How do you choose a dropshipper?
Drop shipping can be a very advantageous and effective way to begin an online retail store and earn substantial profits; however, you must do your homework to ensure you know what you must do and get accomplished in order for it to be a success.
If you know anything about drop shipping (a popular form of e-commerce used by online retailers), you probably think it is the answer to every entrepreneur's dream; with no upfront inventory or packaging and shipping costs, why wouldn't it be? Yet, many individuals sign up with a drop ship service without conducting the necessary research and learning how to properly utilize the service, resulting in profit losses and ultimately a failed business venture.
Any smart consumer will always conduct thorough research before making any final decisions concerning which drop shipping service to use, especially before paying the monthly or annual fees most charge. Many customers who become unhappy with the service do so because they failed to understand the necessary processes and inherent risks involved with manufacturers, including backorders and selling big-ticket items.
Why am I seeing so many complaints filed against dropshippers?
Drop ship companies have long been the target of disgruntled and unhappy customers, many of whom are looking for a way to earn supplementary profit with little committed work. Search the internet for different drop ship companies and you will find a myriad of slandering complaints, allegations, and gripes, all posted by customers (former and current) of specific drop shipping companies. What is so interesting is that many of the complaints are not validated; a statement is made without any substantial information or solid facts to back it up. For example, "they almost always sent out the wrong or broken items," is one such complaint that can be found numerous times. Yet, in most instances the writer fails to give any further information, including what incorrect items were sent out or how the items were damaged, or how many times such an incident occurred; essentially anything that could possibly validate the claim. Another common complaint is that customer service was “slow,” “unresponsive,” or “mean and rude.” Any customer with a legitimate complaint why the customer service was lacking, but more often than not, they merely state the often damaging claim.
Another issue drop ship customers often fail to understand is wholesale pricing. Customers will sign up with a drop ship company, pay the annual fee (which may be as much as a few hundred dollars), and then become dissatisfied when they discover the wholesale prices on certain items are not as low as they thought (or perhaps would have liked). Big-ticket items such as electronics can sometimes be difficult for online retailers to make a profit on because major retailers (such as Wal-Mart and Target) can often sell items such as the Xbox or ipod at prices far lower than wholesale. Part of being a savvy retailer is conducting market research to find out which products sell the best and have the highest profit margins. Selling random and unrelated products will likely result in little to no profits, so try selling niche and related items.
Using a drop ship supplier does not eliminate all the hassles that can be experienced when working with a wholesale manufacturer. Sometimes a product ordered from the manufacturer will be out of stock or back ordered and thus not readily available for the customer who originally ordered the product. This is by no fault of the drop ship company, but retailers using drop shipping will often place blame on them. This is exactly why all reputable drop shipping companies have procedures in place for situations such as these. It is the job of the retailer (not the drop shipper) to make sure they are acquainted with and understand such procedures so they will know how to properly handle such a situation should one ever arise.