Dropshipping vs Print on Demand – Complete Guide for 2025

Enterprise Steven Guo Brand Name Medjool Days Business Model Dropshipping Founded 2020 Revenue $12 million While most of his peers are still stressing over their first job, 24-year-old Steven Guo has already built 15 e-commerce businesses, generating $12 million in revenue. He didn’t come from a wealthy family, didn’t graduate from a top university, and wasn’t even a standout student in college. At this point, you might be wondering: In a world where Temu and SHEIN dominate global markets, how did an ordinary young entrepreneur carve out a space in dropshipping? While countless sellers are trapped in brutal price wars, how did he uncover hidden, high-profit niche markets? Today, we take a closer look at Steven’s entrepreneurial journey—diving into how he scaled multiple businesses to seven figures, his secrets to finding million-dollar products, and the biggest challenges newcomers face in e-commerce. The Path to Wealth: From Fidget Spinners to a Million-Dollar Empire     High School Beginnings  Steven’s entrepreneurial journey began in high school. At the time, he recognized the booming trend of fidget spinners, sparking an idea to earn pocket money by selling small toys online. He chose Reddit as his promotion platform, tirelessly spamming various subforums. Eventually, the “ding” on his Shopify platform signaled his first order. This small success made him realize the immense potential in e-commerce and fueled his passion to explore further. University Expansion  In his first year of university, Steven boldly entered a new market: selling anime figurines dressed in Nike sneakers. These creative collectibles quickly gained traction, even attracting celebrity buyers like Justin Bieber. Despite facing copyright issues, he managed to generate substantial income. Over time, he launched multiple brands—some thrived, while others faded—but […]

Want to start an online business? Most likely, you are envisioning dropshipping or Amazon FBA. Both have allowed literally thousands of entrepreneurs to thrive. But their functionality differs, so determining which is best for you, depending on your objectives and budget as well, is critical. By the time you finish this guide, you’ll know how each model works and its strengths and weaknesses. You’ll also know how to get the best results with them.” Ready to begin? Let’s dive in! How Does Dropshipping Work? One popular model in the e-commerce world is dropshipping. It’s a cheap, low-risk method of making sales online. You Won’t Have to Worry about Inventory Dropshipping is a business model where you sell products online without keeping any inventory. Instead of buying products upfront and storing them in a warehouse, you partner with a supplier who handles the storage, packaging, and shipping of products directly to your customers. Here’s how it works: List Products in Your Store Begin by making a list of the products that you would like to sell, on your store, or on platforms such as Shopify, or Amazon. Yes, these goods are on suppliers like AliExpress or calls like Oberlo or DropSure. Customer Places an Order When a customer makes a purchase, you get paid upfront. That means you can start making money immediately. Supplier Ships the Product After that your supplier sends the product to the customer. You don’t need to deal with any shipping or anything! Pros and Cons of Dropshipping Dropshipping is a popular way to start an online business, especially for beginners. However, like any business model, it has its own advantages and disadvantages. In this guide, we’ll break them down to help you weigh the pros and cons before getting started. Pros […]

As global e-commerce continues to expand, staying compliant with local tax regulations is becoming increasingly essential for businesses. Among the most important tax systems that affect cross-border sales in the European Union are VAT, OSS, and IOSS. These systems not only ensure compliance but also help businesses streamline their operations and avoid costly mistakes. In this article, we will break down what VAT, OSS, and IOSS are, how they work, and how understanding these frameworks can help you stay ahead in the global e-commerce game as we approach 2025.   Here’s an table with Standard VAT Rate for some important countries:    Note: The United States does not have VAT; it only has sales tax. Sales tax is levied only at the retail stage, unlike in most countries where taxes are applied to the value added at each stage of the supply chain.   What is VAT ?   VAT is charged at each stage of the supply chain, including production, wholesale, and retail. At every stage, tax is applied to the “added value” of goods and services. The “added value” refers to the extra value created at each stage, like processing, transforming, transporting, and distributing the product. Example: Let’s say you’re a toy factory. You make a toy and sell it to a store. The store then sells it to a customer. At each step, from production to sale, a small tax is added. But each person only pays VAT on the “added value” they created, not the entire product.   Let’s walk through the process: Assume you buy a television at an electronics store, priced at 500 euros. The VAT rate is 20%. 1.Merchant Purchase (Wholesaler) The merchant […]