Written in Partnership with Amir Bakian
Robert Nikic, the CEO of dropshipping platform Why Unified didn’t always want to be involved in the dropshipping industry. In fact, he didn’t know dropshipping existed until he fled Yugoslavia and came to the United States during the Baltic War. Thanks to his innate business sense, curiosity, and perhaps a bit of happenstance, Robert is in a unique place to provide insight into how dropshipping will change in the coming years.
Shorter Shipping Times
“People don’t want to wait two months to get the things they order,” Robert says. “Thanks to huge ecommerce brands like Walmart and Amazon, consumers have grown accustomed to two-day shipping. It’s no longer a luxury; it’s a must. People who open stores with suppliers in China are really going to struggle in the coming years because of it.”
People don’t want to wait for their products to arrive. In fact, in Omnitracs’ “Delivering on Demand: Consumer 2021 Insights Survey,” they found that as many as 65% of consumers were willing to pay more for faster deliveries. “Why Unified’s Dropship Plus plan solves this issue by giving our clients access to brand-name products and two-day shipping,” Robert says. “Because of this, our clients can easily compete with major retailers, and in some cases, they even offer lower prices than Amazon or Walmart for popular brand names.”
More Trusted Brands
While social media outlets like TikTok can cause an off-brand or unknown product to go viral, sales of that product aren’t enough to sustain a business long-term. “Too many dropshippers rely on shippers who source products from brands no one has ever heard of. Consumers don’t trust it. They aren’t sure what they will get when they open the box or package,” Robert says.
“Dropshippers who want to see long-term success in 2023 and forward should source brand-name dropshipping products, instead. Why Unified works supplies brands like Crest, Starbucks, and Airborne, so our clients can offer those products at competitive prices. They also get some of the highest profit margins in the industry. People associate those brands with quality, and many consumers already have their products at home. Offering brand-name products in a dropshipping store immediately builds trust and authority, which is going to be important moving forward.”
Transparent Pricing
Millions of people have been misled by Why Unified’s competitors in terms of their pricing. “It’s funny because people see this tool that they can buy for $39, and they think that one tool is all they need to win at dropshipping. The truth is they don’t need that tool at all, and they will spend months or even years learning how to maximize its potential. I fell victim to it myself when I first opened my own dropshipping store, but I quickly learned that what you see is never what you actually get,” Robert Nikic chuckles.
“When we developed Why Unified, transparent pricing was a must-have. We considered all different kinds of models, but we settled on a monthly subscription format. Our competitors sell expensive tools with zero support, and they also charge per-sale fees that eat into already questionable profit margins. Why Unified is the same price every single month no matter how much our clients sell, and we are always renegotiating with our suppliers to get our clients incredibly competitive profit margins. The predictability makes budgeting simpler for our clients, and they trust us. Dropshippers need to know exactly how much they’re spending on their tools and marketing every month if they want to succeed, and transparency is going to be big in 2023 because of it”
Simpler Tools
During Robert’s own foray into dropshipping, he purchased thousands of dollars’ worth of tools, plugins, courses, and more – all of which promised to make him rich. Of course, that never happened. “I look back at it now and laugh at how naive I was, and I just want to reach as many people as I can and say, ‘Stop! Don’t buy that! Don’t fall for it!’ To be clear, the tools absolutely work. That isn’t the issue. The issue is the learning curve. Our competitors sell these plugins that don’t work by themselves and require months of learning to figure out, and I firmly believe this is one of the major reasons why 90% of dropshippers fail in their first 30 days of business. It feels impossible. It really does.”
“Why Unified is the simplest dropshipping platform in the world, and we are very proud of that. We offer four different subscription tiers so our clients can decide just how much they want to do on their own and how much they want us to do for them. If they already have a store they like, we can easily put together, run, and manage an ad campaign on their behalf. We can even help them build a sales funnel that works! If they’re starting from scratch, our Dropship Lite and Dropship Plus plans offer everything they need, and they can choose how involved they want to be in the process. With Dropship Plus, they can sit back and let us do all the work!” Robert believes that in 2023 and beyond, dropshippers will come to appreciate that flexibility.
Better Customer Service
Customer service is another major pain point for today’s dropshippers. Robert experienced it for himself when he was trying to figure out his competitors’ tools, plans, and pricing. “It’s amazing just how little support some of our competitors offer. Some of them don’t even have a support email address available! They just let people buy the plugin and fend for themselves afterward. I knew from the start that Why Unified was going to be different. People need support, especially when they’re just getting started.”
Why Unified’s clients can attest to their exceptional support, which is available via email and live chat. “Our clients even get access to a personal account manager who provides a thorough weekly report, and if they ever have any questions, they can just email their account manager or chat with us on our website. Failing to provide your clients with customer service in 2023 is just unacceptable. People who are spending money with your company deserve better. Why Unified will always put customer service first.”
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