Drop Shippers

[Steve]

Here is a drop shipping company I have heard good things about:
http://www.ebizdropship.com/

What have your guys experiences been with drop shipping?

[tmellon]

I know this was a couple days ago...

Dropshipping is good to start out...

But it has a downside...

I used a Dropshipper once for an eBay auction, and they were backordered, and I didn't find out until a week later. It cost me my PayPal account (they wanted tracking numbers and until then, they restricted my account - its still restricted, because the dropshipper sent it via USPS - with no tracking number to it), and my customer was ticked - it took several weeks for them to get the product in.

They're nice since you don't have to carry any inventory, but bad if they're back ordered.

:|

Tonya

[Steve]

Originally posted by tmellon
They're nice since you don't have to carry any inventory, but bad if they're back ordered.

Unfortunatly, it does have some set backs. The bigger companies are able to have better tracking systems in place than us small guys though -- so in the long run it's still beneficial in some respects.

I have not had a whole lot of drop shipping experience though -- we appreciate you sharing your experiences tmellon!

[tmellon]

Call me Tonya

I'm young... but I'm not.
Is 23 still considered young??

BTW, I'm an experienced business owner. I had my own web design company when I was 16. That lasted until I was 20. Why did I close up shop? I had my now 3 year old (I also have a 5 month old). I freelance now - do what I can, when I can.

I also have 4 businesses in the works. With one fully up and running, 1 semi-running, and 2 still being worked on.

The business that is semi-running is a retail/wholesale computer/electronics online store. I sell computers (desktops, laptops - as well as monitors, PDAs, etc), hundreds below retail. A very nice business so far (and I'm not even fully up and running yet).

If you're interested in dropshipping computers, etc, let me know, I can whip you up some great deals - you can make a decent profit, and still end up selling them below retail price.

Tonya

[BizGuy]

Hello there Tonya,

Congrats on your accomplishments and your entrepreneurial drive even while having 2 kids! Now thats impressive!


What kind of prices can you do on PDA's etc.

In the market for a new one and i'm sure many of the entrepreneurs here online would appreciate a great deal!

Let us know what you can do for us.

Way to go Tonya!

Expect Success!

Adam T.

[mike]

My PDA was around $400 and it's made by Palm. I still have it (a year later) and the price has only dropped $5, which is amazing. PDAs are certianly useful. Wow two kids and you can still manage multiple online businesses? That is impressive. I am 23 as well, but no kids or wife yet.

[tmellon]

I've always have had the need to keep myself busy. It keeps me insane. Plus, I'm a stay/work at home mom. If I sat around all day long, I surely would go nuts (I swear my 3 year old lives to drive me crazy! lol).

I stay at home, because I hate the thought of someone else taking care of my kids. You can never trust help these days. Who you think would be great to your kids, ends up being a horrible monster to them... Plus I would hate to have my kids not really know me at all - and know the babysitter more than they know me.

This way... saves me $600+ for day care... I get to be with my 2 kids, and keep all the money I make and put it towards my family.

--

Anyways...

As for prices for PDAs... My supplier is in the process of getting a new supplier, and I'm not exactly sure what the prices are/what the new supplier will have available.

But I'll give you the prices on what I had available - just for an estimate in what I charge.

I sold mostly Sony stuff -- only a handful of stuff was something other than Sony (Dell, NEC, etc).

The PDAs aren't priced as good as the laptops, desktops, monitors (not my doing )

SONY PEG-SJ33/UL
Retail: $249.99
Price: $215.00

SONY PEG-SJ33/UD
Retails: $249.99
Price: $175.00

SONY PEG-SJ22
Retails: $199.99
Price: $150.00

SONY PEG-SJ20
Retails: $129.99
Price: $100

SONY PEG-TG50
Retails: $349.99
Price: $275.00

SONY PEG-NX70V
Retails: $449.99
Price: $350.00

SONY PEG-NX60
Retails: $399.99
Price: $300.00

SONY NZ90 PEGNZ90 KIT1 (this model is only a couple months old)
Retails: $799.99
Price: $650

All are BRAND NEW - ALL have WARRANTIES from Sony

If anyone is interested, I can bug my supplier, and see what he has available now (just got a new supplier this week). And I'll post an price differences. I'm barely making anything out of these sales - I figured I'd give a good deal to you guys

As my PayPal account DOA right now, I only accept money order (from the post office prefered), or wire transfer. I'm in the process of setting up an online website for this business, and getting my merchant account in order (still have to fax agreements to them - doing that tomorrow).

Tonya

btw: If anyone is wondering about my credibility, I'm also known as rockergrrl on various boards - WHT, HostHideout, vB, SP, etc.

[BeFashion]

Hi tmellon,

I'm in the market for new laptop what are your prices?

I'm currently setting up my clothing online store and I'm 19. Came to USA when I was 15 (from Yugoslavia)

Jelena

[ericesquire]

Drop shipping is a great way to start! Most of the time if you are dealing with a reputable company then you don't really have many problems.

My major issue with drop shipping is that it costs you usually around $3-$7 per order for just the drop shipping charge and when you're dealing with items that should retail for around $21 - your profit is DRASTICALLY reduced and sometimes it's just not worth it.

If you want to use the best directory for TRUE drop shippers (straight from the manufacturer) then go to www.dropshipsource.com - it costs I believe $69.00 to start up and it is totally worth it. They have the best sources for many products. Give it a shot if you're in the market for drop shipping - they're wonderful.

[BizGuy]

Hello there Eric,

Are you getting a good response from your lingerie site as well? What are your avg. monthly sales? Have you advertised on pay per click programs? Who does your dropshipping? Have you run into any problems with this process, i.e. out of stock, slow delivery etc.

Your sites are nicely designed, looking forward to your response.

Adam T.

[ericesquire]

Adam,

The site is doing fairly well. I do most advertising through Overture and Google AdWords - Overture is much better for click through's - they reach a much larger crowd.

I go through Elegant Moments for drop shipping - they charge a steep $5.00 drop ship fee, however they are VERY good about shipping and VERY organized. When i order i get a confirmation that day or the following day that the order was shipped out and a tracking number. They also send me an invoice and a receipt for each individual order that I place with them.

I have had one problem with an item being slow to stock - however they had the other 4 things the customer ordered and so they were patient and I had no problems.

I'd really rather not disclose my sales numbers - perhaps in private sometime but not on a public forum - bad practice I believe.

I'm 20 years old and I just purchased my first home. Great place in a culd a'sec in a great neighborhood - it's a lot of pressure and so I've suspended my advertising with Overture for the time being because it is very costly and I could use the extra cash - however the site visits have kept up to about 80% of usual which is amazing - goes to show that once the word is out it usually stays out (at least for a little while).

Thanks for the response, I now await your comments!

[BizGuy]

Hi there Eric,

Way to go on the purchase of your first home! Feels good doesn't it! I'm glad to hear that your experience with drop shipping has been a good one. I've heard some horror stories from others. Its always refreshing to hear one that is going smoothly.
I have owned a fashion company, but this was before the drop ship days. We had a small factory in seoul, korea making all of our accessories etc. This was alot more work than setting up a site and dropshipping, we had to not only fly to korea (12 hour flight) 6 times per year but also had to deal with the negotiations on pricing (had translator), packaging, shipping, the re-packaging, trade shows, selling, shipping again to retailer, then doing it all again! I am glad to hear that since we are all e-connected, we have the ability to set up a website with a payment gateway, have a reliable source and voila...your makin' the coin! Good for you Eric.

Keep in touch and feel free to private message me anytime.

Lookin' forward to reading more of your posts.

Adam T.

[ericesquire]

Adam,

What happened to the accessories business? Not enough coin comin' in?

To be honest that is my biggest dream and aspiration - I want to have my own clothing line. I'm a fashion freak but I just don't have any formal background in fashion sketching/development. I know a lot about the fashion business and I am VERY familiar with overseas development/manufacturing.

I have some very close friends that are in the import/export business and i have people over in China and surrounding areas available for me to have go scout out manufacturers that will work with my quality/quantity specifications.

I actually sat down with my girlfriend one week and designed a really nice leather handbag - drew out the specifications on Illustrator and sent it off to a manufacturer that I had scouted out. They made me a sample and sent it back and it looked beautiful! Overseas manufacturing is a breeze if you have some foot soldiers on the floor there already available to do some work for you.

You know, a great resource that I've found for sourcing overseas companies is www.tradeeasy.com - GREAT resource. I recommend it to anyone looking to have any sort of product/gadget/clothing made overseas.

I am trying to develop a team of fashion designers that know the ins and outs of specific sizing/sketching, etc. - so that I can get my fashion company off the ground. I have pretty good business experience for my age and the will/drive/motivation to move a thousand mountains.

Ok now I'm rambling on - thanks for the feedback!

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[kerry luck]

I drop ship lingerie, without extra cost. visit me at http://www.prettyinpinkclubwear.co.uk