How to evaluate a Drop shipper – What you look for in a drop shipper?

[Kittenn00b]

When it comes time to choose your drop ship suppliers from the finalists in your search, what are the top, 3 or so points you look at to make your final decision?

[Windowslite]

There’re really a number of points I go after, and it really depends on what I’m planning to source from the supplier, and product should be a major variable in the choice, as well. As I’ll explain below, a customer who buys a sofa has different priorities than one who buys an alarm clock that rolls itself off the nightstand.

1. Stock Availability-- The last thing you, as a drop ship client, want to experience is the Special Hell that is selling an item to a customer only to find it out of stock with your supplier. Avoid this by insisting of your suppliers that they keep you absolutely up to the minute on their stock. If something is out of stock, drop a nice, fat OUT OF STOCK sign under it. Your customers will understand better now, than if they try to order the poor thing.

2. Dispatch Times-- This is where the nature of your product really makes a difference. The aforementioned gentleman in need of a sofa will be willing (typically) to wait 4-6 weeks for his couch, but the dude who orders a rolling alarm clock because he just HAS to have it likely isn’t. I mean, you want to have a supplier get your product out in the same period of time, but don’t let relatively long waits chase you away from an otherwise stellar supplier if dispatch time isn’t a massive concern.

a. In general, impulse buys really don’t tolerate long wait times. A long wait sort of kills the buzz of an impulse snag.

3. Returns- Inevitably, because that Murphy’s Law is both true and a pain, something is going to go wrong. When it does, you want to know returns will be handled efficiently and painlessly. To that end, you want to make sure, as much as is possible, that your shipper is as close to the region, or at least country, where most of your customers are situated. If they’re overseas from your customers, you’ll be tasked with accepting returns domestically. If the return is a few rolling alarm clocks, this isn’t really an issue, but if it’s a few sofas...

You want to tailor your decision metric to the perceived needs of your customers. Just about any of the points I made are variables only. They’re all important, but the degree to which they individually apply is, well... variable.

[borisnoone]

Going to have to agree with the above. Your choice of product(s) is your biggest determining factor, but there’re a few things you want to keep in mind regardless of your niche--

● Anonymity: You want your drop shipper to, at the very least, deliver your product anonymously. There should be nothing in or on the shipped package that indicates the drop shipper even exists. Ideally, all identifying labels, invoices, whatever will be yours. Put up a sign: Drop ship ninjas only need apply.

● Joining fees: No legitimate drop shipper is going to charge you just so you can gain access to the shipper’s product list and prices. Their success is entirely dependent on your being able to accurately sell their product, and keeping stock lists and prices behind a cushy green curtain does nobody any good. A drop shipper makes money by successfully fulfilling orders made by your customers, and are therefore dependant on a wide client-base. They should be scrambling to show you their products and prices.

● You can shift the drop shipper’s shipping charges to the end customer, but most online shoppers are accustomed to free shipping. You’ll often have to include your drop shipper’s shipping charges in your prices in order to accomplish this.

[forgotten_4580]

Just a few last points to fill in the blanks. Previous posters did a bang-up job in general-

● Terms of Service/ToS-- Does the shipper drop product liability in your lap? Get insurance if they do. The whole structure of your relationship can be shaped and defined in these cantankerous documents, so read carefully.

● Product range-- sort of a no-duh item, but you should definitely make sure the supplier can at least cover the secondary niches related to your product of choice.

● Product quality-- Another one, along with product compliance. Always consider whether the stuff you’re selling is worth the price, and whether it actually corresponds to any legal or even just product type requirements (like, does a gun have a safety, clock have an alarm setting, et al)

● Customer service- You want a supplier with phone support, expedient replies to emails, and efficient problem-solving. Otherwise, you’ll be sorry in the long run.

● Convenience- How user-friendly is their ordering interface? You want an ordering system you can use without thinking too hard about it. Ease-of-use is one of the primary things I check for.