SaleHoo

[fm1234]

Hasn't dropshipping pretty much jumped the shark at this point? I mean, it seems I have heard maybe one story in a hundred of people trying to set up dropshipping arrangements that actually work out and make money.

Decades ago dropshipping was a great idea; in the age of the Internet most of the dropshippers you find are simply buying from the same wholesalers you won't, then marking the product up and either charging exorbitant fees or a membership fee (or both!)

Maybe I'm just jaded, but what possible benefit can be had from dropshipping?

"No minimum order" is kind of a silly one if you're making $ 0.75 per order after all the fees.

"They handle the shipping" is at least a legit service, but there are lots of legit services that do this, often cheaper than a dropshipper -- you just have to stock them (I recommend checking out ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members** which is part of Amazon.com's business services division.)

I guess I'm just not seeing it. It seems like a giant waste to me, a sucker bet for newbies.


Frank

[jimmy_salehoo]

your right, the market for dropshippers has declined because the real dropshippers are basically gone and they have been replaced by greedy companies that prey on those that want to make money.

[fm1234]

Some legit distributors (like DBL) dropship, but I think you've hit the nail on the head: the dropship business by and large is nothing to do with wholesaling products and everything to do with selling memberships and "handling services" to the uninitiated.


Frank

[victortaylor]

I'm new to dropshipping and selling products (have been providing bespoke web design services for a few years but want to sell 'products' now)...

With zero capital, dropshipping seems like a great opportunity. Aren't the companies here on Salehoo legitimate and worth using?
I've just joined, expecting to find dropshippers who don't charge membership fees etc.


Isn't it at least a good way to get off the ground? There are products that will make you more than $0.75.

Do you have any advice for a newbie with no capital?

[fm1234]

Dropshipping as a concept is a great idea; the problem with dropshipping in practice is that the industry has filled up with b*s suppliers thatare all working off of the same manifests, offering prices on which you cannot make a decent profit. Many charge huge membership fees and some charge ongoing fees for access to the inventory.

These companies, regardless of how they are being packaged, are not offering any serious opportunity to entrepreneurs; all they are doing is suckering newbies into doing all the marketing for their products for them.

So I guess that the advice on dropshippers is not so much "avoid at all costs" as it is "do lots and lots and lots of homework."

There's no such thing as "starting with no capital." Your time is capital. You'll probably pay listing fees and such at an auction site, spend time and money on building your knowledge base (you bought a Salehoo membership) etc. Your capital is already being invested in this, and you need to guard it jealously against companies that are just looking for someone else to do their marketing for them for free, or even worse suckers who will pay those companies for the privilege.


Frank

[f;opflopsally]

I'm new to dropshipping and selling products (have been providing bespoke web design services for a few years but want to sell 'products' now)...

With zero capital, dropshipping seems like a great opportunity. Aren't the companies here on Salehoo legitimate and worth using?
I've just joined, expecting to find dropshippers who don't charge membership fees etc.


Isn't it at least a good way to get off the ground? There are products that will make you more than $0.75.

Do you have any advice for a newbie with no capital?

[victortaylor]

I've discovered 2 UK dropshippers that sell stuff that would fit my idea to sell 'giftware'.

One of them charge £15 per year but their product lines look good and it's a small risk so I paid it...
(I understand that they're just using me, fm1234, but I'm treading carefully.)

Starting on eBay I've posted 12 listings so far - currently waiting for bids. Example:
** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**

They are fairly low cost items though... Even though I'm using the Turbo Lister software and a design template it still takes time to list new products with new product descriptions etc - and after eBay and PayPal fees you are only making small change per listing IF the item sells...

This has started me thinking that selling higher priced products would be more worthwhile because it takes the same amount of time to promote...

So at the moment, I'm stuck for what to sell (that I can enjoy selling) and wondering if my own website would be much better than eBay, to avoid paying a fee just for putting each product online.
(Luckily I have the resources to get and a run a website for free.)

So - I can't say how well dropshipping works just yet but I have heard many positive stories about people who are making a happy living using this method - selling higher priced items.

I'm going to have some breakfast and a coffee now - then continue wondering what the hell I'm going to do next and what the hell am I going to sell?!?

[iluvmykids]

Have you made any money.???? Any luck with this dropshipper?

I've discovered 2 UK dropshippers that sell stuff that would fit my idea to sell 'giftware'.

One of them charge £15 per year but their product lines look good and it's a small risk so I paid it...
(I understand that they're just using me, fm1234, but I'm treading carefully.)



Starting on eBay I've posted 12 listings so far - currently waiting for bids. Example:
** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**

They are fairly low cost items though... Even though I'm using the Turbo Lister software and a design template it still takes time to list new products with new product descriptions etc - and after eBay and PayPal fees you are only making small change per listing IF the item sells...

This has started me thinking that selling higher priced products would be more worthwhile because it takes the same amount of time to promote...

So at the moment, I'm stuck for what to sell (that I can enjoy selling) and wondering if my own website would be much better than eBay, to avoid paying a fee just for putting each product online.
(Luckily I have the resources to get and a run a website for free.)

So - I can't say how well dropshipping works just yet but I have heard many positive stories about people who are making a happy living using this method - selling higher priced items.

I'm going to have some breakfast and a coffee now - then continue wondering what the hell I'm going to do next and what the hell am I going to sell?!?