Placing DropShipping Orders

Drop shipping is a very popular sales solution for those starting their own online retail business. It can drastically cut down on shipping and inventory costs. Putting your inventory and shipping in the hands of a drop shipping company frees up your time. You can then devote most of your time to helping your business make more money. Placing drop ship orders is simple and the right drop shipper can make your business successful.

How Drop Shipping Works

When you drop ship, you are not responsible for keeping your inventory or shipping your products. You contact a drop ship company that stocks the products you would like to sell. You then advertise the products for sale on your website, eBay or other sales site. Your customers then place an order and you purchase the product from the drop shipping company with your customers' money. Your drop ship company then packages and ships the product. The advantages of using a drop shipper are:

• No money spent on storing inventory.
• No need to spend time on shipping.
• No need to hire people to help you ship.
• No money spent on packaging or shipping.
• No risk because you are not using your own money to purchase inventory.

Starting to Drop Ship

You first need to research what products you think will be successful. Look for niches in the market that are unfulfilled or under-served. You then need to build a professional looking and easy-to-use website that your customers can use to buy your products. Then you need to contact a reputable drop ship company to find the products you wish to sell. Your customers then place orders on your website and you pass the information along to the drop ship company to ship your product.

Placing Drop Ship Orders

Placing drop ship orders is a very simple process for both you and your customers:

• Your customer places an order for a product at retail price.
• You give their shipping information to a drop shipper.
• You then order that product at a less than retail price from a drop shipper using your customer's money.
• The drop shipper ships the product to your customer with your logo and address on the label.

Many drop shippers will also place your promotional materials, coupons and flyers in the shipping materials to help better market your company.

You need to watch out for scams when placing drop ship orders. Many companies charge a membership fee or licensing fees to sell their products. These are not true drop shipping companies and should be avoided. Actual drop shipping wholesalers do not charge these kinds of fees.