Serious entrepreneurs know that while there are a lot of great business blogs and other resources for small business owners, it's hard to beat a book (or e-book or audiobook - we don't discriminate) when it comes to in-depth coverage of a topic. That's why we read over two dozen recently-published dropshipping books and voted on our choices of the 5 best dropshipping books of 2019.
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#5. Dropshipping: The Ultimate Guide to Building a Six-Figure Ecommerce Business
Timothy Winterborn's Dropshipping: The Ultimate Guide to Building a Six-Figure Ecommerce Business is a great beginner-level walkthrough of how to set up a dropshipping business. Deep-diving into the topics of product selection, niche marketing, finding suppliers and getting your website up and running, Winterborn's book will get your dropshipping store up and running in a well-organized, methodical way.
Winterborn's book appears to be based mostly on his own personal experiences, including some anecdotes and insights from the author's dropshipping career, but lacks the external perspectives and in-depth research featured by some of the other dropshipping books on this list. This simplicity isn't necessarily a bad thing for a reader looking for a quick, well-organized walkthrough of how to set up a dropshipping website, but might make it the wrong choice for an experienced dropshipping merchant looking for some in-depth insights.
Available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats, Dropshipping: The Ultimate Guide to Building a Six-Figure Ecommerce Business is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a quick, beginner-friendly overview of how to set up and operate a basic dropshipping business, which is why we've ranked it #5 on our list of best dropshipping books.
#4. Dropshipping E-Commerce Business Model 2019
Like many dropshipping authors, Steven Sparrow packs his book titles full of keywords - the full title of this book on Amazon is "Dropshipping E-Commerce Business Model 2019: $10,000/Month Ultimate Guide - Make a Passive Income Fortune with Shopify, Amazon FBA, Affiliate Marketing, Retail Arbitrage, eBay and Social Media: Money Online from Home in 2019, Book 2". Unlike many dropshipping authors, he also packs his book full of useful information.
Steven Sparrow covers everything you need to know to get a basic dropshipping store up and running, but then dives into expert-level topics like scaling your business, expanding onto marketplace platforms like Amazon and eBay, and managing taxes and data security. Sparrow also gives an in-depth look into the disadvantages and challenges of running a dropshipping store, such as stock shortages and quality control/customer service issues. Often overlooked by new merchants, these are the sort of things that can bring a business to a screeching halt, and Sparrow does a good job of discussing the most common dropshipping pitfalls and how to avoid them or mitigate the damage they cause.
Motivational without over-promising, the Amazon product description says that this isn't the book for you if you're looking to get rich quick. It's a great read for someone looking for an in-depth walkthrough of how to deal with some of the more difficult aspects of running a business, while still managing to be an uplifting "let's get this bread" sort of read. By combining info not covered in any of the other books on this list with a realistic yet motivational tone, Sparrow's book has earned its #4 spot on this list. Available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats.
#3. E-Commerce
Really two complete books in one, Chris McDonald's E-Commerce combines a book about dropshipping with a book about retail arbitage (buying things from retail stores and selling them for a profit online). Weighing in at a hefty 243 pages, E-Commerce will walk you through everything you need to know to start making money with your online store. It is an ambitiously large overview of almost everything ecommerce, covering everything from what ecommerce business types are available to how to set up profitable social media advertising campaigns.
It does an excellent job of introducing the basics and then introducing more and more complexity, which helps keep the reader on track even discussing complex topics. While not focused entirely on dropshipping, E-Commerce nonetheless offers a great walkthrough of including info on how to find suppliers, choose your audience, and market your product. If you're not interested in retail arbitage (or vice versa), the content is separated into two distinct sections, making it easy to only read the portions that interest you.
With a large amount of real-world, hands-on insight from a variety of online businesses, E-Commerce gives readers the perfect blend of beginner-friendly theory and practice-tested insights. If you're looking for a read that will take you beyond initial dropshipping store setup and into more advanced topics like setting up remarketing campaigns or testing different pricing levels, this is the dropshipping book for you.
#2. Dropshipping: How to Make Money Online & Build Your Own $100k Dropshipping Business
Anthony Parker's Dropshipping: How To Make Money Online & Build Your Own $100,000+ Dropshipping Online Business discusses the details of running a successful dropshipping business with hands-on examples taken from 50 American dropshipping companies.
Anthony Parker's book features examples taken from 50 U.S. dropshipping companies.
This book does an excellent job of getting you out of textbook rhetoric and into the trenches. You'll hear a wide variety of advice, warnings, anecdotes, and business philosophy from a number of different dropshipping merchants. While a refreshing change from the textbook theory of other books in this niche, it can sometimes be difficult to contextualize the comments or advice in a way that's applicable to your own store, and the answers given by merchants sometimes contradict one another. However, it smooths this out with a well-organized narrative on how to set up a business, and does a good job of providing context when necessary.
If you're looking for a realistic look into the life and habits of successful dropshipping merchants, this book gives you a great behind-the-scenes look at the daily lives of a entrepreneur. Also, since it's full of input from real merchants instead of self-proclaimed gurus, it avoids the 'lamborghinis for everyone' rhetoric too common in other dropshipping books.
#1. The Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping
As the name suggests, The Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping by Mark Hayes and Andrew Youderian is a massively in-depth guide on how to create and run a successful dropshipping business. A straightforward, no-BS approach to dropshipping, this book pairs the authors' long history of online marketing with a wealth of data, hands-on examples, and time-saving tips and advice.
The Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping dives headfirst into complex topics that other books often skim, like how to validate whether your product idea is valid before beginning to sell it or how to set up effective social media retargeting. Well-organized, it walks readers through each topic in an efficient and easily-understood manner. It covers other topics relevant to dropshipping like how to set up your SEO campaigns, what do do when a supplier botches an order, and more.
A straightforward guide for those who are serious about running a profitable online store and who are ready to put in the planning and work required, The Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping is hands-down the best dropshipping book of 2019.
The Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping our favorite dropshipping book of 2019.
Start your own dropshipping store
If you're starting your own dropshipping business but are wanting to do the research and make sure you have a solid plan in place, the books on the list above are a great place to start. For more help starting your own dropshipping store, check out Volusion's Beginner's Guide to Dropshipping or our guide to high ticket dropshipping.
Happy selling!