1. As a retailer, if I put a dropship wholesaler’s item on my site, and it sits there for a few months until it sells, how do I know that the wholesaler will still have it in stock? Couldn’t I potentially be stuck with a sale on my ecommerce site, while the dropshipper doesn’t have the product?
Yes, you should check with your wholesaler often for current inventory levels and update your site accordingly. Some may have a mechanism of downloading the current inventory levels info, which you could use to update your website automatically.
2. When people purchase a dropshipped item from the website.
a) Do they use the following traditional flow?
Shopping cart => check out => pay credit
OR
Shopping cart (my website) => DropShipper’s Website => Check out => pay credit
You can take the payments on your website and then you have to either enter the order on the dropshipper’s site or have your software setup to send the order electronically.
Either way, you process the payments yourself and then pay the dropshipper.
3. Goods Return – What if the buyer returns the goods? Do they return to me or the dropshipper website company? Who initiates the refund? When the buyer receives the goods from the dropship company, will the dropship company include it’s (dropship) sender address/contact info in and on the package?
For the most part, those are things you would have to discuss with the dropshipping company;
a) They may or may not accept returns on your behalf. Some only do it for defects and others do it either way. You would need to handle the money side of the return as the online dropshipper doesn’t ever get the customer’s credit card info.
b) Some drop shippers insert a packing slip with their name and some don’t. Of course there will need to be contact info on the shipping label. Some may just use “Shipping Department” instead of listing a company name. However it’s still possible they may list their name on the label. It’s best to check what their policy is if this is a concern.
4. If a buyer purchases 10 different items from 10 internet dropshippers listed in my website? Do they have to pay the total combination of 10 different shipping fees and receive 10 different packages? Is there a way, to combine all 10 items in one package?
No, the packages would likely all come from different warehouses unless you had them shipped to you and you re-boxed them and shipped them again.
5. How to find a reputable dropshipping company and keeping your site up to date with stock levels?
You will find that some of the people who sell you a website with dropshipping contacts have no interest at all if you make any money or not. All they care about is selling you the website.
There are also many dropshipping businesses that start up and only last a few months. It is all about doing your research correctly. Research the dropshipper suppliers. Go and look at the dropshipping forums out there and ask questions about the company.
If you are thinking of purchasing a dropshipping website then ONLY buy one from a legitimate dropshipping company themselves and make sure that they are not just a middleman. By doing this, the company knows when you make a sale so that they provide you necessary support.
There are also dropshipping companies that set your website up so it automatically updates the stock and stock levels for you. This is a massive plus as you can then use your time into marketing your business.
6. Is running a dropshipper business site easy money?
No. Even after you have done all this and got your site, you have the massive task of competing with everyone else and getting traffic and more importantly SALES. You need to stand out from the crowd and the most important thing of all is choosing the right market.
7. Is it possible to make money doing drop shipping business?
Yes. It is definitely possible to make money drop shipping. A lot of reputable wholesalers and even manufacturers are willing to drop ship for their retailers, but they are hard to find. You can’t simply google “drop shippers” and find someone. 99% of the ones you will find are scam artists.
They buy bulk products and mark the “suggested retail” so high it would never sell, then give a measly 25-30% discount and charge drop shipping fees, shipping fees, and order processing fees. They also try to sell you pre-made websites, marketing and other services to help you “get your feet off the ground.” These guys are truly scams, and none of them make money.
How to find a dropshipper : To find a good drop shipper, check out OneSource by Worldwide Brands. I’ve been a member for a couple years now and it’s got the best directory I’ve seen. A lot of the wholesalers and drop shippers offer deep discounts, and are easy to work with.
Just remember, drop-shipping costs more. You don’t get the discounts you get when you purchase in bulk, and you have to pay drop shipping fees, small order fees, and shipping (which is usually marked up). You should still be able to make a good margin, but it’s something to think about.
We always try to stock everything we sell on our websites. Some items we prefer to drop ship just because they are expensive, or aren’t ordered enough. We have a warehouse though, and can stock almost everything, so it just makes sense to do that if you have the money.
8. Can I charge customer before my drop shipper ships the item?
Technically, you are not supposed to charge a customer until the item has been shipped. Of course most merchants do this and usually the card associations turn a blind eye.
A lot of merchants will do a pre-authorization. A pre-auth though is usually only good for a few days (depending on the issuing bank) and it guarantees you the money. You can usually go into your virtual terminal and do a forced ticket or post-authorization / sale even if the pre-auth has expired. If the customer still has money available on that card, it should be approved. (Of course, the customer will still have a need for that product).
Good information about dropshipping keep up the good work.
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