DROPSHIPPING WHOLESALERS: LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT MATCH

The concept behind using dropshipping wholesalers is a simple one. You take an order for a product through your website. You route the order to a dropshipping wholesaler and they send the item directly to the customer. These wholesalers get their products directly from the manufacturer. Because they buy in bulk, they get much better prices than you, as an individual seller can. They pass the savings on to you and you in turn, mark up your product and sell it on the open market.

The benefits for you as the seller are clear. You have no cost to carry the merchandise, you do not have to coordinate with the shipping agent, and if you have no sales you lose no money. At the same time, you set the price you want to sell the product for and you only pay for the product once you have made the sale. There is some risk to working with dropshipping wholesalers since you are completely reliant on a third party to make good on the sale. For many sellers, the benefits far outweigh the risks as they have been able to build stable lucrative businesses using this method.

According to some sources, dropshipping orders increased nearly 20% in 2008. This is particularly interesting since all online shopping is estimated to have increased only 6% over the same period. This growth is due in part to the popularity of using drop shipping to sell on auction sites. In the bustling commercial world of auctions, small sellers can compete with large heavily financed retailers with deep pockets. By using dropshipping wholesalers to supply their products, little guys can offer the same depth of products as the big guys because they avoid the cost of carrying the inventory. Theoretically, everyone gets a better price because competition is increased and dropshipping wholesalers can offer better prices due to volume sales.

So how do you find reliable dropshipping wholesalers to work with? Even the most rudimentary Internet search will return hundreds of hits. You see list after list advertised. Should you buy one of these? Should you subscribe to a directory of dropshipping wholesalers? The truth is, many of these lists and programs are simply scams that prey on those of us who don’t know enough to weed through all the clutter we find. You may be only spending a few dollars on a list but multiply that by the many thousands of others just like you who are out there looking for wholesale drop shippers and you see that there is some serious money at stake. Visit forums, join discussion groups and look for background on the companies you are considering. If you can afford it, trade shows are excellent ways to actually get to meet the people you will be buying from before you enter into a contractual arrangement. Learn about their background, their history, and their track record. IF you can talk with others who have worked with them before, do it! You have a lot at stake here. Anything you can do to increase your odds of success are worth the money and effort.

It is much easier to zero in on reliable dropshipping wholesalers once you have determined which products you will specialize in. Will you focus on clothing items, hand bags, electronics? There are large groups of whole sale drop shippers who specialize in all these areas. So it’s up to you to do your homework and you once you do you will be well on your way to enjoying success as an online retailer.