dropshipping - A viable option?

by Jeepfreak81

Posted: 12 years ago 19 replies

ECOMMERCE

Hello all,

I'm currently working on a content site but also am gearing up for an ecommerce site that I've been brainstorming about for a couple of months now. Trying to keep my overhead to a bare minimum and so I'm exploring drop shipping. It seems like this is a somewhat touchy subject. I've read accounts of people who have been seriously burned by drop shippers. I used one years ago and made a few bucks at it but didn't have the time or energy to put into it at that point.

So, what does everyone think about drop shipping products? I have noticed when I search for drop shippers I almost always end up at one of those directory sites that want you to pay to get their list of suppliers and wholesalers. This is a red flag to me, if a company wants to legitimately drop ship, they're going to make themselves visible to the people looking for them. I have found a few companies that look promising.

Also, I'd like to set this up using wordpress and give it a similar look and feel to that famous lingerie site by Victoria that I can't post a link too cause I have too few posts...hehe - KISS (keep it simple stupid) Thoughts? Suggestions? Criticisms?

#dropshipping #option #viable

Jeepfreak81

12 years ago

Doesn't take long for threads to get buried around here does it? Anybody here doing the drop ship thing? I'm also considering doing some of my own e-products...books or guides perhaps, but that's a different story altogether.

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onSubie

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Jeepfreak81

Hi

Your questions are very general. Of course drop shipping is a viable option. You can find a wholesale supplier who also drop ships, or you can use a pick n pack service.

Amazon offers one called Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA).

There were some very recent discussions about this in this forum. If you search around you will find a lot of info.

More specific questions tend to get better responses, so if you are having trouble finding something or you don't understand something feel free to ask.

Eproducts are a different animal because you don't have to ship them.

Mahlon

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Mark Alan 12 years ago

My personal opinion is that it is harder to make money drop shipping. Eventually with dropped shipped products you end up with a commoditized type product. That is people will buy it from you when you have the lowest price, but otherwise you won't sell very much. On volume items it seems people are willing to work on pretty low margins these days. You also eventually end up disappointing your buyers when something runs afoul with the drop shipper most commonly simply running out of stock.
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ebaytrader

12 years ago

Dropshipping can and does work. However, the problem is, the good suppliers are difficult to find. If you google dropshippers you will find rubbish sites with terrible prices and some sites claiming to be a dropshipping are really just dropshipping themselves meaning your chance to profit is null. Some even dropship products from China - I mean how can they expect you to keep customers happy with postage times like that?

I wouldn't recommend signing up for a dropshipper charging a monthly fee either, they are usually rubbish.

My advice is that you try to find the suppliers of the biggest retailers/etailers in your niche and apply for an trade account with them. These legit and major suppliers don't need to desperately advertise on google or seo because most of their business comes from large well-known companies, not entrepreneurs like ourselves.

What is your niche? I may know a supplier...

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Jeepfreak81

12 years ago

Originally Posted by ebaytrader

What is your niche? I may know a supplier...

Motorcycles is my niche. Also thanks for the replies so far. I mostly was looking to find out if I was on target thinking those big directory sites are a waste of time and money to find legit places.

Have many of you had success just approaching a company and asking if they'd be willing to drop ship? Seems like they would have to be setup for that type of service to some extent.

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Mark Alan

12 years ago

In your niche you might be better severed approaching the companies that manufacturer these parts. I'd be very wary buying motorcycle parts overseas and having them dropped shipped to customers here in the U.S. If one of those parts fail and someone gets injured then it is your butt that is on the line legally speaking, and with this type of product there could be some incredible product liability exposure.

Originally Posted by Jeepfreak81

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Jeepfreak81

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Mark Alan

In your niche you might be better severed approaching the companies that manufacturer these parts. I'd be very wary buying motorcycle parts overseas and having them dropped shipped to customers here in the U.S. If one of those parts fail and someone gets injured them it is your butt that is on the line legally speaking, and with this type of product there could be some incredible product liability exposure.

I should have been a bit more specific, while my content site is generalized motorcycles, my e-commerce site would be more specific.....apparel, riding gear, helmets, graphics...things like that.

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Mark Alan

12 years ago

well that is much, much safer.

Originally Posted by Jeepfreak81

I should have been a bit more specific, while my content site is generalized motorcycles, my e-commerce site would be more specific.....apparel, riding gear, helmets, graphics...things like that.

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blazingskull 12 years ago

Dropshipping is the best way to test out a market and it does work. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that you cannot reach out to users through websites which provide a list of dropshippers. Everybody is doing that.

what you need to do is reach out to the manufacturers or wholesalers directly and enquire about dropshipping. If you contact 20 manufacturers may be 4 of them will agree but that is enough to get you off the ground.
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Randall Magwood 12 years ago

Dropshippers i've dealt with in the past have ridiculous prices. They kill you with their shipping rate, and their products are priced higher than the same product in the Walmart. However... i did come across a legit jewelry wholesaler (in the USA) who offered excellent jewelry at TRUE wholesale price. Just be cautious when dealing with wholesalers, and especially dropshippers.
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Jeepfreak81 12 years ago

Ya, I definetly don't want any liability problems hanging over my head just to make a couple of bucks per sale. I've contacted a couple of wholesalers already that say they offer some form of drop shipping.....I'm staying away from those "drop ship supersites"
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gotti3636 12 years ago

One of my businesses is dropshipping and I have never had any problems. One thing I have found though is that your margins will be much lower and shipping costs are high so it generally will not be worth selling low price items unless you find a great supplier. With more expensive items ($500+) you can make a lot more money selling less quantity and with less effort
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Lamar Smith 12 years ago

Hi Jeep,

Dropshipping is a very lucrative business. Most don't succeed because of the outdated and mis leading info out there. For every true dropshipper out there- there are about 100 dropshippers that portray to be true dropshippers. These type of dropshippers are basically dealers who add a dropshipping program to their website to accumulate more sales.

Anyways, check out my dropshipping guide and true dropshipping list that I recently release as an WSO. You will benefit alot out of it.

Larmore
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coconutjuice123 12 years ago

Yes, dropshipping works! You just have to have the right connections.
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dave_hermansen 12 years ago

As others have indicated, dropshipping still works beautifully if you know how to source dropship products through TRUE wholesalers (like the manufacturer or a large distributorship). It's those retailers that pose as "wholesale dropshippers" that give dropshipping a bad name!
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dc_publius 12 years ago

For motorcycle stuff it's mostly pretty hard.

Legitimate products rely on their reputation, and the companies that make those products often require a store front, or sizable bulk orders. Otherwise, you will find that your direct supplier is charging you more than people are selling for on other discount websites.

The exceptions would be some random bits and gadgets that get shipped and rebranded from China/Pakistan. Bunch of people have tried selling 'custom' suits made in Pakistan but it seems like most of them closed down shop despite good prices and decent feedback.
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1byte 12 years ago

I started out in IM with dropshipping, and did o.k. with some products. But I finally got out of it as it became more and more difficult to compete with some of the big-box retailers, when they started selling the same products online, sometimes for less than I could get it from the dropshipper.

I finally shut down my 2 e-commerce stores, switched my business model to affiliate marketing, and have never looked back. However, I would consider dropshipping again if I found the right products and supplier.

As far as my advice for finding a good dropshipper, I would also suggest reaching out to the actual manufacturer or primary distributor of the products you want to sell, and bypass the middleman dropshippers altogether.
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stpphilly 12 years ago

Dropshipping does work with good suppliers. I started out selling via a marketplace a few years ago, and now I'm finally creating my own website. I also plan on using wordpress (never knew VS used it too LOL).

As far as suppliers, I find that it's better to search for wholesalers of what you're trying to sell. I've also used wholesalecentral as a source of dropship suppliers (it's free).
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Piemonte 12 years ago

Hello,
I personally run a drop shipping business selling custom made/printed logo mats, exhibtion carpets and bar runners. I send the artwork to the manufacturer and they send direct to the client with our delivery note. OK, I am in Europe but plenty of guys do this in the USA. Keep away from the general popular electronics etc. but go for specialised products where you are dealing with a supplier manufacturer you can create a relationship with. Hope this helps, regards from Austria, David
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dropshipping - A viable option?

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