AppsentialsThe Dropshipping Order Process: What Happens After the First Order
In short: In the dropshipping order process, the customer pays you, you order the goods from the supplier with the customer's address and pay for them out of your own pocket. The supplier ships, the dropshipping app transfers the tracking number to Shopify, and your customer receives a shipping confirmation. Almost everything can be automated, except advancing the purchase price and your responsibility toward the customer.
One of the most common questions under dropshipping videos is: "And what do I do when someone places an order?" This article shows you the complete dropshipping process from order to delivery, including the flow of money, automation and the mistakes that happen with the first ten orders. It is part of our overview of Shopify dropshipping in Germany.
The dropshipping order process in 7 steps
This is how a dropshipping order works with Shopify and a dropshipping app such as DSers, CJdropshipping or AutoDS:
- The customer orders and pays. The order appears in Shopify under "Orders" with the status "Unfulfilled". By default, the payment is captured automatically.
- The order is transferred to the app. If the product is linked to the supplier item in the app, the order shows up there automatically, including the shipping address.
- You check the order. Are the address and variants correct? Are there signs of fraud, such as different billing and shipping addresses with a high order value?
- You place and pay for the supplier order. Depending on the app, with a click, as a bulk order or automatically. You pay with your payment method or your balance with the supplier.
- The supplier packs and ships. The shipping address is your customer's; the sender is the supplier.
- Tracking is synced. The app transfers the tracking number to Shopify, the order is marked as "Fulfilled" and your customer receives the shipping confirmation by email.
- Delivery and follow-up. You answer questions about the delivery status and handle withdrawals and complaints.
Important to understand: you don't buy anything in advance. Importing a product into your store costs nothing and doesn't commit you to anything. The purchase only happens in step 4, and for exactly the quantity your customer ordered.
You don't have to "notify" the supplier in advance. On platforms like AliExpress or CJ, every order is a completely normal order. Which app automates which part is covered in the comparison of dropshipping apps for Shopify.
The flow of money: who pays when?
This is where the biggest misunderstanding lies. The customer pays you, not the supplier. You pay the supplier separately, and immediately, so that they ship. Shopify, however, doesn't pay out the customer's money to you right away.
| When | What happens to the money |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | The customer pays €39.90 in your store. The money is held by Shopify Payments or PayPal. |
| Day 0 or 1 | You pay the supplier, e.g. €14 including shipping, with your card or your balance. |
| From day 3 (business days) | Shopify pays out. According to Shopify, the minimum processing time in Germany is 3 business days, often longer for new accounts. |
With five orders a day, that's not a problem. On a successful ad day with 100 orders, however, you have to advance the entire cost of goods before the first money arrives. Plan a buffer for this. How payouts work exactly and why they sometimes get stuck for new stores is explained in the article Shopify payouts: when does your money arrive?.
PayPal payments, on the other hand, go to your PayPal account. With new PayPal accounts, funds can be held until a tracking number has been added. That's why the tracking sync from step 6 matters: many apps also transfer the tracking number to PayPal. Which payment methods you should offer in Germany is explained in Setting up payment methods in Shopify.
Manual, semi-automatic or automatic?
| Level | How it works | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| Manual | You copy the customer's address and order from the supplier yourself. You enter tracking in Shopify by hand. | Your own supplier without an app, very few orders |
| Semi-automatic | The app collects all open orders. You check them and forward them together with one click. Tracking comes in automatically. | Most stores, recommended start |
| Automatic | The app orders and pays without any action from you as soon as the order comes in. | Established stores with stable suppliers and fraud checks |
Note: with many apps, fully automatic ordering requires a paid plan; on the free plan, you usually forward orders yourself with a click. Full automation sounds tempting, but it's risky at the start. Without a review step, fraudulent orders, typos in addresses and wrong variants also go straight out. Start semi-automatic, and only automate once you know your supplier's typical mistakes.
If you work with a German wholesaler without an app, there are usually three ways: forwarding orders by email (Shopify can send orders by email to a custom fulfillment service), a daily CSV export, or an interface provided by the wholesaler. With several suppliers, the "Vendor" field in the product helps you sort orders cleanly.
Print on demand works similarly, except that the item is only printed after the order. Here too, you pay for production yourself: the provider charges your stored card or your balance as soon as the order reaches them, not your customer's money. How this works with Printful, Printify and Gelato is covered in Print on demand with Shopify.
Several suppliers in one order
If a customer buys two products from two suppliers, this creates two supplier orders and two parcels. In Shopify, the order is then partially fulfilled until both shipments are on their way. If you combine a product from a German warehouse with one from China, there can be a long time between the two parcels.
- Point out on the product page or in the cart that items may be delivered separately.
- State the delivery time per product, not just across the board for the store.
- Calculate shipping costs so that they cover the supplier's double shipping costs. How to create shipping profiles per supplier is shown in Setting up shipping in Shopify.
What goes wrong with the first orders
Status "Payment pending"
This means that the payment hasn't been completed or captured yet, for example with prepayment (Vorkasse) or manual payment capture. Don't place a supplier order before the payment has arrived.
Product sold out at the supplier or more expensive
Without inventory sync, you sell goods that can no longer be delivered. Inform the customer immediately, offer an alternative or issue a refund. In the long run, an app plan with price and inventory monitoring helps.
Order doesn't show up in the app
Almost always, the product in Shopify isn't linked to the supplier item, for example because you created it by hand or changed variants afterwards. Link the product and each variant to the matching supplier item in the app. Orders that came in before that often have to be triggered manually in the app afterwards or placed directly with the supplier.
Wrong address or missing house number
Check addresses before forwarding them. An undeliverable parcel from China often doesn't come back at all, or only after weeks. If in doubt, you bear the cost of reshipping. If the address is unclear, ask the customer and only forward the order afterwards. With many orders, address validation apps from the Shopify App Store help.
The customer wants to change or cancel the order
As long as you haven't forwarded the order to the supplier yet, that's easy: change or cancel it in Shopify and issue a refund. If it's already with the supplier, everything depends on whether they haven't shipped yet. That's why it pays not to forward orders the same minute, but in batches once or twice a day. How cancellation, partial refunds and address changes work in the admin is covered in Processing orders in Shopify.
The supplier includes their own advertising or invoice
Then your customer sees the purchase price. Agree on neutral shipping or use branding options; more on this in the article Dropshipping with your own branding.
The customer wants to return the item
Your customer has a 14-day right of withdrawal, and you are their point of contact. How to organize returns with suppliers without having goods sent to China is covered in Returns and refunds in dropshipping.
Checklist for the first ten orders:
- Check every order manually before forwarding it
- Place the supplier order on the same day
- Check that tracking arrives in Shopify and the shipping confirmation goes out
- Check the delivery status after a few days, before the customer asks
- Save the supplier's purchase receipt for your bookkeeping
FAQ
Do I have to buy the products in advance or keep them in stock?
No. In dropshipping, you only import product data and images into your store, which costs nothing. Only once a customer has ordered and paid do you buy exactly that item from the supplier and have it shipped directly to the customer. The goods never pass through your hands. So you don't need a warehouse, but you do need enough money or credit to advance the purchases until the Shopify payout.
Do I have to place every order with the supplier myself?
Not by hand. With a dropshipping app like DSers or CJdropshipping, you see all open orders together and forward them with one click, including the customer's address. Many apps can also do this fully automatically. At the start, a short review step still makes sense so that fraudulent orders and address errors don't go straight to the supplier.
Does the customer pay the supplier directly?
No. The customer pays you in your store. You pay the supplier separately at the purchase price. The difference is your gross profit, from which taxes, payment fees, advertising and fixed costs still have to be deducted. Because Shopify only pays out after a few business days, you advance the purchase for a short time.
Is the tracking number sent to the customer automatically?
Yes, if your dropshipping app transfers the tracking number to Shopify and the order is fulfilled with it. Shopify then sends the shipping confirmation with a tracking link. If you process orders manually, you enter the number in the order yourself and have the customer notified. Check this step carefully with your first orders.
Do I have to buy shipping labels in Shopify?
No. In dropshipping, the supplier creates the shipping label. You don't buy labels or print anything. You only need shipping labels if you ship yourself, for example your own stock, replacement deliveries or returns. In Germany, there is for example the DHL app for Shopify or shipping tools like Sendcloud for this.
What happens if I get 100 orders a day?
Technically, the app scales without problems; financially, not automatically. You have to pay the cost of goods for all orders before Shopify pays out. With 100 orders at €14 purchase price, that's €1,400 per day. On top of that comes more customer service. Plan your cash flow and check with the supplier whether they can reliably deliver the volume.
What does the status "Unfulfilled" mean?
"Unfulfilled" means that no shipment has been recorded for the order yet. In dropshipping, that's normal until the supplier has shipped and the tracking number has been transferred. If an order stays like this for several days, check whether it was placed and paid for with the supplier and whether the product is linked in the app.
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As of: October 2026. This article is not legal or tax advice.
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