Dropshipping rate

[ComfyChair]

Hi all, this is my first post here. I'm looking forward to this site providing a wealth of knowledge.

I am a small manufacturer who is interested in providing a drop shipping service for sites selling products related to mine. My question is, what is the typical percentage rate of the product that these sites charge me, the drop shipper and manufacturer? Also, any resources that anyone could provide for someone like me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[sun818]

Hi ComfyChair, welcome to WebmasterWorld.

I think its great you want to provide a drop ship service. Many of us are one or two person shops that ally with businesses either via dropshipping or affiliate program to get you business.

> what is the typical percentage rate of the product that these sites charge me, the drop shipper and manufacturer?

In a drop ship scenario, the web store "carrying your product" either charges what they want or you can suggest a price list. Some drop shippers I work with, do not have a strict policy on pricing, while others would drop me in a second if I deviated from their price list.

Honestly, I am not entirely clear on what your question is. Help me understand. :)

[ComfyChair]

Thanks Sun818, i appreciate your response. Basically, i'm wondering what i should charge the web store for selling my product. For example, let's say that my product sells for $100 (what i as the manufacturer would sell it for). The web store would charge the same $100 price to his customers. What percent of this price would go to the web store? 10%, 25%? Thanks again!

[sun818]

Hi, it starting to sound like you may be interested in an affiliate program. Do you have your own web store that you can sell the product out of? There's another forum here Advertising Sales and Affiliate Programs [webmasterworld.com] that specifically discusses affiliate programs. Using this method, you handle the customer service, credit card processing, and returns if any.

For every confirmed sale, your affiliate would get a percentage. You can speak with an affiliate rep and he/she can provide an appropriate percentage for your industry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The drop shipping scenario would be that you charge the web store a set price per product. So, if a chair is $100, the web store may charge $125 or $150. The web store would retain the customer, be responsible for credit card charges, etc. Your relationship with the web store would be to ship the chair to their customer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some discussions on webmasterworld about drop shipping [google.com] you may want to review.

[lorax]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld ComfyChair! You're not a Monty Python fan are you? ;)

In general, it seems you have the concept. No one knows your business better than you. Whatever percentage we may think is appropriate, you need to apply your own experience to it. In some cases, it may be trial and error before you find the right price. When you get your program running, ask your affiliates for feedback and listen to it. Don't rely on just one affiliate to feed you info, get input from all of them. You can weigh the information against how well the affiliate performs. That will, in part, give you some sense of how well they know what they're talking about.