer “blind” shipping, allowing products to carry the entrepreneur’s own label. This branding strategy enhanced customer perception and brand identity.
The business thrives on high-margin products. For example, selling a TV for $999 while incurring a cost of $450 yields a $549 profit per unit. The main focus is on maintaining and marketing niche websites.
A pivotal aspect of the strategy is effective SEO. The website is optimized using a tiered keyword approach, from broad terms on the homepage to detailed product-specific keywords. This ensures high search visibility, reaching consumers ready to purchase.
The story underscores how many consumers often buy from the first site they find, highlighting the need for easy-to-find and accessible websites.
Key Points of Their Success Story
- Supplier Partnerships: Utilize “blind” shipping to maintain brand integrity.
- High-Margin Focus: Select products that offer considerable profit margins.
- SEO Optimization: Use a layered keyword strategy to achieve high search rankings.
- Consumer Insight: Leverage the tendency of consumers to prioritize convenience in online shopping.
- Niche Websites: Develop sites tailored to specific markets to boost conversions.
Success Story #8: Maximizing Seasonal Dropshipping Profits
This entrepreneur achieves $5-6k monthly profit through well-timed seasonal dropshipping stores. Holiday-specific marketing starts early—Valentine’s ads from December 1st, Halloween in August, Black Friday in September, and Christmas in October—with a strategy to stop ads two weeks before each holiday to accommodate shipping times.
After ads end, sales continue with the offer of discounts for late deliveries, adding occasional extra profits, particularly from Halloween. Seasonal stores also double as venues for testing new advertising techniques within controlled budgets, such as spending $5k on Christmas ads for consistent returns.
Outside peak seasons, the entrepreneur runs other stores and companies, ensuring continuous business operation.
Key Points of Their Success Story
- Seasonal Planning: Initiate advertising campaigns well in advance of holidays to capture early interest.
- Strategic Ad Timing: Cease ads about two weeks before holidays, aligning with shipping times.
- Post-Holiday Strategy: Offer discounts on post-deadline purchases, leveraging continued consumer interest.
- Ad Testing: Use seasonal stores as testing grounds for innovative advertising strategies.
- Diversification: Maintain additional stores and businesses to ensure year-round revenue.
Through strategic timing and diversification, the entrepreneur effectively maximizes seasonal dropshipping profits.
Success Story #9: Achieving Consistent Profits in Dropshipping
This entrepreneur successfully maintains a $10k monthly net income by operating four dropshipping stores, each generating around $10k in revenue. While monthly revenues can fluctuate between $6k to $30k, the average remains stable, providing a reliable income stream.
The business model focuses on products with at least a $12 profit margin or a threefold return on cost. Facebook ads are a primary marketing tool, costing approximately $5-$6 per conversion, which supports solid profit margins.
The typical net profit for successful products ranges from 25% to 40%. The entrepreneur emphasizes realistic expectations in net profit, cautioning against claims of excessively high margins, as they are often misleading.
For those new to dropshipping, AliExpress is recommended for product research and sourcing. Utilizing their dropshipping center and leveraging available resources like images and videos simplifies the process considerably.
Key Points of Their Success Story
- Multiple Store Strategy: Operate several stores to maintain diversified revenue streams.
- Profit Margin Focus: Choose products with a minimum $12 profit or threefold margin.
- Cost-Effective Advertising: Use Facebook ads efficiently, maintaining low conversion costs.
- Realistic Profit Expectations: Aim for 25%-40% net profit and question overly high claims.
- Beginner-Friendly Resources: Start with AliExpress for its easy research and resource availability.
By focusing on strategic product selection and effective advertising, this entrepreneur achieves consistent profits across multiple stores in the dropshipping industry.
Success Story #10: Leveraging Viral Marketing for Dropshipping Success
This entrepreneur achieves approximately $15k in monthly revenue with around $10k profit per store by dropshipping inexpensive products. The business thrives on the power of viral marketing, primarily through TikTok and influencer partnerships, minimizing ad costs effectively.
The strategy involves identifying products from viral Facebook ads with high engagement, capitalizing on proven interest without bulk ordering or white-labeling. Instead, these products are marketed as branded items, leveraging the reach and influence of platform trends to maintain a strong presence in the market.
Key Points of Their Success Story
- Viral Marketing: Utilize TikTok and influencers to promote products effectively, with minimal ad spend.
- Engagement Analysis: Choose products with proven viral success and high engagement on social media.
- Brand Without Bulk: Sell products as a brand without the need for bulk ordering or white-labeling.
- Cost Efficiency: Achieve high profits by minimizing expenses through strategic marketing methods.
- Platform Leverage: Drive sales by leveraging popular social media platforms conducive to viral trends.
Through strategic use of free viral marketing channels and smart product selection, this entrepreneur achieves significant profits in the dropshipping arena.
How to learn dropshipping success stories?
When starting to explore a new field like dropshipping, we often need the experience of people who have already achieved success in this area. By studying various dropshipping success stories, we can identify the key steps that led these dropshippers to success. However, it’s important to remember that the stories we typically see are the most remarkable cases, which represent about 10% of all other dropshippers. Nevertheless, many more dropshippers replicate at least a third of their success, generating a stable additional income. So, how much does the average dropshipper earn in their journey, and what can we learn from these dropship success stories?
The typical income from dropshipping ranges from $12,000 to $25,000, varying with the season. It’s actual for dropshippers who rely solely on U.S.-based suppliers, Google Ads, and high-value products.
How to start your successful dropshipping business?
Now that you got rightfully inspired with the dropshipping stories of how to be successful, get started! The best option to launch your store is to use a WordPress platform, with the AliNext aliexpress dropshipping plugin making the whole process so much easier. It is responsible for dropshipping success stories across the world, including UK, South Africa, India, Australia, and beyond.
Below is the page of the AliNext plugin, where you can see the uploaded product from AliExpress. Using the plugin, you can quickly find and fill your store with successful dropshipping products, upload reviews, and when an order comes in, automatically place it on AliExpress with just a few clicks.
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