How I make ends meet through drop shipping
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Drop shipping is a supply chain management technique in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock, but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer. Rather than purchasing and storing items, listing them for sale, and then shipping them to customers upon purchase, I simply list items offered by the drop shipper for sale. When an item is ordered by customers, I collect the payment, place my order with a drop shipper, who will then ship the item to the customer.
I found this to be a very good business model because I don’t need to buy any packaging materials or shipping labels. There’s no shipping account required because my supplier handles everything for me. What I especially like about my business is the fact that I don’t need to purchase any inventory upfront. It means that I don’t have the responsibility of storing, managing or insuring any goods in stock. This is great news for me because I don’t run the risk of ending up with stock that I’m unable to sell because it has run out of fashion.
If a product is not selling, I don’t need to purchase it and keep it in stock hoping that someone will buy it. I also like the fact that I don’t have to handle shipments or returns from customers. Once I sell anything in my store, I transfer all the responsibilities to a third party. I pay my dropshipper wholesale rates and then mark up my products as I see fit. The difference between my retail price and the wholesale rate is mine to keep, and I also don’t incur any shipping costs.
Instead of focusing on inventory management or shipping, my main focus is on marketing my store. Since the drop shippers provide me with descriptions of the products that they’re offering for sale, I’m able to build my e-commerce store in a quicker manner. Being an online retailer has also given me the freedom to set up numerous online stores on popular sites such as eBay, Amazon and Facebook. I also have the freedom to build my e-commerce store around my interests. Since I love football, I have decided to offer my customers various memorabilia from famous footballers. So my customers can find things like autographed jerseys and footballs at my online store.
However, this isn’t to say that I don’t have bad days because every business has its ups and downs. For my part, I hate it when I can’t control shipping times or packaging processes once I place my order with a dropshipper. It’s also frustrating when one of my suppliers runs out of popular items that I have listed on my store. When this occurs, I’m forced to look for anther supplier or else I’m refund what the customer has already paid me. Since I don’t buy inventory upfront, I can’t be given discounts for buying things in bulk. All in all, I’m glad that I ventured into the drop shipping business, and I’ve seen my company grow and expand into different countries.