Posts Tagged finding a drop shipper
How to Sell Costco Customer Returns on Online Auctions
Posted by Wholesale News in Ebay, Home Based Business, Liquidations, Wholesale on September 1st, 2009
The latest trend found on online auctions is to sell goods that customers have returned for whatever reason, and that can be bought inexpensively from liquidation merchants. Stores will sell the goods that customers have returned and are no longer wanted by the store to
The few wholesalers that do have contracts with Costco to purchase Costco returns have the ability to sell below most other wholesale price. Costco sells their returns at extremely low prices to those who purchase them.
If you want to start your own online auction business selling customer returns, you will probably be able to make the most profit if you can find a Costco customer returns wholesaler to purchase your pallets from.
You can then sell the goods that you have purchased either in groups on the online auctions or you may choose to sell them individually in hopes of making and even higher profit. Don’t be too concerned about how well the goods will sell either, because many people are interested in purchasing the goods since it will save them a ton of money
Most of the people that shop on online auctions such as eBay, are trying to find great deals on products they don’t want to pay retail prices for. As a result when you put your products on Ebay you don’t have to work as hard to advertise your products because many people know that eBay is the cheapest place to find different products. The only thing you will need to be able to do is take of find great pictures, and write a good description of the products that you are selling in order for people to be interested in your products.
If you are uncomfortable with using online auctions, you might prefer to sell your merchandise in places such as Craigslist, or in other classifieds locations. This might be an especially productive way to sell any goods that you have that are damaged, since many people will scour the ads for things that might be damaged that they can get cheap and fix or use in other ways.
Many of the people who sell wholesale goods try to steer clear of customer return goods in fear that very little of the goods themselves will be any good to resell. This is not the case, however, because most of the merchandise will be in pretty decent condition at the very least, but some will be damaged. A good example of something that might be slightly damaged but easily resold would be shirt that is missing a button, since there are many people who know how to sew buttons, it is very likely that this shirt would sell easily and quickly. If you yourself are handy with thread and needle, you might just opt to fix the shirt yourself and be able to sell the shirt as practically new.
No matter what you plan to sell, the most important thing that you can do is find a trustworthy wholesaler to purchase your merchandise from and success will be limited only by the effort you put into selling your products.
What is drop shipping and can I use it? Part Two
Posted by Dan Blacharski in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping on June 30th, 2009
One of the primary benefits of drop shipping that many newcomers fail to recognize, is that you can increase your product line with different drop shippers who offer different products, and often with different countries of origin. In this way, drop shipping can be a real boon. But it depends really on knowing your drop shipper, and going the extra mile in cultivating drop shipping relationships, whether they are local or international in origin.
And therein lies the negative in drop shipping for the online retailer. You have to make the effort to cultivate those drop shipping relationships–there’s really a lot more to it than just signing up online and picking products from a catalog. If you simply drop ship with someone based solely on the convenience factor, you might find yourself without product or even worse, you might find yourself without a drop shipper at all. This happens as a result of one of two things. First, if you are without product for a long period due to production delays (which will happen regardless of source, by the way), it means your drop shipping source didn’t tell you he was running low, or you didn’t make the effort to inquire as to his projected inventory or production that would affect your product lines. If you cultivate those relationships, drop shippers will tell you in advance when things are getting dicey, and they might even tell you without your inquiry. Always keep up to date on your product. Always.
Second, and even more importantly, drop shippers who have cultivated relationships with you might tell you if they are going out of business. Think of the drop shipper as your friend: a friend will tell you before he goes out of business when things are out of control, whereas the general public will not get notice until the business is already liquidated and gone. When you cultivate these overseas or local relationships, you can save a lot of headache for your business, and you can keep your product and cash flow running smoothly because you know what is coming down the road that others might not get wind of until it is too late to do anything.
Seeing the hurricane and watching the weather reports can save a world of pain long before the hurricane ever comes ashore. Take it from someone who has seen the hurricane and prepared, and from someone who didn’t plan for the coming storm and paid the price many times over.
Selecting a Wholesale Product Category
Posted by Alex in Home Based Business, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources, eBusiness on June 30th, 2009
While the business of wholesaling can result in tremendous profits, there are a number of factors to consider prior to simply beginning your company. From surveying and understanding your potential market to weighing cost factors and margins to finding a product niche that suits you and your competitive needs, there are a plethora of elements to analyze as you get started.
With so many product markets seemingly becoming increasingly over-saturated, it can be challenging to find a niche that has the bandwidth to accompany yet another fresh, new idea. However, this shouldn’t deter up and coming wholesalers from overcoming potential obstacles. Do your research and get a firm grasp on your competitive landscape. Closely monitor what competitors are doing, including concepts that have worked as well as those that have not. See if you can modify any of the less successful ideas and transform them into top-selling products. Investigate ways that will enable your line of products to stand apart from the rest. Understand what your target audience is looking for and how you may be able to modify existing products so that they more effectively appeal to your consumer base.
Does a particular product category boast more potential in terms of margin, revenues, and profits? If you’re fortunate enough to have the option to choose among several various product categories, then profit margin is what you should use as your determining factor. Because it can be difficult to differentiate your product offering from those of competitors, you’ll want to ensure that you’re earning money with the items that you’re able to sell – particularly with those items that virtually sell themselves. Further, ensure that your total costs are significantly less than the amount of which you can realistically sell a high volume of product.
While you may not be able to create a totally unique product, it’s important that your offering boasts distinct features unique to your mission. Find products that can be and distributors that are willing to drop ship so that you can reduce your overhead costs. Moreover, ensure that there is substantial demand for your products and services. If there isn’t a distinct market need for what you’re hoping to sell, then cut your losses immediately, and develop an alternative business plan. Adding a new facet to a standard, convenient product can add to its resale value.
Despite your specific financial goals, it’s important to understand your market before you move forward with developing your business plan and just jumping into a product category. Make sure that you can identify potential pitfalls and drawbacks and immediately strategize ways to prevent these issues from affecting your future successes. Perhaps most importantly, refrain from spreading your resources too thin. While you may see potential in selling a vast variety of products, it’s best to start with one targeted niche and to work on expanding from there.
What is drop shipping? Part One
Posted by Dan Blacharski in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping on June 29th, 2009
Drop shipping has garnered quite a lot of attention over the past few years, presenting an easy way to become an Internet retailer. Is it just another get-rich-quick scheme? Multi-level pyramid deal? Flash in the pan? Not really. Like anything, you do have to put some energy into it. When you first consider the concept of drop shipping, it seems remarkably simple. You don’t have to carry any inventory, and you don’t have to do any shipping. You just put up a web site, send the orders to the drop shipper, and collect the checks.
Well, it’s not really that easy, folks. Successful drop shipping involves successfully doing two things: Making a good product selection, and marketing. On the product selection front, it’s easy to just load up everything the drop shipper has to offer into your virtual catalog, but a more effective method is to create a niche for yourself—specializing in one particular area. Don’t try to be everything to everybody, because the customer will just get lost. Specialize in one area and position yourself as the expert in that area. On the second front, marketing—again, it’s easy to just put up a web site, but will anybody see it? How many web sites are out there today? With no marketing, again, it will get completely lost.
That said, drop shipping can be an effective management technique, especially for handling inventory.
Drop shipping, for the uninitiated, is a form of inventory control whereby the retailer sells his items to the customer, but instead of having a supply of the item on his shelves for immediate delivery, the retailer orders his items directly from the manufacturer or the wholesaler, who then ships them directly to the retailer’s customer. In this way, there is no need for the burden of carrying inventory. The retailer still retains his profit margin as a difference between the wholesaler’s or manufacturer’s price and that of the retailer.
Often, the final customer never knows that the retailer is drop shipping his merchandise because the retailer chooses not to disclose this up front, thereby hiding his inventory control from view. There are several ways to hide the drop shipping from customers. The best way to do this is to have the manufacturer or wholesaler ship the product with the retailer’s name and logo on the packaging slip.
The benefits are obvious: no inventory means less cost can be passed on the retail customer, and the retailer retains positive cash flow throughout the entire process. The potential downside is that it may take longer for the customer order to be fulfilled, since it’s going through a third party, there may be a backorder that the retailer is unaware of, and the retailer’s markup will not be as high as if they were sourcing, warehousing, and shipping the product direct.
In part two of this article, I will explain a few of the positives and negatives of drop shipping in more detail, and how the retailer who drop ships can benefit in the end. To be sure, there are negatives to the drop shipping idea, but they are manageable if you know how to navigate the drop shipping maze.
Choosing A Niche For Your Wholesale Business
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, eBusiness on June 25th, 2009
If you’ve been thinking about starting a business that uses wholesale suppliers to drop ship products to your customers, make sure you don’t miss the first, and most important step. You need to decide, in the beginning, what niche you want to choose for your business. The niche you choose will impact everything about your business, from the wholesale suppliers you choose to the type of marketing plan you decide to implement.
You see, an entire market is too broad for all but the largest of companies to try to take on. For a small business, especially one that’s just starting out, it’s best to divide the demand in the market into smaller, more manageable niches. By operating your wholesale business in a specific niche, you can focus your efforts on a specific type of buyer who’s looking for certain specialized goods.
One of the most important components in choosing a niche for your wholesale business is doing a market survey. You need to do a market survey in order to understand what products are being sold in a niche, as well as the areas that your competitors are already entrenched. By taking a look at the market, how much product is being sold and who is selling it, you can figure out where you belong. Ideally, you’re looking for an arrangement of factors including price, service, quality and product type that will maximize your sales while facing the least amount of direct competition.
You also need to consider your own interests and abilities when you’re choosing a niche for your wholesale business. For example, if you have no interest whatsoever in consumer electronics, it probably isn’t a great idea to start a consumer electronics drop ship business. The fact of the matter is that your desire and passion are a key element in being able to see your business succeed. Choose a niche that you know something about, and that you have some interest in.
As you go through the process of finding a niche, try to avoid thinking only about wholesale suppliers and costs. You might be able to buy products at a wholesale price that’s extremely competitive, but if you can’t find someone to buy those products or you can’t effectively market those products, your business won’t succeed. In addition, low wholesale prices also mean that your competition probably also has access to that kind of pricing, meaning you’ll have to find another area, whether it’s service or marketing, in which you need to offer something to your consumer that your competition can’t offer.
Here is how the drop shipping process works for Ebay sellers
Posted by Bob in Drop Shipping, Ebay, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on June 25th, 2009
If you’re like many of the successful Ebay entrepreneurs out there, chances are you happened into the business quite by accident. Perhaps you found an item in your attic that sold for more than you thought it was worth, and decided to hit every rummage sale in the state until you found every last one of them and sold them for a profit. At some point, however, if your business is going to grow, you should consider drop shipping. Drop shipping is one of the best ways for you to expand your Ebay business.
Here is how the drop shipping process works for Ebay sellers. First, you place an ad on Ebay for an item that you don’t have, but that you can get from the drop shipper. Your Ebay buyer then buys the item, sending you the money for the item and the shipping costs. You then take a portion of that payment and send it to your drop ship wholesale supplier. The supplier charges you wholesale prices, allowing you a profit on the item. Finally, the supplier will ship the product directly to your Ebay buyer.
When this process works correctly, drop shipping can be a dream business. You have no overhead, because you have no inventory, storefront or shipping costs to bother with. You merely accept payments, and then send a portion of those payments off to the supplier, and you get to keep the difference between the two as your profit. As you can see, this is quite a bit easier than scouring every garage sale and flea market within 100 miles to find the perfect Ebay item.
However, in the real world, things are almost never quite that simple. There are pitfalls to avoid, and regular hiccups that can interrupt the flow of your Ebay business. Being ready for these problems before they actually arise will help you to have a distinct advantage when the time comes, however.
You can do this, at least in part, by treating your Ebay drop shipping business like a business. Follow up with your customers, for example, to make sure that they’re satisfied with the products they receive. You should also try to be constantly aware of your drop ship wholesaler’s supply of products. There is nothing worse than collecting payment for a product only to find that your supplier is out of stock.
If you implement it right, drop shipping can be a tremendous boon to your Ebay business.
Ebay Drop Shipping Success - Pay Attention to Your Suppliers
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Ebay, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on June 25th, 2009
If you have a business on Ebay, you may be able to increase your profits and expand your business by using wholesale suppliers. Many wholesale suppliers will drop ship products for you, allowing you to focus on what you do best: getting people to bid on your Ebay auctions. Still, there are some important things to keep in mind if you’re going to successfully integrate wholesale suppliers into your Ebay Business:
First of all, you need to keep a close eye on what your fulfillment times look like. Don’t be afraid to send your customers emails asking them for feedback, or even filling out some sort of customer survey regarding the time it took to fulfill their order. If your orders are taking longer than you think they should take to get to your customers, chances are you’ll hear back pretty quickly. Because your feedback score, and the reputation of your Ebay business rely so solidly on shipping issues, this is key. Ebay and online customers often expect better service in terms of shipments, and if your shipments are regularly being delayed you’re going to have payment reversals and negative feedback that are going to severely hurt your business in the long run.
You also want to keep a close eye on stock. It helps, in this regard, to choose a drop ship wholesale supplier that allows you access to stock level information. When you’re selling items on Ebay, there is a time delay between the time you advertise the item and the time you receive payment for the item, and when you order it from your wholesale supplier. If your supplier runs out of the particular product you’re looking for in that time, you’re going to find yourself having to issue refunds and risk negative feedback. Remember, too, that Ebay sales are a contract. You’re not allowed to cancel an Ebay sale due to a product being unavailable. In fact, if you can’t provide a product to a customer, the buyer can petition Ebay to give you a seller nonperformance violation. When you get a certain number of these, Ebay will shut down your seller account.
You also need to be prepared to mediate returns. If a customer isn’t satisfied with the exchange or return process, you risk negative feedback that can hurt future sales. In some ways, you may wind up having to mediate the return process.
Make Money Drop Shipping Using Ebay
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Ebay on June 25th, 2009
Drop shipping is one of the best ways to make money on Ebay. Using drop shipping, you can list an item for sale that you don’t already have. Once you’ve sold the item and collected payment, you simply take a portion of that payment and send it to your wholesale drop ship supplier. Whatever is left over is yours to keep, and you don’t need to hassle with things like shipping costs or packing.
Still, there are some important things to consider when you’re using drop ship wholesale suppliers on Ebay. Keep these three things in mind at all times:
Understand the quality of the product. It’s important that you choose a wholesale supplier who won’t just randomly switch inventory or manufacturers without letting you know. This allows you to be sure that the product you’re selling to your customer is the product that they will actually get. If your product varies from the Ebay listing, you run the risk of negative feedback which will harm your Ebay business over the long haul.
Understand customer expectations. For whatever reason, people that buy products on Ebay and online tend to have much higher expectations that people that buy products in other sorts of direct marketing arrangements. Buyers expect you to offer a photograph of the product, as well as a specific list of features. When they receive the item, they expect it to look exactly like it does in the Ebay auction. If it doesn’t look the same, they probably won’t be satisfied. Here again, you run the risk of getting negative feedback on your Ebay seller account.
Finally, don’t forget that auctions are auctions. The fact of the matter is that, when you auction an item on Ebay, you’re expected to agree to sell the item regardless of the closing price. This means that, if you’re not careful, you can wind up selling an item on Ebay that actually sells below your own costs.
There are a couple of ways to avoid this happening, of course. First of all, you can choose to only list fixed price or “Buy It Now” auctions. This means that your auctions are more like catalog listings, with a set price no matter who buys it. Another option is to set a higher minimum bid, so that the item doesn’t sell for less than what you’ll pay for it.
Ultimately, making sure your feedback stays high and that you follow all Ebay policies is key to your business’ success.
Find Great Drop Shippers And They Will Come
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on June 25th, 2009
The success of your business relies, ultimately, on how good your drop ship supplier is. If your drop ship supplier is completely unreliable and provides products that aren’t of a sufficient quality, your customers are not going to be satisfied and your sales will drop like a lead balloon. Knowing how to find the best vendors is integral to the success of your business.
Before you can find the best drop ship suppliers, of course, you need to know what products you are going to sell. You need to figure out what products are in demand, an what products you can sell at a profit. It doesn’t hurt to also have a good idea of how saturated the market is for those products, as high competition usually means smaller profit margins.
Once you have selected a product, you need to start looking for a vendor. Finding the right best drop ship supplier can be a challenge. Fortunately, there are some shortcuts you can take. For example, one of the best ways to find a vendor is through word of mouth. You can talk to other small business owners, for example, who may be able to make recommendations. Obviously your competitors may not be able to give you this kind of information, but you might be able to get it from people selling products in a niche that’s similar to yours.
Another great way to find the best drop ship suppliers is through a directory. There are many online directories of drop ship suppliers. Of course, not all of these directories are the same. Some are more current than others, for example. Some are more extensive than others, too. Choosing the right directory is key if you’re going to be able to trust the information in that directory.
You may also be able to find drop ship suppliers at trade shows in your niche. Most market segments have some form of trade show or another, whether it’s a regional meeting or whether it’s something on a much larger scale, such as the E3 Electronics Expo that takes place in Las Vegas each year.
Ultimately, the success of your online business relies heavily on your drop ship supplier. If you have a good drop ship supplier, it doesn’t guarantee that your business will be successful; however, if your vendor is unreliable, your business is almost certainly doomed to failure.
How Can a Drop Ship Business Make Money?
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping on June 25th, 2009
Regardless of what you might have heard in the news, there is plenty of opportunity for the enterprising individual to make money online with drop shipping. There are constantly new products being released on the market, and someone is always discovering a cheaper way to make an existing products. Some businesses fold, and some businesses change their focus, creating gaps in the market that, just a few months ago, you might not have been able to take advantage of. Truly, there has never been a better time than now to get involved in an online drop shipping business.
However, there are some things you need to keep in mind when starting your online drop shipping business. For example, you need to watch out for those that offer to help you make millions of dollars in just a few months with little or no effort. The fact of the matter is that success requires hard work and dedication, and is rarely instant. It takes time and sweat to build a successful business.
This isn’t to say that you can’t get rich with an online drop shipping business. You absolutely can. However, you still have to work at it. The time and energy that you would otherwise spend dealing with issues like inventory and shipping will need to be spend dealing with things like sales and marketing. An online drop shipping business doesn’t mean you don’t have to work, it just means your work is different than if you ran a different type of a business that didn’t utilize drop shipping.
That actually brings us to the next point: if you’re going to have a successful online drop shipping business, you need to be an expert at marketing. You need to have a marketing plan mapped out, and be able to execute that plan as designed. You also need to be able to change things in the process. If something isn’t working, you need to be ready to drop it in favor of a different marketing tactic that will work.
Finally, perseverance is the name of the game when it comes to building a successful online drop ship business. It’s going to take some time to get people to start buying from you. In many cases, it may even take months before you really begin to turn a profit. If you’re not willing to stick with the business for the long haul, this probably isn’t the right business type for you. If, on the other hand, you can be dedicated to the task, you might find success isn’t nearly as far down the road as you thought.
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