Fast Ecommerce

1. What are some ways to find companies who will drop ship?

Trade shows and industry trade magazines are great ways to find suppliers. Every industry imaginable has magazines and shows devoted to their products. One good online source for upcoming trade shows is biztradeshows.com. You can also check the tourism web sites of major cities near you. They will often list trade shows in your area.

When you look for suppliers in magazines, be sure to check out all the small ads and classified ads in the back of the publication. Many suppliers will even advertise that they are looking for vendors.

If you have a certain product in mind, search the internet for manufacturers. Do your research to before approaching a supplier to be sure that she is indeed the maker of the product and not another reseller. Your profit margins will suffer horribly if you try to re-sell a product you purchased from another re-seller. Find the true source of the product.

2. How do you negotiate with suppliers?

Be wary of a supplier who is too eager – one who seems to be almost begging you to sell their product. This could be a sign of a product that is either very new (which could be great) or one that doesn't sell well (which could be a huge waste of your time).

3. How did you find your suppliers?

I started out with one supplier - I acquired the relationship when I purchased my company. Once I had my website established and running, it was much easier to add more products from different suppliers. I now have 11 suppliers, but the first is still my bread-and-butter.

It just makes sense that a supplier is going to take you more seriously if you have an existing website that is already selling compatible products. Its hard to get a supplier to take you seriously if you have no history of selling anything. So that first supplier is going to be the most important to your online business – and probably the hardest to get.

If you get desperate, consider building an online store that sells products from a web-based wholesaler. Some examples are Doba.com or GoWholesale.com. You can find many more at these links: wholesale-reviews.net and DropShip-review.com.

Usually online wholesalers charge a monthly fee for access to products that you can purchase at wholesale and have drop-shipped directly to your customers. In my experience, you aren't going to make a lot of money with these online wholesalers, because anyone can pay the monthly fee and have access to these products.

While it isn't the ideal situation, you could initially build a store around such easily obtained products. Then, when you approach suppliers, you have an established site with related products.

4. How often do you add a new supplier or talk with them?

Right now I'm at the fortunate point in my business where I don't have to actively seek out suppliers – they seek me out. I get offers to sell products quite often that I turn down because the products are too similar to something I already offer from a current supplier.

However, I do speak/email/order from my current suppliers on an almost daily basis. I consider my relationship with my suppliers to be a vital part of customer service. While technically, I am my suppliers' customer, they can make or break business for me.

Always, always treat your suppliers professionally. Go out of your way to make yourself "real" to them – even if it means getting on an airplane and flying to their headquarters. You can send Christmas gifts. I send "just to say thank-you" emails. I send pictures of my kids and ask about theirs. Build real friendships, not just business partnerships. They can be one of the most satisfying aspects of your business.

5. What's the best way to contact a new supplier?

Make your initial contact with a potential supplier professional, courteous and as un-demanding as possible. There will be time for negotiations and requests later on. At first, you need to sell yourself and tell the supplier what you can do for him/her.

Be persistent. Email. Call. Email again. Be sure to refer a potential supplier to your website. Give glowing reports about your traffic or how their product will be the perfect fit for your customers.