How Old Do You Have to Be to Dropship?

I have read about stories of teens who succeeded in dropshipping. However, many of these stories focused on money only, not the process.

As such, I did some research to be able to provide you with clarity on the subject of legal age and doing business. 

I will discuss: 

• The dropshipping legal age in the US and other countries
• What alternatives you have as a teenager if you want to do business
• Why dropshipping is an ideal business for teens

The goal of this article is to clear the fog of legality when it comes to dropshipping. I am also hoping that this serves as an encouragement for you to start dropshipping even if you are a minor. 

Key Takeaways

• Dropshipping is a legal business, and you must comply with your country's laws
• You can participate in a corporation as a minor if your state or country allows it 
• Dropshipping as a teen puts you ahead of the game

What the Law Says About Teenage Business Owners

Teenagers can own a business, but some states do not allow it. The states where you cannot own a business as a teenager are:

• Colorado
• Illinois
• Minnesota
• Oregon

The only workaround in this situation is to ask a parent to form a company for you. On the other hand, there are also states where you can do business as a teenager. Examples of these states are Texas and California. 

It is important to note here that teenagers can get into any business as adults do. For example, teenagers can never get a license to sell tobacco and alcohol products. 

As a dropshipper, yes, you can enter into business if you belong to a state that permits minors to own a business. If not, you will need an adult you trust to build a company. 

Should you even dropship as a teen? 

Yes, you must try dropshipping as a teen because you will learn a lot from it. In addition, it does not cost a lot of money to operate a dropshipping store. In this section, I will discuss the main benefits of dropshipping as a teen. 

1. Marketing

In my opinion, marketing is the most important skill you will develop as a dropshipper. The competition is too tough. As a result, you will push yourself to think of ways to set yourself apart. 

Here are some of the things you will learn: 

• The psychology of buyers
• Branding and pricing
• How to create ad creatives
• How to write advertising copy
• Product photography and videography

Once you master the art of marketing, you can use these skills on anything that has something to do with sales. There are many marketing articles and books you can read. For starters, I suggest that you read our guide on how to write product descriptions that sell. 

2. Customer Service

We are all customers, and we have expectations, but if the tables are turned, you will find customer service a very challenging aspect of sales. 

Here are some things to ponder about customer service skills: 

• Product knowledge – make sure you know what you are selling and can answer customer questions. the most common things they ask about are sizes, shipping cost and speed, quality, compatibility with other products, usefulness, and product limitations. 
• Speed of answer – customers love to receive quick responses. That is why phone availability is always better than email. Now that you have access to chat robots, such as the one you will find on Facebook Messenger, harness its power and use the “canned responses” feature. You can also use an AI chatbot for your advanced needs. 
• Problem-solving skills – customers will have issues with your product no matter how good the products are. Be prepared to provide solutions to these issues, such as giving refunds or helping the customer fix the product problem.

In addition to skills, you will also learn behaviors useful to your entrepreneurial endeavor. Some examples of these behaviors are patience and adaptability. 

3. Product Selection

We all have bright ideas, and I understand that we must believe in our ideas to make them work. However, not all these ideas are viable for business. 

Not all products we choose have a demand. Sometimes, we fall in love with a product and think that customers would love it, too. 

As a dropshipper, you will soon realize that not all products are created equal. You will also begin to understand that you will make better product selection decisions if you use a tool like ours. 

Here is an example:

You can immediately see from this page in our product portfolio that you can make a lot of money from this product. The cost of each is only $11 but you can sell it for as high as $39. In addition, there are only 16 sellers, so your competition level is low.

4. Business Management 

Finally, dropshipping will teach you a lot about business management. I can say that you will learn all facets of it because you will operate your business alone at first. Once you have seen success, only then will you hire people who will help you. 

Overall, you will learn how to plan, organize, and execute these plans to run your business. In addition, you will also become familiar with the principles of analysis and making decisions based on data. 

Summary: Dropshipping is a great business choice. It will expose you to many aspects of business, and you will learn something new at every step of the way. All these skills you learn will be applicable in any business, not just dropshipping. 

Tips for Teenage Dropshippers

First of all, a big congratulations on your interest in dropship! You are entering a world of opportunities for success and real-life education. In this section, I will provide some tips on how you can increase your success rate as a teenage dropshipper. 

1. Avoid the shiny object syndrome

Shiny object syndrome means losing your current focus because there is something new that you want to have or do. For example, if you see a hot product, you drop what you are selling and sell this new one. 

In the same light, you may stop dropshipping and then decide that now you want to be a YouTube or Twitch streamer. 

Many dropshippers fail because of this. They lose sight of the things that matter. Usually, this change in mindset happens because they see a video telling them how to make money. Some examples are:

• Cryptocurrency trading
• Affiliate marketing  
• Digital real estate
• Forex markets

To succeed, you must concentrate only on dropshipping. Every content you consume online must have something to do with dropshipping.

In addition, I highly encourage you to stick to your niche. Do not change niches just because you saw that one niche has the potential to earn more money than yours. You must choose the right niche before you even start dropshipping. 

For more guidance on niche selection, I suggest that you these tutorials: 

• Best dropshipping niches
• Most Profitable Niches With Low Competition

2. Understand consumerism

What is consumerism? It is the idea that people get happiness because of the things they buy. It also means that people buy stuff because these things solve a problem. 

If you understand the consumer mindset, you will find it easier to sell. Why? Because you will know how to write ad copy that converts.

Here are a few tips to get you started: 

• Understand the pain point of a consumer
• Present your product as a solution
• Prove that your product is better than the others 
• Explain the benefits of your products, not the features 

In essence, you want to understand what customers want, what drives them to make a purchase, and how to convince them to part with their money.

3. Learn from your mistakes

Dropshipping is not easy, and as a solo entrepreneur, you will be dealing with so many things that big businesses typically hire experts for. Here are some examples:

• Writing ad copies
• Writing blogs
• Taking product photos
• Search engine optimization
• Ad placement and marketing 
• Customer service

Every aspect of dropshipping is an industry or a job on its own. All of us will make mistakes. What matters is that you recognize these errors and correct them. 

4. Do not stop exploring

There will always be new ways to make dropshipping better and easier. A few years ago, there was no AI. Nobody was talking about it. Now, you can use AI in so many ways to help you succeed. 

Here are some examples of how AI can help:

• Product photography
• Video creation
• Advertising copy
• Blog post creation
• Store building
• Product analysis
• Spying on competition 

You are competing against thousands of people, so do not stop looking for new tools and processes that can help you. I recommend subscribing to YouTube experts to be in tune with the latest developments. 

Summary: Dropshipping is a retail business, which means you will face the same challenges that retailers do. Because of this, I strongly suggest that you adopt a highly positive mindset about dropshipping. Do not stop learning and be accountable for your mistakes. 

How to Dropship as a Minor 

You likely live in a state or country where the legal business age is 18. If not, then there is no issue—you can dropship as any adult would. 

One caveat, though, is that Shopify requires that you must be 18 years old before you can use their platform. So, in this case, your options are:

• Use another platform where the age requirement is lower
• Ask an adult to sign up for the platform and add you as an administrator

Here is the screenshot from the Shopify Terms and Conditions:

Now that we have clarified this issue, let us discuss how you can build a dropshipping store if you are under 18. 

Step 1: Set Up Your Business as an LLC

You will need to set your business as a Limited Liability Corporation, and you must set it up with adults. If you have older siblings, you can speak to them and discuss your plans. 

You can also ask your parents to do this for you, and make sure that they add you as a member or owner. From here, the business can pursue other legal compliance activities, such as filing taxes. 

Step 2: Set Up Your Accounts

As a dropshipper, you need accounts in the following things: 

• Shopify or other e-Commerce Platforms
• Payment processor like PayPal
• Bank account for fund transfer
• Credit card

Most of these require that you are at least 18 years old before you can set up an account. Just to clarify, Shopify and PayPal will only allow you to use their system if you are an adult. 

Because of this, the adults in your LLC must be the ones to set up these accounts. Then, they can add your email address as an administrator. 

If your parents would agree, they can give you a supplementary card that you can use to make purchases. This is a tad difficult, I know, because you need to convince the adults that you can be trusted with money.

As far as suppliers go, you do not need to be 18. Most suppliers in AliExpress and other sites treat you like a customer anyway, unless you use apps like AppScenic. 

Here is a screenshot of their FAQ section: 

‍

Step 3: Set Up Social Media Accounts

Facebook and other social media channels have secret ways to find out how old you are. You cannot use their advertising platform if you are under 18. 

The workaround is the same as what you would do with Shopify. Use your business LLC as the Meta Ad Account owner. 

One important thing: do not add your personal Facebook account as an administrator of the Facebook Ad Account or you will be banned. Facebook knows that your personal account, or profile, is that of a minor. Just use a company email that Facebook can verify as owned by an adult. 

Next, do not use your supplementary credit card, as Facebook will find out that it is owned by a minor. Instead, use your parent’s credit card account to pay for ads.  

Summary: It is difficult to run a dropshipping business as a minor, but it is possible. Although some states allow minors to do business legally, it is the platforms that will give you the challenges. The best course of action is to build an LLC with your parents’ names and use their credit cards to run ads. 

Other Terms and Conditions Worth Knowing 

In this short section, I will provide you with a quick glimpse of the legal age requirements of the most popular platforms and countries as far as doing business is concerned. 

Dropshipping Legal Age Per Platform 

• Shopify – you must be 18 years old. 
• eBay – you must be 18 years old. 
• Etsy – age 13 and 17 for as long as the guardian or parent is involved. 
• Amazon – possible to sell under 18 as long as parents or guardians have an involvement.

All the links to the platforms will take you to their Terms and Conditions where you can validate the info about their age requirements. 

Dropshipping Legal Age Per Country

You must be at least 18 years old to legally operate a business in the following countries: 

• Singapore
• Australia
• Canada – there is no legal age to start a business, but you must be 18 to sign contracts.
• India
• New Zealand
• France
• Philippines
• Malaysia
• Germany
• South Africa
• Mexico 

In China, the age of consent is 14, but to own and control a business, you must be 18. In Indonesia, you can start and own a business at the young age of 15. Lastly, in the UK, you must be in school at age 16 or below. After that, you can work or start a business.

FAQ:  Dropshipping as a Teen

Can anyone be a dropshipper?

Yes, anyone can be a dropper. If you are a minor and, in a country, where minors cannot do business, ask your parents to help you. 

How old is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is an old business model; it existed even before the internet was invented. 

How much do dropshippers make?

Some dropshippers make thousands of dollars monthly. Big dropshipping companies make millions annually. 

Can you start dropshipping with no money?

Yes, and you will do this on social media, not with your store or website. Your best option for 100% free dropshipping is the Facebook Marketplace.  

Summary

At this point, I encourage you to explore tools that you can use for dropshipping. Read their terms and conditions and create a plan on how you would go about setting up your business. One example is Dropship. IO, where you can find winning products and spy on competitors. 

Once you have this list, you can now speak to an adult, such as your parents, and convince them to form an LLC business. Your knowledge from the tool exploration I mentioned should be enough to convince them that you know what you are doing.