I have often written here about why I do not like Dropshipping, in general. And while my views have not changed, SOME PEOPLE can make it work. If you are willing to screen your vendors carefully, step up to take care of your customers and issue refunds when necessary and keep in constant contact with your vendors when problems come up, it CAN work for you.
Why I am generally against it, is that it attracts people with big dreams and very little money. As soon as something goes wrong, they want to disown any responsibility for it and tell their customers to take up the issue with their dropshipper. Of course, as far as your customers are concerned, the dropshipper has NOTHING TO DO WITH IT! They purchased the product from YOU and they want YOU to solve the problem. And when it goes south, eBay and PayPal are left holding the bag, so to speak, because the seller disappears.
However, done the right way, by the right people, it CAN work. But a financial cushion is a must and it is absolutely CRITICAL that you have the ability to separate the scammers from the real drop-shippers. In many cases, those drop-shipping websites don't have any merchandise to sell, they are acting as a middleman between YOU and the REAL drop-shipper. By adding so many links to the chain, it is nearly impossible to get things shipped quickly enough to satisfy your customers. And when problems come up, it turns into one giant game of "hot potato" as they all try to pass the buck.
You have to forget about scam sites like DOBA and Worldwide Brands. I have seen both of them, and you are going to have a VERY tough time making money using those sites. Their "stock status" is more like wishful thinking, and you will end up having to cancel orders, even though when you looked at the product 2 days ago, it said there were 20,000 in stock.
On DOBA, I was looking up the price for a movie called 1408, which had been out for a year or so, it was NOT a "hot new release". I could have it sent to my customers for a total cost of $12.95. The problem is, there were 10 people selling it on eBay for $4. When I questioned DOBA about it, they gave me a bunch of BS about their s being the best price for a wholesale quantity of 1 item. But that is the whole PURPOSE of drop-shipping, to be able to purchase the item at a cost that will allow you to make a profit. Nobody is going to buy from you for $19.95 when they can get it for $4 at eBay or Amazon.
There ARE a couple of places that I am willing to share for REAL sources of wholesale merchandise. The first is from a guy named Skip McGrath. He has been on eBay for over ten years and has written extensively about it and he publishes a list of REAL wholesale sources, many of whom drop-ship. And he does not charge you $299 for his list or force you to subscribe to some monthly club. Check out his website, he has many FREE resources and also some paid ones that have good, real information but are reasonably priced. I do not personally know him, but I met him at a convention in Las Vegas once. I do not benefit in any way if you buy from him. His website is:
Sell Online with eBay or Amazon - Tool, Tips, Resources
Another resource that mainly specializes in AUTOMATING the listing process for people who want to drop ship is
https://www.wholesale2b.com/dropship-datafeed-plan.html They are mainly selling a system that that gives you data feeds allowing you to update quantities and pricing for several different drop-shippers automatically. You can get access to their site for free to check out the various companies they work with and you can see pricing with most of them. All without spending a single penny. And if you decide to go with that company, it might be worth the $20 or whatever it costs these days for the data feeds, because they could save you a ton of time removing, adding and updating your listings. It definitely helps to avoid cancellations which eBay and Amazon deplore.
A few other nice resources are:
888lots.com Wholesale Central - Directory of wholesale products Wholesale Closeouts Liquidations - Closeoutcentral.com
Not everything on these sites is about dropshipping, but you will find many legitimate vendors there. There is no need to pay for these ridiculous wholesale lists that are usually worthless or sign up for programs designed to automatically charge you every month until the end of time (because just TRY to cancel!)
I am not affiliated with any of these websites or links.
