If you want to sell products online, and dropshipping is your chosen product-sourcing method, you will have to set up an account with a dropshipper.  Your dropshipper will provide you with images and descriptions of their products.  You can use those images and descriptions to list the products online, be it on eBay, Amazon, Bonanzle, or your own website.  When you make a sale, you pass the order along to your dropshipper, who ships the item directly to your customer.

How do you set up an account with a dropshipper?

1. Get your Reseller’s Permit and Tax ID Number

Most legitimate dropshippers will only work with someone who has their Reseller’s Permit and / or Tax ID Number.  These are cheap and easy to get, so don’t put it off.

2. Find a real, quality dropshipper, not a scam artist or middleman

Not all dropshippers are created equal.  The internet is loaded with so-called dropshippers who are really just scam artists or middlemen.  You want to purchase your products from the actual manufacturer or distributor.  Everybody else is just a middleman.  You can spot a middleman because they will have thousands of different products available for dropship.  A real dropship supplier specializes in one type of product, like organic baby clothing or gourmet popcorn.

How can you find real, quality dropshippers?  Use the Wholesale Match database.  We have access to thousands of quality dropshippers and wholesalers for practically any product imaginable.  Right now we are offering a Free 7 Day Trial, no credit card required.  Just sign up on our homepage and you will have access to our database for 7 days.

3. Contact your dropshipper to set up an account

Contact your dropshipper via phone, email, or online application.  At times your chosen supplier may not be accepting any more retailers and you may have to find someone else, but usually a dropshipper is happy to have you market their products.  The dropshipper may require you to fill out a form or credit application.  They will probably require your Reseller’s Permit and / or Tax ID Number.  They should NOT charge a fee just to set up an account with them.

4. Ask questions

Before you start working with your chosen dropshipper, make sure you are clear on the terms of your arrangement.  Does the dropshipper provide images and product descriptions you can use to sell their products online?  Are there any minimum order requirements?  Do they charge a dropship fee?  Do they ship all over the country and / or internationally?  Do they offer discounts for bulk orders or large monthly sales volumes?  Have a list of these kinds of questions handy when you contact your dropshipper.

5. Be aware that you can use more than one dropshipper

Since most legitimate dropshippers specialize in one type of product, you may need to use multiple dropshippers to achieve the varied product line you desire.  There is nothing wrong with using multiple suppliers.  The more suppliers you have, the more complex your business operations will be, but you won’t have all your eggs in one basket – if one of your dropshippers goes under, your online business won’t sink with them.

dropshippers, dropshipping

If you are planning to sell products online, whether on eBay, from a personal website, or on another venue like Bonanzle or Amazon, you will probably need suppliers for those products.  There are generally two types of suppliers: dropshippers and wholesalers.

What are dropshippers?

Dropshippers allow you to sell their products without carrying an inventory.  When you set up an account with a dropshipper, they provide you with images and descriptions of their products.  You use those images and descriptions to post their products on your website, eBay, Amazon, etc.  When you make a sale, you pass the order along to the dropshipper, and the dropshipper ships the item directly to your customer.  Dropshipping allows you to sell products online with very little capital and very little commitment.  On the downside, not all products are available through dropshippers, your prices might be slightly higher, and you have less control over your inventory and shipping methods.

What are wholesalers?

Wholesalers provide retailers with products to sell online, usually in bulk orders.  Your initial order may be anywhere from $100 – $3000, though subsequent order requirements may be lower.  You store the products in your home or another work space.  When you make a sale, you package and ship the order to your customer yourself.  The benefit of buying wholesale is you usually get the cheapest prices, allowing you the greatest profit margin.  You can also sell almost any product, and you have greater control over your inventory and shipping, which allows you to run promotions and market your products with greater latitude.

How do I find dropship and wholesale suppliers?

Some can be found online, but unfortunately the internet is littered with middlemen and scam services.  Another method is to attend tradeshows and other events where you can make connections with suppliers.  The third way is to use a supplier database.

Wholesale Match offers the most comprehensive supplier database out there.  We have access to thousands of dropshippers and wholesalers for practically any product you can sell online.

Wholesale Match also offers our customers three things that no other database supplies:

1. Our Research Team will do all the work for you

Simply submit a Research Request listing all the products you would like to sell online, and our Research Team will email you a list of dropshippers and / or wholesalers within 3 business days.

2. We will actively search for you

If you are looking for a new or very specific item that isn’t in our database, our Researchers will go out and search for you until we find a supplier for that product.

3. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee

If you have not made back the cost of your membership by the end of the year, we refund it in full, as long as you allow us to work for you by submitting a Research Request, calling, emailing, or live-chatting at least once a month.

Right now, Wholesale Match is also offering a free 7 day trial.

You can use our database to find wholesale and dropship suppliers free for 7 days.  No credit card is required to sign up for the free trial.  Simply go to www.wholesalematch.com, and click the button that says “Sign Me Up”.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to call our customer service department at 801-938-4718 or to email support@wholesalematch.com

dropshippers, dropshipping, wholesale

What is dropshipping?  And how can you make money doing it?  There are plenty of people on the internet promising that you can use dropshipping to make thousands of dollars while sitting in your underoos in your living room.  But is dropshipping really all it’s cracked up to be?

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is a way of selling products online without carrying an inventory.  Basically you post products online, whether on eBay or your own website, and when you make a sale, you order the product from the dropshipper.  The dropshipper then mails the product directly to your customer.

Is dropshipping really as easy as everyone says?

NO!  Dropshipping is NOT easy.  Running a dropshipping business is as challenging and consuming as operating any other kind of business.  It requires a huge investment of time and some money.  So don’t think you’re going to set up your online business in an hour and then watch the cash roll in.

Why should I dropship?

Dropshipping allows you to sell products online without carrying an inventory.  This means you don’t need to invest money to buy a huge stock of products, and you don’t have to run the risk of having a garage full of unicycles that aren’t selling.

However, you will still have to invest money to get your Reseller’s Permit and Tax ID Number, to find quality suppliers, to set up a website or eBay store, and to market your online business.

What are the negatives of dropshipping?

• You won’t always have as large a profit margin as you would purchasing wholesale.
• Not all products are available through dropshippers.
• You don’t have as much control over inventory levels and shipping methods.
• It’s more difficult to run certain kinds of promotions.

How do I start dropshipping?

1. Get your Reseller’s Permit and Tax ID Number

This will allow you to work with the best dropshippers and to file your taxes correctly at the end of the year.

2. Find a quality dropship supplier for whatever products you want to sell online

It is extremely important that you work with a good supplier, not a scam artist or middleman.  You won’t make any money otherwise.

3. Set up an account with your supplier

This does not cost any money – you just have to give them some personal information, including your Reseller Number.  The dropship supplier will email you a pdf file with their product descriptions and images.  You can then start posting these products on your website or eBay store.

4. Start posting products online

You can sell dropship products from a personal website, on eBay, from an eBay store, on Bonanzle, or pretty much anywhere online.

How do I find quality suppliers?

You can search for suppliers through Google or by attending tradeshows and other events.  Most of the people you will find on Google are middlemen.  A middleman is not the manufacturer or distributor of the product.  They are someone who buys the product from the manufacturer and then sells it to you at a marked-up price.  Unfortunately, you will not be able to sell your product for even more money, because the price has already been marked-up.  The easiest way to spot a middleman is they offer thousands of different products.  A real manufacturer or distributor only supplies one kind of product.  They don’t make baby carriages, and also golf clubs and model cars and baseball uniforms.  Tradeshows, by contrast, are actually a great way to meet manufacturers.  Unfortunately travelling to Vegas, Miami, Toronto, etc. to attend them is very expensive.

The best way to find quality suppliers is through a database.  Wholesale Match can find you quality dropshippers for virtually any product.

Why should I use Wholesale Match to find dropship suppliers?

Wholesale Match is not the only database of dropshippers and wholesalers, but we are the only ones who offer the following 3 services:

1. We do the work for you

You don’t need to spend hours combing through our database.  Simply submit a list of products, and our Research Team will email you a list of dropshippers and/or wholesalers for those products within 3 business days.

2. We actively search for new suppliers

If we do not currently have a dropshipper for the item you are looking for, we will actively search until we find a supplier that works for you.

3. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee on our annual membership

If you don’t make back at least the cost of your membership, we will refund it in full at the end of the year.  We only ask that you email, submit a research request, call, or livechat us at least once a month so we have a chance to work for you.

For more information on finding dropshippers, email support@wholesalematch.com or call 801-938-4718.

dropshippers, dropshipping, finding suppliers, selling products online

One of the most difficult aspects of starting an e-tail business is finding a supplier for your product.  When choosing a supplier, you basically have two options: purchasing wholesale, or using a dropshipper.  A wholesaler usually requires you to buy inventory in bulk, which you then sell on eBay or from a personal website.  A dropshipper, by contrast, does not require you to make bulk purchases or carry an inventory.  Rather, you list the product on eBay or on a website, and when you make a sale, you order the item from the dropshipper.  The dropshipper then ships the item directly to your customer.

Positives and negatives of using a dropship supplier:

The benefits of using a dropshipper are the low committment level and low capital required.  The negatives are the lack of control you have over inventory levels and packaging/shipping.  Returns can also be a hassle.

If you decide to go the dropshipping route, how can you find a list of suppliers for your products?  Searching online will turn up a lot of directories, scam artists, and middlemen.

A quality dropshipper has the following characteristics:

1. A legitimate dropshipper does not charge an annual or sign-up fee

Many so-called dropshippers require you to pay an annual fee to work with them.  This is the mark of a scam artist.  A real dropshipper makes money by providing you with products, not charging you fees.

To clarify, a sign-up fee or annual fee is inappropriate.  However, legitimate dropshippers will often charge a dropship fee of around $2 – $7 per item to cover the cost of processing and shipping your order.  This is completely appropriate, and is passed along to your customer as a shipping fee.

2. A legitimate dropshipper specializes in a particular product

Many dropshippers purport to supply thousands of products from golf clubs to barbie dolls.  This is the obvious mark of a middleman.  The supplier is getting all these different products from the actual manufacturers and distributors.  They mark up the product and sell it to you.  This does not leave a margin for you to mark the product up again and sell it online.  The middleman’s price is the same as the retail price, so there’s no room for you to make a profit.

3. A legitimate dropshipper is the manufacturer or distributor of their product

The way to make a profit is to purchase from the source.  This allows you buy your products for the best price possible.  The best case scenario is to purchase directly from the manufacturer.  When this is not possible, you want to purchase from the distributor.

How can you find a list of quality dropship suppliers?

Wholesale Match will provide you with the best dropship and wholesale suppliers.  Unlike other services, we will put you in direct contact with the supplier.  Futhermore, we don’t just give you access to the database and leave you to figure it out – our Research Team will actually do the work for you.  Send our Research Team a list of products you would like to sell online, and within 3 business days they will email you a list of quality dropship or wholesale suppliers.  If we do not currently have a supplier for your desired product, we will search until we find one.  We are the only database that does this.  We are also the only ones who offer a 100% money-back guarantee: if you do not make back at least the cost of your membership in one year, we will refund it in full.  Our only stipulation is that you give us a chance to work for you by emailing, livechatting, or calling us, or submitting a Research Request at least once a month.

We are currently offering our annual memberships at 33% off the normal price.  Call 801-938-4718 or email support@wholesalematch.com for more details.

dropshippers, dropshipping

So you want to start an online business, and you’ve decided dropshipping is the best option for you.  How can you find the best dropship products to sell online?

Step 1: Brainstorm Multiple Product Ideas

Think of 5-10 products you could successfully sell online.  It’s important to have a few different products in mind, because you may not be able to find a dropshipper for your first idea.  After all, not all products are available through a dropshipper, or you may not be able to get your product at a price that allows you to make a sufficient profit.  If you have 5 or more products in mind when you start looking for suppliers, you can compare the results for fishing rods, magic tricks, calligraphy pens, chemistry sets, and baby carriers to make a final decision.

Tip: If you are having trouble brainstorming product ideas, check out this list of products you can sell online for a profit, or simply examine your online purchases over the last month or two.  You should come up with some solid ideas by thinking of the products you yourself like to buy online.

Step 2: Find A Legitimate Supplier – No Middlemen!

If you type “dropship products” or “find dropshippers” into a Google search, you will come up with literally millions of results – educational articles, links to databases and directories, and a mountain of companies purporting to offer dropship services.  Some of these companies may be legitimate, but a huge number of them are actually middlemen.  When purchasing products to resell online, it is extremely important that you get as close to the source as possible – this means you need to purchase directly from the manufacturer or distributor.  Why is this so important?  If you don’t, it will be very difficult for you to make a profit.  You may not be able to sell your products at all, because your prices won’t be competitive.

Let’s imagine your competitor is puchasing food dehydrators directly from the manufacturer.  He gets each dehydrator for $84, then marks them up $20 and sell them for $104.  You, on the other hand, are purchasing from a middleman.  You get the food dehydrator for $99.  You are then forced to either sell it for a $5 profit, which wouldn’t even cover the cost of your overhead, or try and sell it for $120, in which case people will simply buy from your competitor.  You need to get your dehydrators direct from the manufacturer, just like your competitor does.

How can you tell if a dropshipper is a middleman?

Ask these 3 questions:

1. How many different products do they dropship?

You may think the fact that they dropship everything from kitchen faucets to baby clothes is a good thing, but in fact that’s the sure mark of a middleman.  They obviously are not manufacturing all those different products – they’re purchasing them from a manufacturer and marking up the price.  A real manufacturer or distributor focuses on one particular kind of product, like anti-aging skin products or bowling balls.

2. What does it say on their website?

Most legitimate suppliers will proudly post on their website where their products are made.  But be aware, not everybody offering an online service is honest.  Many middlemen post success stories of clients making thousands of dollars selling their products, but that doesn’t mean a thing.  You are always better off buying direct from the source, no matter what a middleman tells you.

3. Do they charge a fee?

Legitimate dropshippers don’t charge an annual, monthly, or sign-up fee for their services.  Only middlemen do this, because they know once you figure out you can’t actually make money selling their products, you’re not going to buy anything else from them.  The fee is where they make their money.  A real dropshipper only charges a small dropship fee, commensurate with the price of packaging and shipping the product.  This means that when you order your food dehydrator from them, they only charge maybe $2-$10 to cover the cost of packing and shipping the item.

How can you find legitimate dropship suppliers?

Wholesale Match operates a database of quality dropship and wholesale suppliers.  If there is a dropshipper available for your product, we’ll find them.  All you have to do is submit a list of products to our Research Team, and they will email you back a list of dropshippers and/or wholesalers in 1-3 business days.  We also provide a variety of educational materials for people who need help starting their online business.  Finally, we are the only supplier database that offers a 100% money-back guarantee on our annual membership.  If you don’t make back at least the cost of your membership, we will refund it in full at the end of the year, as long as you give us a chance to work for you by calling, emailing, or submitting a Research Request at least once a month.

dropshippers, dropshipping, product research, selling products online

You probably already know that Wholesale Match can find you dropshippers and/or wholesalers for virtually any product.  But once you have a list of potential suppliers, what’s the next step?

Once our Research Team provides you with a list of potential suppliers, you need to decide which one(s) you want to work with.  The best way to do this is to visit each supplier’s website.  This will give you an idea of the products they carry, and often you can view their prices as well.  Once you’ve chosen one or two dropshippers or wholesalers, you need to contact the supplier via email or over the phone to set up an account.

Before committing to work with a particular supplier, you will want to ask a few questions to ensure that the supplier is really what you’re looking for.  The following is a list of questions you should ask potential dropshippers and wholesalers.  You may want to have this list handy when you call your prospective dropshipper or wholesaler so you don’t forget anything.

Questions to ask your dropshipper or wholesaler:

1. Are you currently accepting new retailers?

2. Do you require a Reseller’s License and/or Tax ID Number?

3. Are all of your products available for dropship/wholesale?

4. Do the prices listed on your website reflect the retail price or the dropship/wholesale price?

5. Do you provide a pdf file or catalog with your product images and descriptions?

6. Do you have a minimum order amount?

7. What are your dropship/shipping fees?

8. Do you ship internationally?

9. Do you provide blind dropshipping (meaning, will the dropshipper’s company name be visible on the package or in the packing materials)?

10. Do you notify retailers by email when a product runs out of stock?

11. How are returns handled?

This is just a basic list of questions – some of these questions may not be important to you (like blind dropshipping), or you may have other questions that are important for your specific online business.  You’ll have to brainstorm to determine what the absolutely essential services your dropshipper or wholesaler must provide are.  Keep in mind while you do this, no supplier is perfect, so you may have to accept a lack of international shipping or a small dropshipping fee in order to get a great supplier for the product you want to sell.

dropshippers

Are you a manufacturer, dropshipper, wholesaler, importer, or distributor?  If so, you may be interested in being listed in Wholesale Match’s directory.  Wholesale Match is one of the biggest databases in the industry, and we will list your business at no cost to you.  Our only requirement is that you be a legitimate dropship or wholesale supplier who is accepting new retailers.  If you would like to submit your business for listing in our directory, we will perform a short review of your company and website, and begin providing your information to online retailers within the week.

Wholesale Match is a database of dropshippers and wholesalers, and also a resource for educational materials for people looking to start an online business.  We are the only database with a Product Research Team who have an extensive understanding of the suppliers listed in our database and who do the work for our customers.  This means that the results provided are truly relevant to the customer and dropshippers and wholesalers listed in our database will not receive requests or correspondance from the wrong people.  This also means your business won’t get lost in the shuffle.

If you are interested in being listed in the Wholesale Match database, please email support@wholesalematch.com or call 801-938-4718.  In your email, please include the following information so we can review your company for inclusion in the database:

1. Company name and website address

2. Business owner name and contact information

3. Physical address

4. Short company description

5. Services provided to retailers (ie wholesale, dropship, and/or affiliate program)

6. Minimum order requirements for wholesale

7. Dropship fees, if any

8. International shipping policy

We appreciate your interest and are dedicated to communicating with all our suppliers regularly to ensure that both they and our customers are are being connected in profitable relationships.

If at any point you decide that you would no longer like to be listed in our directory, we will remove you and refrain from providing your company information to retailers.

dropshippers

Dropshipping 101

The first step of starting  dropshipping business is to find a great supplier for your products.  Unfortunately, it’s not easy to find a quality supplier.  There’s no Yellow Pages for the real professionals, and there are a boatload of scam artists and middlemen masquerading as legitimate dropshippers and wholesalers.  They make their money off membership fees and selling you products that are too expensive for you to resell for a profit online.  How can you avoid middlemen and find a quality dropshipper or wholesaler who will provide you with products that will allow you to make money online?

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

There are plenty of supposed dropship or wholesale suppliers who will allow anyone to sign up and who promise to supply thousands of different products.  If there are no restrictions to sign up with them, they are probably not a legitimate business.  A real wholesaler must by law get your Reseller’s Permit and Tax and ID number, otherwise, they are not allowed to sell you products tax-free for resale.  If they don’t bother to do this, they are probably actually selling you products retail and calling it wholesale.  The fact that they have thousands of products of all types isn’t a good thing either.  It’s impossible that they are manufacturing or even importing all these products themselves.  More likely they are purchasing their products from dozens of different suppliers and reselling them to you.  Thus, they are a middleman, not a legitimate supplier.

Don’t dropship with the Invisible Man.

If the company seems to have no history with the BBB or other agencies, no successful online businesses they are currently supplying, and no physical address where their warehouse is located, you are probably in communication with a scam artist.  A legitimate dropshipper or wholesaler shouldn’t be evasive or sketchy about their business details.  One of the biggest red flags is if they refuse to give you product information until after you pay some kind of fee.  A real dropshipper/wholesaler will send you a pdf file with all their products and prices, or provide a login to a reseller’s website.  Prices and products are only kept secret when they are not really provided at wholesale prices or when they don’t exist at all.  Which brings me to my third point:

Finding a dropshipper shouldn’t be like buying a gym membership: don’t pay hefty sign-up fees.

You should also never pay an exorbitant fee to sign up with a supplier.  A small processing fee of less than $20 isn’t unreasonable, but anything over that is the sign of a scammer.  Don’t confuse sign-up fees with dropship fees: many dropshippers charge a dropship fee, but that is to cover shipping costs and is only charged when products are ordered and shipped.  Dropship fees usually range from $1-15 per order.  Wholesalers may require minimum order amounts, but again this is not a sign-up fee – the money is used to purchase products, not pay the supplier.

Manufacturers are your goal.

The person you really want to buy your products from is a manufacturer.  In some industries that isn’t possible and you are required to purchase from a distributor.  Middlemen are your last resort.  It’s possible to make money buying and selling products from a  middleman, but more often the cut they take won’t allow you to make a sufficient profit.  Your goal is to buy straight from the source, the manufacturer.

Use a reliable source to find suppliers.

You may get lucky and find a good supplier through a Google search or a free directory, but every Tom Dick and Harry has access to the same free sources you do.  Most legitimate suppliers don’t post their information online because they don’t want to be hassled by a bunch of would-be entrepreneurs.  Your best bet is to find real dropshippers and wholesalers is to pay for access to a quality database.  If you decide to use Wholesale Match’s database, our Research Team will do the work for you.  We also guarantee that you will make the cost of your membership back within a year, or we will refund the annual membership fee in full (as long as you give us the opportunity to work for you at least once a month).

dropshippers, finding suppliers, wholesale

You need ideas for products you can sell online for gadzillions of dollars in profit.  I get a bizarre pleasure out of making lists.  Thus was born the third installment of Products You Can Sell Online For A Profit.  The following are products that we here at Wholesale Match have many, many dropship and wholesale suppliers for.  As always, these products need appropriate targeting and marketing in order to be successful: nothing is guaranteed.

photo credit: Bill Hails

Product Ideas:

African products
Baby Boomer products
BBQ sets and marinades
Beer-themed products
Cake decorating supplies and equipment
Children’s dress-up clothes (costumes)
Chocolate-dipped fruit
Christmas ornaments and wreaths
Collegiate sports-themed products
Diabetic products
Doll clothes
Egyptian products
Fancy aprons
Fancy robes (bathrobes, kimonos, etc.)
Flags
Fondue sets
Freeze-dried camping/emergency food
Geriatric care products
Gloves and scarves
Gourmet cookies
Gourmet popcorn
Greek products
Henna kits
Hiking products
Japanese Anime products
Journals
Juggling supplies
Karaoke equipment
Laptop bags
Left-handed products
Mailboxes
Manicure and pedicure supplies
Maps
Masks
Moccasins
Model trains
Musical instruments
Native American jewelry and belt buckles
Nightlights
Obama products
Products made from a particular material like cedar or stone
Puppets
RC toys
Robotic toys
Rock hunting supplies
Roller derby supplies
Scales
Science kits
Security and nanny cameras
Sorority and fraternity items
Swords and armor
Tarot, Astrology, and Palmistry supplies
Tea and tea sets
Tie-dye kits
Tropical/vacation clothing
Unusual or hand-made board games
Vegan products
Walking sticks and canes
Water bottles
Weightlifting supplements and protein shakes
Wind chimes
Wine accessories

photo credit: TheMarque

If you would like a list of dropshippers and/or wholesalers for any of these products, simply submit a Research Request to the Wholesale Match Research Team by logging into the website, clicking on the Suppliers button, and scrolling down to the lower left-hand side of the page where it says “Can’t Find What You’re Looking For? Submit A Research Request”.  Our Research Team will email your results in 1-3 business days.

Product Ideas, dropshippers, dropshipping, product research, wholesale

Finding a great supplier is one of the most important steps in setting up your online business.  Whether you’re looking for a dropship or wholesale supplier, I would advocate using Wholesale Match, since we have thousands upon thousands of quality dropshippers and wholesalers in our database, and we add new ones every day.  The Research Team will actually go out and find new suppliers for you if you haven’t found what you’re looking for in the database.  But even after we find you some solid potential suppliers, you’re going to have to do the work to get set up with them, including contacting the suppliers, setting up an account, and negotiating your terms.  The following are some common pitfalls would-be online business owners often encounter while getting set up with suppliers:

First: Explain clearly what you’re looking for when you call a potential supplier. I can’t tell you how often people call the customer support line and say, “You sent me a supplier for ping pong paddles, but I called them and they don’t dropship.”  Then the customer service team calls the supplier back to see if their policy has changed, and in fact they do dropship.  What goes wrong?  Often when somebody calls a potential supplier, they don’t really explain what they’re looking for.  Some companies dropship every day, but aren’t familiar with the term “dropshipping”.  Some will tell you that they only wholesale, but they have no minimum and can ship to any address, so they are in effect actually a dropshipper.  Communicate with your potential supplier, and take the time to learn about their company.  Don’t just ask one or two questions and then hang up the phone.

photo credit: alicepopkorn

Second: Be prepared to use more than one supplier. For convenience sake, many people want a supplier who can provide them with all their products in one place.  So if you were selling, say, meditation stones, yoga mats, and seaweed facial masks, you might expect your supplier to stock all those items.  However, they might carry only yoga supplies, or only spa items like seaweed masks.  You might have to use two or three or even six or ten suppliers to get the range of fantastic products you’re looking for on your website.  Sometimes you’ll get lucky and find a supplier who carries everything you want at a great price, but usually you’ll find a better deal shopping around, using a few different suppliers.

Third: Have your business plan ready long before you start supplier-shopping. Do your product research, plan exactly how you’re going to market your website, and have your budget laid out.  That way, when you finally call a supplier, you’ll sound like a professional and they’ll be excited to work with you.  Imagine for a moment that you were a distributor of soccer cleats, and some random guy called you and said, “Hey, I’m thinking about maybe selling soccer stuff online, but I dunno, I might do golf.  But probably soccer, at least for now.  Wanna supply me with cleats?”.  Not likely.  While most suppliers are happy to start a partnership with a new retailer, they want to work with solid entrepreneurs who have their stuff together.  They may ask you questions about your projected sales volumes, credit score, website, etc., and you need to be able to answer intelligently.

Fourth: Get your Reseller’s Permit and Tax ID Number. A lot of people try to get around obtainng their Reseller’s Permit and Tax ID Number by using suppliers who don’t require them, but the best suppliers want proper documentation, and anyway, it’s the law.  Spend the time and the little bit of money it will cost you: it’ll save you a mountain of problems later on.  A Reseller’s Permit is required to purchase products tax-free for resale purposes, and a Tax ID Number is necessary to submit your taxes at the end of the year.  If you want your online business to be successful, treat it like a real business and set it up properly, without taking short cuts.

Fifth: Be prepared to pay initial order costs. If you want to start an online business, you need capital.  Some e-business newbies believe they will be able to get their website up and running and start selling products for $100 or less.  The truth is, there are going to be additional costs.  One of these costs might be initial orders from suppliers.  While many dropshippers have no fees to sign up and will allow you to ship individual orders, others require you to make a large initial order or put down a deposit before they’ll work with you.  This is rare, but more common with certain categories of products like clothing.  After your first $100-500 order, suppliers are usually willing to do single orders, or a much smaller volume.  You could choose not to work with suppliers who require a deposit or larger initial order, but unfortunately you would be cutting out some of the best dropshippers and wholesalers.

dropshippers, finding suppliers, wholesale