The Boutique - Dropshipping

The Boutique is a dropship store, with items shipping directly from the manufacturers, in China. It is operated in conjunction with Eprolo. Eprolo is a sourcing platform founded in 2011 and located in Shenzhen, China, the world’s largest electronics market. Eprolo is building a decentralized distribution and dropshipping community.

What does this mean? And what does it have to do with me? 

Let’s face it: We live in a global society. You are only a few emails away from getting in direct contact with manufacturers across the world that create mass consumer goods. But the way we purchase our little luxuries is so far removed from the origin. This used to make sense. But it’s 2020.

I am basically acting as a direct retail storefront for the manufacturer in China, so you aren’t paying for all the warehousing costs and extra shipping costs from already imported products. And I’m not pocketing that extra perceived retail value. You’re welcome.

Are these bootleg products?

No. The manufacturing companies in Shenzhen do their own innovating, and are putting out products that are essentially open-source.

Hmm, Made in China? Sounds cheap.

If you look around your home and don’t see a majority of it having Chinese origins, then what, are you one of the 1%? What are you doing on this site? Saying that Made in China products are cheap is not only an untruth, but is a damaging stereotype. 

I fell for this before… I waited 4 weeks for a shoddy product that I paid 10x what it’s worth.

That’s not what this is! I have also been taken in by those Instagram ads for magnetic eyelashes and stuff, where they’re selling a $4 item for $65 … I saw a lot of this in my first job. We sold fashion wristwatches. They cost us $20. We set the retail price at $750. Then sold them on sites like Groupon for 80% off at $150. A 700% profit. And it’s exactly the same as the big-name watches. I can’t look at capitalism the same way again.

Eprolo has vetted all of these suppliers to ensure the quality is good and the distribution network is wide. Since the pandemic, they’re estimating 10-14 days for shipping, compared to their usual 5-8 days. I hope they can continue to improve as the world heals. Many drop shipping businesses are facing challenges with slow delivery time. Eprolo has developed its own Express Shipping channel, which can shorten average delivery time to 5-8 days.

I think it's fun!

I loved working with the fashion buyer at a previous job, and enjoy sharing things that make me happy. Everything I've selected in my boutique is basically what I would love to receive as a gift.

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