[|NT|]

Hey guys,
I'm thinking of starting web based store, selling a product that I am able to dropship through the manufacturer. Can anyone give me an idea of where I can find suppliers willing to dropship.
I’m not to sure of what I want to sell but if anyone who has any experience with dropshipping could give me some advice I’d appreciate it.

Thanks
Nick

[ericesquire]

This question has been asked repeatedly - do a search for "drop ship"

[Aletheides]

I've never heard of a manufacturer that drop ships.

[waveformpc]

Originally posted by Aletheides
I've never heard of a manufacturer that drop ships.

I manufactured desktop computers and dropshipped some of them (had people selling the product, then I shipped it directly). I guess that would be no different than having sales people, though, except they didn't have to keep inventory.

[Aletheides]

I think he's talking in terms of big business.

If you were a shirt manufacturer producing 1,000's of shirts a day you obviously wouldn't drop ship single items. It's not your business.

[tdesmond]

I tried the dropshipping route. I found a service that actually tracks and contacts suppliers to determine if they're legitimate dropshippers www.worldwidebrands.com

I paid something for access (i forget, but it was nominal, not to mention it's a writeoff) to the database, but it's a lifetime access and it was worth it to me, as all the suppliers listed had already agreed to deal with online companies. Plus, they keep expanding the database.

They got software too, that links to the database and gives statistics on how viable a product would be for online sales.

Not an ironclad mechanism for determining product selection, but what the hell.

One other thing to note, is that you have to have a sales tax and use ID (NOT AN EIN) for your business before any legitimate wholesale supplier will deal with you. If you find one that doesn't need it, they're a middle man and you're getting milked.

Keep in mind though, you'd be surprised at how close to retail most of the product prices are from dropshippers... you're not getting walmart style bulk discounts, i'll warn you in advance...


Good Luck though!

[Outta Hand]

Originally posted by Aletheides
I've never heard of a manufacturer that drop ships.

Most manufacturers work through vendors.

[jpomerenke]

Originally posted by Outta Hand
Most manufacturers work through vendors.

Sure there is ... We get our Midwest Pet brand products (they make the top selling crates, kennels, etc.) drop shipped direct from them.....Only reason we do this is because none of our vendors carry there whole line and we wanted to carry there whole line. Plus... 90% of the online retailers drop ship the products through them so they dont have to stock so many. So we basically had no choice... had to follow the crowd to stay competitive...

Joey