Posts Tagged drop shipper scams
Online Drop Ship Business Approaches
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping on June 24th, 2009
Whether you already have an online drop ship business or whether you are thinking about starting one, it can be helpful to take a few minutes to really consider carefully how you approach your business. There are several different ways you can look at your online drop ship business, and each one has its own benefits and its own downsides.
One of the most common ways to approach an online drop ship business is as a “get rich quick” scheme. In fact, many of the advertisements you see for online drop ship businesses promise instant riches for little or no work. Not only are these claims unreliable, they appeal to a certain type of person who doesn’t see the connection between work and reward. If you approach your online drop ship business in this way, you should quit while you’re ahead. It just isn’t realistic.
Some people approach their online drop ship business as a hobby. They see themselves as dabbling in their business, not really relying on it for their bread an butter. There is certainly less risk in this approach than in other approaches; however, there is often less reward, as well. If you spend just a few hours a week working at something, it isn’t going to pay off big any time soon.
Other people take an entrepreneurial approach to their online drop ship business. They recognize that they will have to put something up at risk, and that there is a chance they won’t succeed. The nice thing about this type of business is that the initial investment is typically small, in terms of the cash that is needed up front to get started. Still, the entrepreneurial view suggests that there is an investment of time and energy that’s needed if things are eventually going to pay off.
Still others view their online drop ship business as they would any other small business. They see it as their job. They work hard at it every day, and they reap the benefits of its success. They don’t expect to become millionaires overnight, but they do hope that their business will provide a comfortable life for them and for their family.
Of the three “legitimate” approaches to the online drop ship business, none is particularly better than the others. Knowing what you want out of your business and knowing what you can put into it will determine, in a large measure, which approach you are going to take.
Verify Wholesalers and Drop Shippers with Simple Online Tools
Posted by Andrea in Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, Wholesale, eBusiness on June 12th, 2009
Research is the corner stone of good business. Every business owner should know how to research extensively before they go ahead and open up shop. Researching a drop shipper or a wholesaler is the only way you will get out of the process of finding one without being scammed for money, sadly.
Before you decide on a drop shipper or a wholesaler gather a list of prospects and take to Google. Search the names of the companies first and foremost. A bad company will likely have complaints lodged against them somewhere on the internet. Add in the word “scam” to the end of the business name and see if anything comes up. If nothing comes up you might have a decent company so put it on a short list. Any company that comes up with more than one complaint should probably be axed from your list.
Once you have a short list check the phone numbers and contact information. The contact information should be directly linked to the company name. Look for e-mail address that end in @companyname.com or @companyname.net. These e-mail address endings mean that that company has it’s own e-mail provider or entity. It is a very good sign of a legitimate business. A Gmail account or a Hotmail account means your mail is going to a personal e-mail address. It is a sign of a bad business.
Once you have that all figured out further check out the companies using Mapquest or Google Earth. If you are familiar with the area you should be able to tell whether or not the business is in a commercial part of a town. If you are not familiar with the company you can use Google Earth to hone in on the address. You want to see a commercial district or a warehouse district. If you hone in on an area that looks completely residential or rural you are probably looking at a scam. A wholesaler or a drop shipper will not be working out of a residential home or a residential area if they are legitimate. You want to see a big building, normally, the uglier the building the better in this case.
Call and speak to someone directly when you think you’ve found a good company. Consider the time zone you are calling and call during their regular business hours. Between 10am-4pm should be the time frame you are aiming for. Someone should be there to answer your phone call at that time. If no one picks up you need to further investigate the company.
Ecommerce Wholesale Drop Ship Suppliers - Are They Reliable?
Posted by Andrea in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, Wholesale Sources, eBusiness on June 11th, 2009
The internet is packed to the brim with horrid tales of drop shipping problems. Looking around quickly on some forums I found several people who have made the mistake of trusting a drop shipper who was only interested in getting their money and less than enthusiastic when it came to customer service. Sadly these stories are not the exception, they are the rule. The problem that many of these people are facing has to do with the size of their account. A small business owner is considered “small potatoes” to a drop shipper and thus they do not receive the same customer service that a large account holder would.
Large accounts (those that order a large volume of product) will find that drop shippers will bend over backwards to help them. In the end a drop shipper is getting paid more from large accounts and thus they are more willing to do good business with them than they are with small-time buyers. It’s sad and disgusting, I know, but it is the truth.
The drop shippers out there that do want to do business with a smaller operation and offer service are often fly by night companies that have a short life spans. Many drop shippers begin their operation without a solid business plan in place and thus are gone in six to eighteen months. While you might get several good months of service from the company you will have to find another shipper when they fall out of the shipping race.
So how do you find a good drop shipper as a small business? Well, that is sort of like the riddle of the Sphinx. You have to call around a lot and repeatedly call back to ask questions. If you have found a business that is willing to answer questions more than once you are onto a pretty good shipper.
Next you need to take to the internet and read up on the company. You can often find out if a company is registered with the BBB and how long they have been in business online quickly. If there is information about the company dating back 5 or more years you are onto a really solid prospect? If you have a company that has only been in business for a year or who has only been using their acquired name for one year you might want to walk away. Don’t get me wrong, not all shippers who are new are out to get your money and kill your business and livelihood but with the army of bad drop shippers out there you are better off looking for an older company. You wouldn’t gamble away your entire life savings on a long shot horse at the races so there is no need to do it with a drop shipper.
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