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The problem is that in my attempt to research this stuff I have come upon a MOUNTAIN of cheesey BS websites that all claim to be #1 on their websites that look like they were built in 5 minutes. So, I'm beginning to get the impression this whole drop-ship industry is a scam.
Does anyone have any experience? Can anyone comment on a) any good drop ship companies to explore and b) whether this is in fact a viable option?
Thanks.
A favourite phrase to use if they don't know what you're talking about is "It would be just the same as shipping us a small order, but you'd not put an invoice in the box and send that to use separately. Do you already handle orders with separate billing and shipping addresses?"
Well in this case I already know the niche I am considering ... its a certain subset of gifts that would nicely compliment a site I have underway. My choices were to either build a comparison affiliate directory of gifts in under this tab of the site (seems quite popular) or try to build my own brand and increase profits by having real product sales.
Anyway, I have found one company that does do dropshipping of some gifts. I guess maybe I just need to contact a bunch of companies and do some leg work so to speak? I just see so many things online about there being companies out there with warehouses of 80,000 products ... I was hoping there would be a single company like that, that could source all my products and handle all the dropshipping etc. Are those places too good to be true? Are they scams? Every attempt I've made to locate one of those online has turned up just a mountain of BS. Things like people who "have the answer" but I have to buy their ebook to get it ... or I have to spend $19.99 to apply to become part of their program before they'll even answer my questions. Grumble. But they all claim to be the* sourcing source for power sellers on ebay, so who knows. I'm just trying to discover the options out there but it sure seems the road to this research is littered with scams and its making me a tad nervous...
Drop shipping is hot property and you get a lot of spam and scams there simply because people think "Wow, just find a drop shipper and I've got a complete store". Many will be new to the internet for business purposes and will fall for these e-book and registration scams.
That's why I advise contacting smaller wholesalers. If a wholesaler will ship down to 1 of an item, they are almost certain to do drop shipping if asked.
And my online store that I will be opening will be nearly solely drop shipped items.
The key is to find that niche. Let's say for example sake, camping supplies. Next, do an online search for companies that sell camping supplies WHOLESALE. They may or may not specify they do drop shipping. If they do, and you like the products they provide and their terms, then great. If they don't specify, give them a call or write them. Many will drop ship. You would be surprised at the quality of products/companies that do drop ship. I was surprised as I uploaded products for this client.
Yeah, stay away from the "cookie-cutter" drop ship sites that offer a whole array of products (nick-nacks to electronics to jewelry). You will see these same products being sold in e-bay stores by the handfuls.
Thanks for the info!
1. Customer does not get a tracking # fast enough, and calls and emails you 100001 times in a row, advising they want tracking or they will tell all their friends, family, pets, and pets friends not to shop with you. You have to hunt down tracking #s from another company, which can be like finding a needle in a hay stack. All customers WANT AND NEED tracking #s, this is the 1 issue for drop shippers.
2. Supplier ships wrong item to customer on accident. Your customer calls IRRATE and wants a new part super sonic overnight hand shipped and wants $$ compensation because they had to wait an extra 8 hours for their order. You call the supplier and they say they can send another once they get their return back, that is way to slow for any irrate customer. In the end you are the bad guy and it cost you more then you made.
3. Customer gets a damaged or used item from a drop ship. Your customer calls IRRATE wanting a brand new part shipped and delivered in 2 hours cross country. You call your supplier and they tell you to have the customer take a picture or send the part back and they will inspect and re-ship usually takes 1-2 weeks. Tell that line to a customer and report back to me. :-)
4. Your customer contacts you and asks if you have a specific widget instock. You call your drop shipper and they say yeah, I have like 3021 instock. You say great and you let the customer know you have 3021 instock and ready to ship. Customer places an order 1 day later and you submit the offer to the drop shipper. A week goes by and you are spending that profit. One night you get an IRRATE email, phone call, fax, and mail from the customer want thier order. You contact the drop shipper and they say, well we just sold out of those right before your order and your order has not shipped. WOW! Explain that to the customer after you had 3021 instock. Again your company gets dragged through the mud and you lose 20 customers.
5. Making a return is usually like pulling teeth with most drop shippers, be ready to pay at least 20%. Remember every 1 and 10 order is a return. Customers love to return items for the stupidest reasons like, I ordered the wrong item, my wife divorced me, I was abuducted by aliens, I was drunk, I got shot, etc.
I'm not saying drop shipping does not work, but there is a price to pay. If you are thinking about drop-shipping, these issues will come up. The above 5 situations are the most common, and we have used 10000s of drop shippers. I have stories that can go on for days, anybody that wants more info, please let me know.
Yes, even though I haven't offically started my business, I have done enough research over the last several months on forums, sites, etc to have heard many such horror stories concerning returns of items.
So, for those wishing to go into dropshipping - do NOT hestitate to drill the companies you potentially want to do biz with about their return policies. Run potential situations by them and see what they suggest in those situations. If they sound like they will help you every step of the way to satisfy the customer, GREAT! If it sounds like it's all up to you and you're going to have to pull teeth with that company for help and such, then - I would look for another supplier for your widgets.
Also - side subject ...
If you are going with a drop shipper for the first time and will have to upload pictures to your shopping cart... Beware! Many of these companies have no clue on how to name their picture files. You have no clue what I've gone through with one company - none of the picture file names matched their product SKU#. It was a major bear trying to match up the two - especially when you have similar items and the descriptions can match any of the 4 pictures in front of you. So, again, another pre-interview with that potential company - ask how they will send you their product information (catalogs, picture disks, price lists, etc). If they have their ducks in a logical progression - bingo! If not - they don't seem to be very organized, ya know?
Regardless of if you are going to have just one drop ship supplier or 10 ... take the time at the beginning to drill that company on all aspects. You are going to be depending on them for your business and good name.
Now, here's a question for the seasoned retailers - what documents can you legally ask for from these companies to see how reliable they are? Such things as business licenses, BBB reports, etc. I am trying to see what supporting documentations I can get to see how reliable a company is, other than just their word.
