Tips for Selecting a Drop Ship Supplier

Starting a Drop Ship business on the web is a terrific way to make money using the internet. It's particularly favorable for a home-based model because you don't have to stock any product. It's also very attractive for a small business that does not want to carry a lot of inventory. With a drop ship model, a drop ship supplier does the inventory management and fulfillment for you.

Here are 5 things to look for when evaluating a potential drop ship supplier

Wholesale Pricing - Drop Ship Suppliers should also be wholesaler suppliers. There are companies on the web who masquerade as Drop Shippers but are really just resellers. Be sure you're dealing with a real wholesale source or you will be paying too much for the product and may not be able to compete.

Drop Ship Fees - Drop Shippers usually charge a fee in addition to the cost of the merchandise. Typically, this is around $5.00. Determine in advance whether it is a per-item charge or a per-order charge and build it into your costs. For example, if the drop ship free is $5 and the order contains 3 different items, will there be a drop ship fee of $15 or just $5 for the order?

Turnaround Time - How quickly can they turn your order around once you have placed it? Make sure their turnaround time fits into your business model. For example, if they take 2 weeks to ship an order, will that work for your business?

Returns - Who gets the product back when the customer decides to return it? Some returns are unavoidable; in spite of your best efforts, there will be occasional shipping errors and other unforeseeable circumstances. How are returns managed (e.g. who pays the return shipping charges)?

Product Data Feed - Managing the inventory in a drop ship business is one of the biggest challenges awaiting you in this business. Not only are the products stored somewhere else by someone else, but other businesses are also selling from that pool of products. You will need some way to keep your website records in-synch with the drop ship supplier's records. If you're selling more than a few of the drop ship supplier's items, this task can become unmanageable very quickly unless it's automated. Automation can be accomplished with a product data feed file. Determine if the drop ship supplier (a) provides a data feed file and (b) if so, how often it's updated.

The right Drop Ship Supplier can help you stock your web business with loads of products that you don't need to physically stock. Be sure to select the supplier wisely and be certain the supplier can work effectively in your business.