dropshipping
- Thread starter dannyh84
- Start date
Hi Danny,
In a nutshell, the benefits are that it means you don't have to hold any stock, you also have no hassle in terms of postage and packing. The major disadvantages are a lack of control over when and how the product is sent out / what is included i.e. promotional material for another business and therefore potentially could lose repeat business because of it.
Regards,
Jacob
In a nutshell, the benefits are that it means you don't have to hold any stock, you also have no hassle in terms of postage and packing. The major disadvantages are a lack of control over when and how the product is sent out / what is included i.e. promotional material for another business and therefore potentially could lose repeat business because of it.
Regards,
Jacob
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They are not all bad, really depends on the supplier - also when you think about the financial commitment, time, space and other bills involved in holding stock the profit can be pretty good or at least around the same level.
Personally I always advise to start off with a dropshipper then start stocking the most popular Items ie what you sell most off through your online store/ebay etc.
Don't know if I'm allowed to post a link but droshipforum.co.uk is a great starting point.
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I don't know too much about drop-shipping as a business however I'd recommend you read about blinds.com. There are companies like this that have optimized the business of drop-shipping directly from suppliers, including Zappos and surprisingly, Apple.
All of these companies often source products directly from the factory and ship to the end user, taking advantage of special rates with shipping companies and the fact they don't have to use their own warehousing and administrative resources.
All of these companies often source products directly from the factory and ship to the end user, taking advantage of special rates with shipping companies and the fact they don't have to use their own warehousing and administrative resources.
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One of my current clients is a Drop Shipper. She's been doing it for a few years and apparently does quite well out of it. There is the downside of a loss of control but the upside being its much easier to manag
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Hi Danny
Just remember that drop shipping is only one part of the equation. Selecting the right product and marketing it are key. There are a lot of Amazon Marketplace and Ebay sellers etc. drop shipping now so you have to have a real point of difference and carve out a niche for yourself. Good luck!
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A few ideas:- On Amazon for example on their product pages you can see where a product is ranked in the bestsellers list. If you found a particular brand name product was very popular you could see if you could source a generic (i.e. non-branded) version of it to start selling. Therefore you know there is an existing market - but at least you wouldn't be selling exactly the same item as everyone else.
- Pick a niche and create a brand around it, e.g. electric toothbrushes. Incorporate that into your brand name and aim to be the absolute best at it - great product, competitive price, quick delivery. This will give you focus and you will be perceived as a specialist in your field
- Ideally you would want exclusivity on a product - but until you have developed a name for yourself/can guarantee 'x' amount of sales this will be hard to achieve
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This forum may help with that: http://www.thewholesaleforums.co.uk/
Some great advice and startup guides on there too!
Good Luck
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You need to think about what you want to sell, Ideally something that your interested in so if you get questions you can answer them quickly and easily.
Once you know this then you can write an email script and send it to a list of suitable suppliers.
If people do know of good suppliers that do dropship then they may not want to tell you if thats what they do as they wont want the competition but best of luck.
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Hi Danny,
There are four product business models:
1. Stocked
2. Manufacture
3. Just in time (drop-shipping falls into this)
4. Asset recovery
Each model has its benefits and weaknesses, its knowing what they are, why they are and how each may suit your best.
For example in the stocked model, you have the items so can detail them further and are generally able to fulfil orders faster.
Where as the manufacture model you can create bespoke kits to make a new product, but need two or more products to make them.
Just-in-time (what you've referred to as drop shipping) can be direct to the customer, but can also include delivery to you for re-packagaing, the cost is generally higher, but the range you can offer is normally wider.
And as for asset recovery, the cost is typically much lower, but the availability can be poor or infrequent and varied.
I put together two videos that explain the product business models a while back and once you've watched the first video, the second video on hybrid business models will make a lot more sense.
Hope that helps,
Matt
There are four product business models:
1. Stocked
2. Manufacture
3. Just in time (drop-shipping falls into this)
4. Asset recovery
Each model has its benefits and weaknesses, its knowing what they are, why they are and how each may suit your best.
For example in the stocked model, you have the items so can detail them further and are generally able to fulfil orders faster.
Where as the manufacture model you can create bespoke kits to make a new product, but need two or more products to make them.
Just-in-time (what you've referred to as drop shipping) can be direct to the customer, but can also include delivery to you for re-packagaing, the cost is generally higher, but the range you can offer is normally wider.
And as for asset recovery, the cost is typically much lower, but the availability can be poor or infrequent and varied.
I put together two videos that explain the product business models a while back and once you've watched the first video, the second video on hybrid business models will make a lot more sense.
Hope that helps,
Matt
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T
tommy
I would also recommend (if possible) to order something from the supplier. This way you can judge the quality of the product, packaging, receipt, speed etc and if there are any flyers in there.
Myself and my wife are finialising our site where all our products are from multiple Dropshippers to see how we get on and are speaking to some wholesalers to try and get dropshipping. Some will but the discounts available are not always great.
Tom
Myself and my wife are finialising our site where all our products are from multiple Dropshippers to see how we get on and are speaking to some wholesalers to try and get dropshipping. Some will but the discounts available are not always great.
Tom
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Most likely you would set yourself up as a sole trader as this involves less onerous admin than Ltd company - but you need to look into the pro's and con's of both. I think it's a good idea to test the water whilst still having another income. Also don't forget seasonality of product. This time of year can be really slow in retail (again, depends what you are selling!) but Summer and Xmas can provide peaks
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