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LEARN ABOUT: Wholesale Dropship Items From Home
How I started an online business using wholesale dropshippers:
My name is Dave Hermansen and I'm the owner of www.talkhomebusiness.com and multiple other web sites. 3 years ago I got to the point where I could not handle being an "employee" anymore, so I set to the web with the goal of building a successful online business. Working from home was my dream and I was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. Honestly, I didn't really know if it was possible to launch a new business, because I had virtually no money. Plus I had no knowledge of sourcing and selling products on the web. For the first six months I just struggled, I had 2 failed ecommerce web sites, and finding items to have dropshipped was proving to be virtually impossible. Just when I was on the verge of giving up, I found this awesome book called Online Store Profits. The book taught me how to find real wholesale dropshippers and market those items in my own online store. This book didn't teach me everything I know today, but it did put me on the right path and everyone needs that to get going! After reading that book, I launched a new web store in late 2005 that has now done over $810,000 in gross sales (slightly over $200,000 of that is net profit). That's nearly 1 million dollars in gross sales in a bit over 2 years. I know it's hard to believe, I can hardly believe it myself, but I have the financial documents to prove it. Please note, that's not the only successful online store I've built, it's just one of them. That highly successful store, along with all but one of the others, was built and operated using nothing but wholesale dropshippers.
Frequently asked questions about using wholesale dropshippers:How do you know if a wholesale dropshipper you've found is legitimate or not?
Most companies out there that claim to be dropshippers are fakes, that's just how it is. In fact, if you jump on a search engine right now and put the words "wholesale dropshippers" before any given product type you're bound to find pages and pages of retailers claiming to sell wholesale (i.e. "wholesale dropshippers mp3 players"). Retailers know that people search for products with the words "wholesale" or "dropshipper" in front of it and hope to convince you pay their retail price for the items you're looking for. Even if you do come across a wholesale company that actually dropships, they're most likely not the type of dropshipper you want to use. Don't get me wrong, they'll "dropship" products for you, but they'll pocket most of the margin and leave you with squat! Believe me, I used plenty of these types of "dropshippers" before I got educated about all of this. Here are a couple rules of thumb to keep in mind when trying to find true wholesale dropshippers:
Your best bet for finding true wholesale dropshippers is to become a member at a dropshippers directory. Don't get confused here, because this is a bit hard to explain: a dropshippers directory isn't a dropshipper, it's a directory of true dropshippers that you can set up accounts with and use to source your products. It's basically just a search engine that shows you hundreds and hundreds of true dropshippers that you can set up accounts with. The owners and operators of the directory actually research potential dropshippers, and only put true dropshippers into the directory. When you pay to become a member at a dropshippers directory, you can cruise through the directory and look at thousands and thousands of true wholesale dropshippers that are just waiting to dropship items for you. You can even search the directory for specific types of products (i.e. "mp3 players"). Paying the membership fee at a place like this is worth every penny and then some. It literally saves you hours & hours of research time each time you want to look for a dropshipper for a new product. To the best of my knowledge there are no good free ones, so I would suggest choosing one and using it from here on out. There are only 3 or 4 large & reputable dropshipping directories, so make sure you go with one of them. I have used all the major dropship directories at one point or another, but the main one I use & most recommend is located at: www.worldwidebrands.com. This "members only" dropship directory has over 1 millions products available to be dropshipped immediately. I have used this directory since the beginning of my success, and always go back to it when I'm ready to throw up a new ecommerce site. The directory has never failed me yet & it's the main source I've used for sourcing products! If you'd like a free tour & preview of the worldwidebrands directory click here.
Why should you use a wholesale dropshipper rather than buying in bulk and storing the stuff?
Well, that's a tricky question. Buying products in bulk, warehousing it, and shipping it yourself can be a very good idea. I've ended up doing it for a couple of my online stores, because it greatly improved my margins. When you buy in bulk, the dropshipper or wholesaler will give you volume pricing. Then you can make more per item you sale. However, I ALWAYS start off in a new store or new market using wholesale dropshippers. Why? For a couple good reasons, and the main one would be; dropshipping products at first lets you test out a market before investing thousands and thousands of dollars in inventory. Even if you have the money to buy in bulk, you should still test the market out before investing in stock. Another good reason is to find the hot sellers. If you order in bulk blindly you run the risk of buying a whole bunch of products you wont be able to sell quickly. Using a wholesale dropshipper for the first few months gives you a chance to see what you should buy more of and what you should buy little or none of.
Conclusion of the wholesale dropship items from home article:
Well, I hope this article gave you a better understanding of how to find good dropshippers for your online web store. The info I shared here was obtained from a few years of learning and experience. If I were to start over, I'd hate to go through all of it again, so hopefully you can use this knowledge and not have to go through it yourself. I'm signing off for now, but please check out the links below. These are great resources for starting a successful online business.
WorldWideBrands Dropship Source Directory Online Store Profits, the book that got me started! Talk & network with other work from home folks in our forum
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