How drop ship works.

They won't know it but I think they aren't very good in selling their stuff to the people. They have by far more stuff than they could sell alone so they make a jv with other guys to sell their stuff for them.
If you do it just offer more quality in service and people will be buying from you.

Here's why dropshipping makes sense (IMHO)..

In general, if a business wants to be successful, they need to focus on a single "approach" of doing business. A manufacturer needs to focus on manufacturing the best products they can. A distributor needs to focus on buying in bulk, and selling in smaller wholesale bulk orders, and a retailer needs to focus on marketing (or retailing) their products. The reason dropshipping makes sense is because most manufacturers and distributors don't (and choose not to) market products and retail them. They are focusing on their specific business model. In fact, many manufacturers will not even sell single items, they will only sell in bulk to distributors.

Your job as the retailer is to focus on selling products at retail. The manufacturer (or distributor) will often times "dropship" for you because they do not focus on retailing products. They are not set up for it & they choose not to put their focus there.

Hi Newbieee,

It's not so hard actually. Forget 'drop shipping' sites, all the ones I have seen are a scam anyway. By scam I mean they aren't playing fair with you and will undercutting you any chance they get. They are in fact agents themselves, not manufacturers.

Go directly to the manufacturers. There are lots of manufacturers in Bangladesh and all over China. Phone them up and tell them your plan. If they aren't familiar with drop shipping then explain the process.

Do this and you will have an exclusive offer for the public as manufacturers aren't bothered about individual sales. They will put up with some small orders from you initially as they will view your orders as a growing source of sales.

Big tip though: Manufactures aren't retailers and when you see them acting that way it means that you're actually talking to an agent.

Another comment...

I drop ship - you can see my site if you wish, just go to my contact page - and let me tell you this;

Whatever it is you're thinking of selling, first go straight to the manufacturer and ask them if the drop ship. If they don't then ask them for a distributor list - you'll need to be operating from a company and have an EIN and probably website too. Then, call each supplier and ask them if they drop ship.

Avoid drop ship lists - a complete waste of time.

Sites like World Wide Brands can be a good place to start searching for suppliers. They're expensive to join though.

I sourced my products by going straight to the manufacturer. Sure, some turned me down or don't do drop shipping but I found enough manufacturers that did let me sign a retail contract with them.

THIS IS IMPORTANT:

Every single manufacturer I retail for also sells direct to the public from their website.

This is quite usual for many manufacturers these days.

Don't let this put you off.

First, get their wholesale/retailer price list and then see if you can sell at the prices they advertise on their own as cheaply as they do and still make a profit. If not then find another manufacturer.

All manufacturers that I deal with on my site do list wholesale prices that allow me to compete with their own retail sites. I suspect genuine manufacturers that earnestly wish to deal with drop ship retailers will always leave enough margin to make worth a retailer's time and effort.

Finally...

I would also advise not to drop ship product overseas; customs can be a nightmare and you'll more than likely lose money on overseas orders.

Robert

Dropshipping is not for selling on eBay, or Amazon unless you do some research and find unique products on a regular basis, or concentrate on super niche products. eBay is full of wholesalers now who are importing directly from China. Dropshipping should be viewed as a tool to sell locally without having to carry inventory or shipping supplies. Or running your own ecommerce website, but how you get it ranked is another problem.

Dropshipping on eBay is like buying a $6k Direct Buy membership to save money on your Coffee Maker.

The counter to low pricing is expertise. Become an expert in your products, that's always been sound sales advice. Unless you have a large bankroll to invest on infrastructure and inventory you can't compete on price. People will come to you for your advice.

Take the example of an electronics salesman I always use. When I was buying a new satellite box he told me to stick with the basic version because there wasn't enough content to make hdtv worthwhile yet, but he recommended an hdtv ready tv so I could upgrade in a few years. Same thing when I was buying a new tv, he said there isn't enough content for 3d so just wait a few years and let the technology mature. Now I live in a different city and so does my father but we actually buy large ticket items from him and get them shipped because of the sound advice he gave us. He built a trusted relationship with us instead of worrying about the commissions and we gave him tons of business through recommendations.

Either you become good at what you do, or you're just another scammer like the rest of the world.

I am opening up my e-commerce this week that incorporates dropship, and I did bring up that concern to the vendor I plan to work with because there isn't a separate section for dropshippers only, but I guess I have to make a very explicit note every time I order something from them to realize that it's a dropship order. There are other dropshippers for that website, and I see some pretty good feedback, so I am assuming that they do work if you're in the proper niche Also, my vendor is from China, and I find their shipping rates are a lot more reasonable for worldwide shipping than compared to the U.S. post office...

I doubt a significant amount of consumer will go through the research, sign up with the dropshipper, etc... I mean, I think the only large benefit of drop shipping over affiliate marketing is that you get to give your website a name and that you get word of mouth advertising for your website.