How to Launch a Dropshipping Business Without Spending Money in 2025

Do you want to kickstart your journey in the dropshipping field while your finances are limited? That’s totally fine. In this guide, we will see how to launch your dropshipping business with no initial investment.

Are you excited? You should be…

Now simplify it. While you may not invest a single dollar, you must be more creative. At least for now, forget about the expensive tools and ads. Instead, we will utilize a free platform that will provide us with organic traffic and more, while employing smart strategies that won’t cost you but will yield next-level results.

And if you are willing to invest a small amount, then it’s great news, as AutoDS is offering a 14-day free trial for just $1, which is actually a bargain. AutoDS’s hand-picked products help you get started with automation and gain traffic within a small period of time.

In this guide, we will explore how to start a dropshipping business with no money, set up a low-risk setup for beginners, automate your dropshipping store, and provide real-world tips that make it possible. So stay with us.

How Dropshipping Works

Let’s dive into it. Dropshipping is an online business model where you sell products online without maintaining inventory. Instead of buying space for inventory and placing products, you only purchase products when a customer places an order on your store. Then, it’s entirely up to the supplier to pack the order and ship it to the customer’s doorstep. That’s how you sold the item without having the item in inventory.

Through this, you don’t need to keep a stock of boxes, incur shipping logistics, or pay upfront costs.

Let’s understand this concept through a real-life example.

1. Let’s suppose a customer places an order of $200 in your store.
2. You forward the details of the product and address to the supplier, and he will charge you $130 for the product and shipping. He will then directly ship the order to the customer’s address.
3. The customer will receive their product, and that’s how you will make a profit of around $70.

There is no need to rent the warehouse, as no packaging, shipping, or handling is required. It is the best way for a low-risk setup for beginners.

You can try AutoDS for 14 days free of charge, just $1, and unlock all the premium features to handle your store wisely and smartly.

Start Dropshipping With No Money

If you are serious about building a dropshipping store with no money, then you should be very careful and work smartly at each step. Your first goal is

to make a genuine and intelligent business while keeping costs to a minimum. It’s 100% achievable, and here is how you would do it. We will guide you step by step for your understanding.

Step 1: Find Winning Products (Without Spending a Cent)

Doing dropshipping at no cost starts with in-depth product research. While doing dropshipping, upfront inventory isn’t important. It’s a saving grace for low-income individuals. One of the main tasks is to find a highly profitable niche. It should strike a balance between high demand and low competition. This is where your ‘winning’ item resides.

Listing the right product in your store is an art form. It’s the product that resonates with your customers. They need it and search for it. It is a golden opportunity to take customers to your store. The right product can transform you overnight.

Product research sources

Here is the list of options through which you can get those products for your store, and they are all free.

Supplier best-seller pages: what better platform to start than where the sales are already happening? Head to platforms like Temu, AliExpress, and Ali Baba to see their best-selling categories. It’s like the perfect window shopping for what’s already selling in the real world.

Product-finding blogs and YouTube playlists: There are numerous experienced dropshippers on social media platforms, providing the latest and most up-to-date content with hot, winning products.

AliExpress dropshipping centre: This is one of the best and free tools for exploring the winning products by category and demand.

Google Lens: Take a snap of a product you like for dropshipping and find similar ones online.

Social media trends: Utilize various social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, to discover products that people are currently obsessed with.

Step 2: Select a Reliable Dropshipping Supplier

When you have no money to start your dropshipping journey, you will see that suppliers are the key to success. This is so because payment to the supplier only occurs when the customer has already paid us, so there is no need for an upfront fee. However, it is essential to establish connections with trustworthy suppliers.

You were wondering why? This is so because your supplier is responsible for the packaging, shipping, and stocking. And if he fails in delivering any, then you will also be accountable for it, as you are directly linked to him.

The following is the list of popular free dropshipping suppliers. You can use:

• Amazon
• AliExpress
• Alibaba
• eBay
• Walmart
• Target
  
• Etsy
• Home Depot
• Costco

Checklist for Finding the Right Supplier

It’s time to learn how to choose a supplier for your store. The following is the list you should know while looking for a supplier:

Fast shipping and practical policies: check each supplier’s return policy, shipping timeline, and payment rules. This will allow you to ensure the same condition for your customer.

Worldwide warehouses: the supplier you choose must have warehouses around the world. First, it will minimize shipping time, and secondly, it will open the door to your growth and opportunities.

Wide product range: More products = more chances to find winners. Ǫuality products: No one likes to receive refund requests, so when products are of high quality, there will be fewer returns and a happier customer.

Positive seller reviews: Always read opinions. They’ll tell you everything the product page doesn’t.

Responsive customer support: If you ever encounter trouble and your supplier disappears, it means your store will likely take a hit.

Step 3: Choose a Selling Platform

Before you start thinking about your profit, you need a dropship platform to use for dropshipping. And here is where the selling platform comes in. There are numerous platforms, and they are all divided into two main groups.

Customizable e-commerce websites: If you want to build your site from scratch with your own rules and theme, then a customizable site is best for you. Naturally, there is a fully responsive and user-friendly experience across mobile devices and laptops.

Marketplaces: If you are interested in exploring the marketplace, it is best to list your products on Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, TikTok Shop, eBay, and other similar platforms.

Each platform has its pros and cons, depending on the control and traffic you want to drive to your site. Let’s talk about them.

Platform	Free To Start?	Listing Fees	Other Cost	Total Cost to Start	Other Consider ation
Amazon	Yes	$0	$39.99/m o for Pro plan (optional)	$0 (Individual plan)	Wide reach, but minimum branding with strict rules
eBay	Yes	Free up to 250/mo	Optional store plans (starting at $4.95/mo)	$0 if under 250 listings	Strict Seller rules, but built-in global traffic reach

 

Facebook Shop	Yes	$0	–	$0	Best for local selling, but a limited seller tool
TikTok Shop	Yes	$0	–	$0	Great for viral products
Shopify	$1/month for 3 months	$0	$39/mo after 3-month trial	$1 (with trial)	Fully customiza ble, but traffic is up to you
Wix	Yes	$0	$17–$27/ mo to accept payments	$17 – $27 to sell	But please note that sales are not allowed on the free plan.

 

Shopify

Shopify is one of the best tools for building your e-commerce store, as it provides full customization with a fully responsive interface. It costs you

$1 for the first 3 months. It is loaded with tools that help you design your store exactly how you want.

Pros:

• Providing a 3-month trial for only $1, which is exactly equal to nothing.
• Shopify doesn’t charge you for product listing, but it does have transaction fees when you are not using Shopify payments.
• It provides you with full control over your store, allowing you to tailor it to your design, unlike eBay and Amazon.
• It also offers a built-in app for your store reach, payment analytics, and much more.
• Shopify also provides one of the best customer support options, including live chat, email, and phone support.

Cons:

• After the 3-month trial, Shopify is likely to charge a monthly subscription fee.
• If you are not using Shopify payment, then it will cost for each transaction.
• When using Shopify, you are responsible for generating traffic to your store, which can be costly.
• You cannot export your Shopify design to any other site, as Shopify doesn’t support this feature.

Wix

Wix is another good way to start your dropshipping business, offering customizable options with easy setup. It is free to use, but unlocking premium features incurs an additional cost.

Pros:

• You can start Wix at no cost for an unlimited time.
• Wix provides a friendly setup, allowing you to easily set up your store by simply dragging and dropping.
  
• It also offers a built-in app for your store reach, payment analytics, and much more.

Cons:

• When using Wix’s free plan, ads are displayed. It doesn’t accept payments; instead, you need to connect to a custom domain.
• Wix provides fewer dropshipping apps with integration.
• Wix acts similarly to Shopify, as it doesn’t allow you to export your design to any other site.
• Like Shopify, you need to do marketing to gain traffic to your site.

eBay

It is one of the oldest platforms where you can easily list your right product, millions of people use it every day, and you can easily get traffic for free without running ads. However, you can start using eBay at no cost. If you need some extra tools, you will need to pay $4.95 annually.

Pros:

• On eBay, you are allowed to list 250 products for free, which means you can start with a large catalogue.
• As eBay is one of the oldest platforms, you can easily generate traffic with the right product, even without running ads.
• It is one of the most beginner-friendly dropshipping tools, especially for listing products.
• eBay is recognized worldwide and has the trust of millions of people.

Cons:

• eBay charges a fee once you sell a product; the cost is approximately 10-15%, depending on the category.
• As eBay is well-known, the competition will be intense.
• On eBay, seller fees can cut into your margins.
• eBay’s strict selling policies and disputes tend to favour the buyer.
  

Tip: Learn more about how to sell products on eBay in 2025.

Amazon

Amazon is a well-known platform that provides you with a huge, trustworthy audience, but it comes with strict rules and regulations. Pros:

• Amazon doesn’t charge you subscription fees or product listing fees.
• It has one of the largest customer bases in the US and worldwide.
• Amazon’s buyer trust is sky high.
• Amazon brings in massive free traffic.

Cons:

• Amazon charges $0.99 for each item sold, including the percentage of the sale price, usually around 8–15%.
• It is significantly larger than other platforms.
• Amazon has standard seller policies that include account suspension as a potential consequence.

TikTok Shop

This is gold for marketing. TikTok is a mix of social content with shopping. You can easily create engaging content for your product and sell it without incurring any marketing expenses.

Pros:

• TikTok shop is completely free, with no monthly or annual charges. However, this commission fee is 2.5%.
• TikTok’s audience is infinite, allowing you to sell your product within a minimum period of time.
  
• TikTok shops allow integration with livestreams and video.
• Viral product = free marketing

Cons:

• In the TikTok shop, you have regular posts, making it ideal for content creators.
• TikTok shops are limited by country, resulting in a decrease in audience reach.
• Doesn’t offer strong, robust buyer protection.

Facebook shop

Facebook’s free buying and selling tools make it feasible for everyone to sell, especially locally.

Pros:

• The Facebook Shop is completely free to use, and you can easily list unlimited products for an unlimited time.
• Best platforms for local sales.
• Enable multiple cross-posting options, including Instagram, making it feasible for you to market to your audience.
• Enables sellers to communicate directly with buyers via Messenger, WhatsApp, or Instagram.

Cons:

• Facebook Shop provided a limitation in seller protection.
• Facebook does not allow global shipping, unlike other platforms.
• Facebook does not offer advanced features compared to other platforms.
  

Step 4: Import Winning Products To Your Dropshipping Store

Now that you have decided which one you have to use, it’s time to choose the hot-selling product to list on the platform.

For that, you are offered two options:

Manual Importing:

In manual importing, you need to visit supplier websites and copy all relevant information, including product images and descriptions, to your website. This method is best to use until your catalogue is not too huge. If you are just starting or testing the waters, this is ideal for you.

Automatic Importing:

In automatic importing, there is no need to copy content from the supplier website. You just need to invest a little, and then all your listing work will be done with just a few clicks. With autoDs, you can pull everything, including images, descriptions, and more. Not only this, but other tools help you monitor price and stock changes in real-time.

Step 5: Run Online Marketing Campaigns To Boost Your Profits

Marketing is a crucial step in dropshipping. To make a solid profit, it is essential to keep your store visible to the audience, as this brings massive traffic, which drives a significant boost in sales. Moreover, marketing builds trust in the buyer’s mind and creates a brand reputation.

The following is the marketing method you can use: Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce:

• PPC ads
• Email marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Blog page
• Create free content on TikTok eBay:
• Promoted Listings Advanced
• Promoted Listings Standard
• Volume Discounts
• Sales Events
• Send Offers Amazon:
• Amazon PPC Facebook:
• Buy & Sell Groups
• Promotions

All these are premium, and you have to invest money in them to market your store. Rather than using this at the start, it is recommended to focus on the organic audience by running informative blogs to attract buyers and posting creative, helpful videos on social media platforms.

Step 6: Fulfill Customer Orders Ǫuickly

What is the best marketing strategy that costs you nothing? Delivering an outstanding customer experience. Happy customers will become loyal customers with a great delivery experience. Amazing delivery service turns one-time buyers into loyal fans and word-of-mouth promoters.

And this can only happen when orders are fulfilled on time. Easy and costs nothing. If you deliver the package with great service and within the time, congrats: you just won a returning customer.

There are two ways of doing it:

Manual Order Fulfillment

Through this method, you order from the supplier website, enter the customer’s shipping info, track the order, and mark it as fulfilled in your store. It will cost you nothing.

Automatic Order Fulfilment

When things get out of control and you start receiving numerous orders across multiple platforms, automation is the best solution. However, as you know, these tools will cost you, but it is not a bad investment when you are getting something in return.

Step 7: Offer Excellent Customer Support

Great customer service means repeat customers, who provide free word-of-mouth marketing. Since dropshipping doesn’t involve selling products directly to customers, there may be queries or questions regarding order, payment, and return concerns.

To keep it simple, follow the following steps:

Be reachable: create a bridge, such as email, live chat, or messenger. Fast Reply: Stay updated on messages and reply smoothly and quickly. Be helpful: solve customer questions, answer their queries, and keep the buyer informed.

Frequently Asked Ǫuestions

Can I start dropshipping with no money?

Yes! You can easily dropship without having a cent. Different platforms offer free trials, and most suppliers allow you to source products at no cost.

Is it easy to start dropshipping?

Yes! Dropshipping is hassle-free, as you don’t have to set up a warehouse or inventory.

What are the different dropshipping fees? Dropshipping fees vary with the platforms.

What is the best platform for starting a dropshipping business?

It totally depends on your needs. Shopify is easy to use, thanks to its integration and free trial, but WooCommerce works well with WordPress; however, it comes at a slightly higher cost.