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As BrandsGateway continuously grows, we strive to improve our services and deliver even better experiences for our existing and new dropshippers. One dropshipper who has been loyal to our services for two years and counting is Assaf who joined BrandsGateway with the idea of starting a lucrative business on his own. Assaf has always been passionate about starting his own business, and as he emphasizes that “at some point, I decided to give it a shot and going into dropshipping seemed like the best option, as the investment is relatively low compared to a brick-and-mortar business.” Before getting into the dropshipping industry Assaf was working as a software engineer at a large company in Israel. Today, he mainly sells through the online store he built from scratch using the Shopify platform. To the question - how much investment one needs to start a dropshipping business, he states that for one to make dropshipping their main income, it requires some investment and effort. “Personally, I do it as a full-time job and, of course, the more effort I spent the better I can get the business growing. If you are learning by yourself, it’s possible to save a lot of money. However, generally, to get started with it more seriously, one needs an investment of a few thousand dollars for building the online store, contracting with suppliers, and advertising on different platforms. Assaf has been working closely with BrandsGateway’s team for more than two years. He decided that he wanted to sell luxury clothes so he started looking for dropshipping suppliers that would satisfy his needs and requirements. “I got in contact with you guys, and I think the good thing about your services is that the profit margins for selling premium products are pretty good. There are dropshippers that want to focus on small products with small profits but that’s not the right approach I’m looking for. I’m more interested in selling products with larger profits, so I decided to focus on premium products like high-end fashion. I was looking for products that would allow me to get a large amount of profit with a smaller number of sales. The reason why I got in contact with BrandsGateway was that you have high-fashion products with relatively high prices that can ensure significant profit”, explains Assaf. Assaf’s online store based on Shopify is focused mostly on selling both women’s and men’s clothing with a special accent on premium items by Dolce & Gabbana. Discussing the luxury fashion industry and his personal experience, he notes that women’s clothing is the most popular category when it comes to selling online. Register here to check wholesale Dolce & Gabbana dresses “It usually goes to women’s clothing, specifically there is a big interest for dresses but sometimes because of the higher prices the selling can take up to some quite of time. However, there is a big interest in the category of dresses, and I get a lot of queries about measures and prices. Additionally, there is also interest in shoes which are relatively less expensive than dresses. When it comes to men’s clothing - suits are among the most popular products alongside blazers. For example, for one sale of a male’s suit I got a profit of a bit more than $1000”, he adds. Speaking on the topic of how much he earns by selling BrandsGateway’s portfolio of luxury clothing, Assaf says that the sale of the male suit of around $1000 was his highest profit since he started working with BrandsGateway. “On a monthly basis, for example, in the beginning, I was making around $2000 in profit, but it really depends on the time of the year, the holidays, and the process of advertising. I’m constantly changing the advertising approach because I’m still learning. At first, I was working with some advertising agencies but then I’ve decided to do it myself, so I’m currently learning new policies of advertising”, concludes Assaf. Register here to check wholesale Dolce & Gabbana men's suits Since as a team we seek to do our utmost to bring out the very best of our services and provide a constant superior experience for our dropshippers and their end customers, we asked Assaf to share what he thinks are the main strengths and weaknesses of our services. With reference to strengths, he points out that communication is BrandsGateway’s best trait. “Communication is one of the most important things for me when working with a dropshipping supplier. I’m working with other suppliers as well and the communication is usually based on robotic mailing. On the other hand, BrandsGateway’s customer support is based on communication with people which is a big advantage. When communicating with you I always get answers from people that really care and want to help me. It’s good to know that there’s someone on the other side that is willing to take care of me and my customers’ issues. Therefore, whether I need help from someone at the warehouse or anything else, I really feel like your team cares to provide dedicated support”, says Assaf. He continues explaining how communication is very important, especially for dropshippers - “We are in the middle, and we want our customers to feel like we are really giving them support and we can’t do it without our supplier, so the great thing for me is the communication I have with your team”, he adds. When it comes to weaknesses, Assaf mentions that sometimes he feels like it takes a while for the warehouse to answer some of his questions. For example, usually, the questions that his customers have are related to measurements of the products and sometimes the warehouse can take a while to check them and give him an answer. “Now with the Covid-19 situation, I understand that there are some issues and the warehouse can’t check some of the products and their sizes and measurements. Sometimes this can create issues for me because my customers start to look for products somewhere else. So, I think that this is one aspect that could be improved - when it comes to this kind of questions, BrandsGateway to manage to check their products faster”, concludes Assaf. Addressing how important it is for anyone to educate themselves before getting into the dropshipping industry Assaf comments that since the beginning he is constantly learning through the internet, BrandsGateway’s blog, and YouTube videos, and tutorials. In addition, he was listening to some of Udemy’s courses about dropshipping and selling online. Assaf believes that there is a lot to learn through the internet. In the end, he emphasizes that he made a lot of mistakes during this time and that he was teaching himself the hard way sometimes. When asked about what the future holds and what are his plans about expanding and targeting different markets, Assaf notes that currently, his focus is mostly on the USA market. Since dropshipping is his full-time job he emphasizes that he would like to expand and start focusing on the European market as well. “It should be easier from the shipping and the tax point of view which is sometimes difficult with the prices when moving the products between regions. So, once my online store starts earning more money I will have the opportunity to start advertising in more places. For now, this is my plan”, he adds. Finally, for those seeking to enter the dropshipping industry, Assaf advises them to be prepared, as the business does take effort and preparation. Especially if one wants to make it a full-time job with a solid income. “You need to really learn how everything works and how dropshippers work with different platforms. For example, I work a lot with Shopify and it’s important to understand how to automate the processes, and so on. In conclusion, you can make it a part-time job but if you really want to be successful in this industry, then you should really do your research. Read how people work with suppliers, how they work with different platforms, and learn all the pros and cons before you start investing money in advertising. I, for example, have spent a lot of money before I started to make my profits. You need to be prepared for this and make good research before jumping into the water”, finishes Assaf.

With a population well into the 1 billion and a median age of 19.7 years as based on the latest estimates by Worldometers, Africa is the world’s youngest continent. Add to this factor the eCommerce revolution seen in recent years and what do you get? A young continent with a huge opportunity for boosting profits. African countries, and especially South Africa, are deemed by industry experts a great opportunity for starting a dropshipping business. With people turning to online shopping more than ever, the eCommerce landscape in South Africa has been growing at a fast pace, creating an ideal environment for young entrepreneurs who are seeking to take advantage of this business model. Having that in mind, let's explore together the country's dropshipping market and see which are the best dropshipping suppliers in South Africa.

Working extensively on expanding their network of wholesale buyers, BrandsGateway recently teamed up with a new client who specializes in selling luxury goods, specifically jewelry and branded watches, in quite different and, for many, intriguing and entertaining ways. In particular, George Tsagarakis has devoted 31 years of his life to building a successful business for selling luxury goods through live TV auctions. Undoubtedly, from all of the wholesale buyers in BrandsGateway’s network, George is the only one, so far, that offers this unique approach to selling jewelry and designer watches - one that gives a whole other dimension to the business of selling luxury items. Selling luxury goods through live TV auctions is not an easy job, and George does it in a masterful way. George has been working in the field of jewelry, precious stones, and artwork for three decades and counting. And it’s fair to say that he managed to fearlessly come out on top of everything that has crossed his path and turned it to his advantage by transforming and adapting his business to the new times and advances. George started his business in 1989 in Greece, specifically in the period when private broadcasting (radio and television) was legalized in the country. Up until that moment, he emphasizes that they had only government-owned channels in Greece. “I opened the Gallery Tsagarakis in 1989 and since then I’m using it for selling art, especially antiques - which is what I specialize in. Apart from that, we sell furniture, paintings, china, porcelain, and other collectibles, and silver stuff. Sometime later I had the idea to continue with jewelry, so I started with diamonds since diamondology is what I specialize in”, says George. From this emerged the idea for him to try and sell his artworks and jewelry through infomercials. As he points out - “at first it seemed very strange, but then, it went really well, so nowadays we are considered one of the most popular companies on the Greek territory.” “Afterward, I grew my business and opened 22 stores in Greece and four other countries, including Cyprus, Spain, Bulgaria, and Egypt with 180 people working for me. To emphasize, in reality, we are auctioneers - we have an auction house and we are mainly selling all kinds of jewelry. Now we have an everyday live show on television and our own studios where we broadcast it from Greece and Cyprus”, he adds. George expanded his business on a large scale during that time until the emergence of the crisis in Greece. As he explains - “the last government we had was a very bad experience because everything went down - it was a communist government, which is so strange for this country - the country of democrats to have a communist party. They went down now after 4 and a half years but we had a very hard time. I closed most of my stores, I kept one here in Athens and one in the Hilton hotel in Cyprus. A model of Gant watch auctioned on GT Tsangarakis live After the closure of many of his stores, George continued running the television business and hosting everyday live auctions. He still sells all kinds of precious jewelry, diamonds, antique jewelry, victorian, Art-Deco, Art-Nuvo, retro style, vintage jewelry from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and even modern contemporary jewelry from different Italian designers, including Carlo Palmiero. GT Tsangarakis live auctions last for 2 to 3 hours and during that time the audience is bidding through their phones, regardless of their location in the country. Recently, with the idea to expand his portfolio with watches from brands like Esprit, Gant, and Juicy Couture, George decided to reach out to BrandsGateway and start a collaboration. So, his live shows were enriched with BrandsGateway’s watches aside from his usual jewelry pieces. Speaking of challenges and obstacles, Covid-19 is yet another of the challenges brought to George that made him broaden his horizon and start thinking about growing his business in yet another direction. At the moment, he and his team are preparing to launch their platform for online auctions - GTB Online Auctions. A model of Esprit watch auctioned on GT Tsangarakis live “The Covid-19 has shown to be good for us. Understandably, nobody wants to go on like this but, on the other hand, in our business, it’s good because the market is closed, all the stores are closed and we are the only company in Greece that does this type of live TV auctions where people can buy and even sell their jewelry to us. Particularly, our income went up to more than 50% because we are selling high-end pieces on television and delivering them to our customers’ homes in Greece and Cyprus. And we are running around 320.000 customers in this small country”, George points out. “These challenging times provided us with the opportunity to look beyond TV auctions and got us to the decision to start a platform for online auctions. The idea with these online auctions is to attract more customers, for example, between 30 and 40 years, because now our customers are mostly ladies ranging between 55 and 80 years, and also to expand our portfolio and sell more of BrandsGateway’s products, aside from the watches and sunglasses,” he adds. George specializes in high-end jewelry and precious stones, but as he emphasizes - “sometimes people wish to buy different things at more convenient prices, for example, for a present. This is where BrandsGateway’s branded women’s and men’s watches come as the perfect offer.” He finds the women’s watches by Esprit and Juicy Couture, and the men’s watches by Gant as the perfect fit for people who want to buy more affordable yet branded and luxury models of watches either for themselves or as a gift. When it comes to the watches he notes that branded watches like those that BrandsGateway offers - with an elegant and luxurious look decorated with gold and silver details, as well as with stones or Swarovski crystals are very popular and sellable. George sells BrandsGateway’s collection of watches through his TV infomercials and on his official website. To give a better perspective of the volume of branded watches that he purchases from BrandsGateway - in just two weeks he managed to sell 250 watches. When it comes to the other luxury items featured in the extensive BrandsGateway’s portfolio, George additionally purchases casual women’s clothing by Silvian Heach, stylish women’s sunglasses by Dsquared², and elegant men’s shoes by Dolce & Gabbana. Having BrandsGateway as his supplier of luxury watches, sunglasses, shoes, and clothing, George highlights that the service and support he receives from BrandsGateway’s team has been perfect. To the question - How did he hear about BrandsGateway and whether he is satisfied with the profit he has gained so far he explains that after doing research on stocks and luxury products, he came across BrandsGateway’s portfolio of branded products and decided to feature them in his collection and selling them through live auctions and on his official website. A model of gold-plated Esprit watch auctioned on GT Tsangarakis live Talking about other channels that he uses for selling his products, George says - “After working for 31 years with television, infomercials have shown to be the most effective way for us to sell our products, so this is our top channel at the moment. We are also using social media, however, with much less success since our target audience is of older age and is not very familiar with social media channels and the Internet. This is the reason why we will be launching a new platform for online auctions - to focus on a younger audience as well. And we have high hopes that our products - BrandsGateway’s items included, would be sold very well.” Asked about what the future holds and whether he is looking into expanding towards other selection of branded items, like the rest of what BrandsGateway specializes in, such as luxury accessories and handbags, George adds that he was selling handbags before when he was supplying them from private sources at 20% off the retail price and we selling them at 50% off. However, they managed to sell 4.000 handbags for two years and decided to move onto other types of items. Finally, he emphasizes that the experience he had with BrandsGateway’s team so far was perfect. One thing he wishes for is an expanded portfolio - an element that BrandsGateway’s team is already working on as they announced the arrival of new brands and products, particularly in the categories of branded watches and sunglasses for women and men. “The watches that you have are great for selling at the moment on the live TV shows, however, with our new platform coming live, I think there would be a possibility also for other products of the BrandsGateway portfolio”, states George. In the end, to those thinking about breaking into the business of selling luxury goods, especially watches, George gives the advice to look into offering anything that is good looking, gold or silver plated, with stones or crystals and that is of at least 30-40 mm, and more specifically branded.