Dropshipping, is it good or bad?

Hi,
I would like to take a poll. Whoever has used dropshipping please tell me weather or not you liked it. I would like to here from both those that liked it and those that don't like. This could be great information for me and for others thinking about dropshipping.

Thanks

 

dropshipping I believe is a good way for smaller companies to play with the big boys, low startup cost, no inventory. The best thing about drop shipping I believe is that you get paid for the item take your cut and then forward your cost over to the drop shipper.

Most drop shipping companies will allow you to buy in bulk aswell, this also allows you to start building a relationship with your supplier before you fork out 5k to him for his services. I always drop ship a company before I buy in bulk just to test them out.

thats my little oppinon, drop shipping is good but the real money is in wholesale

 

I currently use a dropshipper that is totally awesome because they are also the manufacturer. I've tried other dropshippers that were more like distributors, but had issues keeping up with what they had in stock and what they didn't. Dropshippers are great if you get the right ones. I suggest getting dropshippers who manufacturer what they dropship. It is less likely that their product will be out of stock.

 

Dropshippers...there's one worry, if you happend to find one which will undercut you, you will lose some customers.

 

Plus: You dont get your hands dirty with shipping etc so easy to do.
Minus: You don't make as much profit by letting others do more.

 

I don't deal with the minus for one of my dropshippers. Everyone is on the same playing field that purchases from them. To get the best pricing you just have to sell a certain amount which is very attainable. You don't have to stock and actually even the large companies usually don't stock one of the products I sell.

I also see advantages of stocking products. But my point is there are some really good dropshippers out there. You just have to find them.

 

Thanks for all the info everyone. This should be a good help to me and anyone else. One more question. Does WorldWideBrands really have the best dropship directory and should I buy it.

Thanks again for all your help!!

 

I've never used them, but I've heard mainly good stuff about them.

 

Ive never used a dropshipper simply because I never found a good enough service

Well i tried once and their products were crap, i tried buying 2 myself to check it out and one broke asap , the other just lay there somewhere... totally bad stuff :|

 

Drop shipping is great, I've used it for some time now and have gotten a great return on my time/money investment. The problem with it is that many people will try to start out in an oversaturated market, like electronics, and then won't make any sales or will have to reduce the price to almost ridiculous margins to even make sale.

-If you're just starting out, I alway recommend to people to think of something or research a product line that not many people want and only a few people supply, find a drop shipper for that market and go with it.

-Worldwide Brands - the best, bar none. That's were I started from.

 

I do both. Some products I stock & some I have dropshipped. I only deal with reputable companies that don't surprise me with extra fees for shipping & handling, dropshipping fees, etc.

I use dropshippers as more of a backup - if I don't have a product in stock or I can't get it from my local suppliers, then I will have the item dropshipped.

It is nice that I don't have to stock so many items and use up my $$ for inventory that may never sell. Of course, there is always eBay for getting rid of unsold merchandise!

I would do alot of homework on whatever dropshipper you decide to use. Call them up and talk to them and ask them your questions.

 

I would have to agree with this method. If you are a small online player in the begining you will have to build your business to the point where you can afford to stock all your items in a wharehouse and have a staff that can make sure they are shipped via your preferred shipper. Sure you would save alot of money by shipping yourself, but when you are first starting out and building most people will take drop shipping and use it to their advantage. Profits are smaller, but you can enter a market quickly and professionally and still stock somethings in house with minimal cost to you.

 

Thanks for the info. I think I am going to buy the worldwidebrands dropship source directory. I hope to make enough money to start stocking my own merchandise. Everyone says not to sell electronics. Could someone PM with some suggestions of niche products to sell? I want to sell on ebay. Is $15-$25 dollars profit per item about how much money I can make selling on ebay, or is that to high?

Tim

 

Dropshipping is a good method to get started in the biz, but when your business begins to grow and you want to try and increase profit margins, buying in bulk from wholesalers is the way to go.

 

What I resent is having to pay for lists of dropshippers. Never done this but it seems there are a lot of people doing this in kind of a scammy way...

 

I came across a free list once. I will try and find it again for you guys.

 

I'm working on compiling a list of dropshippers that will be available for free on my blog. I have a few reallly good ones on there, but I'm going to start calling manufacturers to find more. I believe this will be such a great resource that it will help make my blog very popular.

 

That would be great. When I buy the worldwidebrands drop ship directory do I have to contact the supplier to find out the products that he has or do they usually have a website?

 

I believe that is correct. The directory is simply nothing more than the company and the types of products they carry.

 

At which product type you should look for when you want to get started in dropshipping? Thanks!