Drop shippers are a useful bunch. There are quite a few positives that come along with having reliable drop shippers. This is especially true for new merchants who lack the space (and money) to store products and the manpower to deal with packing and shipping arrangements. Some more established ecommerce web hosting shopping cart names already develop integration with at least one drop shipper. multi vendor shopping cart integration is unusual, though. One essential thing to be aware of though, is that the shopping cart cost is usually abstracted from the fees for the drop shipping service.
There are a couple of things you should consider before choosing a drop shipper. These matters should be addressed early in order to help prevent problems later…
If you are going to use the services of drop shippers, you have to realize that they are the supply chain to your business. You can either source your own drop shipper(s) or opt for one that is integrated with your ecommerce web hosting shopping cart provider. Suffice to say, the drop shipper you decide on should not only be reliable but relatively competitive and trustworthy as well. Along with these 3 characteristics, here are some factors that you would do well to think about:
Inventory
A product needs to be in stock in order for you to make a sale. Thus, good and consistent inventory levels are vital. As such, stock information needs to be up-to-date (real-time) and specific.
Speaking of information, product information presented by drop shippers (to be displayed on the product page) should be sufficient and actual. It’s because you do not have access to the physical products and so will not be privy to any information save that which is given by the drop shipper. Commonly requested information: availability of material used, alternative colors, dimensions and weight.
Price
A competitive drop ship price (very close to wholesale, preferably) is the key to selling at higher margins. Ensure that, you need to take into account competitors’ pricing before you can ascertain on your own. You should also factor in possible future discounts into your pricing calculations.
Just like inventory levels, product prices should be steady.
Variety
It sounds cliched but variety is the spice of life. A good drop shipper should have a major database of drop ship products. A person may only buy one T-shirt if a variety of sizes are available, but he/she may buy more if the T-shirt comes in several colors as well. Psychologically speaking, it also supports a buyer determine by doing a quick comparison.
Return Policy
You have to understand that your drop shipper’s return policy automatically becomes your return policy. Have a better look at your drop shippers’ return policies and make sure they are professional before you choose to adopt them. If you agree to their policies, make sure you seemingly express these return policies to your customers on your Terms & Conditions, Shipping or Return Policy or FAQ pages.
Customer Support
A perfect drop shippers get back to you within 1 business day, 2 at the most. In some cases things do go wrong, even with the best drop shippers, such as an item being delivered in the wrong quantity, or perhaps in the wrong color. When something like this happens, it is important that the situation be remedied as fast as possible. A fast response time is vital. The faster you hear back from your drop shipper, the relatively fast you can communicate the latest situation to your customer in turn.
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