Allow customers to shop your website while someone else stores and ships.
Businesses that sell products but don't have to maintain an inventory of their own benefit from the low overhead costs and minimal initial investment. Setting up a business that sells products online without having to store it yourself is easy to do, but relies on finding a supplier that is willing to work with you in this manner. The process of having the merchandise shipped directly from the manufacturer to the client is known as drop shipping. The customer orders and pays through your website, then you submit the order to the manufacturer, who ships the item to the customer. As the retailer, you may be billed as the product is sold or through an automated deduction from a prepaid or debit account, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
Instructions
1. Contact companies that manufacture the merchandise you want to sell and ask if they drop ship. Try to find at least five companies that will drop ship your merchandise so you have a pool for comparison and can find the best terms for your business.
2. Read through each company's drop ship contract terms carefully and decide which manufacturers you want to set up accounts with.
3. Contact other businesses who use the merchants you are interested in and ask what there experience is with the company. Ask if they have ever had any customer complaints regarding merchandise that was ordered but never shipped.
4. Set up an account with your selected company. Accounts may need to be prepaid or require a credit check or deposit, or some may require a monthly membership fee.
5. Set up your website to include a payment portal with a reputable company and plenty of product information and images.
6. Make sure your ordering system integrates with the drop shipper's smoothly so you don't have to manually monitor every transaction.
7. Keep a close watch on orders, especially at first, to make sure there aren't any glitches in the system and that the drop shipping company is performing to your expectations.
8. Follow up on any issues immediately to create and maintain goodwill between your business, your customers and your manufacturer.
Tags: drop ship, your website, companies that, drop shipping, your business
