Can Drop Shipping be automated?
 

I have joined a program where I have one-on-one support with a coach that are gonna teach me work as an affiliate and/or sell products through drop shipping.

He tells me that "there's no such a thing as automated drop shipping"...and I wonder if that's really true, because I thought I saw somewhere that this could be done.

Does any one now if this process can be automated? Is there any drop shippers that have this option?

I read the following in another forum:
"Anyone looking to make any real money that isn't already a distributor like I am or some of the others here. Needs to have their own website, XML feeds, API, and a good working knowledge of SEO (search engine optimization)"

So does any one know:
How are these XML feeds and API used when selling drop shipping products? :confused:

Re: Can Drop Shipping be automated?
 

As a programmer, I can tell you that NOTHING is impossible (it's all a function of time/budget). XML feeds can be used to move product info from one site to another. APIs can be used to perform actions.

I would say depending on your requirements and setup, that you should be able to automate sending an order from one site to a dropshipper / drop ship system.

Unless you're making some decision in the process that a program can't make for you - then it should be able to be automated.

Re: Can Drop Shipping be automated?
 

I haven't encountered a fully automated drop shipping but I guess a programmer can probably find a way. If there's way to export your orders and if your dropshipping account has APIs, then I guess its just a matter of creating a script to post those orders. I think even without apis, some can just write a php script that uses CURL to login to your dropshipping account and post orders.

Re: Can Drop Shipping be automated?
 

What could be the cost for an average script. I am from New Zealand and I do not want to deal with the customer. They order from my site the product owner dispatch the product plus customer servives

Re: Can Drop Shipping be automated?
 

Shippd (Shippd.com) is a drop ship platform and network to grow and automate drop ship programs for both retailers and suppliers.

We offer a hosted solution starting at $50 per month that can work with any supplier. Features include real-time order transmission, customizable data feeds, supplier automation, product and inventory automation, blind pack slips, and much more.

You can also try it out with suppliers in our network - it's completely free to work with suppliers in our network.

Please feel free to message me if you have any specific questions, about Shippd or drop ship automation in general. I'd be happy to help.

Re: Can Drop Shipping be automated?
 

Some wholesale companies have a bit of code that goes behind your payment gateway to automatically take the order _ once paid _ and creates the order with the company and sends it directly to the customer. I have wiorked with 3 of these so far. I can tell you that even the best developers could have issues with making them work properly because they all depend on the source provided by the wholesale company that will allow you to do this.

Re: Can Drop Shipping be automated?
 

i need more information on this issue please

Re: Can Drop Shipping be automated?
 

You need two components to make this work, 1) A gateway that provides a secure SQL query via API and 2) a drop shipper to run the query at a specific time daily, usually everything from the previous day. The SQL query will generate a report of all approved transactions from the previous day. Once you have the data, you'll need to parse and modify the format to match the data requirements of the drop shipper. They'll use the modified data file to upload into the shipping label printer and out door the products go. All told, this is less than 4 hours of programming and testing to implement.

Re: Can Drop Shipping be automated?
 

It can totally be done!

It probably depends on the product you're trying to drop ship. But I know that it can be done with printed products.

Take Printful (http://theprintful.com), for example. If you set up an online store that sells their supported products (t-shirts, posters, canvas, totes, etc.), then you can sync your design with them. Then every time you get an order, it goes directly to Printful to be printed and shipped. So you don't actually do anything - I'd call that automated.

Re: Can Drop Shipping be automated?
 

This is definitely the future! If you look at all the on-demand apparel drop ship options that are out there I think it is increasingly easy to automate everything.

Also with the advancements in 3D printing, on-demand production will be possible for a whole new range of products. For example a company like Zazzy (http://zazzy.co) enables you to design and sell 3D printed jewelry and other small merchandise without any investments or hassle.