With all the BS on dropshippers available online (ebooks, bum lists) Anybody have some good hands on experience with a real dropshipper? I need a good dropshipper to stock a PR5 store I've got all setup.
I know one. . . . me. I have over 100,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space. I am already shipping about 300K worth of goods per month. I am centrally located in the US for quick delivery everywhere. PM me for details if you are interested.
I've worked with a number of good dropshipping companies. I actually went through WorldWide Brands and use their directory. They keep it very up to date and it is only direct dropshippers. No middlemen. I have yet to be disapointed with a source from the directory. You can check them out at: http://www.worldwidebrands.com I think it's like $70... they also offer a wholesale directory and a software research tool. What type of products were you looking at for your store? I can see if I've worked with anyone I can recomend to you.
I have a relationship with a decent real wholesaler in the computer and electronics field. Let me know if this falls in line with your store...
Drop shippers remind me of my eBay days. Today drop shipping through eBay is virtually a ticket into negative returns. Very hard to find reliable drop shippers.
I have a hypothetical situation, for now. Let's say that I am in Belize and I want to export to the U.S. in quantities of 1. That's expensive and it's a pain in the butt. Instead, I want to ship quantities of 500 to someone in the U.S. and have them ship the individual units to individual buyers one at a time over the course of several months. Is this you?
Do a keyword search on "Bonded Warehouses" and you will find many bonded and insured companies that can handle product fulfillment. If they are not bonded and insured you could lose your entire investment in inventory, be careful who you have hold and ship your goods, also make sure they do not steal your customer list. The large companies guard not only your merchandise but your customer lists also.
Just out of curiosity...does anyone know any Canadian drop shippers? When selling in a different country, it is hard to explain duty.
It is a lot more work but I believe it is best to ship your own merchandise. You don't even need to leave your house any more to do it. USPS picks up for free and UPS will pick up also.
FTEGal, that is the better option IF you have teh storage space and want to buy products in wholesale quanities... but for those that don't Dropshipping is an awesome way of doing business.
Definitely not for control freaks though. Your customer's experience of your company (and your reputation) is entirely dependent on the quality of the dropshipper. - Choose wisely.
The other thing is that, if a company dropships, you have to know that youa re not the only one selling the product. So you immediately have competition, and usually a lot of it. I stock about 10% of the products on my site. They account for about 30% of the sales for the site, because virtually no one else online sells them. No competition for the exact same product makes it a helluva lot easier to sell. Plus, the margins are a ton better as well. I realized yesterday I have a probuct I buy for $7, and I sell for $37 I get crazy making up prices out of nowhere sometimes LOL.
Anyone know of any UK based dropshippers. They sound usefull for expanding a product range rather than basing an entire site around.
I, too, used the WorldWide Brands directory, a couple of years ago. I was very happy with the quality of information it contained. Merry
My pervious years on eBay, I have tried out many things as well. Dropshipping was one of the options that I researched on and tested. It works if you found a reliable source, but the real problem is the flooding of the internet with the same products being shipped from the same source... ... And the panic and stress when the auction is going on because you don't know if the item would still be in stock after your auction ends, or would it even get sent in the first place...... Personally, I would prefer to have the item in-stock rather than having it dropshipped.