Dropshipping to France - is it feasible or not?

Hello everyone!

I am a French student who discovered the concept of dropshipping full of hope. After a few days, I am still very enthusiastic but quite confused too. Of course I didn't expect it to be easy (where would be the fun? :p). But the help of other French dropshippers would be more than welcome. For example, here are a few things I am quite confused about :

1) Is it really possible to dropship from another country to France. Of course it's possible in theory, but for the niches I found, the shipping costs destroy all hope of profit. Let me give you an example. The average price of the items I intend to sell is under 30 euros, and the cost of shipping from UK is at least 15 euros. So should I choose much more expensive items so that I can make profit? Or did I simply miss something?

2) I had a great idea related to Asian fashion, but there again a big problem appeared. Importing to France costs a lot, and as a student I can't afford to buy wholesale. Plus French law says that the customer could return the product in the next 7 days after buying, which would happen a lot in fashion. How do you French dropshippers deal with that? The only solution I found is to sell usable products, the kind that people will destroy immediately after using (sorry not sure of how it's called in English).

3) I would be tempted to open a shop directly, that'"s something I can do with not much problem as I already created a few websites. But I wonder, isn't it better to first start on eBay or amazon, to practice and see which products sell and which don't?

4) Legally I am auto-entrepreneur, is that a good choice for dropshipping? Any other suggestion? Knowing that my aim at the moment isn't to earn a lot. 400 euros per month would be enough.

5) Are French dropshippers worth it? I did find many French dropshippers. But they don't seem that good. First most of them also have a webshop where they sell the products they dropship to you. Which means they are competing against you, and I have no doubt it's impossible to compete against them as they are directly deciding how much they sell me products for. Others seem nice, but charge 50 euros per month or 300 euros per year for example for using their dropshipping services.

Your help would be much appreciated :)

Welcome to SaleHoo kielo :)

Nice to have some one as enthusiastic as you on board!

As I am not based in France and obviously not French, it would be hard for me to address your first 2 questions.

But there are a couple points that may help you realize your plans at dropshipping. First, we do have dropshippers that offer free shipping all over the world. So these would be ideal for you (And may others) if shipping cost is an issue. Second, some sellers who are dropshipping their products will incorporate the shipping cost to the product price and make it seem to their customers that shipping is free.

Yes selling on eBay and other auction sites is more ideal as a starting point especially for first time sellers. Selling on auction sites helps you gain the needed knowledge and experience you'll need when you start your own webstore. Also, it help you avoid the additional costs of having a website built. Plus the traffic going to eBay alone will give you the exposure you need for your products/business.

Sorry I'm not sure what you mean by auto-entrepreneur, kindly clarify :)

I'm not familiar with the French dropshippers you are referring to, so it would be unfair to say either way. If you want I can check them for you, You can PM me the links should you not want your dropshipping leads shared on the forum.

Talk to you soon!

Thanks for your answer :).

auto-entrepreneur is a legal statu that French people usually choose to start a business cause it's quick and free. I just don't know if it's adapted to a dropshipping activity.


I saw this dropshipper for example, but their fee of 300 euros for a year prevents me from even trying with them. It's probably nothing for established companies, but as a student, I can't afford it.

Link hidden: Login to view

I will keep looking for dropshippers who provide free shipping, or at least with which the total cost would still allow me to make some profit.

Hello kielo,

Here is a post which I had searched a couple years back, it has a list of dropshippers that may be offering free shipping - Link hidden: Login to view Hopefully this will help you off to a good start with your business :)

I ran a quick background check on Ecopresto.com and they seem like a legit company. They have been online since 2010, but without any prior experience in using them it is hard to vouch for their service.

They do offer a free trial, in case you want to see if their service would be worth the initial fee. But I think starting out with dropshippers that do not require expensive registration fees or no registration fees at all would be more ideal so you can get your feet wet and know how/what it is to dropship products online :)

Hope this helps!