I ran dropshipping for years, mostly on email marketing. Then I stopped for three years. Not because it didn't work — because getting paid in Jamaica didn't. Here is what changed and what I'm doing this time.
Why I stopped
Every sale was a negotiation about how to pay. Screenshots, "pending", a customer in Montego Bay and me in Mandeville arguing about a bank transfer at 11pm. The model was fine; the plumbing wasn't.
What fixed it
- Card checkout through Scotiabank's hosted page and Fygaro — no card data on my site, US cards accepted too.
- Receipt upload on every unpaid order; Mark paid; ship with a photo.
- eBay import with pricing rules, re-priced in one click when the rate moves.
What I'm doing differently
- One niche — outdoor. I like it, I can write about it for a year.
- SEO first. 200 honestly titled product pages, category guides, one post a month. The same system that brings this site its traffic.
- Ads only on what ranks. Retargeting at month three; cold ads on proven products after.
- Honest delivery times. On the page, in the confirmation, in the WhatsApp.
- Email third, not first. A list built from real orders, not bought.
Why I'm writing this
Because the eight posts in this series are the notes I wish I'd had, and because the store I'm building runs on the same Ezy Cart you can have. No hype — it is a shop, and shops need patience. But the plumbing finally works.
- Does dropshipping still make sense from Jamaica? (2026 verdict)
- Dropshipping from Jamaica: the do's and don'ts
- The 2026 setup: eBay import, pricing rules, payments, delivery
- Pricing: margins, duties and the exchange rate
- SEO for a dropshipping store (the playbook that ranks this site)
- Marketing: organic first, then ads
- Choosing a niche (with the outdoor niche as the worked example)
- I paused dropshipping for three years. Here's what I'm doing differently (this post)
- eBay import with your own pricing rules, re-price in one click when the rate moves — Ezy Cart, J$35,000 + J$9,500/mo
- Store built for importers and dropshippers — see the page
- Card checkout for local and US cards (Scotiabank, Fygaro), bank transfer with receipt upload, cash on delivery — how Scotiabank checkout works
Frequently asked
Which niche is Lee's store in?
Outdoor and camping — the worked example in the niche post.
Can I copy the setup?
Yes — it is Ezy Cart with eBay import, local payments and the SEO playbook in this series.
When will it show results?
Organic takes about 90 days; Lee will publish the numbers as they come.