Drop Shipping Your Way to Increased Profits

Drop shipping, for those who are unfamiliar with it, is a system whereby you promote the products of a particular manufacturer, take orders directly, and the manufacturer/source handles all the inventory and fulfillment functions for you.

In a nutshell, here is the drop-ship system:

==>You generate and accept the order.

==>You take your profits out of the sale price.

==>You forward the order and the wholesale cost to the drop shipper.

==>The source factory ships directly to your customer.

The benefits of this arrangement are probably obvious:

* No inventory cost to you.

* Substantially higher profits to you over what most regular affiliate programs allow.

* The ability to quickly set-up inexpensive, highly targeted, niche or mini-sites to test and promote diverse products.

This process has been around for years and has been responsible for many highly successful mail order dealer relationships in the past. Many of the top catalogers and other direct response marketers, have been using this system to increase profits for decades. If you have ever ordered a high priced item from a mail order catalog and been told that the product was being shipped from the factory... then you have experienced drop shipping first hand.

Drop shipping is, I believe, a virgin un-tapped storehouse of profits for todays internet marketer.

On-line directories exist [http://www.dropshipprofits.com] which reveal essential contact information for drop shippers of over 2,000,000 products and 4,000 brands. Most legitimate drop ship sources will require that you have a state tax reseller number in order to approve you to sell their products and give you the wholesale pricing you are looking for.

Beware of any drop ship source which requires you to pay a fee in order to become a drop-ship dealer... or requires a membership. These are generally organizations which make their money selling "drop ship licenses"... and are, for the most part, scams. Legitimate drop shippers and factory sources never charge you any fees other than the actual wholesale cost & shipping costs of the products you sell.

Another caveat... always make sure that you have a written agreement with the source factory that you own the customer! The factory or drop ship source should agree in writing not to solicit your customers in any form. This is very important to you. Your customer list is one of your most important assets. If the factory you are dealing with balks at this request... use another source who will agree.

Almost every conceivable type of product is available from a drop shipper willing to ship products in single units under your companies name. Pick your interest area... electronics, consumer products, agricultural & industrial products, office equipment & supplies, hobby gear, recreational / sporting goods, clothing, furniture, etc. The list of available products from drop shippers is almost endless.

The products actual source is invisible to the consumer. The seller (you) is able to build a database of customers that he/she owns and controls (by agreement with the manufacturer) and has all the direct marketing advantages that accompany that arrangement... while eliminating the need for maintaining expensive inventory.

This arrangement offers maximum flexibility and cost savings for the seller. If a product does not sell well online you can pull the advertising (web page or mini-site) instantly with very little cost to you outside of the actual time it took to build and test the web marketing effort. Or, since this type of page/mini-site is so inexpensive to maintain and host... you can simply leave the pages online and take whatever orders trickle through... while you move on to the testing and promotion of new drop ship products. A quick marketing test can be done on eBay or other auction site to determine if the product sells... and at what price.

The manufacturer benefits from this relationship by gaining a legion of active marketers promoting their products... at little or no cost (other than those small costs involved with supporting the marketer with online marketing materials like product images, sales materials, etc).

As a marketer you are looking for several key components in developing the drop-ship relationship with a source factory or distributor:

** High Quality Products

** Blanket Product Liability Insurance (if applicable)

** A clear guarantee and return policy

** High Quality Marketing Materials ... product images (gifs, jpegs, etc.), selling copy, other suitable web graphics, etc.

** A Customer Service Department that will work with you to develop the best selling situation for you.

If you are a manufacturer seeking to expand distribution (or an inventor with a new product ) you will find the willingness to drop ship in single units will give you a strong competitive edge while you carve out increased market share at little cost.

If you are an online marketer interested in offering high profit products to your niche market (your website visitors) without incurring high front-end development or inventory costs... then drop shipping is for you.

Internet marketers are uniquely positioned to take profitable advantage of the drop ship arrangement and should give this system a serious look.

(c) Copyright 2005 Thom Reece

Thom Reece is CEO of Online Marketing Resource Center [http://www.E-ComProfits.com] and publisher of "Thom Reece's Web Marketing Strategies & Techniques Newsletter". You may subscribe free at: http://www.WMSTDirect.com, mailto:thom@e-comprofits.com

---

Your Junk is Another Persons Gold

Saving money can be quite hard to do if you... Read More

Traditional Marketing Techniques for eBay Auction Ads

Ya know, I sort of giggle when I look at... Read More

How to Sell Your Crafts on eBay

Artists, craftspeople and photographers are successfully selling their wares everyday... Read More

Auction Seller Guide To Success

When its time to clean-up around the house, some people... Read More

Auction Image Hosting for Ebay Auctions: Free Single Most Recommended Tip

It is a well known fact that the more pictures... Read More

eBay Motors : Buy or Sell a Car on eBay

Are you having trouble finding a great deal on a... Read More

The Number 1 Biggest Secret to Selling on Ebay

Ebay.com is a Tool. It is an awesome tool that... Read More

Using Online Ebay Auctions to Promote Your Website - Confessions of a True Traffic Junkie

If you are looking for traffic to your e-commerce site,... Read More

Internet Auction Sites : Find Good Deals on Almost Anything

You can find good deals on almost everything you need... Read More

5 Secrets To Make A Killing on EBay

Secret #1: Find a 'real' wholesale and drop ship companyDo... Read More

Is Selling On eBay Just A Hobby Or A Real Business?

Q: I made extra money selling things on eBay last... Read More

Learn How To Be A Successful eBay Seller

Anyone can sell anything on eBay. Open an account, list... Read More

How To Make Money Online : Sell On eBay

Selling on eBay can be very profitable, and is a... Read More

The Top Ten Antique Categories On eBay!

Knowledge is Power! And this statement could not be more... Read More

From Ebay Zero to Power-Selling Hero: How To Learn New Tricks Without Spending

The Internet is the fastest-changing marketplace on earth. Million-dollar ideas... Read More

How Do You Find A Reliable Dropshipping Source?

A Dropshipper is someone who will anonymously send the goods... Read More

The Secret Of The Ebay Money Machine And How To Get Your Share

If you have all the money you need, then this... Read More

eBay Bargain Hunting - Spell Your Way To Success!

Have you ever wondered how identical items can fetch such... Read More

Top 10 Free Online Wholesale Resources

By the time that a product has made it to... Read More

Make Money on eBay the EASY way!

Probably just like you, I had an overwhelming desire to... Read More

12 Items You CANT Sell On EBay

Millions of would-be entrepreneurs want to sell things on ebay.... Read More

How To Sell On Ebay: The Money Is In The Back-End

Many people who sell on Ebay completely neglect the follow-up... Read More

eBay is the Greatest Opportunity YOU Have to Create a Career Online

eBay's being spoken about everywhere these days. At work, school,... Read More

Buying Used Dell Laptops, PCs and Servers on eBay - How to be successful

Two years ago I needed a way to refresh more... Read More

eBay - Tapping Into The Japanese Collector Market

If you owned a skateboard shop in your local mall... Read More

Selling Effectively on Ebay Motors

Remember back when selling online was a new experience? Dealers... Read More

Get Yourself A Piece of The eBay Pie

Ebay is without a doubt the greatest internet marketing phenomenon... Read More

Join the Home-Based Business Revolution

Greetings, Friend. So you've decided to go into business. Great.... Read More

How To Increase eBay Profits

Some sell on eBay to clean out their garage or... Read More

Effective Auction Listings - How To Create Them

Once you've created the best possible title for your item,... Read More

Why Ebay Is The Best Place To Make Your First $1000 Online

I'd like to begin with a question ? and I'll... Read More

Drop Ship Your Way to eBay Profits

One of the most difficult things to do when looking... Read More

8 Top Tips For Successful Art Auction Listings

Why is it that some artists seem to make easy... Read More