Drop Shipping And Your Business
"Drop shipping" is simply an arrangement between you and a manufacturer or distributor of the product you sell whereby the manufacturer or distributor -- NOT YOU -- drop ships the product to your customers. First you sell the product, you get paid, you keep the profits, you buy the product from the drop shipper and then dropshipper sends the product to you or your customer.
Here's an example: Let's say you wants to set up a web site that sells Polish cyrstal.
If you order directly from the factory you will have to order more than the factory minimim order, add the costs of shipping and endure the trials of importing it and then store it somewhere. Then you will have to set up your own shipping system that includes buying and storing shipping material.,
But if you work with a drop shipper, it ships the products to your customers directly.
Your products will be shipped with shipping labels with your company name, address, and logo instead of theirs. Your customers never know that the products were shipped by a third party. They do not know that you do not have a warehouse.
It makes running your business easy. Here is how it works.
You make arrangements with a drop shipper. There are many out there. ( You can find them in a drop shipping directory like the one at Drop Shop Sources )
Assume that you pick a piece of crystal that will cost you $35 plus shipping. You add that product to your web site with your markup. And let us say that you offer it for $69.99.
A customer visits your site and pays you when he orders. You get the cost of the product plus the cost of shipping.
Now you order the product from the drop shipper and instruct it to deliver the crystal to the customer's address. You pay the drop shipper the $35 cost plus the cost of shipping.
The drop shipper packs and ships according to your pre arranged guidelines. Typically shipping will be done UPS or USPS. You invoice and labels will be included. Your packing specifications will be used.
For you the process was simple. You took the order, got paid, and paid someone else to deliver the product. You were able to focus on sales and running your business.
DROP SHIPPING ADVANTAGES
There are a few huge advantages to this model.
The first is that you do not have to invest in and spend time on managing inventory.
You will not have problems with breakage, theft and seasonal inventory leftovers.
You can offer many more products because you only have to add them to your web site and do not have to worry about the costs of stocking them. In other words, you do not need money to expand. If you find that your customers are eager to buy a certain product, you can have that item up on your site in almost no time.
If you are interested in selling very popular and highly profitable imported products, you will be able to avoid all the problems associated with importing. No customs agents, short orders, huge cash outlays and shipping problems will cause you to lose sleep. You can SELL HIGHLY PROFItable IMPORTED PRODUCTS EASILY AND WITHOUT WORRY.
You'll also be able to SKIP THE HASSLES of shipping your products to your customers. Unless you've already set up a shipping account with someone like Fed Ex or UPS, you'll be heading down to the post office every day to buy stamps and mail out your products.
When To Use Drop Shipping
Use drop shipping if you have a well thought out advertising plan.
Do not use drop shipping because you want to go into business without spending money.
It will cost you money to get into business. And it is likely to cost you a lot more than you think.
The difference between those who succeed at drop shipping and those who don't is the starkly defined by their business and advertising plans. It takes a lot more than find ing a product and listing it on eBay. A lot more.
We recommend that you do three things.
Read the Drop Shipping Guide. This Guide gives you a business plan and a lot more information that will get you started right. Drop Ship Guide
Learn about advertisng. The key to running your business is to advertise. Most people leave this to last. It is actually one of the first things that you should do! You cannot make an effective drop shipping plan without understanding this. Here is a link to our information about advertising. Power of Advertising
Read the free tutorials by clicking on this link . Free Tutorials.
