Dropshipping Marijuana & Ancillary Products

With work-from-home positions, home-based businesses, side hustles, and the gig economy on the rise, there are always new business opportunities. They can either help to supplement your income or act as your main source of income once you’ve found the right thing that works for you. One of the more popular strategies out there for those who want to run a simple business is dropshipping.

Dropshipping allows people to sell certain products without having to deal with any of the hassle that comes with storing and shipping your products from a physical location. Plenty of people thrive in this type of online business and when done right, it can be quite lucrative. 

Another industry that is thriving? The marijuana industry and anyone who can see the benefit of the two can see that this pair together would make for a great business for marijuana dropshipping. Fortunately, dropshipping marijuana is becoming a thing in some places like Canada. Interested? Let’s learn more about this business and how you may be able to get started. 

Dropshipping Marijuana 

To put it simply, dropshipping marijuana is the same as dropshipping any other type of product. However, it comes with the exception of some of the additional processes that you may have to go through with specific cannabis substances (which depends entirely upon where you live). How does it work? Let’s take a closer look!

How It Works

Dropshipping is a simple process that eliminates many of the complicated aspects of running an online storefront. Those who wish to start dropshipping must first establish a relationship with a business that dropships.

Once they have found a company that they want to work with, they will then establish a website and list the products that customers will be allowed to purchase through them (products which are actually made by the company). After a customer has made a purchase, all the dropshipper has to do is have their vendor send the product over to the customer and the transaction is finished. Overall, the dropshipping process is really simple!

Benefits of Dropshipping 

If you know what running an online storefront would typically entail, you can clearly see the difference between the amount of effort and work that you would have to do otherwise. To highlight the advantages within this business model, here are some more benefits of dropshipping. 

Less Overhead 

Overhead is a term that refers to any costs that are associated with running your business that don’t take into account the production of the good itself. In regards to dropshipping marijuana, this would mean that you wouldn’t have to deal with overhead costs such as paying for a storage location for your marijuana, shipping your marijuana out to your customers, paying salaries at a physical location, or any other expenses that go into the running of the business. All you have to worry about are your marketing costs and any other costs you see fit to make the process easier and more profitable for you. 

No Inventory

Having to store all of your materials can be a hassle and this can be especially true in the case of having to store marijuana. With dropshipping, the company that you are buying from handles all of the inventory so that you do not have to worry about maintaining and handling your own marijuana supply. 

Focus On Your Business

Running a business is difficult. First, you have to have a product that everyone will want to purchase. Then, you will need to make sure that you are prepared to give that product to your customers in a satisfactory manner. You also want to make sure that it has a brand and the right packaging behind it.

Additionally, you are going to have to constantly market your product to make sure that your business is able to make a profit and keep itself running. Dropshipping marijuana takes out several of those factors so that you can focus your time and energy on marketing, which saves you both time and money in the long run and lets you focus on what matters most. 

Mail Order Marijuana 

Dropshipping marijuana adds a unique element to the industry that users were previously unable to experience. When it comes to purchasing marijuana in the United States, weed enthusiasts are extremely limited in terms of their options.

If someone wants to purchase weed, they are going to have to travel to a nearby dispensary, which may or may not provide you with the product or experience that you are hoping to receive when you visit a live location. If you don’t feel like leaving the house, there are cannabis delivery options around. You are not always guaranteed to have one in your area and those that do deliver may have very strict rules about ordering from them or will have a limited selection of products to choose from. 

Dropshipping entails mail delivery, meaning that users will get all of the options that they would normally receive in a live dispensary online with the convenience of having all of these cannabis products shipped to their home. When you frame these new developments in this way, joining in on the dropshipping trend and doing so in the marijuana industry is a very smart move and one that should be taken advantage of as soon as possible if it interests you. 

Shipping Cannabis in Canada 

Unfortunately, the United States as a whole has yet to accept and legalize marijuana. This means that there are still legal restrictions when it comes to online and mail purchases of any marijuana products. Even though some states have legalized it and it would seem that it would be okay to send marijuana products in these areas, it is still illegal federally. Laws and regulations would need to change before shipping marijuana in the U.S. becomes possible. You could, however, work on a marijuana business and then sell marijuana-related merchandise if you are truly passionate about the industry and this business model!

That being said, those outside of the U.S., in Canada specifically, are able to send marijuana through the mail. This allows for dropshipping to become an opportunity for Canadian citizens. However, this doesn’t mean that this new opportunity allows free reign when it comes to shipping cannabis. What do these restrictions include? 

Problem

The biggest problem with sending cannabis through the mail, Fedex, UPS or any logistics transportation company is that they usually don’t allow it. Since Canada legalized it, they allow Canada Post to ship cannabis.

Canada Post 

To properly send or receive marijuana via post throughout Canada, those who are sending the product must send a package that contains as much as or less than the 30 gram postal limit, must place their marijuana product in packaging that doesn’t allow for leaking (odor or product) or tampering. You must make sure that no one is able to identify what is inside based on the box or packaging that it is shipped in. Packages must be able to be tracked and will have to be signed for once they are delivered by only those who are 25 years of age will be able to purchase and accept these products. Although these regulations are fairly strict, they help to ensure that freedom isn’t abused and that your business is protected. 

Ancillary Products Related to Cannabis

Cannabis isn’t the only product that can be dropshipped but there are other ancillary related products. People also need to use their cannabis so stuff like vaporizers, glass pipes, lighters and such are also great to sell. With teh rise of edibles, you can sell cannabutter type products that help you turn your cannabis into edibles.

Conclusion

Dropshipping and marijuana are both very popular and when you combine them, you have the ability to make money without having to stress about running a business all on your own. Whether you live in the U.S. or in Canada, this article will help you to learn more about what these two topics might entail and how you could use them to your advantage.