If you’re a new eBay seller on a shoestring budget, then you’ll want to use the services of drop shippers to handle the warehousing and shipping of your auction items. I will explain the advantage and disadvantages of using them and mention a few tips to make sure your business runs smoothly. After you finishing reading this article, you’ll gain confidence in dealing with drop shipping companies.
Almost any kind of item can be drop shipped. From apparel, electronics, home and garden supplies to sporting equipment and automotive accessories… Whatever it is, you can probably find a supplier who carries it and will ship it out directly to your customers.
There are advantages to using a drop shipper. They carry the inventory and ship it out to your customers so you don’t have to. That means if you run your business from home, you won’t have to stock any items. That also means you don’t risk holding up your money on inventory that doesn’t sell. It also means, you can safely test items individually to find a winner without being stuck with a dud. Only when you make a sale and after you receive money from your customer is when you are required to purchase the item from the supplier and they even ship it directly to your customer’s address for you.
Nothing in running a business is perfect and using drop shippers isn’t an exception. For one thing, you give up some control over the shipping of the item. If you had the item in your own stock, you could pack and ship it out as fast as you receive your customer’s payment. However, with a drop shipper, you’ll have to wait for when they have set up the times they pack and ship orders received.
Shipping cost on drop ship orders to individual customers averages higher than if you purchased in bulk and mail it out yourself. Drop shippers also usually charge you a drop ship fee in addition to the “padded” shipping and handling costs.
The costs of the items themselves are usually higher than if you had purchased them in bulk. Some drop shippers don’t give the best discounts. Don’t be surprised if you find some similar items sold by retail discounters selling below the wholesale cost you purchase your items at.
When you make the decision that using drop shippers are the best way for you to get started selling on eBay auctions, you’ll want to be certain you can rely on the company you will be doing business with. At the minimum, you should check them out with the Better Business Bureau at BBB.org. When you see nothing wrong with the company through your initial check, try ordering an item and have it shipped to an alternate address from your business and see if what you ordered actually arrives and if it does in a timely manner. You want to make sure they are honest and professional to avoid having to answer to your customers who didn’t receive their orders.
Many of us starting an eBay business are on a tight budget and can’t afford to stock up on inventory. Using the services of a drop shipper or a company that will ship items to your customers directly will help you get by on low funds. You should also understand the disadvantages of using drop shippers and what you must do to make sure that who you use is reliable. With the information from this article, you now have more choices for running your eBay business the way you want it to run.
Copyright © 2008 by Lee Chan
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