Find Dropship Suppliers with These Easy Steps
Are you looking to start an eCommerce business without the need to stock inventory yourself?
Or are you wanting to expand your existing business by offering more products?
Dropshipping may be the way to go.
What is dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a business model where the seller does not hold inventory. The seller partners with suppliers who dropships orders on behalf of the seller. The seller merely lists the products for sale on their eCommerce site, gets a wholesale price from the supplier and charges retail.
The dropship supplier plays an important role in providing high-quality products at a good price from the manufacturer to the retailer, they also assure the retailer for timely delivery of orders to the customers.
As a retailer, you can sell a variety of products without even stocking any inventory, besides you don’t even have to worry about the packaging and delivery of the products.
Thus, the dropship supplier makes it easy for a retailer to carry out business smoothly with less investment and minimizes the risk involved.
How to find your dropship suppliers?
1. Google and google some more
Once you’ve decided to jump into dropshipping, finding a product to sell can be tricky.
Before deciding what to sell, keep these things in mind:
Does the product’s cost permits for a healthy markup?
How different is the product and will it help drive traffic to your store?
Avoid saturated products and niches.
Once you’ve decided what to sell, start looking for suppliers. Here again, Google is a good starting point.
2. Call manufacturers
Manufacturers are a good reference source to find distributors, and you can be sure the distributors suggested by the manufacturers will be genuine and reliable. Once you have a list of suppliers get on the next step.
3. Talk to suppliers
Shortlist the supplier and then call each of them. Prepare a questionnaire before you call so you don’t forget important questions.
Things you should ask a supplier:
i. Location of the warehouse.
ii. The material used for packing the products.
iii. Any other cost involved other than the direct cost of the product.
iv. Delivery time
vii. Payment procedure e.g. per order fee, monthly fees, purchasing minimums.
viii. Exchange and return policies.
4. Place an order with your competitors
Order from your competitors to find which suppliers they use, how the supplier packages their products, delivery times, etc.
How to know which drop shippers to avoid?
- If they charge monthly fees
Some drop shippers may charge a monthly fee for the right of associating with them. Mostly this is an indication of ‘fake drop shippers” who might not have any real interest in carrying out business with you.
2. Their website does not have an address
When you search for a supplier, make sure that the address mentioned does exist. Find it on Google Maps.
3. Place a test order with them
Always place a test order with suppliers to experience the quality of service, delivery times, packaging, etc., first-hand.
You can read the complete article here
