There are options and techniques that we think you may have overlooked, and together with some interesting views, there could quickly and easily be a way forward when finding the perfect dropshipper, that is staring you in the face…
How About This:
- Find an item for sale on one site EG eBay or a wholesale site.
- Relist the item for sale on another site EG Amazon.
- Then if the item sells use the payment from the buyer to purchase the item from the original source, in this case eBay or the wholesale site.
- And then either send the item to the buyer yourself or get the supplier to send it to them directly.
This means an almost unlimited choice of products you can sell! And as with traditional dropshipping you can work out your profit margins etc, so is it a genuine way to run your business?
My Thoughts
In principal it could work. But I personally don’t think long-term it is a viable business for several reasons, and I’ve seen 2 cases of it not working.
Fail Examples
A relative of mine tried doing exactly the same a few years back. A new Paul Mckenna book was selling like mad, and the prices on amazon where about a fiver cheaper then on ebay. So he listed loads on ebay and then just ordered direct from amazon and had it sent direct. But the customers were not happy when the book arrived, fresh from amazon with an invoice in and amazon branding all over the packaging! To say they wernt impressed is an understatement! So he stopped immediately. I also came across a business selling fish tanks this weekend, and from reading reviews on the web it transpired the owner didn’t hold the stock, they waited for orders and then sourced it. This resulted in all sorts of problems and so this fish tank sellers reputation is awful on review sites, and several people had filed complaints against them (via the Direct Gov site!).
Direct To Customer?
I don’t think you could just make an order from another company and then send it direct to your customer. It is going to have some kind of invoice, logo branding on packaging, returns info etc. So you would have to get it sent to you first and then send it on. This would also incur extra costs for you of using a courier.
I personally wouldn’t want to do it because the whole point of dropshipping is you don’t handle any goods. To handle goods I would just stock them in the traditional way. Also the nature of constantly going back and forth for me is not a nice one. What if you list a watch for sale, sell it and then go back to the place you were going to buy it from and find it is out of stock or there is a problem, then you are stuffed. You have no way of ever truly being in control unless you ask a seller to reserve stock for you.
Sale Returns
And the issue of dealing with returns would not be pretty either. It would be a nightmare for you to get the item back to you, refund the customer and then try and resell it on. You would end up making a loss when you think of the ebay/amazon listing fees and paypal fess + double postage costs (sending it once, and then sending it once resold). And with ‘distance selling regulations’ you can’t avoid it.
What Will The Bank Think?
I also wouldn’t like to sit in front of my business account manager and tell him by business model, I think he would quickly be asking me if my name was really Del Boy! I had my 6 monthly business review this morning and everytime they are very keen to know exactly my activities at the moment on how my websites make money (this is after 3 years of running it on the same business model!) which they pay close attention to so I don’t think telling them porkies about the nature of sourcing products would be possible.
Other Negatives?
And then when you add in the other negatives such as; listing fee costs, warranty issues, potential payment delays etc I just think it is so much of a nightmare business model that even if you could sell a few items per month it simply wouldnt be worth the headaches. So for me I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, much better of holding stock in the traditional manner or using proper dropshippers.
It’s Your Business
Having said all of that. It’s your business and I always encourage people to do what they feel is right, so although I wouldn’t do it don’t let me stop you at least trying it for a few months, at least then you will know first hand whether it is viable!
4 Comments Posted
This is really the way it is. Many a people I know had the practice of doing such things in the past but now most of them are fed up of such a work cuz it doesn’t look pretty good. I think that this article of yours is a nice advice for them.
I think selling an item that isn’t at least from a dropshipping company is just not a smart thing especially if the item is sent from a seller on amazon or ebay. Who knows what flyers nor paperwork is included in the package. Sounds like a good way to lose business and not getting return customers.
Good info i might give it a try since getting a reliable and profitable dropshipping company is becoming almost impossible for me. I think this business model will work just fine if properly modified. I am happy you’ve outlined all the negativity already.
There are hundreds of wholesale dropshippers in the UK if you search hard enough. I have a website and is purely dropship where i am in full control as the companies/wholesale dropship companies are well established and reputable. If you persevere you will find a proper dropshipper.
Add Your Comment To This Page!