Need an ecommerce or Amazon guru and some dropshipping advice

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Hey all. I need some advice. I have an associate who owns a manuf facility in Central America that produces exotic wood items like earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rosaries, and even like laser cut coasters, etc. We may be able to even open some niches he's not in such as other custom exotic wood products.

I previously owned another niche company of a product they manufactured, but I sold that and have a non-compete in that specific niche.

What I do have now is access to the whole rest of the product line and the ability to import it.

My question is, am I better served to import inventory into the states and have someone do fulfillment for me? Or simply see if he can handle the individual drop-shipping and let him absorb that cost, pass it on to me, and ship from Central America? Just curious on the logistics of it all and what would be simplest and most cost-effective. Was hoping someone had some experience in this to draw on.

I'd also like to partner with someone who killed it at ecommerce and driving traffic and could handle the online sale of product and we can share profits. Pricing is very reasonable and I think there's money to be made.
#advice #amazon #dropshipping #ecommerce #guru
  • Profile picture of the author jabro
    Individually shipping items from Central America will kill profit margins and be a logistical nightmare. It would be better to send pallets full of the product to a fulfillment center and have everything go through there. Since these seem to all be small items I would start out of your house/garage and just scale as needed.
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  • Profile picture of the author kjamesnv
    It will be very expensive to drop ship small orders from South America. However you still may want to try it for a while to see if there is a viable market before you commit to larger purchases. You may not make any profit this way but it lowers your risk while you test the products.
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  • Profile picture of the author MrFume
    To be frank, you have a complex scenario - however an elegant solution would be to open an Amazon FBA account and directly ship the goods to their warehouses and have them fulfill the shipping. The costs are surprisingly affordable, the main issue is preparing your inventory for Amazon standards, labeling - but you could set all this up at source, once done it just cruises along. It will take a work, and planning but you have a potential market - Amazon is brilliant at shipping, and i would certainly look into it, other 3rd party fulfillment operations are usually more expensive and not as good. Hope this helps.
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    • Profile picture of the author CLSVentures
      In my prior venture we just shipped in bulk and handled fulfillment in the states. Sounds like that may be the best route. I'll look into the Amazon info.
      Thanks and keep the advice coming. It's much appreciated.
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    • Profile picture of the author DWaters
      Originally Posted by MrFume View Post

      To be frank, you have a complex scenario - however an elegant solution would be to open an Amazon FBA account and directly ship the goods to their warehouses and have them fulfill the shipping. The costs are surprisingly affordable, the main issue is preparing your inventory for Amazon standards, labeling - but you could set all this up at source, once done it just cruises along. It will take a work, and planning but you have a potential market - Amazon is brilliant at shipping, and i would certainly look into it, other 3rd party fulfillment operations are usually more expensive and not as good. Hope this helps.
      Yes, I agree that using Amazon's FBA business model will take many of your headaches away. Amazon provides great customer service and customer satisfaction. Their fees are well worth it. You will have your inventory on their site which of course has lots of traffic and they are looking to buy. Good luck to you!
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  • Profile picture of the author hbennick
    The answer, it seems, is almost always FBA.
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    • Profile picture of the author CLSVentures
      Thanks for the FBA info and I'll dig into that for the fulfillment. Where is the best place to partner with e-commerce pros that can handle the traffic generation and drive sales for a cut?
      Commission Junction?
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  • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
    is amazon FBA essentially a fulfillment house for amazon sales and outside amazon sales?(your own or other website sales)
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  • Profile picture of the author DWaters
    I often explain it as FBA is about being a third party vendor on Amazon's huge marketplace. About 45% of sales on Amazon are from third party sales. If you have an FBA business than your inventory is in front of the many, many buyers at Amazon and Amazon cares care of all shipping and customer satisfaction issues for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author JosephI
    Amazon FBA is a good way to go for the right items. Start small and get setup right. Growing is easy after that.

    Some of the items you mention are on the Amazon restricted list and a spot could open right after you apply or a couple years down the line.
    Homework first.
    Cheers
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