Forum Moderators: buckworks
For example widgets +"we dropship"
Be sure to write it just like that with the quotemarks and plus sign. That should bring up pages that have widgets on them and also specifically contain the phrase "we dropship".
Of course, many of the suppliers you will find that way aren't the source, but if you keep digging, you should find some of them.
If you live near a large flea market or go to a large once-a-year festival, go dumpster diving. While they may not dropship, you will definitely find some good wholesale sources on the discarded boxes in the trash. Then you can contact them to find out if they dropship.
I joined a dvd dropshipper and when I actually got to see the products I realised that out of about 200 dvd there was only about 2 I could sell - and everyone else was selling them too.
You are much better off buying wholesale - as the above post says. You will be in control of where your products are when the customer enquires, you will be able to make a profit out of p + p, and you'll have decent products.
Then you could even consider becoming a droppshipper yourself - it's really easy to do with paypal.
Anyway you have been warned - don't do it!
I'll let you in on a little secret though - if you're still desperate to dropship - use amazon.
If you want a list of UK dropshippers sticky me and I'll pass on the details.
Also don't pay for those lists of "1000 dropshipping sources" you see advertised all over the Internet, most of those are way outdated sources at best, and most of them just include lists of all the places that charge membership fees and all the middle men they've found on the Internet that aren't true sources anyway. You might find a real source or two included, but don't hold your breath. Think about it, if you have a truly good source, why would you tell other sellers about it and create competition for yourself?
A true dropshipper will want you to make money, because if you make money, so does he, so they won't be hiding thier inventory, they'll be glad for you to see what they offer without cost. Many of the legit dropshippers will make you fill out an application and give them a business tax id before they will give you the URL of a private website with their wholesale prices that are hidden so the public doesn't see them. That's not the same as the ones who charge money to show you their prices or inventory.
However, I would have to disagree with the statement that you can't make a profit dropshipping. I make a very good living dropshipping things. But there is more to dropshipping than just finding a good source to supply you with goods to sell.
My whole catalog isn't from dropshippers. I also buy some stuff wholesale in quantity and ship it out myself when I get an order. My business is art related, so I also make some of my products myself so I have some original things in my catalog the shoppers can't find anywhere else. I also work with multiple suppliers, don't make the mistake of putting all your eggs in one basket.
If I find a supplier that sells 1,000 widgets but only 2 are worth selling in my store, then I only sell those 2 items, and don't worry about the rest. A true dropshipper will ship one item, so you shouldn't have to buy the other 998 that you know aren't going to sell to get the 2 that will.
You also won't make much if you try to sell everything under the sun just because a dropshipper carries 10,000 items. Specialize in one narrow area of tightly related products. If you get a complaint on a product or otherwise find out it's crap, take it out of your catalog. It doesn't hurt to order a few sample products from the company you are thinking about dropshipping from BEFORE you put their merchandise in your catalog. That way you can see the quality of stuff you are selling, and you know for sure how long it takes them to ship, whether the products are packed properly so you don't get a lot of complaints due to breakage, ask them some questions and see if they answer their email, etc. In other words, check them out thoroughly, just as you would in a brick and morter store before you invest a lot of effort in them.
It's always best to undersell and over deliver on what was promised to the customer. A satisfied customer will maybe tell a couple friends. A dissatisfied customer will tell everyone they know and those people will probably tell their friends, too. Offer a 100% Refund-No questions asked guarantee. You will get LESS RETURNS if you offer a guarantee than if you don't have one. And even with a guarantee, less than 1% of your customers will ask for a refund if you sell quality products.
And you won't make much if you just throw up a catalog without a supporting content rich website. On average, a shopper has to see an ad 7 times before they make the decision to buy, so you have to give them a reason to keep coming back so you can show them your products again.
They also have to trust you, the internet is full of crooks and people are afraid to buy from strangers. The way you make them your friends is to develop a content rich website on a subject related to the products you sell. You collect email addresses from an opt-in subscription to a free weekly or monthly newsletter to keep them updated on what's new on your content website and throw in a couple ads for your catalog in each issue. Maybe let them know what's on sale, stuff like that. But for the most part, you make the newsletter interesting and informative FOR THE READER so they will stay subscribed and keep coming back. The fastest way to get them to unsubscribe is to make your newsletter one big sales pitch. And be honest with them. Over time, they will come to trust your expertise, and THEN they will buy from you. And keep buying. And tell their friends who will buy from you because someone they know personally recommended you.
A supporting content rich site will do something even more important for you, it will drive traffic to your catalog via search engines. Because your catalog really doesn't have much content that is search engine food other than product descriptions that probably trip duplicate content filters because a bunch of other catalogs carry the same products and have similar if not exact duplicate descriptions, it's hard to get good rankings with just a catalog. On the other hand, a SEO'd website will not only rank well in the search engines, it will get backlinks from a lot of other websites who also have traffic that would be interested in the products you sell.
Dropshippers do sometimes charge a handling fee for small orders, and the postage may be a bit high, but most people on eBay charge high postage rates, and the customers pay it. I just look at the rates my dropshippers charge and set my own postage rates to match the most expensive one, so none of the freight is coming out of my profit. If they charge more than $3.00 handling fee per order, I just don't do business with them. I've found plenty who don't charge anything extra.
I've made far more money with dropshippers than places like Amazon. Most affiliate programs pay on average 3% to 12% of retail, with a rare one allowing you 20%, and they often have a cap on expensive products, while I make 2 to 5 times my TOTAL cost for the products for my profit on my dropship orders. And I get paid immediately BEFORE I even order the product. With most affiliate programs you have to wait 30-45 days for your money, or even 3 months like Amazon. And I have worked for some affiliate programs who went bankrupt and didn't pay me at all.
And I agree with Rightz that it can be very lucrative to become the middle man yourself and sell to all those other people looking for dropshippers.
I just recently opened my online store and it is 100% drop ship - I hold no inventory. That will change once I gain profits and can buy some of my own inventory (from wholesalers that don't drop ship but are excellent for my genre).
None of my drop ship sources charge a fee to do biz with them. All but 2 are small companies, who like aaanativearts said want to make money so they are very helpful to their drop ship folks (you and me!). I am using a shopping cart that allows me to do the exact shipping for each vendor - if one vendor uses fedex, then their products are charged fedex rates, etc. That way, shipping is just passed from customer to me to vendor - no worries there. The majority of your customers understand that shipping is high due to rising gas prices and other factors.
Of course, everyone has their personal experiences with drop shipping - good or bad. It's just like working with any other company. Sometimes you get on great, other times you two just weren't meant to work together.
All you can do is try and see!
You can also tell a good business if they are willing to provide you with samples.... so just ask.
Find wholesalers the same way you would drop shippers.
Again, depending on the product you are wanting to sell (clothing vs books vs collectibles), you may want to look at smaller companies who do wholesale because (and this is just my opinion and experience) they will work with you in order to make money.
I have seen LOADS of wholesale sites where the minimum order is $100-$500. Depending on the price(s) of your product(s), that can be a LOT of products or just a few.
Plus, if you see a wholesale site of whose product you just GOT to sell, but their minimum is just a tad too high for you at the beginning ....e-mail them or call them. Can't hurt a bit. They might have suggestions to help you out. I did this with a wholesale company who didn't do drop shipping - but they are for me *wink*
Research is the best way I think. Unfortunately, if anyone reveals their resource for drop shipping one can easily creates new competition. And with margins already being thin as you mentioned in your post, its not to anyone's benefit to introduce more competition.
You might considering forging new relationships with companies and explain how the process works. You could have a exclusive deal with them. I've been selling excess widgets for a local company who has zero web presence but is more than happy to ship an order when I fax them an order. It was a little more work with re-typing description and taking new photos. But now I have a unique niche that will be hard to duplicate.
My point is be creative in finding sources and you could do well for yourself.
