Vittorio D’Onofrio he is 22 years old, he lives in the north of Sardinia, in a beautiful place but that “you have to see it in the summer, otherwise you get sad”. Four years ago he invented a job that practically did not exist in Italy, he started doing it and now he lives on that. And he lives very well.
D’Onofrio is what is called a dropshipper: simplifying (a lot), buy and resell items online. And given that dropshipping is now being talked about a lot, on the Internet, on social networks, among young and very young people, and that it seems a safe and relatively simple road to success and wealth, after writing about it (who) we thought we’d ask him how it works, what are the risks, what are the tricks to make it and the things to watch out for. Also to understand if it is really as easy as it appears. Which is definitely not: “From social networks you get this perception, but you need a lot of commitment and a lot of sacrifice”.
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How did you start dropshipping?
“After graduating as a technical-industrial expert, the path I had before me was one: to study Economics at the university and follow in my father’s footsteps. But I didn’t like it very much: I wanted something different and above all I wanted to find a job that didn’t force me to always do the same things all day and every day. It was 2018, I looked around and noticed that dropshipping was starting to be talked about online: in the United States there were guys my age who they bought things on AliExpress and then resold them on eBay, perhaps with a markup of 200%. And so I decided to give it a try, to monetize my passion for economics and technology “.
Was it easy to get started?
“Not so much: I asked my parents for a year to see if I would make it, explaining that I wanted to create my own business but without asking them for money. a partner who helped me with the initial investmentjust over a thousand euros to pay for Shopify (to create the online store, ed) and to start the first marketing campaigns “.
Need a VAT number, did you already have it?
“No, because at the time the rules were very different, softer: the market was emerging and little was known about it in Italy and no one knew how to regulate it. Now it would no longer be possible, and this is an important thing to underline: without a VAT number, this work cannot be done “.
Do you say this because it is used to pay taxes?
“Obviously for that, but also for another reason: today there are two tax regimes which must be registered, they are called IOSS and OSS (the Revenue Agency explains them here, ed), are distinguished according to whether imported goods are sold or not. If you do not register, the goods do not travel, remain blocked at customs or in any case are not delivered to the customer. Making the purpose of the activity useless “.
Is there a legal way of dropshipping without a VAT number?
“There is one, and we use it with some of our collaborators: they rely on that of my company (which is called Web Agency Plus, ed), sell through us with withholding tax and the activity appears as casual work. Obviously we keep part of the profits to offer this service “.
You said collaborators, but did you mean students on your course?
“Yes and no: unlike others active in this sector, we do not have a real course but I have created what I like to call an academy, where we try to train people who want to join in this field, starting by explaining to them that it is not a walk in the park and it is not all easy. Some I keep with me to somehow sell together “.
How many students do you have?
“About 600, of which a hundred who collaborate with the withholding tax formula: they have followed the online lessons starting from Ecommerce Formula and in case of need they are assisted by me and 4 tutors “.
Some practical advice: for suppliers, which platform to choose?
“The sites you rely on are fundamental to simplify work, and therefore also life: for example, there are some where the shipment must be done manually after the order and others that start it automatically, taking the money needed from a prepaid wallet. My advice is to avoid AliExpresswhich is a platform aimed at consumers and not businesses and from which it is practically impossible to get the invoices of what you buy, and instead focus on sites such as CJ Dropshipping o Yakkyofy, which among other things has the option to pay for goods on delivery. Which in Italy is reassuring “.
And to set up the site, which tools to use?
“The beauty of this job is also being free, not having to be always online, in front of the computer, managing orders and solving problems. So, better choose platforms that simplify your life: I’d give up on Amazon, both because it is more complicated to leave and because they tend to pay after 3-4 weeks, reducing cash flow, which is fundamental for this business. It would be better to have your own site, but to get started they are fine WooCommercethe section of WordPress dedicated to ecommerce, or Shopifywhich is really easy to use and with just 5 euros a month allows you to have a well-made site, with many templates to choose from and also integration with social networks and WhatsApp “.
But how much can you expect to earn?
“If you think about starting and immediately invoicing 5 thousand euros a day, you start off on the wrong foot: this is not how it works and these are not the results that you can realistically expect. The first thing to understand is that it’s not all about buying something here, selling it there for double the price and earnings: you need an entrepreneurial mentality, you need to be attentive to everything, to understand the income and expenses that each product will generate and cause, to be well balanced. And be in compliance from a regulatory point of view. This is what I mean when I say that “it takes a lot of effort and a lot of sacrifice”, and I explain this to people who work with meto those who take their first steps, to those who listen to my lessons and to collaborators “.
Okay, but how much do you earn?
“I invoice about 100 thousand euros a month, some months more and others a little less. The important thing is that I have a margin of about 40%, much higher than the average of those who do dropshipping. I can do it for various reasons: I have reduced advertising costs to a minimum, I use almost all Italian suppliers, which has definitely cut shipping costs, and I allow the Cash on delivery, which on the one hand makes people more willing to spend and on the other prevents me from leaving slices of my income to PayPal or credit card networks. Maybe it’s a few cents per order, but put together it’s money that goes away “.
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Do you have many employees?
“None, because the people who work most closely with me they prefer to be VAT registered and get paid for performance: tutors according to the hours they spend with students, salespeople based on sales. They earn more than if they had a fixed monthly salary. “
In short: you are like Aranzulla …
“Maybe. Actually, I’ll be hiring shortly, because I am about to open another company, always in this field, where I will need permanent and continuous help. But that’s okay for now. “