Ok, so I have been doing content sites for a while now but now I want to see what type of profits I can make with a dropshipping business So, my question is, how to I start one? How do I find dropshippers? How do I set up my site so that it orders are automatically processed through to the dropshippers? etc Thanks
Most times you will have to hire someone to "make" it so orders are automatically processed. That is if the dropshipper doesn't have their own checkout procedure (most don't since it goes against what dropshipping is supposed to provide: ie a product and shipping, you retain the customer information). Far as finding dropship companies, start by scanning this section at DP, there's quite a few(hundreds) of dropship threads. Those are your best lead to finding a supplier.
I think drop-shipping is a thing of the past, but it also depends on the market yours going to be targeting. For example, lets say you wanted to take your drop shipping catalouge and throw it up on ebay, you would first naturally do research into what products are selling and for how much before starting to create ebay listings. Here sis the problem that i found, first of all most of the items I found with drop shippers are over priced. Secondly when you find a decent drop shipper its a pain in the ass to stay on top of them to get your product out the door. If its back ordered you must notify the customer, and hope to resolve the matter. I my opinion its better to stay away from drop shippers as much as possible. I have personally tried numerous drop shippers a few years back and would never go back again!
As a small fish you will never have the buying power like some of the large online retailers therefore you will always be undercut and find it hard to compete, unless on the other hand you can find something that no one else is selling.
Be careful of buying a dropship website that you just need to send traffic to. They are all duplicate content and google hates them. You would be better of building a niche site that send traffic to affiliates.
Either find a solid niche or go with affiliate marketing. It is going to be uber-hard to compete with the larger sites out there which will have more buying power and be able to purchase at a much lower price.
I agree with all the others. I too thought about opening an online store using drop shipping, but unless you can push some serious business their way, your prices will always be higher than someone else's. To make matters worse, many of the same products I would have been selling were for sale on eBay at the same cost I could buy them for! The only way I could see drop shipping work is if you find a clueless noob making something fairly unique tht they're willing to ship for you. For exampe, handmade rope rugs from Afgahnistan might sell, but a site that simply sells the same types of rugs that Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Target sell is doomed.
Since you're just starting out I think it'd be best to start with eBay. It's also a good form of generating traffic once you get you're site up. I know there is software out there that can automate delivery like: http://www.auctionacrobat.com/index.php But that program only works for cd's/dvd's. It would be hard to find a program that automatically sends customer info to the specific site you're using unless that site provides it. If you've got money to invest, you might look into getting one created for you once you find a dropshipping company to stick to.
I worked with a dropshipper for about 4 years. This last year, we made over $32,000 through them. You can make money through dropshippers. The key is to find a dropshipper that isn't dropshipping the same stuff that you will find in your local electronics store. There are niches out there that are earning people a lot of money. We didn't have an automated system. The truth is there is usually a lot more work involved when you are selling tangible products online, but the profit margins are usually higher than what you make pushing affiliate products. I found our dropshipper by looking at a label on a product that was sitting in our church. The label said manufactured by ________ MADE in the USA. I called them up. Back then, I would pick up sort of unique items and start looking for the manufacturers stickers. Another method to find dropshippers is to get hooked up with World Wide Brands. Anyways that's my two cents.
you should look around the DP forums and search for some more information on Dropshipment, from what i hear it can be very profitable but can be a bitch to actually get it going.