Comments
  1. You must read the article before you can comment on it.
    • Pegeen
      Top reader this weekReading streakScoutScribe
      1 year ago

      Fascinating. What I don’t know that goes on in the world. However, sounds like a dreadful way to make a living.

    • casst0wn3 years ago

      The more I think about it, the more I don’t like the article. It’s a gossip piece, taking us into the lives of a small group of people who live in a way we might all want to (they escaped the rat race, live in material comfort and tropical paradise) but written in a way to provoke easy feelings of moral superiority. It’s not very informative about drop shipping, how big it is, who’s doing it, etc. I have to imagine that most drop shipped products make their way from China to western countries without expats in Bali connecting the fb ad dots...

      • thorgalle
        Top reader this weekScoutScribe
        3 years ago

        Hmm, good point. It's written as an authoritative investigation into dropshipping, but it seems to be showing just a marginal part of the trend.

        Similarly, it's hard to distinguish what exactly is being condemned. Unethical riches by dropshipping? Or the double-disconnected "digital nomad" phenomenon in cheap South-East Asian towns?

        but written in a way to provoke easy feelings of moral superiority

        Unfortunately, that's what makes it nice to read. People like to feel good about themselves and their ethical jobs. Makes it easier to not have the critical thoughts you have here :)

    • thorgalle
      Top reader this weekScoutScribe
      3 years ago

      Nice read!

      In real life, Vestil is less obnoxious, albeit grandiose and prone to speaking in a mixture of pop psychology, corporate jargon and quasi-Buddhist philosophy.

      LOL. Sounds like he's about to start writing a stereotypical self-help book.

      “I see money as a tool, and making more money is like putting more tools in a big garage, and you don’t even use the tools to create anything. It’s just meaningless.”

      Easier to say after having the money, but a useful analogy. I guess you gotta have the right amount of money to get the right tools.

      After university, he criss-crossed Europe and the US by bicycle, earning money doing freelance web design. By the time he arrived in Bali in May 2016, he was broke.

      This was a good cautionary tale. I'm vaguely dreaming of doing this (not dropshipping! the bike stuff) in a more sustainable and rewarding way. @bill, you running Readup from your RV is inspiring.

    • Alexey3 years ago

      That's exactly the type of news I'd intend to spread if I was a dropshipper

    • sjwoo3 years ago

      I know I shouldn't be surprised that people still find new ways to make money, but I am...always.

    • oanafilip3 years ago

      I am both sad and intrigued to see how people are running after making easy money. I did not know much about dropshipping, but this article makes it crystal clear.

    • Tonianni3 years ago

      Loved the words from Despin - money is a tool, hoarding it is meaningless, it needs to be used for good.

    • tenzing3 years ago

      Nice writeup. Teaches us that short-term, shallow marketing & product performance never wins.

    • jeff3 years ago

      Great read! What a depressing way to earn a living.

    • Florian3 years ago

      I really enjoyed reading this. Loved her writing style and the content was interesting and oddly satisfying

    • Alexa3 years ago

      Uf, dropshipping (and some of the online course schemes teaching how to do this...or the courses teaching you how to make courses 🤯) is such bad news. Sell garbage you've never seen to people you never interact with, just middle-manning for the garbage bin. ICK

    • jackdille3 years ago

      I think I already knew all this about Dropshipping – that it's essentially unethical and wasteful – but felt satisfied reading this is indeed the case :D

      • Alexa3 years ago

        yep, felt the same way. I had a good friend obsessed with it for a while and it always gave me the ick factor