Room for Profit for Those New to Dropshipping

I have two questions. I am new here and I'm not sure if this is allowed, but I was researching EnRoute's drop shipping options and I see they have a Black 3DS XL for $211 but this item is selling for about $170 everywhere. Is this the norm with drop shipping? Why would they think I could sell this 3DS for a profit? Is this the norm or am I missing something?

Also, with other companies I have seen, most sell video game accessories and not the games and consoles themselves. I would really like to drop ship video games and consoles. Has anyone had success finding a good drop shipping distributor? I know wholesale is "where it's at" but I need to build up that investment in order to do wholesaling.

Again, new...Any advise would be appreciated!

Hi Jennifer and welcome to the forum,

Dropshipping does offer certain advantages over wholesale, not having to out lay a large sum of cash up front being one of them of course. However, the one advantage it can't offer is price. To get the best unit price, you have to buy in volume and dropshipping is a completely different business model.

It's a risk equals reward scenario. If you are outlaying cash to buy in volume, then you are taking a risk and to reward you for that risk, you get the best price on the item. Dropshipping is low to no risk, so the same rewards aren't there for the customer. Of course that makes sense, if dropshipping provided the same price advantages as wholesale risk did, then why would anyone ever risk buying wholesale ever again when there was no advantage to it at all?

The thing about eBay prices are that there are many factors in play that reflect those prices. For example, you are comparing a dropship price against what?

Is the seller buying in large volume and selling at a reduced margin to create high volume or are they even selling at a loss on the product to drive sales and funnel those sales to an independent website and so on. It's really impossible to compare prices like that because there is just no way of knowing what strategy is being used by the other seller/s, so you're never really comparing apples with apples.

:)

I'm sorry but this really doesn't answer my question. I feel like that response was copied and pasted from a list of responses to offer people when we use certain keywords...

I know what drop shipping is. And the item I was looking at is selling everywhere for $150-$170...I wasn't referring to just eBay, I was referring to multiple sources...eBay, Amazon, Target, Walmart...The 3DS XL is a $170 item but this company EnRoute is selling it for $211 as a drop shipping item. My question is, is this the norm and how are resellers supposed to make a profit on items like this? EnRoute is a SaleHoo preferred vendor but I don't understand how sellers like myself can work with a company like that with those prices.

Again, I am not talking about wholesale versus drop shipping, I know the advantages and disadvantages for both.

Does anyone else have any wisdom to offer on the subject?

I would also love to hear from someone else about the second part of my question referring to drop shipping actual video games and consoles, maybe from someone who is actually doing it.

Well I'm glad you appreciated me taking the time to respond. I do not copy and paste replies to members, if there was a specific post I thought could be of help, then I would have simply included the link. That aside, I do not have to rely on other people's advice to give out as my own advice to others, I am more than capable of providing that myself!

In regards to sellers like Target, Walmart and so on, they do NOT buy from dropshippers. They buy in wholesale volume. As I tried to explain above, you are looking a dropshippers price and then comparing that with suppliers who are buying in massive volume. A dropshipper is never going to give you the same price.

Someone like Target or Walmart will be buying factory direct at prices that will be enable them to retail cheaper than a lot of dropshippers can sell for.

You may also find it interesting to know that SaleHoo does not approve suppliers based on price. We approve suppliers based on them being legitimate, suppliers in our directory have the right to set their own pricing. It's our members choice to find the supplier that best suits their needs.

Regarding the video games, seeing as you have little to no interest in my response, I will defer answering that and leave it someone who you have far more faith in!

Hi Jennifer,

We do have video games and consoles suppliers. I’ve provided a few below worth checking out:

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Here are a couple others, but they only accept wholesale orders:

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To find specific products on their sites I recommend using the search function and also make sure you contact them directly (can do this via SaleHoo) in order to get their true wholesale pricing which is always better than you will see on their site.

Hope this helps you out and if you need anything further just sing out :)

Shane, that is helpful. Thank you!

In my opinion the way to success with drop shipping is to do high volume at a low profit margin. You're competing with the sellers who are buying a wholesale and they're making more money per unit than you are. What worked for me was finding a few products that turned in high volume and then I worked up to wholesale and branding my own product. It is definitely not a get rich quick kind of approach, but with time and consistent effort, you can make significant income selling online.

In addition to drop shipping, I'd recommend that you also look at affiliate marketing. It's pretty inexpensive to set up a website. (I know Salehoo has storefronts - I don't know if they support affiliate linking though.) With affiliate marketing, you're essentially a commission only sales person. You direct the traffic to the retail site and get a commission for any sales that you send.

Neither are easy approaches, but for us "boot strappers" (entrepreneurs with time to learn the skill set but that don't have start up money) they are methods that work over time.

I hope that this helps and best of luck to you!

Hi Jennifer,
I think Mark is really professional about business.
You can get many useful and specific ideas from Mark.
By the way, Shane, Thank you so much for the recommendation of Banggood.

And my friend, if "banggood.com" draws your attention,
Please register as a banggood dropshippers by the following steps:

Step 1:Register as a banggood member by this link-- Link hidden: Login to view
Step 2:Register as a dropshipper by this link-- Link hidden: Login to view

If you already submitted the applications,please let me know.
We'll examine and verify the qualification of your account.

Any questions,please contact with us freely.
Skype:dropshipping@banggood.com
Email: Link hidden: Login to view

Kind regards,
Banggood Dropship