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Hello, As some may already know I'm new here but I have question...

I asked a supplier in China if they would drop ship and they sent an email stating it would be no problem at all! Is it that easy? Hummmm I wonder. My customers get a box from China, how long did shipping take and what about reliability from supplier?

Has anyone here ever drop shipped directly from a supplier in China to your customer here in the USA?
#china #drop #ship
  • Profile picture of the author Importexport
    There are many suppliers in China who will dropship, but before you jump in you might like to pause and consider:

    • Where did you locate the supplier? There are many scammers out there.
    • How do you pay? If they ask for payment via Western Union you should run the other way.
    • What margins do they offer? The ones I have seen are ridiculously low.
    • Do they compete with you? A big % of them do, and I have often seem them discounting their direct sales by the same % discount they offer to resellers.
    • How will you handle returns? Your customer will want to return faulty goods to you, and if your supplier accepts returns you will have to pay freight to China.
    • Will your customers be happy to wait 7 -14 days?
    • Does the supplier have a feedback rating? Many of them have fake feedbacks.
    • Have you checked them out on review sites? Don't forget many review sites are affiliate sites in disguise.
    • Have you considered buying small inventory direct from manufacturers in China to get massive profit margins?
    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 Eric Canlas
      Drop shipping from China is risky business, at least in my experience. Shipping times would vary greatly depending on the size of your items. Small items can be shipped via DHL envelopes, but larger parcels would be more costly and could take longer.

      Is your supplier reliable and would really ship on time?

      Also, would your customers mind having to wait longer shipping times?

      ...just some questions to consider. Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author WoW06
    Hello,

    Before to send the parcels directly to your clients, you have to test your supplier by ordering some test pieces. Then you can see the quality of the shipping and of the items.
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    • Profile picture of the author amcg
      Originally Posted by WoW06 View Post

      Hello,

      Before to send the parcels directly to your clients, you have to test your supplier by ordering some test pieces. Then you can see the quality of the shipping and of the items.
      This. The killer of Dropshipping operations - aside from communication - is bad products. Returns will become your worst nightmare when dropshipping and unless the product/returns rate is manageable, it's a tough game.

      My advice; visit you supplier. Yes you can dropship without visiting but sooner rather than later, you'll want better terms and for that, in person is the best way to get what you want.

      China, likely your dropshipping partner's homecountry, has many similarities with the Western world. There's a communication barrrier you need to get past but after that, you'll find folks there broadly similar ways of doing business and the desire to make money as we do.
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  • Profile picture of the author ito
    hi all...


    i also do import from china... different factories may give widely different prices quote... need to make sure their qualities are satisfactory also b4 commit
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  • Profile picture of the author David Taylor
    As I know, drop shipping from a supplier in China is easy. Or you can buy item from China online shop, such as dx, tinydeal, Espow. You can pay with your Visa card. Buy the problem is, shipping time is about 7-20 days. If your customers are not in hurry, drop shipping is fine.
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  • Profile picture of the author Singlepile
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      Originally Posted by Singlepile View Post

      Hi, My company is a China based company, we have a warehouse in TN, US. We accept Paypal, and ship to customer by USPS. But only hot items are available in US warehouse. If your niche is customer electronics like TV Box, headphones, hunting lights you can consider us.

      A site of us: Drop Shipping
      Like almost all Chinese dropshipping suppliers, they compete with their own customers. Also, the profit margin is pathetic 5% unless you spend over $5000.

      If you have that much to spend you could make enormous profits by buying direct from real manufacturers in China. The profit margins are mind boggling compared to dropshipping.
      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 SASGIRL
    lot of Chinese ebay/amazon sellers send parckages from China to all over the world, it's doable, but shipping time is long, and it's impossible to get tracking number for small package by economy mail.
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  • Profile picture of the author DWolfe
    Originally Posted by wbo86 View Post

    I in shenzhen, .....com is my website, we mainly engaged in small wholesale orders(No MOQ), also include dropshipping, There is no inventory. You can contact our sales girl.
    If a few of us would click on the Icon in the left corner. In this post above and write in the word advertisement it will disappear And save some newbies $$'s
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  • Hi,

    We do import from China and the quality is really good. However, you really need to check it before jumping and committing yourself to their service. You can order a few items first to really see the quality of the product. Also, you need to research as much companies so that you can cross-reference their prices. But based on experience, if you are still starting out with doing any business with them, it would be a bit rough really since you have to deal with the communication barrier, their pricing, and also, quality control would really be a pain.

    But once you get the hang of it, it can go smoothly. From experience, we have jumped from one company to the other and the 3rd company that we saw was a great one so we committed with it. China is just like the West. There are companies that are really really bad while there are companies who really ship on time. It's just a matter of luck and connections. If you want to ask for any information or whatever that is related to drop shipping, you can hit me a message. But, I have specifically specialized just in women's fashion and some electronics suff, so I may be able to help greatly on that niche.

    Good Luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      Originally Posted by CoutureDropshipping View Post

      Hi,

      We do import from China and the quality is really good. However, you really need to check it before jumping and committing yourself to their service. You can order a few items first to really see the quality of the product. Also, you need to research as much companies so that you can cross-reference their prices. But based on experience, if you are still starting out with doing any business with them, it would be a bit rough really since you have to deal with the communication barrier, their pricing, and also, quality control would really be a pain.

      But once you get the hang of it, it can go smoothly. From experience, we have jumped from one company to the other and the 3rd company that we saw was a great one so we committed with it. China is just like the West. There are companies that are really really bad while there are companies who really ship on time. It's just a matter of luck and connections. If you want to ask for any information or whatever that is related to drop shipping, you can hit me a message. But, I have specifically specialized just in women's fashion and some electronics suff, so I may be able to help greatly on that niche.

      Good Luck.
      I would never think of building a business based on luck and you don't have to rely on luck. If you have done your homework along the lines suggest by Auctiondebteliminator, you will know what you can sell, how much it will sell for, and what your selling costs are. There is no luck involved in that.

      Then there is no luck needed to safely locate suppliers and safely negotiate best prices. You don't need luck to be sure of the quality you are getting.

      Your whole business plan should be calculated and carried out in a careful, step by step process.

      What I see over and over again is Warriors relying on suggestions posted by those who think they know how to buy overseas, but with my long experience as an importer it is obvious to me that they are just relying on luck.

      They also believe without question these supposed "facts" so often stated on the forum about dealing with suppliers in China.
      • Huge orders are necessary. Wrong
      • The quality problems often arise. Wrong
      • Delivery problems, with late delivery or not delivered at all. Wrong
      • Communication problems. Wrong
      • Scammers are always catching people buying from China. Wrong
      Why do I say these supposed "facts" are wrong? It is because with proper knowledge of how to source , buy and ship from China, those problems can all be avoided.

      Those problems all arise because people rely on luck. It is possible to buy small quantities direct from manufacturers in China.
      • It is possible to place small orders direct from the manufacturer regardless of the big MOQs they quote.
      • It is possible to be sure of the quality you are getting.
      • It is possible to have quick delivery on smaller shipments and to be sure that all shipments will be delivered when promised unless the factory burns down or some other disaster strikes.
      • Communication problems generally are a problem only if you go to certain markets or fairs in China where many exhibitors do not speak English. If you learn how to communicate with someone whose first language is not English, communication problems are very few.
      • Scams only catch those who rush in without understanding safe sourcing rules.
      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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      • Originally Posted by Importexport View Post

        I would never think of building a business based on luck and you don't have to rely on luck. If you have done your homework along the lines suggest by Auctiondebteliminator, you will know what you can sell, how much it will sell for, and what your selling costs are. There is no luck involved in that.

        Then there is no luck needed to safely locate suppliers and safely negotiate best prices. You don't need luck to be sure of the quality you are getting.

        Your whole business plan should be calculated and carried out in a careful, step by step process.

        What I see over and over again is Warriors relying on suggestions posted by those who think they know how to buy overseas, but with my long experience as an importer it is obvious to me that they are just relying on luck.

        They also believe without question these supposed "facts" so often stated on the forum about dealing with suppliers in China.
        • Huge orders are necessary. Wrong
        • The quality problems often arise. Wrong
        • Delivery problems, with late delivery or not delivered at all. Wrong
        • Communication problems. Wrong
        • Scammers are always catching people buying from China. Wrong
        Why do I say these supposed "facts" are wrong? It is because with proper knowledge of how to source , buy and ship from China, those problems can all be avoided.

        Those problems all arise because people rely on luck. It is possible to buy small quantities direct from manufacturers in China.
        • It is possible to place small orders direct from the manufacturer regardless of the big MOQs they quote.
        • It is possible to be sure of the quality you are getting.
        • It is possible to have quick delivery on smaller shipments and to be sure that all shipments will be delivered when promised unless the factory burns down or some other disaster strikes.
        • Communication problems generally are a problem only if you go to certain markets or fairs in China where many exhibitors do not speak English. If you learn how to communicate with someone whose first language is not English, communication problems are very few.
        • Scams only catch those who rush in without understanding safe sourcing rules.
        Hi it seems to me that you took my post in a wrong way. Please do understand that the context by which I said that sometimes it is up to "luck" is when it comes to the FIRST TIME you try to communicate with them. REMEMBER: You can't get it perfectly on your first try. Some land on bad companies during their first try. Some do land on near-perfect companies. I just think that we have to be realistic right?
        [*]It is possible to place small orders direct from the manufacturer regardless of the big MOQs they quote.[*] It is possible to be sure of the quality you are getting.[*] It is possible to have quick delivery on smaller shipments and to be sure that all shipments will be delivered when promised unless the factory burns down or some other disaster strikes.

        Yes all of those things are indeed possible. But please be realistic. Because for someone who is still new to these things- all these can't and will not happen ideally. Under your logic that everything will go perfectly- that assumes that all companies there are of high quality, that all companies do ship fast, that all companies sell their goods cheap, that all companies are perfect- that all Chinese people know how to speak english as if there was no communication barrier.

        You see, I do concede that everything will eventually be right and good. But I think it would be naive and unfair as well to tell those people who are very new to this business that everything will go as planned. Please, I think it would be helpful to warn them at first. At least they know the pros and cons of what they are entering. At least they'll never venture into this just because they thought everything is perfect when it won't be at the start. It's unfair if we tell them that this is so easy and perfect just because we want to soft sell to them our product or service by saying "if you just read *insert training service* then you would know..."

        Thank you for replying to my post. I just wanted to give the thread starter a picture of what reality looks like.
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        • Profile picture of the author Importexport
          Originally Posted by CoutureDropshipping View Post

          Hi it seems to me that you took my post in a wrong way. Please do understand that the context by which I said that sometimes it is up to "luck" is when it comes to the 1. FIRST TIME you try to communicate with them. REMEMBER: You can't get it perfectly on your first try. Some land on bad companies during their first try. Some do land on near-perfect companies. I just think that we have to be realistic right? [*]It is possible to place small orders direct from the manufacturer regardless of the big MOQs they quote.[*] It is possible to be sure of the quality you are getting.[*] It is possible to have quick delivery on smaller shipments and to be sure that all shipments will be delivered when promised unless the factory burns down or some other disaster strikes.

          Yes all of those things are indeed possible. But please be realistic. Because for someone who is still new to these things- all these can't and will not happen ideally. 2. Under your logic that everything will go perfectly- that assumes that all companies there are of high quality, that all companies do ship fast, that all companies sell their goods cheap, that all companies are perfect- that all Chinese people know how to speak english as if there was no communication barrier.

          You see, I do concede that everything will eventually be right and good.3. But I think it would be naive and unfair as well to tell those people who are very new to this business that everything will go as planned. 4. Please, I think it would be helpful to warn them at first. At least they know the pros and cons of what they are entering. At least they'll never venture into this just because they thought everything is perfect when it won't be at the start. 5. It's unfair if we tell them that this is so easy and perfect just because we want to soft sell to them our product or service by saying "if you just read *insert training service* then you would know..."

          Thank you for replying to my post. I just wanted to give the thread starter a picture of what reality looks like.
          I know that overseas sourcing can be a minefield and I never try to disguise that. I also know that after 9 years experience exporting to China and other countries, followed by 22 years importing mainly from China, as well as from other countries I have learned how to avoid the problems.

          It is that experience that I have compiled in my book which has received rave reviews. For an example of this, see the thread: ebook about import from China in the sub-forum Internet Marketing Product Reviews and Ratings.

          I have numbered the points in your post that require answering;
          1. If it is not possible to get it right the first time, I would have had hundreds of people requesting a refund for the price they paid for my book.
          2. My logic does not enter into the matter. What counts is results. My results not only relate to the excellent achievements of a large number of my students, but also the large number of my former franchisees who operated under my system in the four countries where I franchised and ran the business prior to my health enforced retirement.
          3. After such a huge amount of experience it would seem unlikely that I am naive, and I am certainly not unfair to my students, as the abundant testimonials that I have received prove.
          4. I provide a lot of warning on my website and people read that before they buy. I also provide plenty of warning in my book, together with ways to avoid the problems that I warn about.
          5. I try to avoid being self promotional, but I don't know how to answer this unfair statement without saying that hundreds of people have bought my book and many of them have told me in highly complimentary terms that what I say matches their experience and results.
          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 techno g33k
    It takes ages for the item to reach the destination if its free shipping, other than that everything is okay and we find them at a cheaper price
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  • Profile picture of the author squidface
    Banned
    just deal in commodities. ;-)


    Huge orders are necessary. Wrong
    The quality problems often arise. Wrong
    Delivery problems, with late delivery or not delivered at all. Wrong
    Communication problems. Wrong
    Scammers are always catching people buying from China. Wrong
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  • Profile picture of the author squidface
    Banned
    Try importing into China as well. HUGE growing market. Not half as much red tape as US/Europe
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