The Drop Shipping Business Model

Drop shipping has become a popular supply chain management option, especially for those who are selling online through auctions or eCommerce sites. Why? The reasons are many, but in general a wholesale dropshipper can help you run the kind of business you want, how you want, and when you want.

The service that wholesale dropshippers offer is one of convenience and efficiency. By employing this business model you can avoid a lot of the problems and headaches that are associated with more traditional shipping methods.

The drop shipping business model consists of the retailer discovering, listing, and promoting a product. This product should be well researched so you know whether the item is in high demand. Then, if your wholesale dropshipper carries it, you can list it on your eCommerce site or online auction.

And this is probably the largest benefit of wholesale drop shipping. All the retailer does is post the item. The actual physical product never comes into the retailer's possession. What this means in practical terms is that by using wholesale dropshippers you never have to store or stock any inventory yourself. In fact, you will never actually have to see, handle, or ship any products on your own.

When you use the drop shipping business model you list your item (or items) and then collect the payment when a customer purchases something from you. The the retailer transfers the order to the supplier. The supplier, in turn, takes care of the fulfillment and packages and ships the product directly to the buyer.

It's simple, efficient, and easy to get started.

Wholesale dropshippers can also free up a lot of time. This isn't necessarily leisure time (as many get-rich-quick schemes might promise), but it is time that can be more efficiently spent on making your overall business better.

This point revolves around the fact that with drop shipping you can afford to be more flexible with your product offerings. All it requires is a solid foundation of research - research into the market and the industry you are targeting. When you make decisions based on proper research you can find the perfect items to sell, avoid the over saturated markets, and stay up-to-date with the industry trends.

Wholesale dropshippers offer other advantages, namely no need for a warehouse or other location for storing products. You can also minimize your risks since you don't have to buy your items in large quantities. That being said, there is no minimum or maximum on the product variety or items sold. There is no upfront capitol investments and there is never any more trips to the post office.

What that means to a retailer is that with such decreased costs in overhead, storage, and shipping, you can offer products at significantly lowered prices.

Above anything else, when you are starting to sell items online you need to have a reliable wholesale dropshipper that can fill all your orders and never stick you with the dreaded "On Back Order" or "Out Of Stock" signs.

Many online auction sites also give out special titles or recognition to sellers who consistently make certain sales numbers and provide a certain standard of customer support. These sellers are also usually the most trusted on these sites, and the ones that customers will consistently come back to.

In order to accomplish this, you are going to need a wholesale dropshipper you can trust, and one that is going to be there in the long run. At least as long as you intend to continue making money online, and offering great products to your customers.