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3Finding Product to Sell

Now that you're all set up to sell, you need to find the product to sell. This generally takes place in 3 basic steps:

• Research the market segment you're interested in

• Find manufacturers or wholesalers that can reliably dropship product for you

• Select a few suitable products to sell that conform to your selected niche market

Of course, there's a great deal to each of these steps, but it is very important that you take them in order, being very careful not to skimp on the first two. There are no fast and easy steps to researching and planning your business. By doing careful planning and research at every step, you can avoid the most common pitfalls of dropship selling.

Dropshipping Basics

The basic premise of drop shipping is that you (and many others like you) are acting as a distributed sales force for manufacturers and wholesalers who either cannot or don't wish act as retailers. You will become virtual distributors for them, while they handle the physical order fulfillment and shipping, only. As such, dropshipping is lucrative for everyone involved.

Though there are countless items available for dropshipping, it's easy to get carried away with the possibilities. It's best to focus on just a few very carefully chosen items to get started. Not only does this keep you from getting confused with all the items you have for sale or being overwhelmed with auction fees before you actually sell anything, but you'll also be able to evaluate the feasibility of each item on a small scale before you become dedicated as a well-known seller of Norwegian Cuckoo clocks, or some such.

The same is true of choosing a dropshipping partner to work with. Don't just pick the first one that comes along and meets all your criteria as far as their merchandise is concerned. Shop around and find a few that will give you the best possible deal. Then, evaluate their performance before making any type of long-term commitment. It is, after all, likely that legitimate dropshipping partners will be evaluating your performance, too.

When doing business with manufacturers, it is very likely that they'll ask you some perfectly legitimate questions about your business, such as your Tax ID number. In the US, this means you'll be doing business as a Sole Proprietorship (until you register with your state as something else). As such, your Tax ID number is your Social Security number. Though this means you'll be personally liable in the event of trouble (unless you incorporate with the help of at least one and usually two other people), it also means that you can get right into business without filing any forms with government officials.

Finding Good Manufacturers And Wholesalers To Do Business With

Perhaps the hardest part of getting started with dropshipping is finding good companies to do business with. There is certainly no shortage of fly-by-night companies and scam artists who have sprung up in recent years, trying to take advantage of the many thousands of people who also hope to supplement their income without spending a bunch of money up front. This lure is so very strong that you need to be very careful when selecting dropshipping partners to work with.

There are a few that have been “approved” by eBay, but you'll quickly find that their entire product catalog is already well-represented on eBay by a large number of other dropshippers. No, it's in your best interest to do your homework and find drop shippers to work with on your own. Otherwise, you're sure to be operating on razor-thin margins that are just as likely to loose money in the long run.

Not all dropshippers are alike, even when selling the same items. When you do find companies that are willing to do dropship work with you, find out how long they've been in business and how long they've been doing dropshipping for clients. You may be the first test case of a company that's been in business for a long time. While there are great potential rewards for those who go into partnership with start up companies, you need to know the risks – it could be a very bumpy ride with a very new business Ask very pointed questions and evaluate the timeliness and professionalism of the responses you get. Companies that are able to respond to your questions in a quick, forthright manner are the same ones that will be able to jump right on an issue when a problem or dispute arises. They should also be able to tell you, in no uncertain terms, exactly what products they sell, if not all of them, are available for dropshipping.

Where To Look

Since most people begin their searches looking up wholesalers and manufacturers online, it may come as no surprise that this is actually not the best way to find companies to begin a dropshipping relationship with. In fact, very few companies that do wholesaling or manufacturing maintain websites, since that sort of thing is more suited to retailers. Many of these companies prefer to conduct business by phone or mail, with some not wanting to sign a deal unless they meet you in person.
You'll want to choose a company that lies somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, since you're looking to start your business up for as close to nothing as possible. Expect to get some leads of the Internet, but be resigned to do much of your following up on the phone.

One useful place to generate some leads on where to find dropshippers in the list of companies that eBay maintains on approved, legitimate resellers. You may, find the returns on items from these companies to be somewhat lower, due to the increased competition from other eBay dropshippers. You'll do far better to blaze your own trail.

While some websites offer lists for sale that purport to be full of hundreds or thousands of dropshipping companies, most such lists are, if not downright fraudulent, of poor quality. They usually contain inaccurate or out of date information that won't help you at all or will send you calling around on your own dime, only to be rejected, time and time again. Like finding contacts in mid-level marketing, if someone is offering you a list to make things “easy” for you, it is almost without fail far less useful than they claim it to be.

If you have an idea of what sort of product you want to list, you can look directly for manufacturers of such an item by checking out the Yellow Pages or finding a listing on the Thomas Guides. From these listings you can get a number to call where you can simply ask if there's a local distributor for the product in question.
Though somewhat disingenuous, call back later without identifying yourself and the earlier caller and ask if they do (or would consider doing) dropshipping. This question will undoubtedly lead to several dead-ends, but the fruitful calls are golden, since they often don't show up on any existing “lists” that people sell you the chance to look at. This type of “lead-generation” is invaluable. You'll certainly get the hang of it after the first few calls.

Once you get a list of companies that will dropship, take a look around on eBay and check to see if any of them are already selling there. It will be all but impossible to compete with them if they are. You may wind up crossing several suppliers off your list, but this will save you a great deal of time and effort, as well as money in dubious fees.

Next you'll want to see how each of the dropshippers you've generated a lead on compare as far as pricing is concerned. It's best to do this for a very similar or identical item, if possible. You'll be surprised at how much the price can differ from one to another. Be careful to consider any hidden shipping costs or initiation fees that may apply from one manufacturer to another. If there is a large fee to join a company's lineup of dropshippers, you might as well look elsewhere – there are plenty of manufacturers and wholesalers who won't charge – you just have to keep looking.

Some dropshippers maintain that companies that charge an initiation or subscription fee have a larger selection of goods to choose from, decreasing the amount of time you'll have to spend looking for such companies – it's up to you, but to really get the most for your dropshipping dollar, legwork on your part is money you don't have to part with.

• License: Master Resell Rights
• Category:Ebooks
• Tags:2018 Ebooks Master Resale Rights