Drop ship sell?

[sunj]

It's called like drop-ship-sell or buy-drop-sell. Something like that. Basically you sell stuff, and there is a company that ships the product. You don't actually store the products and you don't buy the products to sell. When a customer buys the product from you, you pass on the delivery information to the company so they can deliver the product to the customer. And I guess you pay the company their cut at that time. It's all "just-in-time".

I want to start making money fast and was wondering if anyone has done that. I would sign up for them and sell some items on eBay. What are you thoughts on it? Where could I find a business that does this?

[JorgeHTQH]

Hi,

You're on the right track. I have a website which explains all of this at eStorefrontGuide.com .

However, you should know that in the beginning of any real drop ship business, after the customer buys the product from your website then you have to buy the product from the distributor by credit card or wire transfer and then the distributor will ship the product directly to your customer most of the time with your company name on the box. After you have done business with the distributors for while then they may give you net credit terms.

But the only way to become successful is to work hard on your estore, download a professional website template at TemplateMonster.com and promote your store everywhere and in every way you can. Don't just focus on eBay. Use eBay to get more traffic to your website.

Don't bother with affiliate stores where they tell you they will give you a store and you sell their products as that is well played out.

You have to start your own business, your own company name, your own logo, your own domain name, your own website, your own merchant account to ensure that you get paid all the profits daily instead of monthly such as how affiliate programs work.

Hope this helps..

Jorge

[sunj]

Thanks Jorge! Are you the owner of the website or are you a member? Do you run a eCommerce website?

[JorgeHTQH]

Hi there,

I am the owner and operator of estorefrontguide.com and inetstart.com

Back in 1998 I used to run a computer reseller business and it worked out extremely well using the drop-ship method. But it took alot of work in the beginning and it still took a lot of work to run it but we, my wife and I made several thousand dollars per month net profit.

Then we sold the business for personal reasons and because we needed an extended vacation. The business got to big for us to handle alone. The next step would have been to move into an office but we didn't want to do that so we sold it.

A few years later I wrote the Inet Start computer reseller guide and then expanded into the eStorefront Guide which uses the same principles but expanding into more products.

Hope this helps.

[sunj]

That's very good to hear. I want to do this part-time, not full-time. I have a full-time job right now, but I'm not satisfied with the pay. I'm not concerned much with the net profit I will generate yet. I definitely want to net at least $2,000 per month. I can definitely put in time for it, considering how much work I do at work. I want to know Jorge, what part of it took up most of your time?

[JorgeHTQH]

First, you have to register your business name, then you have to obtain a business ocupational license, then you have to obtain your resellers license (sales tax i.d.) and this takes time during the day and you may have to work during the day.

You may be able to get your resellers license online. You should be able to do all of this within 2 weeks or less. Maybe even one week.

Then comes the website. And this is what takes the most time and hard work.

The best way to do this is to download a template from TemplateMonster.com and then use that template for every page. The only thing you'll be doing is adding the product image and product information on each page. This can take you some more time depending on how many products you want to sell on your site and this is why I recomend you focusing on a niche market.

Hope this helps,
Jorge

[nightdiamond]

Hi, Sunji...

I am famillar with dropshipping, and the idea of selling those products on ebay..

One problem is that they are also selling those same products to other sellers (some just starting out) too. And other sellers on Ebay find even cheaper sources for products to sell and you might find sellers selling the same product you are but even cheaper.

Other beginners also have the same idea ; they find a dropshipping source and attempt to sell them on ebay and they are usually the same products you may be selling and from the same dropshipper you're ordering from. Plus info commercial programs on tv are selling ebay programs with these types of product sources.

This type of ebay selling is very crowded. Here's an example ; Ebay Listing, Skin Vitamins

Notice the large number of listings for "Bare Escentuals Skin Rev-er Upper"...
Some sellers are selling it for $0.99, but others seem to be selling it for $9.00! Besides being a bit crowded, the prices are so different too.


That doesn't mean overcrowded, just crowded for certain types of products, especially dropshipping ones-there are too many people already doing it.

One idea I came across on this subject was given by an ebay expert, who adviced that you learn to be creative in what category you list a product.

For example, let's say you have a source for leather camera carrying bags. The first idea would be to place it in the camera accessories or cameras category.

But to be creative and pick up a group of buyers would be to place your ad in the "Travel" category, based on the idea that a person ready to travel would like a carrying case for his or her camera. Then you add whatever is special about it, such as weatherproof, easy to carry, theft proof, etc. and that is what a buyer will be looking for and wanting, rather than just ' camera carrying case'...

But another good idea that has also been suggested is to visit the yard sales, garage sales you see and look at the items; there may be something rare, memorabilia, antiques, collectibles, something collectors searching ebay might want... in that case you can make a nice profit on a few items instead of struggling with low selling dropshipped merchandise. The idea is that it won't make you rich, but it will make you some money! It all depends on you...

Good luck, take care Sunji...

[sunj]

Like Jorge stated, I'm more toward selling through my own store rather than eBay. eBay is just for traffic. Having a "name" means something different and more specialized. Like if you look at cars on eBay you will see they have their dealer name and information about them (unless it's a private seller). That's a business you would trust and buy from.

[prasunsen]

Be careful with picking drop ship suppliers as many of them will not give you good products at good prices. Dropshipping sounds quite easy, but like with everything it's not. There is a short tutorial on this site - How To Build A Dropship Business - Free E-course - which may help you clarify the most important points.

[sunj]

There's been a change. The market I was trying to sell in has very little profit margin. Most items are above market price. I don't want to sell anything else. I don't have as much interest as I do in IT. I'm back to square one. Although I could find a supplier if I keep searching. I'll keep my eyes open.

[katerlynn]

Drop ship sellers are middlemen who will eat into your profit. You don't need a drop ship seller in order rig up a drop ship system. Just go get a business license. And then go to a store and cruise the aisles. Find a product that appeals to you. Write down the companies name and address if they display the address. If not, when you get home obtain it from the phone book or Internet. Call the company and then tell them you want to sell their product. Inquire if they'll ship the item out if you furnish them with the customers address. Many of them will. If they say yes, the manufacturer will then ask you if you have a business license. Also, in lieu of cruising a store aisle, hit a few tradeshows. Hope that helps.

[DavidDavidDavid]

Katerlynn: That's also my own newbie's impression of things...I've only been researching drop-shipping for a few days, but it seems to be something which is more hype than anything serious. Contacting the manufacturer (and finding them at tradeshows) is the best bet. Sticking to niche products also helps.

[sunj]

Originally Posted by katerlynn

Drop ship sellers are middlemen who will eat into your profit. You don't need a drop ship seller in order rig up a drop ship system. Just go get a business license. And then go to a store and cruise the aisles. Find a product that appeals to you. Write down the companies name and address if they display the address. If not, when you get home obtain it from the phone book or Internet. Call the company and then tell them you want to sell their product. Inquire if they'll ship the item out if you furnish them with the customers address. Many of them will. If they say yes, the manufacturer will then ask you if you have a business license. Also, in lieu of cruising a store aisle, hit a few tradeshows. Hope that helps.

By business license you mean an EIN? Or is it something else? How many units per order on average do you expect? I know it's different for each product and such, but just want a rough estimate. I am wondering if they will consider little old me as a retailer... I don't have tons of cash to make large orders and don't want to get them on credit.