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Questions about dropshipping and wholesale!

by Hydrazas
8 replies
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Hey,

I have a few questions and I hope some of you would like to answer them if you have the sufficient answers. I'm currently 19 years old and have a real life job but I'm looking to make a little on the side by dropshipping products through eBay, possibly my own store sometime but first I'll start out with eBay and get used to dropshipping.

1. I've often e-mailed companies that do wholesale if they'd be willing to do dropshipping but with no luck. I have however read on various forums and some people said that by calling the company to be more legitimate and mature in business they allowed them to dropship. Do anyone have any input on this? I often see great deals but they aren't obtainable unless you have a company etc.

2. Where's a good place to find wholesalers and dropshippers? I'm currently registered on eSources and WholesaleDeals, but they're not really that good and I'm sure there's a better way to find companies that can help you.

3. Profits? Can dropshipping really generate a fair amount of profit? I'm currently making around $1,000 at my real life job, and a few extra hundred wouldn't hurt by doing dropshipping. I know this depends a lot on your website, SEO etc. but just give me a rough estimate of what is possible.

Thank you for your time!

Hyd
#dropshipping #questions #wholesale
  • Profile picture of the author violet0176
    Yes, you need a business license, a sales and use tax number, tax ID and often a bank account and credit or debit card if you plan to do business with legitimate wholesale suppliers in the USA.

    After you've obtained the correct documents, most suppliers offer Reseller or Dealer applications on their website. After you apply and become an approved Reseller, inquire about drop shipping. Once you've established the business relationship, most Suppliers will agree to drop ship for you, provided that you've demonstrated you're professional, serious about doing business and have a website and/or marketplace accounts.

    After you fill out the application, a Sales Rep will call you to discuss your business plans. I have over a dozen Reseller accounts and have never had to call a supplier to ask about drop shipping. They will call you to complete the account set-up and you can discuss drop shipping at that point.

    Do a bit more research before jumping in.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hydrazas
      Originally Posted by violet0176 View Post

      Yes, you need a business license, a sales and use tax number, tax ID and often a bank account and credit or debit card if you plan to do business with legitimate wholesale suppliers in the USA.

      After you've obtained the correct documents, most suppliers offer Reseller or Dealer applications on their website. After you apply and become an approved Reseller, inquire about drop shipping. Once you've established the business relationship, most Suppliers will agree to drop ship for you, provided that you've demonstrated you're professional, serious about doing business and have a website and/or marketplace accounts.

      After you fill out the application, a Sales Rep will call you to discuss your business plans. I have over a dozen Reseller accounts and have never had to call a supplier to ask about drop shipping. They will call you to complete the account set-up and you can discuss drop shipping at that point.

      Do a bit more research before jumping in.
      Hello,

      I've done a lot of research and you're right, a lot of people disapprove of me because I don't have a Tax ID and that I'm not a registered business. I've called several wholesale dealers but without luck yet. I'm only 19 and I just started looking into dropshipping since November but I've known about it since 2011, I just never went too serious since last month.
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  • Profile picture of the author luckyjessica
    Hi Hyd
    Have send you a message for your reference,hope can help you !

    Jessica
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  • Profile picture of the author ChadGilbert
    Currently the marketplaces (amazon, ebay etc) are very competetive and it is very difficult to source a good product and have some profit but its not impossible.

    About sourcing products, I would like to suggest to source dropshippers from CHINA, You may check Aliexpress. Almost all of the sellers are dropshipping their items. However, you have to focus on the bargain, most sellers on aliexpress already marked up their prices. So there have good chances to get better price. (Before bargaining a product price, you should research selling prices on the marketplaces where you want to sell).

    Your bargain will help you to make profit and of course make good and long term business with them, they will offer you great prices.

    Note: Whatever you want to dropship, you should check the quality of the product first. Have one unit for yourself.
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      Originally Posted by ChadGilbert View Post

      Currently the marketplaces (amazon, ebay etc) are very competetive and it is very difficult to source a good product and have some profit but its not impossible.

      About sourcing products, I would like to suggest to source dropshippers from CHINA, You may check Aliexpress. Almost all of the sellers are dropshipping their items. However, you have to focus on the bargain, most sellers on aliexpress already marked up their prices. So there have good chances to get better price. (Before bargaining a product price, you should research selling prices on the marketplaces where you want to sell).

      Your bargain will help you to make profit and of course make good and long term business with them, they will offer you great prices.

      Note: Whatever you want to dropship, you should check the quality of the product first. Have one unit for yourself.
      Aliexpress has a bad reputation for scammers. Check them out on rippoffreport.com.

      You will also find that most of them will be competing directly with you. Just look at all the China listings on eBay.

      Monsterd is right about dropshipping not being a good business model. He does well by buying locally, but you can make amazing profits by importing direct from China and other countries.

      Many people start with only a small amount of money. Here is an email from one of my book students: "Ok. From extremely skeptical to successful completion. Credit given where credit is due. I followed the book instructions you laid out. Took my time to double check everything and was able to successfully import an order from China. Not only that but it was also a "sample order" for less than 300.00. A 300% mark up has allowed to get initial investment back and I have 70% of my inventory left. Stop promoting your book. Your encouraging competition for me Many thanks." Email on file for FTC inspection if required.


      If anyone has questions about how to safely source and then import, check out my thread: Ask Me Anything About Product Sourcing And Importing For Profit. ― Veteran Importer Here.



      Walter Hay.
      "If you think education is expensive - consider the cost of ignorance."
      Signature
      Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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  • Profile picture of the author Monsterd
    1) Do not dropship. This method is so year 2000. You have no competitive advantage because anyone else can dropship the same stuff so it 100% comes down to marketing ability and ROI rather than price and product offering. It's so easy these days to sell online, why would a drop shipper give great deals on stuff that they could easily post online and make all the $? No overhead sure, but no competitive advantage, you're not in control of offerings etc.

    2) Start by working locally. Wheel and deal on craigslist to get started. Everyday, there's tons of under priced deals that you can go and inspect the item and get a good enough price to resell on eBay. Cell phones is one of them. It's nearly impossible not to buy one phone or electronic (like console bundle and then sell separately on eBay) daily and not make a few hundred dollars a week with minimal effort to get started.

    Find some local recyclers that get off lease equipment, garage sales or good will.

    3) No. These day's drop shipping is mainly used by existing ecommerce businesses to SUPPLEMENT their other offerings. Ex: Maybe they sell used cell phones that they buck back locally so they might add in SKU's for accessories from a drop shipper because they don't want to handle the inventory etc.

    Don't think drop shipping is easy or that selling your own items is easy (to make full time income). There is a trade-off for both

    Get into a category you know and have some interest in and start to understand the industry and make some contacts and connections but start simple. Start by trying to make your first $50, then $500, then $5,000 on your own with own product sourcing.

    I got my first "start" with my own gig buying lots off eBay and selling locally on craigslist or buying stuff on craigslist and selling on eBay. Reasonable to make $500-$1,000 a week almost instantly with less than part time hours if you understand a certain market of items.

    Me --- eBay seller since I was 14 (now 31). Previous eCommerce Director for 100,000 feedback account on eBay. Powerbuyer on eBay (bought cheap stuff on eBay to resell in the amount of $200,000+/month for 4 years) and have a telecommunications recycling company.
    Signature

    Godlike eBay experience, talent and success.

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  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    Here is a really easy way to meet people in China. Download the app called HelloTalk. Then search for people by location. After a few tries you'll find some people that will help you source. Meanwhile you'll learn some Chinese too.

    I also know plenty of people that had success with aliexpress. One of the posters above is trying sell their own program about sourcing in china.

    It is not difficult to meet and talk with people in mainland China on Skype or wechat or HelloTalk and develop your own support network in the years ahead. No shortage of Chinese people that would like to meet you and learn from you too.
    Signature
    It is okay to contact me! I have been developing software since 1999, creating many popular products like phpLD.
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      Originally Posted by dvduval View Post

      Here is a really easy way to meet people in China. Download the app called HelloTalk. Then search for people by location. After a few tries you'll find some people that will help you source. Meanwhile you'll learn some Chinese too.

      I also know plenty of people that had success with aliexpress. One of the posters above is trying sell their own program about sourcing in china.

      It is not difficult to meet and talk with people in mainland China on Skype or wechat or HelloTalk and develop your own support network in the years ahead. No shortage of Chinese people that would like to meet you and learn from you too.
      Buy my book if you want or don't buy it, but either way I provide a huge amount of valuable information on this forum. You don't get 468 thanks unless your posts are helpful. Isn't that why you have 533 thanks?

      Part of my valuable information is to explain to people why advice such as you have offered in this thread is not helpful.

      Your method of locating a sourcing agent is faulty. Would you rely on someone you have never met to go shopping for you on commission, expecting them to get the best possible deal for you?

      If you look through threads started by newbies asking for help to source products in China, you will find a large number of offers will usually flood in.

      The big problem is how do you know you can trust them?
      • Do they say they only charge you a small commission?
      • Maybe they also get a commission from the supplier.
      • Do they really find you the best deal or do they buy from a relative or someone who gives them the biggest commission?
      • Do they own the business they tell you to buy from?
      • Do they buy the product cheap, set up their own new business and tell you that they have found a great deal for you. It then just so happens that the great deal is with their own new company.(They don't tell you they own it.)
      These concerns are not a product of my imagination. I began importing from China in 1987, and I know how business works there and I know the Chinese way of thinking.


      Yes I also know that many people have bought successfully through Aliexpress, but I also know that there are thousands that have been scammed, just as there are thousands that have been scammed by sellers on the parent site Alibaba.


      Here are some threads that are relevant: Has anyone used any Product sourcing agent?
      China's Consumer Protection Watchdog Reports On Alibaba Alibaba MOQ (At least see post#18 if you can't spare the time to read the whole thread.)



      You might be interested to look at my thread: Ask Me Anything About Product Sourcing And Importing For Profit. ― Veteran Importer Here.where you will find a substantial amount of free information that is helpful to and appreciated by Warriors.


      Walter Hay.

      "If you think education is expensive - consider the cost of ignorance."
      Signature
      Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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