« Making Your Business Cards Stand Out | Home | My Favorite Business Movie Clips »
Drop Shipping Pitfalls to Be Aware Of
By selfemployedblog | April 10, 2007
Drop shipping is one of the best ways for many people to begin working for themselves. The convenience of using a wholesaler that provides drop shipping can save time and money for any online business. You don’t have to deal with shipping issues, storing inventory, and you can have a wide range of items for sale at once. These are great advantages but there are some areas to be aware of before utilizing a drop ship service.
If You Like Control, Think Twice
While not having to store inventory is a big benefit of drop shipping, sometimes giving up that control can have its downside. For instance, what if the drop ship company you are using happens to go out of business? You are left with no inventory at all for your business and possible customers who are expecting items that won’t be shipped. It is a quick way to lose your business and have angry customers as well. Your best bet is not to depend solely on one drop ship company and utilize various resources.
Changing Inventory Without Notice
Most wholesalers can and will change their inventory without notice. I have experienced such a situation when I placed a specific item on sale and once it was sold, I went to the drop shipping service to complete the sale and the item was replaced with a different model. I offered my customer a refund but sometimes that does not always satisfy them. They are expecting what they ordered and when you don’t come through, they see your business as having lousy service, regardless of refunding their money.
Become Familiar with the Drop Shipper’s Policies
Get to know your drop shipping representative and ask them if there are any items that have special circumstances. I once sold an item of relatively high value only to find out it wasn’t shipped. I contacted my representative as to what was causing the delay only to be told that the particular item is not allowed to be drop shipped. I had to have the item shipped to my business address and then ship it out myself to the customer. It delayed the order tremendously, again causing my business to look bad.
I still highly recommend drop shipping for online businesses. It is important to know the details of the business so that you experience as few problems as possible. I also recommend having more than one provider of goods in case one wholesaler goes under, your inventory will not be wiped out in an instant.
Onesource offers a great software program that lists legitimate wholesalers who also drop ship, as well as a marketing tool that provides instant market research to help you evaluate your competition. Learn more by visiting here.
Topics: Business Resources |