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Walmart vs BestBuy: Which One Is Best For Dropshipping?

A parking lot with cars parked under a cloudy sky near BestBuy.

Dropshipping is an e-commerce business based on the abilities of a drop-shipper to create an online selling store and to choose a proper Supplier that can produce and deliver high-quality products.

In this scheme, all operational expenses and responsibilities are on the Supplier, while marketing and overall management are on Dropshipper. Dropshipper can create websites or sell goods on popular marketplaces that allow dropshipping. You can find the marketplace per each niche if the business meets the criteria. It is allowed on the most popular sites such as Amazon, Facebook, BestBuy, Walmart, and eBay. There are over 200 hundred internet platforms where you can try selling dropshipping goods.

As a drop-shipper makes a profit from the difference between retail price and production price, selling on several marketplaces makes sense to increase income. But maybe it does make sense to expand within only one? This article will examine Walmart and BestBuy's pros and cons for a drop-shipper. 

Benefits of Walmart for drop-shipper

Walmart operates more than 10.000 stores in more than 20 countries; in addition to traditional business, it has created a seamless shopping experience with its e-commerce marketplace platform. Digital tools help save money and time, allowing you to shop anytime and anywhere. Walmart proposes exclusive deals for goods to customers, which is why it has become so popular. A drop-shipper can choose Walmart as a source market or to sell goods there. Some investigations showed that in 2022 the top 3 products for dropshipping from Walmart were: a storage organizer, a commercial vacuum sealer machine, and a mainstay black frame.

But we consider the dropshipping business at Walmart to be more promising and give more profit. To start selling there, you need to create a Walmart account, select a type of seller you want to be, receive a Resale Certificate (mandatory to keep your taxes in order and not to pay double taxes), choose your product niche, and determine the number of goods you are going to sell. Before all these steps, you must receive a Tax ID for business owners in the USA (your standard social security number is not the same) and have a tax form (W9 or W8) and Verification Letter with a nine-digit employer identification number based on your legal business location.

Further steps are as usual for any marketplace or even your website – to find a supplier. You may use Aliexpress or Alibaba to find Chinese suppliers, search engines or tradeshows to find nearby suppliers or special applications for finding suppliers. If you do not know your niche yet, we recommend you do detailed research on Walmart's website to check the top-seller products. With a list of goods ready to sell, you can start dropshipping. For further activities with the store, such as repricing, auto-tracking, and auto-ordering, you can use Walmart dropshipping software

Walmart dropshipping has unique options: your Supplier can deliver to the Client or Walmart Fulfillment Center; Walmart takes care of returns and provides pricing and customer service guidance. The requirement for a drop-shipper is to have all goods within two days.

Pros 

  • Easy and guided registration policy
  • Walmart takes care of listing to receive the most organic traffic
  • Walmart provides marketing for all goods on its website
  • Several ways to list products on Walmart are available (bulk upload, many applications from Third Parties, and licensed recommended solutions from Walmart)
  • Many automation resources to simplify and speed up all working steps for drop-shipper
Cons

  • No fixed terms for approval of your Walmart account (it could be from a couple of days to a month)
  • All products are sold under Walmart's name
  • Walmart sets the prices so your profit is low
  • You need to deliver products within two days

Benefits of BestBuy Dropshipping

BestBuy is an American marketplace that hosts top sellers all over the world. This platform focuses on electronics, computers, smartphones, home office products, entertainment software, and other technical devices. BestBuy is a relatively new platform without a detailed membership program, but it offers many goods you can't buy in stores. BestBuy occupies 10-15% of e-commerce sales in electronics. So, it is essential to check if your chosen niche corresponds to the Customers of the BestBuy marketplace. You can review BestBuy's top-rated products or use Google Trends to check this. 

The website promises that all suppliers go through the multi-stage application process. To become a drop-shipper seller, you must register with the Chamber of Commerce of Canada, have a legal address in Canada, and prove that you can fulfill orders on this platform. You first register to sell goods in Canada, but after registration also can sell in the USA. BestBuy requests additional information during registration to check if you are a trustable seller. For example, whether you sell on other marketplaces or how many products you will sell.

Dropshipper organizes their business on BestBuy, like on many other marketplaces. You must search for a Supplier: AliExpress, Spocket, Oberlo, SaleHoo, or any other supplier. The preferable top-margin goods are TVs, AirPods, robotic vacuum cleaners, tablets, runner watches, laptops, etc. You must be prepared to set the price comparable to other competitors on the platform. 

On BestBuy, you can create your online store as on Amazon. There you need to present all your products with prices, provide shipping details and give detailed product information with pictures. You should list your products with proper keywords to ensure proper ranking by search engines. You need to organize regular exceptional deals and discounts for Customers to stay on top of sellers on BestBuy. Another hint to increase your store's popularity is to organize independent professional reviews in addition to regular Customer reviews.

Pros

  • Possibility to create own online store on the platform
  • A drop-shipper determines a prices
  • Many software applications to automate and improve dropshipping on BestBuy
  • Possibility to increase sales by deal of the Day
  • Possibility to expand business by following all platform's rules
  • Easy registration policy
Cons

  • You need to deliver within two days
  • Marketplaces are focused on electrical devices
  • Requires registration in the Canadian Chamber of Commerce
  • The BestBuy team checks registration information, so the process may take up to one month
  • All marketing and SEO audit is on a drop-shipper

Conclusion

No matter which platform you choose – BestBuy or Walmart, dropshipping on both still has the same responsibility steps. Currently, Walmart has four times more customers than BestBuy. So you need to find a Supplier and manage delivery orders on time. But Walmart delivers goods from its name and takes care of listings, delivery (partly), and marketing, while BestBuy allows drop-shippers to do everything by themselves. This is the main difference between these platforms. Another one is that BestBuy is focused on electric devices, while Walmart sells everything. So, depending on your niche, you can choose the desired marketplace. If you are a beginner, you may select Walmart, while BestBuy is more flexible.

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