Five Rules You Must Follow if You Are Going to Profitably Drop Ship on eBay
by Robbin K. Tungett
At first glance, drop shipping on eBay looks like every beginner's dream. All you need
to do is list a product on eBay, collect the money when it sells, and someone else does
everything else. You don't have to purchase or store any inventory. There's no standing in
line at the Post Office, no packing items, and no need to buy a camera or other photo equipment.
Sounds like the perfect business doesn't it? Unfortunately, nothing could be further
from the truth. In reality, for most people, drop shipping on eBay is almost a certain
recipe for failure and 95 percent or more of the sellers who try it will fail. To give
yourself any chance to succeed on eBay with this business model there are five rules you
MUST follow:
1. You MUST locate a product that will sell in large enough quantities to allow you a
chance to succeed. Finding a drop shipper who sells hand-woven wool blankets featuring Old
Faithful erupting in the center doesn't mean anyone is going to buy one to place on their bed.
When considering drop shipping any product, the first thing you must do is sufficient
research to determine if there's a market for it. If you are going to be successful
theremust be a good-sized active market for your item.
2. You MUST locate a product that provides a sufficient markup that allows you a
reasonable profit. You are not going to be successful in the long term selling something
that you only make a $10 or $20 profit from each item. With that kind of profit per item,
it's just not reasonable to expect you can sell enough to attain long-term success.
3. Limit yourself to selling only a few related items that are all targeted at the same
market. By limiting yourself like this you can decrease your costs, become more
knowledgeable about your market than other sellers are, and in the long-term will make
things more profitable.
4. Purchase a small supply of each item you sell to keep on hand for emergencies. While
drop shipping may eliminate a lot of the headaches of selling on eBay, it adds a new one
to the mix. There are going to be occasions when the drop shipper doesn't have the item
you've sold in stock for immediate shipment. When this happens, and it will, you can ship
one of the items you have in your possession so the buyer doesn't have to wait. The negative
impact of not shipping an item immediately reflects on you and not the drop shipper.
5. Take the time to find a reputable local drop shipper. The popularity of drop
shipping has attracted a lot of people who are just out to take advantage of you into the
marketplace. Avoid drop shipping lists, turnkey eBay drop shipping programs, and drop
shipping membership sites like the plague.
Rather, spend the time needed to locate a company reasonably locale to you that will
allow you to sell their products on eBay and drop ship them for you. You'll have less
competition, higher profit margins, and a much higher chance of succeeding. While drop
shipping is a tough business model to succeed in, if you follow these five rules and
believe you will succeed, you will have a much better chance to build a profitable eBay
business for the long term.
Robbin K. Tungett is online marketing and eBay veteran of eight years. She is most
widely known for her eBay expertise and her website
www.AuctionRiches.com.
Learn more about dropshipping at
www.Auction-Dropship.com
| 
About BTH
User Agreement
Privacy
Site Map
Contact
News Feeds
RSS Feed
Start Your Own Web Business
