If you have embarked on some online money making venture through the channels made possible by eBay, the virtual world’s most popular marketplace, then you’re sure to be on a constant crusade for some techniques that would help boost the profitability of your trade. Well, I have two words that would help you when it comes to such:
Drop shipping.
Drop shipping involves a contact with a wholesaler, known as a drop shipper. The drop shipper would offer some items for wholesale prices (i.e. big, big discounts). The clincher? There are a couple of them, actually:
1. You’d get to purchase these items at wholesale prices even if you’re going to get them per piece.
2. The drop shipper will take care of shipping the item to the designated location.
Immediately, you will see the potentials for profitability with this setup. You won’t have to buy items for resale. You won’t have to create items for your offers. You just need a relationship with a drop shipper, select from his selection of products, and market the same at eBay. You could place your own markup. And you wouldn’t have to worry about storage space or shipping. Better yet, you wouldn’t be too pressured to make a sale, as your items aren’t technically in stock, rather, they’re with the drop shipper who will be awaiting your word as when to deliver the same to the winning bidder.
Now, here’s what is of the essence. Where could you find drop shippers?
Here’s an important piece of advice: forget about offers that promise to provide a list of drop shippers. More often than not, these lists contain outdated information, dead links and even fabricated entities. This is a fact that has been confirmed by eBay itself.
Here’s another important piece of advice: forget about searching for “drop shipping” or “dropshipping” at Google. The term has been exploited beyond belief that it has almost lost its essence in many content sites.
Here’s a fact that you should know: 80% of manufacturers would be more than happy to do some drop shipping for you. Whereas a couple of years ago, drop shipping was a novel approach to selling items online, nowadays, manufacturers have realized that drop shipping can be an effective evolution of the direct selling model. It’s easier to look for drop shippers today than it was a couple of years ago.
The first thing you have to learn is how to focus. What do you want to sell, exactly? Have you researched the market for it? Is it a profitable market?
The second step should entail researching appropriate products for the market you have chosen. What are available for the same? What, among these choices, do you want to sell?
Subsequent steps would be easy. All that remains to be done is to pinpoint specific manufacturers based from the list you have prepared, and contacting them individually. Ask them if drop shipping is among the services they could offer for willing partners. Chances are, you will get an affirmative reply.
Of course, there are ways to streamline the process. The website http://www.worldwidebrands.com offers a comprehensive directory of manufacturers that do drop shipping. Unlike the lists that have sprouted all over the internet, this website is very well known for its credibility as well as the equally credible information they offer. Each entry is verified to ensured accuracy. Their service isn’t free, however, but for a serious seller who wishes to make the most out of drop shipping, it would prove to be a good investment.
There are also some dedicated people maintaining websites about their experiences with drop shippers. Take http://www.webpuffs.com for example. The webmaster offers reviews of the drop shipping manufacturers he encounters, and the information he provides for free is immediately worth a lot.
The bottom line is this: drop shipping can make your eBay business more profitable and more convenient. And finding reliable drop shippers is not as difficult as advertised, if you know how to proceed with the same.
Well, now, you’re in a better position than your competitors.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
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