Picking drop-shippers

I picked 3 drop-shippers on recommendation of Salehoo.
1)First had many users, who sold same items for much less than me.

2) 100% wholesale,. good products but they charge a handling fee of $5.00 on first item & $1.00 for any additional. Returns are sent to your house for disposition & when returned to them, I assume they charge a re-stocking fee.

3) the one on Salehoo Stores hasn't brought in any business.

Discouragesd this soon, you bet.

It can be discouraging trying to get established selling anything online; dropshipping in particular is even more difficult because its low barrier to entry means anyone at all can give it a go (as you seem to have experienced with 1) below.)

But if I could prod a little for more info:

1)First had many users, who sold same items for much less than me.

You mean people using the same supplier, therefore paying the same price as you for the products? If that's the case, the answer is, very simply, lower your price. What else are you going to do in a case like that?

2) 100% wholesale,. good products but they charge a handling fee of $5.00 on first item & $1.00 for any additional. Returns are sent to your house for disposition & when returned to them, I assume they charge a re-stocking fee.

You should not be doing business with a company if you are not 100% aware of their order and return processes, fees, etc. Setting that aside, if they charge a handling fee per item, chances are you need to find another supplier, or be very selective in which of their products you promote. $5 never seems like much money, until you're trying to turn a profit.

3) the one on Salehoo Stores hasn't brought in any business.

For how long has it been up? What are you doing to promote it?


Frank

Thanks Frank, I appreciate the advise.

I may be discouraged now, but I am not ready to give up.

I was a commisioned sales rep for most of my adult life & had many doors close on me. The beauty was that every day a new door opened.

I will keep exploring.

I opened two stores one on Salehoo & one on Addoway about a month ago.

Neil

You have a great attitude, and I personally believe that your sales experience will prove to be a big asset for you.

Remember that you are now setting your own commissions, so to speak. Be aware of stuff that too many people are selling too cheaply for you to grind out a living -- it can be a sort of trap, to keep trying to "beat" other sellers of the same product, but often the only way to do so is to keep lowering your price and increasing your levels of service -- to the point that even if you succeed, you're bleeding yourself dry with every sale you make.

Set your own commission rate, and look for things that match it. Even if you have to get creative with your process; ie. selling one product at break even or even at a small loss, in order to garner a customer to whom you upsell. I have found that approach to be very effective, and most competition in almost any niche either lacks the understanding of business concepts, or lacks the drive and work discipline to make a success of a multi-step sales process.


Frank

Once again Frank, thanks for the great advise.

It is great to have encouragement.

Hi retailer73,

If it's Frank giving advice, your bound to get great ones!

(@Frank as usual thanks for helping out! :))

Have you tried searching for additional dropshippers to help y ou with your business. It is often better to have more than 1 or a few dropshippers for your business so you can offer a wider variety and always have a fall back in case 1 supplier can't meet your orders.

Perseverance is one of the key elements to succeeding online and it's great to see you have one strong persevering spirit!

If you need help finding dropshippers just let us know and we would be happy to help you out!

All the best :)

Thanks Richelle, I am looking into additional drop-shippers.

As a newbie, I am still exploring. I love my Salehoo store setup & will soon add on.
I need some business now, The site is very well dispalyed through Google & Bing.

I need suggestions on cheap advertising. What do you think of Google Adword to start with?

If it's Frank giving advice, your bound to get great ones!

(@Frank as usual thanks for helping out! :))

Awwwwww. Thank you.

I do think multi-step sales processes are not explored nearly enough by people starting online. There's a lot of work to it, but look at every successful marketing company out there, and what do they do? No matter what it is they are selling, from vitamins to vacations, they are using the first sale to get the customer, and the second sale to actually profit off of the customer. It's not unrelated that Amazon and other big retailers tend to sell games, electronics and other hot-button items at or near cost -- they're not trying to make all the money on the first sale.

So many people starting out are so scared that they're going to lose money -- and of course, many cannot afford to, and perhaps their fear is grounded in that reality. But working for hours and hours per sale to make $10 net profit is senseless and will get you into the poorhouse as fast as a cocaine habit. Over and above that, it has a cheapening, defeating effect on the mind and soul, which can be much harder to get over than the financial aspect.



Frank

Thanks Richelle, I am looking into additional drop-shippers.

As a newbie, I am still exploring. I love my Salehoo store setup & will soon add on.
I need some business now, The site is very well dispalyed through Google & Bing.

I need suggestions on cheap advertising. What do you think of Google Adword to start with?

Hi retailer73,

Google AdWords is an affordable and highly effective way to pull more buyers to your store. Alice has a really informative blog on how you can use this tool to its optimum - Link hidden: Login to view

For more tips you may also want to check out this forum thread - Link hidden: Login to view

Hope this helps :)

I am looking at dropshipping from China and not sure who to try. There are quite a few of them. Can anybody give a good recommendation.

Cheers
Paul

Hi Paul,

Welcome to SaleHoo! Yes there are quite a number of Chinese dropshippers in our directory, but it would be much easier to make recommendations if we knew what types of products you are looking for.

Please let us know what types of products you are interested in and we would be more than happy to help you locate suitable dropshippers.

Talk to you soon!

Thanks Richelle.
I am looking at a range of items from phone/ipad accessories, electronics, gadgets, toys. Chinavasion and Chinabuye seem to be popular and I have had a look at a couple of the others with reviews on them varying from good to bad. I know its hard for you but any advice would be good.
Cheers
Paul