D R O P S H I P P I N G 1 0 1

G e t t i n g S t a r t e d

W i t h a D r o p s h i p p i n g B u s i n e s s

Dropshipping is a simple enough concept: You set up an eCommerce store and use suppliers to fulfill your orders and ship them out to your customers.

This retail fulfillment method means that the merchant doesn't have to handle or deal with the product.

Dropshipping is designed so the merchant doesn't have to store any inventory and there is no worrying about any logistics or shipping costs.

U N D E R S T A N D I N GD R O P S H I P P I N G

D R O P S H I P P I N G C L A S S I C

1 - The customer orders and pays you for the product.2 - Only after you get the money from the customer will you pay the supplier to fulfill the order. 3 - The supplier ships the product directly to the customer.

1 - You get the items from the supplier. You also pay them at this time. 2 - The customer orders and pays you for the product.3 - You ship the order to the customer.

P R O S & C O N S

P r o s

L o w I n v e s t m e n t - O n e o f t h e b i g g e s t a d v a n t a g e s o f d r o p s h i p p i n g i s t h a t y o u c a n l a u n c h a n e C o m m e r c e s t o r e w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o s i n k h u n d r e d s o r t h o u s a n d s o f d o l l a r s i n t o i n v e n t o r y . Y o u a r e n ' t m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n y t h i n g y o u r s e l f o r s t o r i n g a n y g o o d s s o t h e r e i s n o n e e d t o a c t u a l l y c r e a t e a p r o d u c t . E a s y t o S t a r t - O t h e r t h a n f i n d i n g a s u p p l i e r a n d s e t t i n g u p y o u r o n l i n e s t o r e , r u n n i n g a n e C o m m e r c e b u s i n e s s i s e a s i e r t o s t a r t a n d r u n w h e n y o u a r e n ' t d e a l i n g w i t h p h y s i c a l i n v e n t o r y . L o w O v e r h e a d - Y o u d o n ' t h a v e t o d e a l w i t h p u r c h a s i n g i n v e n t o r y a n d m a n a g i n g o r s t o r a g e f a c i l i t y , k e e p i n g y o u r e x p e n s e s n i c e a n d l o w . Y o u c o u l d r u n y o u r d r o p s h i p p i n g b u s i n e s s f r o m h o m e f r o m a l a p t o p !

T h e r e a r e s o m e

p r o s a n d c o n s t o

t h e d r o p s h i p p i n g

m o d e l .

P R O S & C O N S C O N T ' D

P r o s C o n t ' d

m a n a g i n g a w a r e h o u s e p a c k i n g a n d s h i p p i n g i n v e n t o r y t r a c k i n g s t a f f r e o r d e r i n g p r o d u c t s h a n d l i n g r e t u r n s a n d i n c o m i n g s h i p m e n t s

W i t h d r o p s h i p p i n g , y o u d o n ' t h a v e t o w o r r y a b o u t . . .

P R O S & C O N S C O N T ' D

P r o s C o n t ' d

L o c a t i o n F l e x i b i l i t y - A s l o n g a s y o u h a v e a c o n n e c t i o n t o t h e i n t e r n e t , y o u rd r o p s h i p p i n g b u s i n e s s c a n b e r a n f r o m j u s t a b o u t a n y w h e r e . J u s t m a k e s u r e t h a t y o u a r e a b l e t o c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h y o u r c u s t o m e r s a n d s u p p l i e r s S c a l a b i l i t y - A t r a d i t i o n a l b u s i n e s s w i l l r e c e i v e 3 x a s m u c h b u s i n e s s a sy o u w i l l n e e d t o d o 3 x a s m u c h w o r k . B y l e v e r a g i n g d r o p s h i p p i n g s u p p l i e r s , t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e w o r k w i l l b e b o r n e b y t h e s u p p l i e r s , a l l o w i n g y o u e a s i e r e x p a n s i o n a n d l e s s w o r k . A r r a y o f P r o d u c t s - T h e n i c e t h i n g a b o u t n o t h a v i n g t o p r e - p u r c h a s e i t e m s m e a n s t h a t y o u c a n p o t e n t i a l l y o f f e r a w i d e v a r i e t y o f p r o d u c t s t o y o u r c u s t o m e r s .

P R O S & C O N S

C o n s

L o w M a r g i n s - T h e b i g g e s t d i s a d v a n t a g e t o o p e r a t i n g i n a h i g h l y c o m p e t i t i v e d r o p s h i p p i n g m a r k e t m e a n s l o w e r m a r g i n s . B e c a u s e i t ' s s o e a s y t o g e t s t a r t e d w i t h l o w o v e r h e a d c o s t s , m a n y m e r c h a n t s w i l l s t a r t t h e i r s t o r e w i t h s u p e r l o w p r i c e s i n a n a t t e m p t t o q u i c k l y g r o w r e v e n u e . S h i p p i n g a n d R e t u r n s - I f y o u ' r e u s i n g m o r e t h a n o n e s u p p l i e r , a s m a n y d r o p s h i p p e r s d o , t h i s c a n c o m p l i c a t ey o u r s h i p p i n g c o s t s a s t h e y c a n v a r y f r o m s u p p l i e r t o s u p p l i e r . Y o u a l s o l o s e c o n t r o l o v e r s h i p p i n g q u a l i t y a n d s p e e d .

R e t u r n s c a n b e t o u g h a s w e l l . B a s e d o n t h e a g r e e m e n t y o u h a v e w i t h y o u r s u p p l i e r s , c u s t o m e r s m i g h t b e r e q u i r e d t o r e t u r n t h e p r o d u c t s t o y o u , n o t t h e s u p p l i e r .

T h e r e a r e s o m e

p r o s a n d c o n s t o

t h e d r o p s h i p p i n g

m o d e l .

P R O S & C O N S C O N T ' D

C o n s C o n t ' d

L a c k o f V i s i b i l i t y - W h e n y o u w o r k w i t h s u p p l i e r s y o u a r e a l s o o u t s o u r c i n g s o m e o f y o u r c u s t o m e r s a t i s f a c t i o n . S o m e o n e e l s e i s b u i l d i n g a n d s e n d i n g o u t a p r o d u c t w h i c h i s a h u g e p a r t o f t h e o v e r a l l c u s t o m e r e x p e r i e n c e . I f a n y t h i n g g o e s s o u t h o n t h e s u p p l i e r ' s e n d , t h e c u s t o m e r w i l l b l a m e y o u .

T h e r e i s a l s o l e s s c o n t r o l o v e r t h e i n v e n t o r y . W h e n y o u ' r e s o u r c i n g f r o m m u l t i p l e w a r e h o u s e s , i n v e n t o r y c h a n g e s d a i l y . I t ' s i m p o r t a n t t o t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f s o f t w a r e s o l u t i o n s t h a t a l l o w y o u t o v i e w t h e i n v e n t o r y l e v e l s w i t h y o u r s u p p l i e r .

P I C K I N G Y O U R M A R K E T &

F I N D I N G S U P P L I E R S

A c o m m o n m i s c o n c e p t i o n i s t h a t b y h a v i n g a d r o p s h i p p i n g b u s i n e s s y o u c a n w o r k w i t h i n a n y n i c h e y o u w a n t a n d y o u w i l l t u r n p r o f i t s . T h i s i s j u s t n o t t r u e . N o m a t t e r w h i c h m a r k e t y o u d e c i d e t o s e l l , t h e r e w i l l b e c o m p e t i t o r s w i t h a m o r e e s t a b l i s h e d p r e s e n c e a n d c u s t o m e r l o y a l t y .

A c o m m o n m i s t a k e i s p i c k i n g a p r o d u c t b a s e d o n p e r s o n a l i n t e r e s t s . T h i s w o n ' t n e c e s s a r i l y g u a r a n t e e y o u b u s i n e s s s u c c e s s . I f y o u r g o a l i s t o b u i l d a p r o f i t a b l e d r o p s h i p p i n g s i t e , c o n s i d e r p u t t i n g p e r s o n a l p a s s i o n s a s i d e w h e n r e s e a r c h i n g y o u r m a r k e t n i c h e .

W H E N R E S E A R C H I N G P R O D U C T S , C O N S I D E R T H E F O L L O W I N G :

Are you a consumer of that niche?

Do you understand the products and

how they improve things? Having a

first-hand understanding of a

target audience can give you an

instant edge in marketing efforts.

If you have professional or

academic expertise in the product

this can help make you a bigger

advocate for how the products can

enrich and help people.

You have seen other businesses

attempt to sell in the same niche

and you know their successes and

failures, allowing you the foresight

to avoid or follow them.

F I N D I N G S U P P L I E R S

F a k e W h o l e s a l e S u p p l i e r s

T h e y w a n t f e e s - R e t a i l w h o l e s a l e r s d o n ' t   c h a r g e t h e i r c u s t o m e r s m o n t h l y f e e s f o r d o i n g b u s i n e s s w i t h t h e m . I f a s u p p l i e r i s a s k i n g f o r a m e m b e r s h i p f e e o r s e r v i c e f e e , t h e y a r e l i k e l y n o t l e g i t i m a t e .

A v a i l a b l e t o t h e p u b l i c – I f y o u a r e g e t t i n g g e n u i n e w h o l e s a l e p r i c i n g y o u n e e d t o a p p l y f o r a n a c c o u n t , p r o v e t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f y o u r b u s i n e s s , a n d b e a p p r o v e d b e f o r e o r d e r i n g w i t h t h e s u p p l i e r . I f t h e s u p p l i e r o f f e r s p r o d u c t s t o t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c a t “ w h o l e s a l e p r i c e s ” , i t i s j u s t a r e t a i l e r o f f e r i n g i t e m s a t i n f l a t e d p r i c e s .

Before looking for suppliers, it is essential to know how to differentiate between legitimate wholesale suppliers and retail stores posing as wholesale suppliers.

P e r - o r d e r f e e s – T h i s i s n ’ t t h e s a m e a s a m e m b e r s h i p f e e . M a n y d r o p s h i p p e r s w i l l c h a r g e a p e r - o r d e r d r o p s h i p p i n g f e e t h a t c a n r a n g e f r o m $ 2 t o $ 5 , d e p e n d i n g o n t h e s i z e o f t h e i t e m s b e i n g s h i p p e d . T h i s i s a n i n d u s t r y s t a n d a r d a s t h e c o s t o f p a c k i n g a n d s h i p p i n g i n d i v i d u a l o r d e r s i s h i g h e r t h a n s h i p p i n g i n b u l k .

M i n i m u m o r d e r s i z e – M o s t d r o p s h i p p e r s h a v e a m i n i m u m o r d e r s i z e , w h i c h i s t h e l o w e s t a m o u n t y o u h a v e t o p u r c h a s e f o r y o u r f i r s t o r d e r . T h i s f i l t e r s o u t a n y w i n d o w - s h o p p i n g m e r c h a n t s w h o w a s t e t h e i r t i m e w i t h s m a l l o r d e r s a n d q u e s t i o n s t h a t n e v e r t u r n i n t o m e a n i n g f u l b u s i n e s s f o r t h e m .

T h i s c o u l d p o t e n t i a l l y c a u s e s o m e c o m p l i c a t i o n s f o r y o u r d r o p s h i p p i n g b u s i n e s s , e s p e c i a l l y i f y o u a r e r e q u i r e d t o h a v e a m i n i m u m o f a $ 3 0 0 o r d e r , b u t y o u r a v e r a g e o r d e r s i z e i s a r o u n d $ 1 0 0 . O f f e r t o p r e - p a y t h e s u p p l i e r $ 3 0 0 t o b u i l d c r e d i t w i t h t h e m t o a p p l y a g a i n s t y o u r d r o p s h i p p i n g o r d e r s . Y o u a r e a t l e a s t c o m m i t t i n g t o $ 3 0 0 i n p r o d u c t w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o p l a c e a l a r g e o r d e r o f s t o c k y o u d o n ’ t n e e d .

H O W T O F I N D S U P P L I E R S

F i n d i n g q u a l i t y s u p p l i e r s i s c r u c i a l t o y o u r s u c c e s s .

I f y o u a r e w o r k i n g i n a t r a d i t i o n a l

m o d e l w h e r e y o u h o l d t h e i n v e n t o r y y o u a r e c o n t r o l l i n g t h e

w h o l e p r o c e s s .

I n t h e d r o p s h i p p i n g m o d e l , i f t h e d e l i v e r i e s g o o u t w r o n g , i t ' s n o t s o m e t h i n g y o u c a n f i x y o u r s e l f .

T h e o n l y t h i n g y o u c a n r e a l l y d o i s l o o k f o r a n e w s u p p l i e r .

It may seem obvious, but keep in mind:

You have to get specific when searching. Wholesalers aren’t the best at marketing themselves and you probably won’t find one by just searching “wholesaler suppliers for product X.” Don’t judge by the website. Wholesalers are also notorious for having outdated websites. Don’t let quality of the site deter you from a good supplier.Make use of those modifiers when searching. Keywords like “distributor,” “reseller,” “bulk,” “warehouse,” and “supplier” will yield more narrowed results.

S E A R C H W I T HG O O G L E

If your time and budget allow for it, make an appearance at trade shows where manufacturers and wholesalers will be in attendance. Make sure you have your product niche in mind and prepare to network.

G O T O T R A D ES H O W S

A supplier directory is a database of suppliers that is organized by market, niche, or product. Many directories use a screening process to make sure the suppliers listed are genuine wholesalers. Supplier directories are a convenient way to quickly search for and/or browse many suppliers in one place while also giving you more ideas for products to sell or niches to enter.

D I R E C T O R I E S

Here are some suppliers to get you started:

This is only the t ip of the iceberg when it comes to start ing a dropshipping business. We wil l br ing you

more information to help you get started along with helpful hints and t ips along the way.

www.zenventory.com(602) 466-1706

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