DMA Thoughts

The Rise of Dropshipping & the Fall of Value

After years in this world, from selling this stuff in retail to making it on my own, and seeing quality across the entire spectrum, from the best to the worst, dropshipping has created something that I can only describe as a slow deflation of value in a brand. At least in my eyes. Hell, you could even say it’s removed a lot of the meaning behind what many of these brands originally were.

I see the irony in saying that, considering I’ve created a creative outlet that doesn’t mean anything.

But that irony is kind of the point.

For anyone reading this who doesn’t know what dropshipping is, here’s the quick version.

Dropshipping exists in almost every category now, from clothing to just about anything you can name. In apparel, which is the space I’m mostly talking about here, it typically works through third-party printing or embroidery companies that keep blanks in stock. You upload your design, connect your store, and when someone places an order, the supplier produces and ships the product directly to the customer.

I’ve used this myself in the past when I couldn’t support producing shirts for people who were asking about them. Honestly, it can create real opportunities. There’s no need to hold inventory, no backstock, no minimum orders, and you only pay when something sells. It also eliminates a lot of excess products that might never move.

And to be fair, there are some genuinely good suppliers out there. Some carry high-end blanks and produce quality prints or embroidery, which can make the final product feel legitimately solid.

There’s a fee involved, of course. If a blank hoodie costs $20, the supplier might tack on another $10 for decoration and fulfillment, bringing your cost to $30. It’s a pretty efficient system, and it’s only gotten easier to use over time.

That’s where my feelings start to shift.

This process leaves a lot of room for markup. Especially when you’re not sitting on unsold inventory or tied to minimum order quantities. New brands have an incredible amount of control over pricing at very early stages, with almost zero risk.

And that changes behavior.

Limited effort. Potentially maximum return.

To be clear, I think dropshipping has created an incredible amount of opportunity. It’s allowed people to share ideas and experience what it feels like to build something of their own. That part is great. But there are also a lot of brands that abuse it. That’s where my distaste comes from.

It feels like the mentality has shifted from

“I hope people like this enough to buy something” > “How much money can I make from this?”

Because there’s no risk.

There are so many brands now that exist almost entirely on that principle, and that’s where I feel value starts to disappear. Half the time, I don’t even think the people behind them realize it. They get caught up in the image, the branding, the marketing. They start to believe in the version of themselves they’ve created.

All while their actual contribution to the product is minimal.

They’re selling an image, not a story. Even if that image resonates with people, something fundamental has changed. Dropshipping allows you to focus almost entirely on marketing and brand identity while removing much of the hustle and personal involvement that once defined small brands.

And at the same time, some of these products are priced as if they were being made in someone’s garage at 2 a.m.

I get it. This exists everywhere. Every big brand has markup. That’s business. That’s capitalism. That’s the point. But many of those brands started from the ground up. Selling shirts out of boxes. Scraping by. Building something slowly. The story came first, and the scale came later. Now it all feels more diluted. Easier to manufacture the appearance of value. Easier to “Grey Goose” a product. Price it high enough that it feels premium, even when it isn’t.

And to be clear, I’m not knocking the people who manage to do this successfully. If you can sell an image that resonates, that’s a skill. I’m just saying that this system has created a bigger gap between what looks like quality and what actually is.

Dropshipping has changed the game completely. And overall, I’d say mostly for the better. The barrier to entry has dropped dramatically, and more people than ever can bring ideas to life.

And I’m not going to sit here and say, “Back in my day, we were selling shirts outta the back of our car hoping to break even.”

But I do think there’s something important in believing in what you’ve made. In standing behind it. In being part of the process. In letting the story matter as much as the product.

That, to me, is where the value is.
That is where the quality is.

At the end of the day, this is just my opinion.

It doesn’t mean anything.