I know, like you haven't heard that before.
When I started in the drop shipping business almost 20 years ago, the good old days, there were many problems and concerns that I faced.
After I had established that this sort of business can be very profitable (which is still true to this day), the next biggest issue was finding legitimate providers and companies, while trying to weed my way through illegitimate and scam companies, manufacturers, brokers, and programs.
I spent countless hours each and everyday looking for reputable drop shipping companies.
Drop shipping is a solid branch in the supply chain management business.
The beauty of utilizing these services for eBay, online, and offline businesses is that you don't carry any inventory in-house whatsoever, you can deal with companies who'll directly ship the products that your customers order - to your customer (free of charge).
Most of these companies can be used anywhere in the world.
Yup, that's right.
Whether you're a mate in Australia, a bloke in the UK, or a dude in the United States.
Remember, it is still a business though.
You are still responsible for collecting payments from your customers, and providing excellent customer-service to your clients.
If you're not up for that, you might want to consider another business.
Now, there are some people who should really stay away from the drop shipping business and drop shipping companies in general.
If you don't take care of your business correctly, you will:
- Get taken (scammed!) by illegitimate drop shipping companies
- Wholesale drop shipping companies will refuse to work with you, and
- You can say goodbye to your dreams of operating a profitable, money-making eBay drop shipping business, or selling through your own online store.
Ha, ha, ha.
What else can I say? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say everyone out there is a scammer.
However, over the years I've crossed paths with some pretty low-life people and companies, so I've just learned to have a cautious mind towards these things - to cover my own self and those who I love and respect.
Make sense? How to get started with drop shipping, and the reality of key issues at hand: You can go and try contacting manufacturers and wholesalers to see what kind of deals they can give you.
Whatever business you want to start in, whether it be clothing, electronics, fashion, health & beauty aids - whatever.
As soon as you call your first couple of companies, you will soon be hit with high prices which are about the same as retail (I've even seen wholesalers trying to charge prices higher than retail, they must've thought they could get away with it).
These high prices come along with a bunch of other hoops and fees that you will have to jump through just to sell a product or two.
I have two words for you: Buying Power.
The typical small businesses, like when I started 2 decades ago, don't have the buying power like large retailers such as Wal-Mart or Best Buy - to be able to command lower prices from these drop shipping companies and wholesalers - so we get the other end of the stick.
Solution? Find a legitimate membership program...
...
and join it.
I'm talking about good, solid, money-making (for you) membership clubs.
There are only 2 or 3 legitimate, good ones out there that I personally know of.
That is assuming you have a plan for how you're going to run your business.
eBay, through a website, online store, find clients offline - whatever the case may be.
Now, don't go joining any Joe Scheme Wholesale & Drop Shipping Membership Club online.
You'll get in the members area only to find that it's full of suppliers who only want your money quickly, they're not looking to establish a business relationship and help both of you succeed.
That's if you're able to get in contact with them in the first place.
I've tried almost every website offering a list of drop shipping companies after you pay a membership fee to join - and most of them had outdated information, old phone numbers, companies that had went out of business, and dead links to websites that went nowhere.
If you get lucky enough to discover a good source of dropship suppliers online, you can (almost) consider yourself successful.
Why? Because these companies have tens of thousands of members, presented as one entity to the suppliers, distributors, and manufacturers who work with them to ship products for their clients (you and I).
What does that mean to us? Remember when I mentioned something called "buying power".
Well, now you have just that.
Join a good, legitimate, up to date drop ship sources membership site and you now have the same buying power as the big players on the field.
Drop shippers in these clubs will deal with anyone, even if you're a small time guy or girl looking to start by selling one product on eBay here and there to get some cash flow going, and then go big time.
Or, you might be looking to set-up an eCommerce store with a shopping cart, and operate your business on a drop-ship model for hassle free order fulfillment and inventory management - whatever.
They will work with you and build a long-lasting relationship.
Oh my God: A Win, Win, Win situation for everybody! It works for the people who're running the membership site because obviously they can charge fees to people like us who join, ranging typically from $70-ish to a few hundred dollars.
It works for these companies & wholesalers, because they gain access to a multitude of customers (us) that they otherwise wouldn't have at all.
Most importantly, it works for the entrepreneurs looking to start a business, get products for reasonable wholesale prices, and actually make a good profit.
Remember, the legitimate providers of drop shipping companies & sources will only charge you a one-time fee for a lifetime membership usually, not a monthly fee where you'll be stuck paying $97 a month or whatever, no matter how good or bad your business is doing.
Heck, I've even seen companies trying to charge upwards of a couple of thousand dollars just to become part of some site that gives you a list of drop shipping companies? Does it make sense to you to pay that much, when you don't even have a concrete business in place? You should probably stay away from those type of companies.
If you're not looking to absorb small start-up costs, forget about being in business.
Read that sentence above this one once again.
Stop thinking that somebody is actually going to give you access to legitimate wholesale directories completely FREE.
Searching for it online will yield you nothing.
If you have some common sense, by now you've certainly learned that nothing is free in business (nothing good anyway).
Be prepared to make some type of a small investment if you are serious about your business and making money in the drop shipping business.
This is not a kid's game, be prepared to be overwhelmed by choices after you join.
Find a niche & category that you want to specialize in: clothing, computers, televisions, handbags, brand name products - whatever, and deal with suppliers based on what you're looking to sell and make money with.