Dropshipping

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Faevilangel

  • #1
    I have found a reliable dropshipper but this is the first time I have done this so is there anything I should be aware of e.g. delivery to customers, description of goods, getting images of goods,.

    I would set my own store up on my own server but how would the dropshipper know when I have sold an item & where to send to? Would there be a system in place e.g. I send them a daily list of who bought what etc?

    Is it better to stick to a niche rather than cover the whole market? I am thinking of going for a niche area rather than a populated area

    Sorry for sounding like a Noob ;)
     
    B

    Beachcomber

  • #4
    Faevilangel said:
    I have found a reliable dropshipper............
    I would set my own store up on my own server but how would the dropshipper know when I have sold an item & where to send to? Would there be a system in place e.g. I send them a daily list of who bought what etc?
    Click to expand...

    First question would be - how do you know it's a reliable dropshipper if you've not used them for any orders yet? ;)

    The way dropshipping usually works is you advertise the items, then when you get a sale you visit the dropshippers web site and go through their purchasing system - filling in the details of your customer for them to ship to.

    I'm not aware of any automated process for this so each and every order you receive will need to be manually ordered from your dropshipper.

    The biggest bugbear with dropshipping is items out that turn out to be out of stock - it causes alot of hassle when you have to go back to a buyer and explain the item you advertised is not available and rarely will you be able to give a date new stock is expected. It is unfeaseable to check the suppliers stock daily and update your advertising accordingly.

    Make sure you know exactly who is liable for postal losses / damaged items / returns and the relevant procedures.

    Done well, dropshipping can work very nicely - just make sure you keep your eye on the ball.
     
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    FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper

    FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper

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    Barrow-in-Furness
  • #5
    Beachcomber has covered most points there.

    Check with your dropshipper what the ordering methods are and make sure you know what the delivery charges will be so you can factor this into your pricing.

    If you have to order online and they don't have any special dropshipping features you will have to manually order the items, one order at a time for each delivery address. If they will accept email orders then you can automate this process with a bit of PHP script.

    Some specialist dropshippers do have their own tools to synchronise stock, I have a website which synchronises every 15 minutes and removes out of stock items, that doesn't guarantee it will be in stock when I actually order it but it helps!


    If your setting up your own website then I would certainly recommend a niche, but you are a web designer so i'm sure you could setup 2/3/4 websites based on different product types if you wanted to.

    If your good with PHP you might be able to produce some clever interface tools.

    Other options may be eBay and Amazon where you don't need so much need a niche, just use different listing templates in different categories.
     
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    FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper

    FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper

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    Sep 14, 2009
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    Barrow-in-Furness
  • #7
    limessl said:
    Are there any dropshippers who offer an API for ordering? Having to manually order individual items seems archaic!
    Click to expand...

    I'm not sure there are to be honest, I think some of the adult sites may have this but that's all.

    I have one site where they offer an auto order module but does 90% of the job, you still have to manually click for each order in the admin panel, then select postage method and confirm on the suppliers site. No payment required as it's on a credit account which is paid weekly.

    I've asked this question to a few dropshippers and they tend to say it's a security issue taking an order from one site and writing it into the database of another.

    I think it's possible, and have looked into this as a posible side project.
     
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    F

    Faevilangel

  • #8
    Beachcomber said:
    First question would be - how do you know it's a reliable dropshipper if you've not used them for any orders yet? ;)

    The way dropshipping usually works is you advertise the items, then when you get a sale you visit the dropshippers web site and go through their purchasing system - filling in the details of your customer for them to ship to.

    I'm not aware of any automated process for this so each and every order you receive will need to be manually ordered from your dropshipper.

    The biggest bugbear with dropshipping is items out that turn out to be out of stock - it causes alot of hassle when you have to go back to a buyer and explain the item you advertised is not available and rarely will you be able to give a date new stock is expected. It is unfeaseable to check the suppliers stock daily and update your advertising accordingly.

    Make sure you know exactly who is liable for postal losses / damaged items / returns and the relevant procedures.

    Done well, dropshipping can work very nicely - just make sure you keep your eye on the ball.
    Click to expand...

    I have done research into them across multiple forums / websites.

    This is just at the planning stage but will talk to them about all of them issues you have raised.

    @barrowmat

    I will be opening one website to start with (as it's my first) then diversify into other niche's when I feel ready.

    Would you know of any dropshippers / external companies that run websites for dropshippers that automatically update stock etc?

    As I said I am new to this kinda thing so looking at the many ways I can make this as simple for me as possible

    thanks
     
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    A

    applemaidcleaning

  • #9
    However some drop shippers have live stock feeds that you can paste in to your product page, some give you daily or weekly stock sheets on request, and some have live stock showing on website along with a stock alert if it goes below a certain amount and the system will email you.

    This is the type of service you should look for, and any drop ship suppliers reading this - this dose help those who drop ship your products :D:D:D
     
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    B

    BusinessIdeas

  • #10
    Faevilangel said:
    I have found a reliable dropshipper but this is the first time I have done this so is there anything I should be aware of e.g. delivery to customers, description of goods, getting images of goods,.

    I would set my own store up on my own server but how would the dropshipper know when I have sold an item & where to send to? Would there be a system in place e.g. I send them a daily list of who bought what etc?

    Is it better to stick to a niche rather than cover the whole market? I am thinking of going for a niche area rather than a populated area

    Sorry for sounding like a Noob ;)
    Click to expand...
    What products are you going to be selling?
     
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    F

    Faevilangel

  • #13
    WarringtonWebsiteDesign said:
    Are these latest releases or older titles? There tends to be a very low mark up on these type of products.

    I think I may know the dropshipper you will be using, if you PM there name and if it's the same I'll let you know my experiences from a good few years ago.
    Click to expand...

    I am going to go for mainly older titles, but probably offer a service where I will source newer titles for them. I know the mark-up is really low on these now but by going to the niche route, I believe I will have a better chance of making something out the venture than just offering every dvd under the sun.

    PM sent
     
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    W

    WarringtonWebsiteDesign

  • #14
    It is the same dropshipper that I used about 3 years ago. Maybe that should be 5 years ago thinking about it!

    I sold mainly older titles also. I used both eBay and my own website to sell the titles, whilst I didn't go for a niche I found I mainly sold childrens and sci-fi titles.

    I would sell an average of 30 - 40 DVDs a week but only have a profit of £1 per DVD, the time spent processing the order meant it just wasn't worthwhile.

    The dropshipper does offer a sync'd website feature I believe but I haven't used that myself.

    As for reliability they were 1st class, I think only once did I have an issue with a title being delayed.
     
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    B

    bekyed

  • #16
    The only real problem with dropshipping in my experience is you will not be able to compete on price as he will add on his costs for the service.
    If its simply DVDS can you not buy these in and stock them yourself, stick em in an envelope and thats it.
    There are tons of wholesale dvd suppliers on the net.

    Wayne.
     
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    F

    Faevilangel

  • #18
    bekyed said:
    The only real problem with dropshipping in my experience is you will not be able to compete on price as he will add on his costs for the service.
    If its simply DVDS can you not buy these in and stock them yourself, stick em in an envelope and thats it.
    There are tons of wholesale dvd suppliers on the net.

    Wayne.
    Click to expand...

    Know of any reliable ones selling UK dvd's & blu-ray?
     
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