Remon Talks

Drop shipping, in a nutshell, is a type of retailing where you don’t keep anything in stock. After you receive an order you pass the order and shipment details to a wholesaler, who dispatches the goods to your client. You pocket the difference between the wholesale and retail price.

Before you rush to set up a drop shipping webshop you have to do your homework. With the popularity of drop shipping many scams have flooded the drop shipping industry. Most “drop shippers” on the internet are not wholesalers but middleman who charge you too much. Crappy wholesaler lists are being sold for hundreds of dollars and other companies are selling ready made “turnkey” websites including marketing for high monthly fees. Don’t be afraid though, just be aware.

If you want to start a drop shipping business, make sure you start with only one or a few products targetted at the same audience. This makes marketing easier then selling all kinds of unrelated products. When choosing a product, research the demand for the product, and the supply and prices from competitors. It’s nice if you’re the niche dominator for wooden three legged dogs, but really, how much can you sell? Pick a high demand, low supply product and your on the right path.

A good starting point to find good wholesalers would be Chris Malta’s worldwidebrands.com. There is a $299 fee to signup, but this fee is for a lifetime membership and of course for access to pre-qualified non-scam wholesalers. Worldwidebrands is one of the most recognized brands in the drop shipping industry.

Drop shipping is just like any other business, so treat it as such. Don’t spam, use a real domainname with reliable webhosting, register where ever you legally have to register and get a tax id number. If you’re making a profit you have to file taxes. My article Must-haves for the self-employed may be of use to you as well.

As your drop shipping business is running, you will probably receive return and refund requests. Handle these requests as good as you can and talk it through with your supplier if you haven’t done so already. Remember, happy clients tell their friends, unhappy clients tell the world.

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