Tag Archive for: drop shipping

Most people reading this probably has a decent idea regarding how profitable and hassle-free dropshipping can be as a business model, which is undeniably true. However, as it is with any type of business model, there are a few tricks to it that a shrewd businessperson needs to be well aware of if they hope to make it all work in perfect synchronization.

Evaluation of Supply/Manufacturing Partners

The whole idea of dropshipping being a profitable, hassle-free business model depends on the assurance that you have a reliable and diligent supply/manufacturing partner. Therefore, it is critical that you evaluate the companies properly, before partnering up with them. The following tips could help in getting it right.

• Order product samples to first check the quality
• Check their history with previous partners
• Look closely at the company policies regarding shipping timelines and how strict they are with maintaining them
• Go for a “loose” or trial contract for 3 – 6 months to know if they are indeed true professionals

Those that end up with long partnerships with the wrong supply partner are likely to lose business credibility, reputation, and money. Every time their supply partner makes a mistake or does not bother to conforming to the dropshipping business’s standards, it’s their brand in front of the customers that lose out in every department.

Understand that Your eCommerce Website is the Only Asset You Own and Act Accordingly

Your dropshipping site is the only business asset you own and need to manage. Due to the nature of the business model, a website is also pretty much all you should need to commence with a dropshipping business.

On the other hand, if you end up with an unreliable host or build your site on a poor eCommerce platform, the whole business will suffer. High downtime, unscalable and overly expensive plans, a lack of sufficient automation features, extra charges for even basic tools, hidden costs, insecure and buggy platform design, etc. can all add up to the failure of your dropshipping venture.

In short, pay special attention to the host, platform, and web design because they are essentially what represents the whole business. To ensure customer security and assurance, go through the PCI Compliance details here to make sure you are not unwittingly breaking any of the set standards.

Devise a Strict and Penalizing Contract

Some companies in the supply chain are pros who would not let their partners down because they know it’s bad for business in general. Not everyone is so professional and practical, unfortunately, so you will need to have a strict and penalizing contract so that there are repercussions if your business’s standards are broken by your supply partner. Consult with a business law firm to draw up the contract and if it is fair, as well as strict, chances are that your dropshipping business standards will be respected by your supply partner.

There are other measures that you can take to further boost your chances of success in the dropshipping segment, but these are by far the most important ones to take care of. So, pay attention to the basics first and the rest you will learn about in time.