Dropshipping?

[bennihan]

What are the most profitable drop shipping companies?

[SmallVolume]

Nowadays many people do dropship business.........

[justjade]

Has anyone heard of ovniwholesale com or alibaba com If you have can you please let us know how they are??!!

Thank you!!

Jade

[buynick]

The best directory of dropshipping companies is available at Drop Ship Source Directory - Real Wholesale Sources!

It's what I use to find companies that dropship.

[element94]

You use your own site. Wow, nice.
You could have just said "this is my site go visits..." .

[bmk]

Hi
hay there
thnakyou very much for your reference of your own site first of all i will visit it and then tell you what i can do for you

anyways i want to share something about this forum and it that its the beauty of this forum where you can have people where we can help out each other


cheers

[rookietrader]

ok everyone is selling the worldwide brand...ummm...great! the people that are selling worldwide brands...make me a believer and other people in the forum...post some good good wholesaler or drop shipping info...thanks.

[peteVA]

Alibaba, and most Asian directories are full of scammers. Not to say all are, but many are, and the Gold or whatever labels mean only one thing - they paid more to get the label.

GlobalSources.com is a respectable directory, but it is mostly for finding manufacturers, not dropshippers or traders who offer small ordering.

Yes, Worldwide Brands - Guaranteed Wholesale and Dropship Sources
is well thought of and they do have a 30 day full refund guarantee, which they do honor.

In the US, there is another good dropshipping sources listing, which also offers a guarantee - Low Cost, Guaranteed Dropship Product Directory

And one that I have been suggesting for years, with over 20,000 suppliers worldwide - Over 20,000 Genuine Wholesale & Dropship Sources! NO Scammers! NO Crooks! A few dead links, but all are Legitimate!

All of these are well thought of, honest and legitimate. You cannot go wrong with any of them.

[DJJ]

I am a dropshipper (supplier not on the sales end) dropshipping is still doing very well with alot of people making decent money. Maybe it is my market (automotive) that is doing ok., Seems selling electronics or the folks selling these lists are making things seem unpredictable.

[peteVA]

Seems selling electronics or the folks selling these lists are making things seem unpredictable.

What causes you to say that?

[shonuff]

I don't think it's possible to really make money from dropshipping unless your site and traffic are both huge.

[feiyie]

I'm really interested in dropshipping but I'm not very familiar on eBay.

[peteVA]

feiyie, you do not have to only sell on ebay. There are any number of ways you can sell without holding stock and letting others ship for you.

You can sell online on local forums and auctions.

You can have your own online "shopping cart" type website, offering the goods.

You can print pages and sell to friends, family and fellow workers or students.

You can buy a few samples and sell locally with home parties, showing at work or school, at flea markets, bazaars or stalls.

You can go to local businesses and show samples and take orders to be delivered.

You can have others sell for you. Either individuals who get a commission, or you can have school or church groups, clubs, etc. sell for you.

You can run ads in local newspapers or other publications.

Before I became a wholesaler / dropshipper myself I sold about $250,000 worth of dropshipped merchandise in 4 years and I have never sold the first thing on ebay.

Think outside the box, there is life outside the Internet and there are infinitely way more transactions off of ebay as there are on ebay.

[Turboaddiction]

Hey,

I just wanted to throw some information at you. I'm not here to sell anything. I'm just going to throw some info at you that I hope you can benefit from.


First of all, I would figure out what market/industry you are interested in before you look at anything else as far as where to get your products.

The reason for that is because if you go out there with no head in the game you are going to be overwhelmed by what is all out there. Wow, I want to sell clothing...Well, now I want to sell electronics...Wait, how about jewelry? Although some may go hand in hand, I wouldn't jump on everything you see. Start out slow and work your way up.

IMO, you don't need to go out there looking for a drop-shipper either. Look for legit companies in your industry that sell the product that you desire to sell. Not all, but a lot of them will sell product to you at close to wholesale, if not more or less. It depends on the relationship you have with the company.

The reason why certain companies will even consider to sell product to potential business owners (like yourself) is because sometimes they have a quota to maintain. For the automotive industry for example, you have to purchase thousands and thousands of dollars worth of product at one time (a lot of the times you will get extra discounts when you purchase more in bulk). To be direct with manufacturers you have to prove that you have a facility big enough to hold inventory, you sometimes have to have a store front and you have to provide pictures to prove that you are legit.

You will also have to maintain X amount of sales per month (if you are direct with a mfg) or they will drop you. Now if you want to talk about getting authorized through some of the manufacturers, now that's even harder. I know a lot about the automotive industry as I am very involved and there are somethings that happen that are unbelievable that I have to keep to myself.

So in other words, those companies enjoy inquiries about you helping to move their product. It leaves less stress on them, especially in a few dead months out of the year in the automotive industry that has really slow down times in sales.

Anyway, all I'm saying is you don't have to go to X websites to find those that drop-ship. Be different and go to local businesses and/or find reputable shops that might have a demand for your help. Local might be easier as it would be convenient for you and you might be able to get better deals, purchase one at a time, and even still ship your own products. You might be surprised on what you find. It's the way you get in and deal with the situation that might win them over more than anything. It's worked for me anyway.

Also, there is absolutely nothing wrong with drop-shipping. Even if you don't plan to drop-ship forever, it's a great way to start if you're not ready for huge overheads and/or risks. I used to have my suppliers drop-ship for me from their companies for one of my businesses. As I said before, it depends on the relationship you have with your suppliers. It also depends on how far ahead you think.

I'm a person who always thinks outside the box. So I create new solutions that creates easy transactions between a supplier and myself. I've done drop-shipping with suppliers that made it easier than if I was physically holding stock. It just depends on the industry you are in and what's involved.

People have mentioned eBay. To be honest, this is a very great start even if you are only drop-shipping. Make sure you trust the companies before you jump in. That's why I would look for reputable shops (like I have said over and over) because they have a lot to lose if they decide to go sour.

Just be aware that eBay is very competitive, depending on your area of interest. It never hurts to be a handy man and sell one-off products either (both on eBay and outside of it). There are some industries and even just brands of products that not many people sell much of but they still sell very well (we're talking MSRP prices or a little bit under MSRP). Also, keep in mind that if you are first starting on eBay you will have to bite the bullet and sell really low.

Why? Well, eBay has a feedback and top-rated selling feature system. If you don't have tons of positive feedback and are not a Top-Rated seller, people will buy else where. Ask yourself, would you buy from someone who has 1 feedback vs. someone who has 10,000? You get to see how the transactions go with that person/company and people tend to trust those people more. Not everyone is the same, and price is a big factor on eBay that will overcome your low count of feedback.

Just so you know, eBay is competitive because I have seen a lot of idiots on there. I look at my industry at 100% wholesale and people are selling below that. There is absolutely no way they are making profit. I have talked to sellers that said that they know they are losing money but it is a way of business. Doesn't make much sense, but they are moving product and they are also doing advertising if they have their company branded all over the auction.

Others however, don't know they are losing money. Some will close shop and will sell their remainder of stock and that is one reason for such low prices. That doesn't happen a lot but I have seen it. Another thing you need to watch out for is MAP pricing. Manufacturers sit on eBay. They will buy from you to see where you are purchasing your product. That is why you need to have your drop-shipping suppliers/companies put your business name and address as the return address in case the shipment needs to come back. It's only safe practice but most can look at tracking and know where it came from. That is why you need to make sure that it is okay to sell that product as a middleman (if you are the middleman).

You will also have to take pictures of your own product. A lot of manufacturers will try to kick you off eBay for using their photos and or description for copyright infringement. You will also have to watch your price, like I said before for MAP. Most will not follow this but I have seen manufacturers go after every single eBay seller that was selling too low. Keep in mind, eBay cannot kick you off for selling too low, and the manufacturers can't use that in their defense. Watch out though because they will try to kick you off by making up other ridiculous reasons if you sell too low. I have heard manufacturers use the excuse that you are selling fake items if the item is being sold for too cheap.

Speaking of fake items, there are also scam eBayers who will sell black/gray market items. This is the only reason why those people are selling BELOW wholesale price. I have seen manufacturers put on their website telling you to watch out for it. They will also hunt you down so be aware. So, if you see this type of stuff on eBay, report it. Only if you are 100% sure. Another safe rule is if it's too competitive for that item, don't sell it. It's not worth losing money on. Keep in mind that you need to calculate your lowest selling price. Calculate it in with your eBay fees, shipping costs (especially if you offer free shipping), and any other fees (such as PayPal if you use it).

Keep in mind that eBay can be a great place to start, especially if you don't have a website finished. It's always great to look locally as well. Face-to-face sales. eBay will be a great place to advertise your products/services and your company, even if your profit NET will be lower. Profit is profit and you can't expect to 'make bank' right away. Things take time. The further you get, the more income you will have to start to pull away from eBay. I would recommend using eBay (or other auctions, depending on what you like) to play out if you are going to like what you are doing. If it's not profitable, move on to something else. Play it smart. Test the market.

If you keep going with it, you should be able to make a strong presence outside of eBay. It doesn't hurt to keep using eBay when you get to that point. The reason being is because eBay a lot of times has different target markets than your storefront and/or website will have. Some will always purchase from you on eBay, and some will always walk-in to your store or jump on your website. So it's nice to hit them all.

By this time you may be able to slowly move into stocking some of your own products. Make sure you put all expenses into account. Such as shipping supplies, drive time to drop off your packages (or schedule a pick-up from shipping suppliers to your house and/or business) and so fourth.

Just so you know, drop-shipping will not be going anywhere. Even manufacturers offer drop-shipping (not all). It might not be the cheapest route but I just wanted to let you know that. Especially if the manufacturer messes up your orders (when you ordered large orders and they mess up, it creates down-time for my company). To speed up the process manufacturers will drop-ship to compensate for loss time until product is corrected. Some will over DS no matter what. Keep in mind that DS from manufacturers has limits as well (like some will only ship domestically) so keep that in mind.

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[Turboaddiction]

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If you have any questions, you are more than welcome to PM me. I am always willing to help others and get them on the right track. What you will NOT get from me is SPAMing all over the place. I have no need to waste your time or mine with BS, especially since I'm a marketing specialist that understands what works. Keep in mind that I will NOT shove my products/services in your face. This is probably a main reason why I get high-ratings in customer service because of just putting my position in the customers position. I have recommend my customers to competitors before if I can't assist them further (products I don't carry) and I believe people appreciate it. It's not about going after every sale that is important, it is helping those in need that really counts.

Regardless, I would be interested to see how your future plans out. You are out there to better yourself and that is what is most important. Get out there and meet people, especially in your area of interest. It may take time, but incredible deals will happen if you meet the right people.

I wish the best of luck to you and your business ventures. Take care and Happy New Year!