Drop Shipping Basics

Basics of Drop Shippers If you have an online business you probably are always on the look out for new products to sell. And if you are an entrepreneur looking to start a profitable website or EBay business you probably heard great things about drop shipping. What is drop shipping? Drop shipping is a business relationship between a merchant and either the distributor or manufacturer of the product that the merchant is selling. The merchant advertises, sells and collects the money for the product sold. The merchant does not hold any inventory of the product but merely refers the items that are sold to the distributor or manufacturer who then ships the item to the buyer. This is a great for smaller merchants for a host of reasons. First off the merchant does not have to purchase large quantities of inventory that tie up cash flow. No inventory means that the merchant also doesn't have to worry about losing large amounts of money on products that don't sell. Another great aspect of drop shipping is that once an item is purchased the manufacturer or distributor ships the item sold. The merchant doesn't have to worry about investing in packaging supplies, expensive shipping and database software and hosts of other concerns that come with shipping items out to customers. There are a few negatives of drop shipping. There is very little or no control over the shipping and packaging of the item being shipped out. It is a little more difficult to guarantee an item is being shipped out in a timely manner than if you shipped it out yourself. This negative may complicate customer service issues. So make sure you choose a drop shipper that has excellent customer support and an excellent history of quick shipping and quality products.