How to Start Dropshipping with No Money (+Best Free Tools)

Starting dropshipping with $0 often results in a non-professional, barely successful store—meaning it's somewhat doable, but definitely not a highly recommended approach to a serious dropship retailer. 

This guide shows you how to start dropshipping more wisely: keeping costs affordable without sacrificing your store success.

How Does Dropshipping Work

Dropshipping is a retail model where a retailer sells products online without holding inventory. When a customer buys from an online store, the retailer forwards the order to a supplier who ships it directly to the customer.

Here’s the illusion: No inventory doesn’t mean dropshipping comes at no cost. The reality is that removing inventory still leaves other essential types of fees needed to cover, such as entry-level platform fees, ad spend, and payment gateway charges, totaling at least $500—the bare minimum investment to start a basic, functional dropshipping business.

How to Start a Dropshipping Business with No Money?

Launching dropshipping with no money is extremely hard, but you can start cost-effectively with the right approach.

Let’s break it down step by step.

Step 1: Finding Winning Products with 0$ Methods

The first step is choosing dropshipping products to sell. According to Harry Chu, Founder of TrueProfit: “Retailers better start off selling what they like instead of chasing trending products. The key is that you’re the customer of what you sell, making it simple to define customer personas and better target in ad”, says Harry Chu. 

After the first few months, they can start analyzing products through its product demand, competition, cost, shipping, and potential profit margin. The goal is to find one that not only sells well but also generates substantial profit per sale. 

Here are some free methods retailers can use:

TikTok Creative Center

TikTok Creative Center is a platform that helps retailers spot top-performing ads, identify emerging trends, and create effective TikTok content. It evaluates a product based on its total engagement rate and conversion metrics, which reflect how well a product resonates with the audience.

Start by exploring the Top Ads or Top Products sections to see which items are performing well. Aim for a product that has at least 5,000+ views for a new ad in a niche category. If the same product appears in 4+ ads from different creators or campaigns, it signals consistent interest and demand.

Facebook Ad Library

The Facebook Ad Library is a place that shows all currently active ads on Facebook and Instagram. Dropshippers often test products here first, so it’s a free window into what’s being promoted heavily.

Search for keywords like “50% off,” “Free shipping,” or product categories. You’ll see live ads, including the creatives, copy, and sometimes even landing pages.

AliExpress Dropshipping Center

AliExpress has a free tool called the Dropshipping Center, available to anyone with an AliExpress account. It shows trending and hot-selling products in real time, along with useful metrics like order volume and ratings.

After creating a free AliExpress account, access the Dropshipping Center from your dashboard. Use filters like “Hot Products” or “Top Rankings” to find products with consistent order growth and positive reviews.

Reddit & Other Dropshipping Forums

Communities like r/FindItOnAmazon, r/Dropshipping, or niche-specific forums often discuss trending items or share product discoveries.

Search Reddit for phrases like “What’re best selling products on Shopify” or browse through “Product recommendation” threads. If the same product shows up in multiple conversations, it’s a good sign it’s picking up traction.

Step 2: Choose a Budget-Friendly Selling Platform

A selling platform plays as an online storefront where sellers list all their product catalogs. Choosing selling platforms impacts how easily customers can discover products and stores—that’s why it’s essential. 

Here are some of the top options for 2025, they’re all low-cost and beginner-friendly:

1. Shopify

Shopify is an eCommerce platform that allows anyone to build, manage, and scale an online store. It is widely known for its ease of use (pre-made store theme) and its full dropshipping apps market (+8,800 automation apps in Shopify App Store), making it our top favorite and highly recommended to dropshippers, both newbies and pros. 

Shopify Fees: Paid plan starts at $29/month. The 3rd-party payment transaction is at 2% for the Basic plan. 

2. Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is free to join and already has a built-in audience of millions. Retailers typically just open a business account and list their product directly on the platform without a website needed. 

Fees: Free to set up with unlimited products listing. It charges a 5% fee per shipment, or a flat $0.40 for items under $8. 

3. TikTok Shop

TikTok Shop integrates directly with TikTok, allowing sellers to list products and sell within the app. Since TikTok’s algorithm is excellent at driving organic reach, many dropshippers are seeing fast results here.

Fees: No monthly subscription fees. You till need to pay a commission of about 2–5% per sale. 

4. eBay

eBay has long been a go-to platform for online sellers. It’s simple to use and gives access to a massive buyer base without needing to invest in ads upfront.

Fees: Free to start. For most categories, eBay charges 13.25% of the total sale amount (per item) up to $7,500, and 2.35% on any portion above $7,500. 

Step 3: Build a Store with No Money

The exact steps to set up your store depend on the selling platform you choose. Each platform provides free guides to walk you through the setup.

Even though each platform is slightly different, the foundations of a great storefront stay the same. Here are the key components every dropshipping store needs—with rules and standards to follow:

Clear product listings: Your product listing is the first thing customers see. It should communicate what the product is, why it’s useful, and how it benefits the buyer. Always write titles with keywords people search for. Example: “Magnetic Phone Holder for Cars – 360° Rotation, Strong Grip.” At least 3–5 high-quality images, ideally showing the product in use.

Compelling product descriptions: Descriptions sell the value of your product. Highlight benefits, not just features. Instead of “made with stainless steel,” say “durable design that lasts for years.” Keep paragraphs short, use bullet points for easy reading, and include dimensions or shipping info.

Store branding & trust signals: Customers trust stores that look professional. Use a simple, clean logo (you can design one free on Canva). Add a store banner, consistent tone in product titles, and a short “About” section describing your store values.

Reviews & social proof: Shoppers rely on proof from other buyers before they purchase. Start with products that already have supplier reviews if you’re new. Encourage your first customers to leave feedback.

Clear policies (shipping, returns, contact): Customers need to feel safe buying from your store, especially when they don’t know you yet. Be transparent about delivery times, especially if shipping takes 2–3 weeks. Offer a return policy (even if limited), and provide a visible way for buyers to contact you.

Step 4: Promote Store organically

Organic marketing costs nothing but time and creativity, and while it may take longer to build traction, it’s the most beginner-friendly way to get your first sales. 

Here are two of the best organic methods:

TikTok Viral Videos

A viral short video costs literally no dime to reach millions of viewers in a short period of time. That’s because TikTok’s algorithm favors engaging content, not big budgets, making new accounts with no followers still go viral if the video is interesting. 

Film your product in action—show the benefit in the first 3 seconds. Use trending sounds and hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt. Post consistently (1–2 videos per day) and test different styles—unboxing, tutorials, or problem/solution formats.

Pinterest Marketing

Pinterest is one of the most powerful free platforms for niches like fashion, jewelry, and home décor. Pinterest users are often in a “shopping mindset”—they’re looking for items to buy or gift ideas. Plus, pins can appear in searches long after you post them, driving long-term traffic without extra effort.

Create free pins using Canva templates. Use high-quality product photos styled in lifestyle settings. Add keyword-rich titles and descriptions (e.g., “Minimalist Gold Necklace – Everyday Jewelry”). Join group boards in your niche to expand reach faster.

Those methods have low cost, making them ideal for beginners with low to no budget. 

That said, over time, we recommend retailers better switch to paid ads. The effectiveness of paid ads depends heavily on budget ranges and smart data-driven strategy. But no pain no gain, paid ads are still the proven and consistent ways to promote stores in a fast way.

Free Dropshipping Apps To Start

A dropshipping app helps automate and simplify the process of running a dropshipping business, by handling repetitive tasks like product sourcing, fulfillment, inventory management, and finance tracking, etc.  

Here are some of the best low-cost to free tools for dropshipping in 2025:

TrueProfit is a net profit analytic tool that’s built specifically for Shopify dropship sellers and retailers. It helps track net profit after accounting for all types of cost commonly happening in an ecommerce store. Using TrueProfit, retailers can see the true view of their store performance and make smarter decisions based on the bottom line, not surface-level metric. 

Building a dropshipping business with absolutely no money might sound appealing, but in reality, it’s a path filled with obstacles. A smarter move is to start lean—with small, manageable costs for a domain, store platform, and essential tools. This way, you set yourself up for growth.

Tracy Ng

Tracy is a senior content executive at TrueProfit – specializing in helping eCommerce businesses scale profitably through content. She has over 4 years of experience in eCommerce and digital marketing editorial writing. She develops high-impact content that helps thousands of Shopify merchants make data-driven, profit-focused decisions.

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