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The_Down_Side_Of_Using_Drop Shippers_On_Ebay
| The Down Side Of Using Drop-Shippers On Ebay!
Ok, let me just say right up front that I am not against
drop-shipping! I love the concept. If you are dealing with a
particular wholesale drop-shipping distributor that is serving
your Ebay ambitions well, then hold onto that company with bonds
of steel, for truly good drop-shippers are hard to find!
Drop-Shipping sounds like the utopian business model. No up
front investment in inventory. You don’t have to carry packages
to the Post Office, United Parcel, or Fedex. All you have to do
is set up your own business, auction, or retail website and
advertise the products that the company provides. Once the
orders come in, you forward it to the drop-shipper and they send
the product directly to your customer.
But, the devil is always in the details. Dropshipping is best
suited for a stand alone E-Commerce website, mail order, or
catalog advertising venue. If you are considering using a
wholesale drop shipper for your Ebay auction, then you might
want to take a step back and let me provide you with some
“points to ponder.”
Back ordered products..The reality is that drop-shipping
companies run out of product and will be back ordered. Ebay
bidders purchase product in “real time.” They are under the
impression that the item you auction, is the item they bought,
not a product that is subject to shortages.
One or two customers might be understanding about the situation,
but most will not. If you happen to run out of product on a
regular basis then your negative feedback rating will go through
the roof, and your reputation will suffer.
One way to combat shortages is to buy a pallet of product in
advance, and have the drop-shipper store it in their warehouse
so that you are assured of an ample supply. This method sort of
goes against the idea of Drop-Shipping (buying the product in
advance) but if you are selling on Ebay, you would be best
served by employing this method.
Also, if possible, find a drop-shipper in your area, or within a
comfortable traveling distance. If you run into any supply or
shipping problems, then you could be on hand to visit the
facility, should any shipping or logistic concerns arise.
Fees..Some dropshippers will charge you a sign up, or entry fee
of about twenty five to fifty dollars just for the privilege of
selling their product. You are also charged a “processing fee”
for sending the product to your customer.
The “price for processing” can range anywhere from seven to
twenty dollars per item, depending on the type of merchandise
you are selling. These expenses, plus Ebay fees, can take a big
chunk out of your bottom line. Finding a product that can bring
you a profit, as well as offseting these types of expenses, can
be a delicate balancing act.
Circumventing your customers..While I do not believe that this
is a pervasive practice among drop-shipping companies, anecdotal
evidence has suggested that some unscrupulous enterprises can
cut you out of the sales loop. They could they easily substitute
your return address for their company logo, selling directly to
your customers.
Market saturation..One of the largest wholesale drop-shippers in
the county is the B&F System, BNFusa.com. A lot of Ebayer’s
started selling their products, one in particular, called
Giovanni Navarre leather jackets. At first, it was a profitable
item. After a while, everyone started selling the same product.
Too much of the same supply, creates market saturation,
ultimately destroying profit potential for the seller.
The Giovanni Navarre leather jackets are still being sold on
Ebay today, but I doubt that they still provide a very
profitable return for the seller. Even though B&F carries over
500 products in 14 different categories, they are intimately
familiar to the Ebay community. You could probably make a great
profit from just about any B&F product if you were to sell them
off line, and out of the auction arena.
When a company becomes too well known to the general public it
becomes almost impossible to make money from products that have
flooded the marketplace. In addition to finding a drop-shipper
who is close to home, it might be a good idea to find a DS
company that is not well known to the Ebay market, or who’s
products have not been scattered all over cyberspace.
These days however, it is hard to find drop-shippers that will
cater to the smaller seller. Most will find it more profitable
to sell in volume than by the piece. The larger wholesale
dropshipping distributors are used by retail catalog operations.
To get involved with the larger operations, you would have to be
doing a tremendous sales volume.
If you still want to pursue drop-shipping as a source of supply
for your Ebay auction, then I would suggest that you read other
opinions, and become as educated as you can about the
drop-shipping company you do business with.
A good and inexpensive start to finding drop-shipping companies
is the Drop Shipping News: http://www.drop-shipping-news.com .
Remember, when it comes to Ebay auction selling, “own what you
sell.” Never leave customer service, or your feedback rating in
the hands of other people!!
About the author:
Robert C. Potter is a wholesale and retail surplus products
specialist. He is the author of “The Ultimate Guide To Products
For Resale!” Over 300 Wholesale & Surplus Supply Sources For
Ebay Auction Sellers, E-Commerce Websites, Flea Market Vendors,
and Retail Store Owners! You can find his 160 page ebook at:
http://www.productsforresale.com
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