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$26,976 In 1 Year: How Chanong Makes Money Online In Philippines

By Yaroslav Nevsky

Making Money Online In Philippines: How Chanong Earned $26,976 In A Year

Is it difficult to make money online in Philippines? Is the result worth the effort? Our today’s guest is Chanong – and he’s happy to share his dropshipping experience.

Disclaimer: all the success stories published in AliDropship blog are the results of interviews conducted in the written form. Even though the editors may make some minor changes to the grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation, the respondents’ writing styles, views, opinions, stores screenshots and personal photos are left unchanged.

Hi, please introduce yourself!

Hi! I’m Chanong from Baguio City, Philippines.

I’m 26 years old, I’ve graduated as a nurse. Although I finished this degree, I was more on to computers. Been playing computers since childhood. Tried to look for employment as a nurse but haven’t really been successful so I tried to look for ways to make money online instead. I found a forum called Blackhatworld and that’s where I started to learn more about methods such as affiliate marketing, dropshipping, selling services, etc.

Before you started dropshipping with AliExpress, did you have any previous experience of making money online in Philippines?

Just a bit. I tried affiliate marketing through an Amazon Niche Site but haven’t been really successful since I’m not good with writing content.

I was making designs on TeeSpring but didn’t know how to drive traffic that time so I was just trying.

Also, I tried other methods from BHW that involved spamming, and made some few bucks. 🙂

Why did you choose the dropshipping business model, after all?

Since 2016, while having my own store, I decided to work for clients who also own online stores so that I can learn more and then apply it to my own business.

I did everything from customer service to product research and to order fulfillment. Also, I was making stores and doing the marketing part. That’s how I got to learn a lot about Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Pinterest Ads, IG influencers and other kinds of sources of traffic.

I learned that Dropshipping is the realistic kind of a get-rich scheme. Haha 🙂

Don’t get me wrong, Dropshipping can be really hard but also can make you a lot of money in just a short span of time if you do it properly.

I have handled some stores of my clients that literally went boom just few days after launching it.

Another reason is that it’s easy to set up and manage and it doesn’t need an expensive startup cost.

How did it all begin?

It started when I stumbled on a Dropshipping Thread on BHW. I then started to read more threads about it and then later I found Yaros’ thread.

After a couple of months, I decided to buy a store package from Yaros to learn more about it since I didn’t have knowledge in making WordPress Stores that time.

That’s where I started to slowly learn more on how to make stores using the WordPress platform and also about Dropshipping.

Do you remember the first online sale made from your dropshipping store?

Yes. It was an anime keychain sold for $12.99 😀

It only happened after 6 month of my store operation. That time, I have no knowledge of driving traffic to the store.

I was so happy about it. I did nothing to stimulate this sale, the buyer just came from an organic search.

Which tech solutions do you use to earn money online in Philippines?

I use the AliDropship Original Plugin, your hosting, and some of the add-ons like Facebook Business and Social Rabbit.

It actually helps a lot, especially the Plugin. Just with the plugin, you can make a sustainable business and even manage it on your own. It also makes importing products and placing orders really easy on AliExpress.

How many stores do you have now?

Just 1 at the moment. Made some several stores but closed them because of the niches I have chosen in the past.

It made some money, but I stopped promoting it for now since I sell copyrighted items. Will start to promote it again when I find a good product to sell. Here’s a screenshot of my dashboard since last year. My metrics are below the industry average but still i managed to make some $$$.

1_Year_Sales_Report.png

It did not do that much yet but I learned a lot from it. From disabled ad accounts, to unresponsive suppliers, to making good creatives, to product research, copyright issues and more.

How did you choose the niche?

I previously had 2 stores and the niche mistakes I learned was that the niche was too small and at the same time I was selling copyrighted items.

So I decided then to just go to a semi broad niche like the Home niche. With this, I was able to test more products and had more options to scale from. This is a good strategy if you are starting yet and doesn’t have much knowledge on niches.

I also combined my personal interests on this semi broad niche so I was able to find a narrower niche that is into my liking.

How did you choose products and suppliers for your store?

I just followed the tutorials from AliDropship. I also follow some other ecom “gurus” and then just mix the knowledge I learn from them.

For suppliers, I just check their reviews, shipping method and time to my target countries, and their store age.

I also sometimes stalk on popular shopify stores and just spy on their best-selling products. You can also just find their FB pages and just check their own ads.

I also tried using AliExpress Mobile App’s Blog section where the shoppers just review the AliExpress products that they have ordered. I think it was called Stars.Aliexpress. I’m not sure if it still exists today

You can also join Telegram App AliExpress channels and other product compiling sites like thieve.co and touchofmodern.com for more product inspirations.

Do you have any strategy of adding new products from time to time?

If you just want to add products, then you can start adding 3 products a day. You can also use other plugins to bulk import other products. But for me I just add products on my store if I found a product I would like to test.

How do you set the prices?

I initially used AliDropship’s pricing formula but readjusted it since I’m using Paid Traffic. I came up with a certain formula settings on my own but I still price the product depending on its perceived value. Sometimes I price $3 items as high as 30-60 bucks.

It depends also on the purpose of the product you added – for example, whether it’s just for upselling or it’s an independent product.

How do you promote your stores?

Facebook Ads are most efficient for me. I also use Instagram Ads, but Instagram shoutouts had no success – I tried them in the past but haven’t had a good result.

Ad_Account_Overview.png

On average, I spend $300-S3,000 per month on marketing.

How did you understand who’s your target audience?

My customers come from all over the globe, really.

Client_Countries.png

I just kind of read more about the product I’m trying to promote and from there, I just find the interests that are related to the product on Facebook.

I usually just find medias, icons, influencers, brands, hobbies, groups, magazines, Movies, Series, etc. that are related to the product.

How much time does it take you every day to manage your stores?

Just a couple of hours depending on whether I’m testing a product since I need to optimize its product page and make a good creative for it.

But when I’m done with the ads, I just monitor them and just fulfill orders and reply some emails if I got some inquiries.

Which task(s) demand more time than others?

Sometimes customer service, depending on the issue.

But usually the ad creatives since I’m not that good with videos and Photoshop yet.

What are the most difficult challenges?

Disabled Ad Accounts, Paypal and Stripe accounts, Difficult Customers, Winning Product Hunting, Not Converting Ads, Creativeness when making Ads.

I just usually join on groups/forums related to the problem and search for solutions. I also just use Google most of the time.

How do you deal with difficult customers (if any)?

Sometimes, I just refund them fully coz i dont want to have headache. LOL

But usually, I handle them accordingly depending on their issues. I got some experience in Customer Service so it’s kind of easy for me.

Do you have any funny/sad stories?

Sad? Not really but RIP to my disabled ad accounts for no reason and burning $1k without sales. Hahaha

Did you register your business officially?

Nope. I only used my friend’s LLC EIN to get a Stripe account.

For Philippines, I think you just need to register your company in the Department of Trade and Industry so you won’t be having problems with your paypal account.

For now I don’t pay taxes since there’s no law yet I think that handles this kind of business model.

How has your life changed?

It greatly affected my views in life. My mindset and how I approach problems has changed.

Got some cash and some material things I really wanted. But I’m still on the learning curve/process of growing so currently I’m still investing in myself to establish my own empire soon.

What do your friends and family think about your online business?

They don’t know what I’m doing. Haha 🙂

They still want me to pursue my medical profession but I have already decided not to pursue it anymore.

Are you going to keep making money online through this business model?

Yes, I plan to establish my own Online Empire and help provide life changing opportunities to my community.

What can you advise our readers – those who already run their stores and those who didn’t start the business yet?

For newbies, try to learn as much as  you can but try also to apply the knowledge. Also try to focus on something first before quitting.

I’m not saying I’m successful already but I think I’m going there. 😀

You can do what I did. Try working for business owners for faster learning and then just apply it on your own business.

For those that are hesitating to start, Online Businesses are the next big thing! They are much easier to handle than traditional businesses. Also, they are easier to set up and much cheaper. Dropshipping is only one example of the way of making money online but there is actually many more.

I also suggest you guys to read Yaros’ original journey thread on BHW and start joining groups related to this kinds of business model. Even Facebook Ads groups and other marketing groups.

If you are already starting to gain some profit, try to improve your system and invest in Branding.

It seems like it’s not that difficult to make money online in Philippines – at least, it’s totally rewarding! We greatly appreciate Chanong’s feedback, and we hope his positive attitude will inspire you to start your own business journey, too!

avatar
By Yaroslav Nevsky
Yaroslav is a founder of aliexpress-na-russkom.rumunity helping people worldwide to start and run a successful dropshipping business.
46 Comments
William 5 years ago

Thank you for sharing!

Melissa 5 years ago

I like this story but even though the earnings were 25K USD, that’s awesome! It was not indicated that you also have to deduct your cost of ads, so if yo deduct 7.5K for FB ads only… then that drops the profit to 17.5K which is still good for a Filipino. But we have not heard how much he spent on Instagram and other social media ads as well as refunds as all those things also count against the profit.

Because he has not shown all of his costs I would simply guestimate his real profit is closert to 14K to 15K or less.

Readers should understand that everything is a cost from cost of product to ads and refunds but I still have to say Congrats to this young man! Good Job.

Awal Chowdhury 5 years ago

This is actually in-creditable interview. Thank you for shared us.

Oral Tosun 5 years ago

I can’t see his original dropshipping website. Is there any link of it?

Kitty 5 years ago

How can I contact this person? I wanted to ask him a few questions before I venture into this business. Thank you

Chanong 5 years ago

You can ask it here. Most of the readers here can also help you 🙂

Nikki 4 years ago

Totally a newbie here. Just a question, where and how did you applied for a job in a business owned by a dropshipper? Want to do it the way you did. I want to learn the trade by working for the trade first.

Chic 5 years ago

Thank you, Yaros and aliexpress-na-russkom.rumunity, for this story. Salamat, Chanong, for sharing your inspiring story. Cheers!

Chich 5 years ago

Hi Chic! Salamat haha

Cil 5 years ago

what payment gateway did you use? since Stripe is not available in the Philippines? Thanks!

Chanong 5 years ago

Hey, Cil

Paypal + Stripe, You can make a Stripe account through an LLC,

check out alidropship’s article on how to create an LLC.

delfi 5 years ago

HI Chanong Im from the Philippines as well. I was inspired by your story about your journey in drop shipping. Can I check your website so that I can have an idea what it looks like to have a dropship website? thanks in advance!

Chanong 5 years ago

My store is made of Michealangelo Theme from Alidropship.

Bharat 5 years ago

Is this good to work with few supplier or change as per price or something? As I am planning to start a new one but I am not sure shall I work with few or anyone on aliexpress. Also the price somehow confusing that they pur range like 1$-2$ ( example) so how I know the exact price and choose the supplier and especially shipping, shall I choose epacket only or what?

Chanong 5 years ago

I used many AE suppliers

The pricing really depends on the product and its perception value. 1-2$ difference is not a big deal.
Just configure your pricing in a way that you still get profit.

For example, 10$ product, I might price this product to 30$ and above.
You might want to consider adding up also on the price especially if youre thinking of Paid advertising to get sales.
For me, $30 is the tolerable and usual adspend before i get a sale. so in this case, ill price my product to around $50 so that i will have a gross profit of $10.

So it really depends on the product your trying to promote. for low ticket items, i suggest you make bundles of it and sell it at a higher price.

Epacket for US and other top tiered countries liek AUstralia. AE Express Shipping for other countries like spain. Just china post will do to South korea/Japan, etc.

rajat 5 years ago

how much time it takes to your store to deliver the products to USA and other countries. When I check at aliexpress it generally says 23-26 days. But I think the customers will not wait for her product for this long time. Please help me with this question. What can I do to deliver fast at low cost?

Ann 5 years ago

Hey great story! Could you give me an advice how to do simple ads or what marketing style to follow? 2 weeks now and wala pa din benta 🙁

Chanong 5 years ago

Hey Ann

Make it stupid simple but catchy. Make it relevant to your audience. If your creative is video, try to showcase what the product does, if it’s an image, try to make it simple and have not a lot of texts, Try also doing variants of your vid/images so you can split test and see whats working.

Try subscribing to alidropship’s content. You can also follow some facebook ads experts like ben malol, tim burd, depesh mandalia, cat howell, etc. there are many of them. ALso other ecom dudes like franklin hatchett, st gabriel germain, nick peroni, justin woll, etc. So many to follow. You need to mix what you learn from them and make it your own.

Gim 5 years ago

Did you use a virtual address for your store?
Or Philippine Address?

Chanong 5 years ago

mostly 2 weeks for US customers, that is just the estimate. You can also set expectation on your product pages.

You can find try to find a US supplier, You can also find AE sellers that have stocks in the US. THere are AE product listings that has “ships from” option. Sometimes they have already stocks in the US/UK/RUssia, etc.

Alpha Reo 5 years ago

Very interesting read.. I am thinking of lunching my own online store wth the dropshipping business model.. thanks for this interview article . Very couraging for newcomers like myself ..

Any advice on which e-commerce platform to start with? Thanks

Chanong 5 years ago

You can start with
Wordpress + alidropship plugin
Wordpress + woocommerce + alidropship
Shopify

Those are the easiest

enrique 5 years ago

Hi Chanong!
Congratulations for your success. I was wondering if you have an online store displaying many products or a website for just one product? If you have an online store displaying many products, how many products do you thing we should have to begin? Are these products related to the same niche?

Chanong 5 years ago

Hey Enrique,

Fill up your store with at least 20 products. Start testing after. You can make a general store or a niche store. I made a hybrid one. For example Home niche. It’s already a niche but still a very big niche.

Put some complimentary products to your imported products so it will act as an upsell/crossell which can help in increasing your AOV

Luke 5 years ago

Hello Chanong!

Congrats! Curious as to how you withdraw your STRIPE balance to your PHP bank account? This is my roadblock at the moment.

Thank you in advance!

Luke

Chanong 5 years ago

Make a payoneer account. STRIPE>PAYONEER>PH BANK ACCOUNT

Mark 5 years ago

Hi Chanong, I’m from Philippines too. Can you guide me?

connie 5 years ago

hi chanong na inspire ako sa story mo puede mo ba akung i guide please O F W po ako i want to come back home for goods sana maging kaibigan ka sa fb

Chanong Perez 5 years ago

sure. just search me on facebook

Amor 5 years ago

Hi Chanong, kabayan turuan mo naman ako paano mag-umpisa. Tnx

Chanong 5 years ago

Sure. search me on facebook

Bhert 5 years ago

Hi Chanong, Just want to ask how you manage to sell in different countries? Is that just one website? I’m also planning to do this and I’m also thinking selling around the globe with just 1 website if it’s possible. can you give n=me an advice please. TIA

Md Shajib Mia 5 years ago

I need important information about Aliexpress dropshipping. I am an Aliexpress dropshipper. But I am not successful in my business. Please help me. My question which country is perfect for traffic in Aliexpress dropshipping business.
Thanks, advance.

Olga L. 5 years ago

Hi, thank you for your question!

Please, open this list of drop shipping niches: /most-profitable-niches-for-dropshipping/
Find the niche that is similar to yours, and press on the + sign. A detailed niche profile will open. Find the ‘Most popular in’ section – this is your perfect target region!

Newbie Dropshipper 4 years ago

Hi chanong! How do you deal with income tax from your profits in dropshipping?

Marivic Mj 4 years ago

Hi Sir Chanong!
I am so very happy na may nakita akong kababayan dito sa AliDropship. Nakaka inspire ang mga nai share mo.
Anyways, my name is Marivic and i am from Olongapo City dyan sa Pinas. My family and i are living now here in New Mexico USA.
Online seller ako nung nasa Pinas pa kami. Gusto ko ituloy dito sa America kaya lang nahihirapan akong intindihin ang proseso nila. Malaking kaibahan kse. Then nakita ko itong AliDropship and interested ako kse puede ako mag avail ng ready na nilang package. Ask ko lang Sir, worth it ba kung i avail ko ang nasa $800 plus nila? Para lang ready to start na ako kung sakali.
THanks in advance and more power to you!
Sundan po kita sa FB.

Chanong 4 years ago

Yes naman especially if you don’t have knowledge in making online stores or websites. You will save time and just start promoting your products immediately. Check their stores like hokagestore.com. Halus ganun ung makukuha nyong website from them. IF you think you can make a better store and still dropship from aliexpress, you can just purchase their Plugin instead.

Eman 4 years ago

I am also a Filipino.and I was a Shopify dropshipper ,I run the store for almost a year but unfortunately I generated only $48 dollars sales.even I spend a lot for Fb ads and Google ads.and now I am considering to open up a aliexpress dropship.I hope they will guide me.because in shopify no one will be able to talk to you to guide you on your online store.

Chanong 4 years ago

You can hang out on Alidropship’s articles and forums. You can also join dropship or ecommerce groups on facebook. There are alot of information from them, Even on shopify. You just need to read, watch and consume lots of ecommerce content then apply it. Google is your friend :). If you have done a lot of google and haven’t found the information you have been looking, you can start posting on those groups and forums and ask them your questions.

Wadi 4 years ago

Hi Chanong. What about product returns? Since your customers are from around the globe, where do they ship the return products too? Especially items below USD 100.

I’m new in this and haven’t started. But I heard that it is also important to setup the return process well.

Kitty from NZ shared in her article that she directed the returned products to her own address. Which is good if the customers are within the same country or not across the globe at least.

Could you share your experiences/ideas?

Thx.

Chanong 4 years ago

For returns, since you are just a middleman, you need to ask your supplier’s return process. You simply just need to relay that to your customer. You can also ask your supplier in advance and create a returns process article on your FAQ pages.

Jonah 4 years ago

Hi Chanong,

Do you handle you dropshipping business alone? Or did you hire any VA to manage your store? How’s the back end job, is it very taxing and need more hours to spend in a day? Im an OFW and intend to enter into dropshopping biz but Im working full time at the moment so not sure if I can accommodate the required time to run it. TIA for your your reply =)

Chanong 4 years ago

I did it alone. you can be a one man team at the start. but If you’re having many sales per day, I suggest you need to hire a customer service asap. answering customer inquiries and solving customers issues can sometimes be time consuming.

raquel 4 years ago

Hi Chanong,

I read your inspiring journey on this business. I want to follow you on FB. What is your name po so I can search and possibly ask some of your help and guidance.

Thanks and Keep Safe!

Raquel – Kuwait

Jason 4 years ago

This is really inspiring, got my nerves burning to start dropshipping once again. Specially when a fellow Filipino is having success with it. This business model really has no limits. Can’t wait to setup my own store.

jayson 3 years ago

Hi Sir Chanong, Congrats on your Success.Very Inspiring. Good day. Can you help me. I am also a pinoy exploring this world of Dropshipping. I already bought my premium store but having troubles with client processing their payment via credit cards. Can you elaborate further how you have set up your Stripe Account. How did manage to use your friends LLC. Thank you and Godbless!

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