| For small Internet retailers, drop-shipping | | | | advantages to drop-shipping. As the volume |
| is one of the best innovations since sliced | | | | of our orders grows, it becomes more and more |
| bread. How else can a start-up offer a wide | | | | difficult to package all of that furniture. |
| variety of products and convince customers | | | | Fortunately for us, our largest supplier is |
| that they have a fully-stocked warehousewhile | | | | only two miles away and we have a pretty good |
| investing virtually nothing in inventory or | | | | deal going: we finish all the log furniture |
| warehousing? Before you jump right onto the | | | | they want finished, and they drop-ship the |
| drop-shipping bandwagon, however, there are | | | | unfinished furniture. So they make it, we |
| some pitfalls to avoid. | | | | finish it. |
| | | | |
| While a quality drop-shipper is truly a dream | | | | That means if somebody orders unfinished |
| come true for the Internet retailer, there | | | | furniture, it can go directly from the |
| are plenty of painful pitfalls to avoid. | | | | factory. This might have made me nervous |
| Things can get embarrassing and costly in a | | | | about quality control at one point, but I |
| hurry when a drop-shipper:sends products out | | | | have developed a high degree of confidence in |
| lateforgets to process your orderssends out | | | | our log furniture manufacturer. In the five |
| poorly packaged productsdouble-bills your | | | | years I have been associated with them, they |
| credit card for orders on a regular | | | | have never let me down. They fill orders |
| basisprovides cheaply made products and/or | | | | with a high degree of quality and accuracy, |
| shoddy workmanship. | | | | which makes our job easy. |
| | | | |
| A Matter of Credibility | | | | Choosing a Drop-Ship Partner |
| | | | |
| In addition to the above drawbacks, many | | | | Unfortunately, not all drop-shipping |
| customers are not very impressed when they | | | | companies are as reliable as the one I have |
| find out you retail drop-shipped products. | | | | found. This is why it pays to do your |
| This is especially the case with the rustic | | | | homework before choosing a drop-shipping |
| log furniture I sell on the web. Many phone | | | | company. If you align yourself with |
| customers ask if we make the products | | | | fly-by-night operations, your business will |
| ourselves, or are merely drop-shipping. | | | | most likely suffer as a result. If you are |
| | | | wildly successful, which you no doubt hope to |
| They are relieved and impressed when they | | | | be, a small start-up may not be able to |
| find that we manufacturer, finish or pack | | | | manufacturer or ship product fast enough to |
| most of the log furniture we sell at our | | | | meet your needs. A drop-shipper that is |
| warehouse. We sell to a lot of people with | | | | unstable as a business may be happy to take |
| expensive vacation homes, and quality is of | | | | your cash but fail to fill orders on a timely |
| utmost importance. Its always easier to | | | | basis. |
| testify to the quality of furniture when you | | | | |
| have seen it yourself, and we are able to | | | | Any business who drop-ships your orders will |
| offer a more unique line by going to Amish | | | | affect your reputation as a company one way |
| suppliers whose products arent sold elsewhere | | | | or another. As a result, its important to |
| on the Internet. | | | | make sure any drop-shipping companies you |
| | | | partner with meet the high level of customer |
| Advantages of Drop-Shipping | | | | service and quality control standards you set |
| | | | for your business. |
| With this said, there are still some sizeable | | | | |