What Makes a Great Drop Shipper?
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Picture your next successful sale. It’s seven o’clock in the morning, you just sat down with your first cup of coffee to check e-mail; an order for your newest product came in while you were asleep. Now just a few clicks of the mouse and a bit of typing to fulfill the order — and the product is on its way.
Wait.
You forgot to source the product: you need a new drop shipper.
No problem. Here’s how to tell you’ve found a business partner in a new drop shipping company.
1. The drop shipper responds rapidly to your requests for information, product details, and order fulfillment procedures.
The beauty of the Internet is that small-scale international commerce moves as fast as you’d like it. While a foreign manufacturer or intermediary might present a bit of a language barrier, they’ll respond in a business day or less to a professional inquiry about their goods for sale. The dollar, yen, and euro transcend cultural boundaries: remember, you’re bringing THEM business; without entrepreneurs like you, they’d be bankrupt. Compose a professional, courteous, and direct e-mail introduction, and you’ll know within one business day, two at the most, whether you’ve found a potential dropship source.
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2. The dropship supplier maintains impeccable standards of integrity.
Reputation is the lifeblood of successful business; the good dropshippers know that if they do dropshipaccess scam, lie, cheat, deceive, or defraud you, not only will they lose your business, but they will lose your referral business, besmirch their reputation in the marketplace, and devalue the brands they source. Don’t accept anything but absolute honesty at all stages of the dropship fullfillment process.
3. The drop shipper provides you with detailed information about their entire product line.
Knowledge is power; “the devil is in the details.” Drop shippers know your customers expect their order to be complete, accurate, and on time. A professional and responsive drop ship corporation will specify brands, models, descriptions, and customizations, if applicable, for every product they carry. Don’t send your best customer a left-handed golf putter when he ordered a right-handed driver: make sure the drop ship company you choose gives you what you need to know, when you need to know it, before you source your sales to them.
4. The dropship supplier uses expedited shipping terms unless otherwise instructed. Remember this: Amazon.com built their reputation with the skeptical and reluctant American consumer by providing immediate order fulfillment and consistent, reasonable and rapid shipping terms. Manufacturing and drop shipping is neither rocket science nor brain surgery, it is simple, efficient logistics. Unless you are purchasing a highly-customized product, your order should ship within two or three business days, and arrive before the date promised to your customer. A late package means a disappointed customer, one who won’t order from you again. Professional drop shippers know the faster they turn an order around, the sooner the next will come in.
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5. Customer service policies are clearly and comprehensively stated on the company’s Web site.
A good drop ship supplier specifies shipment terms, time frames for customer service turnaround, and other transaction-specific details up front and in plain English. Payment and return policies will be displayed prominently on their Web site: this ensures buyer confidence. If a drop ship company does not provide a clear return policy, and reasonable, secure payment terms, keep looking.
6. The best drop shipper in a market will demonstrate passion and experience from the first point of contact. An overseas dropship merchant may not have the snazziest Web site you’ve ever seen, but their representatives will display a wealth of industry experience, and a drive to serve their customers better than the competition. The Internet has opened the marketplace worldwide, and a savvy drop shipper knows that if they don’t provide excellent, timely service, you’ll simply click on to the next supplier on Google’s list.
Remember, the cornerstone of success is business relationships. Research, investigate, qualify, and select a professional, expedient dropship supplier; don’t settle for second best. Your customers — and your bank account — will thank you.
