You could technically start a dropship business with $0. However, that doesn’t mean you should.
The first thing you’ll pay for is fees to the dropshipping store. For example, a Shopify subscription will run you a minimum of $29 per month — a fee that could quickly add up if it takes a while for sales to consistently roll in. You’ll also have to shell out another $14 per year for the domain.
Beyond that, you’ll spend a lot of money running ads if you want to turn a decent profit. If the ads don’t resonate with your target customer, then you could end up spending a huge chunk of change without seeing any return on your investment.
Tread lightly, as most people starting a dropshipping business often spend upwards of $1,000 in the first three months on ads alone. A large portion of these online merchants don’t generate enough sales to cover the marketing costs.
You’ll also want to buy at least one unit of each product you’re selling to verify its quality. You don’t need to do this, but you could end up facing lawsuits if the products you sell cause harm to buyers, so testing them out yourself is advised.
Overall, you’ll save a bit of money since you won’t have to pay for storage costs or inventory stocking. But it’s clear that dropshipping is by no means a zero-capital, get-rich-quick business model.