What questions should we ask dropshippers?

loudgob

Hello Salehoo staff,

I am new to dropshipping.

Now, before picking which suppliers to use, what questions do you advise me to ask dropship suppliers ?

I have created the following questions. Please, see if you can add more to it so I ask all the necessary questions that is usually required to ask a dropship supplier.

QUESTIONS

1. Do you have any account setup fees ?

2. Do you have any monthly subscription fees ?

3. Will you charge us any extra fees, open or hidden charges, direct or indirect charges, etc. apart from the item selling price in order to ship the item direct to our customers with our label ?

4. After opening an account with you, how long do we have to wait to before starting to sell ?

5. Do you have handling or packaging fees ?

6. Maximum how long would we have to wait for a reply when emailing your customer support ?

7. How much do we need to spend to get a discount on each item ?

8. What is your minimum and maximum quantity order ?

9. What are your warranty policies ?

10. What are your guarantee policies ?

11. What are your shipping policies ?

12. Who pays import and export tax (Customs & Excise) ?

13.

a. What are your refund policies ?

b. Do you charge any refund fees ?

c. Do you charge for charge-backs or failed credit card charges ?

14. What are your return policies ? Do you charge any return fees ?

15. Who pays shipping for replacement deliveries ?

(Our customer returning item to us and then we return it to you. Finally, you post replaced item to our customer. There is 3 delivery step here).

16. Who pays shipping for returns where no replacements would be made, us or you ?

17.

a. How long do we have to wait before you give a refund when a refund request is made ?

b. Do you wait for the item be returned to you before giving a refund or do you give the refund immediately when requested ?

c. If you refund only after the item has been returned to you then how long do we have to wait for the refund to be issued after the item has been returned to you ?

18.

a. Do you advertise on Trade Shows ?

b. If so, then where and how long you've been doing it on these places ?

c. If not, then what's stopping you ?

19. When did you start trading and when did you start dropshipping ?

20.

a. How often do you update your stock levels on your website ?

b. When your short on stock and we make you an order, maximum how long would we have to wait for you to restock and dispatch it to our customers ?

21. Are you willing to include receipts when shipping the items with our brand names and addresses on the receipts ?

If so, is there any extra charge for this ?

22. When a customer complains against an order because the item didn't arrive or was found broken after opening the packaging, maximum how long does it take you to investigate and solve the problem ?

fudjj

Very impressive!

To be honest, just submitting a list of questions like that will tell you quite a lot about the company themselves in regards to their response, and the time it takes to respond.

If you are inexperienced in the field, then that type of forward planning throughout all aspects of your business can only help to serve you extremely well.

I think we'll make that a sticky, great little learning tool for what other members considering Drop Shipping should be asking themselves.

irene_salehoo

Hi loudgob,

Welcome to SaleHoo! :) Your questions are quite comprehensive, it covers major information crucial in a drop shipping arrangement and you do not sound like a newbie at all! :)

Answers to some basic questions about their drop shipping program are usually provided by the suppliers through their websites. Information about the return policy and the minimum order requirement, and the fee structure for dropshipping, these can be found in their dropshipping link, and you can just send those that need clarification or those which weren't addressed.

In your list I'd like to add these questions -

Do you send automated/electronic notification upon receipt of order and release of shipment?

Can you please provide some examples of problems that arise with your drop shipping arrangement and how have you dealt with them?

Do you provide tracking numbers for your delivery/shipment?

It would also be best if you can possibly place a small order with your chosen dropshipper, for you to be able to determine product quality and be able to assess their service. :)

Hope this helps. We wish you the best! :)

blondie032

I just wanted to know how to apply to account from your list of dropshippers?

Do I just have to visit their website and do it on my own?

sorry, but I am a member of WWB, and they already have a set up account form which you can just with one click sumbit to suppliers.

Thanks.

richelle_salehoo1

Hi Blondie032,

Welcome to SaleHoo, glad to have you with us :)

Yes, you will need to contact the dropshippers directly to either register or start selling their products.

Please note that here at SaleHoo, we no do partake in any business transaction between any of our suppliers and members.

Cheers!

nesimcik

Hello. I am a new in salehoo, enjoyed today.You did not give me any password and did not ask my adress and other thinks.Did I verified.I do not know. But I can reach the wholesalers pages with a problem that any wholesale prices there in directory search only there are retail prices of the products in their websites as all people can reach them like me. I can see the products of suppliers on their websites.selling prices are very much. my question is clearly this: how will I see the discount prices of the products.and How will I contact with the wholesalers.What should I do for make a business contact.where can I overview the discount prices of the products.Where can I see the wholesale prices of the products.I can only see retail prices of the products.I tired because of researching this problem.unless could not find.can you help me please. thanks

richelle_salehoo1

Hi nesimsick,

You have successfully activated your SaleHoo account. I have provided your email address for login in response to the email you sent to support. Sorry but for security reasons we do not have access to your password so I have also provided a reset password in my email.

You can access the suppliers' profile pages by doing a supplier search through our Directory tab. To help you learn the best ways of contacting a supplier, I recommend downloading our guide Link hidden: Login to view.

As for the wholesale prices, you may need to contact your supplier of choice directly to find out more about their wholesale prices. Remember that the final wholesale price greatly depends on your order volume/quantity.

Hope this helps :)

nesimcik

Hi nesimsick,
You have successfully activated your SaleHoo account. I have provided your email address for login in response to the email you sent to support. Sorry but for security reasons we do not have access to your password so I have also provided a reset password in my email.
You can access the suppliers' profile pages by doing a supplier search through our Directory tab. To help you learn the best ways of contacting a supplier, I recommend downloading our guide 'New User Manual'.
As for the wholesale prices, you may need to contact your supplier of choice directly to find out more about their wholesale prices. Remember that the final wholesale price greatly depends on your order volume/quantity.
Hope this helps :)

it was not an enough explanation and you answered me after 2 days.where were salehoo personels in 2 days. are you getting me alone with the wholesalers. what does my volume mean. why do not you give me the wholesalers discount prices.the cost of the products are so much.maybe the wholesalers selling on ebay. do not they. why do not you know.talk with them and give me real discount prices. do not say me talk them.what is your work here.Ä° want to see all of the wholesalers discount prices.will Ä° see.Can Ä° see.explain me what does your smiling picture say us ofter all the happening. i did not go the other platforms. most of them are in abd.because abd is the biggest terrorist in the world. i enjoyed salehoo. help my problems.

fudjj

Take a deep breath and settle down nesimcik.

A response within two days of any inquiry over the Easter period is pretty damn good. Our customer service team works damn hard and they deserve to spend some time with their families over this period, so just relax and someone will assist you further soon.

richelle_salehoo1

it was not an enough explanation and you answered me after 2 days.where were salehoo personels in 2 days. are you getting me alone with the wholesalers. what does my volume mean. why do not you give me the wholesalers discount prices.the cost of the products are so much.maybe the wholesalers selling on ebay. do not they. why do not you know.talk with them and give me real discount prices. do not say me talk them.what is your work here.Ä° want to see all of the wholesalers discount prices.will Ä° see.Can Ä° see.explain me what does your smiling picture say us ofter all the happening. i did not go the other platforms. most of them are in abd.because abd is the biggest terrorist in the world. i enjoyed salehoo. help my problems.

Hi nesimick,

Sorry that you felt that the explanation was inadequate. We are more than happy to help you out.

Please note that our working hours are from Monday to Friday. With at least 1 staff on stand by over the weekends but for a limited time only to address urgent concerns. Unfortunately, my colleague was not able to address your ticket during her shift last Saturday as I have pointed out our weekend hours are limited.

Remember that the final wholesale price greatly depends on your order volume/quantity.

Most if not all wholesale orders are based on quantity or the number of units you will order. The more you order the lower the wholesale price will go down. You cannot rely purely on the published prices as these are not the final wholesale price for the products they sell.

Yes, that is true that many prices are lower on eBay. Why? Because there are many wholesalers who are selling directly on eBay!

Please note that we at SaleHoo do not partake in any business transaction between any of our members and suppliers. Although we do our best to help you out but contacting suppliers on behalf is something we leave up to you as we have always done for most our members. Personally it is also more ideal that you contact the suppliers directly so that you can ask them all your concerns and they can address your questions quickly and directly.

Again to find suppliers you can use the Directory and do a search for the product or brand that you are interested in and a list of suppliers will be provided. You can click on the 'More Information' link under the supplier's name to help you view the contact details and other important information.

Hope this helps. Should you need further assistance please don't hesitate to ask!

PS My smiling face continues to smile as I continue to help you and our members :)

t0psales

a couple of other questions I like to ask them..

2. do you also sell on Ebay?

3. Do you ship the items in packaging that plasters your business name all over them?

5. Are you able to give me competetive pricing so I can compete in the market?

6. Do you offer any incentive to sell more?

7. Do you have a datafeed that I can download?

Just remember, with Ebay, you need to add at least 10% ontop of the prce to cover both ebay and paypal fees, anything above that is profit.

richelle_salehoo1

You've got a good list there! Definitely a good way to start your business relationship with your supplier by asking them what they can offer you and what their limitations are.

These type of questions are best asked directly, between you and your selected supplier, so if you need to clarify or ask further you can right away :)

Good one, T0pSales!

jfaudet

Hello all.

It's been more than a week that I do searches on dropshipping as I think it really fit my needs.

However, I had one question in mind. When selling on ebay, you normally need to give a tracking number to your customer so they can follow the shipment. But let's say for instance that I live in Quebec (canada), and when using dropshipping services the item location is somewhere in the US.

Did you experience issues when dealing with customers that tracked the package that were supposed to be sold and ship from Quebec, but when they tracked the package, the starting location is in the US ? To me, it might cause problems and it will impact your feedback.

I want to hear your experiences - opinions on that. Thank you and have a good day all!

fudjj

Hello all.
It's been more than a week that I do searches on dropshipping as I think it really fit my needs.
However, I had one question in mind. When selling on ebay, you normally need to give a tracking number to your customer so they can follow the shipment. But let's say for instance that I live in Quebec (canada), and when using dropshipping services the item location is somewhere in the US.
Did you experience issues when dealing with customers that tracked the package that were supposed to be sold and ship from Quebec, but when they tracked the package, the starting location is in the US ? To me, it might cause problems and it will impact your feedback.
I want to hear your experiences - opinions on that. Thank you and have a good day all!

A couple of points here.

Firstly, it isn't a requirement to ship anything with tracking. Some would say it is smart, as it does give you a position to fall back on if something does goes wrong with delivery, but it's not an absolute requirement to do so.

In regards to location, eBay requires the item's location to be listed, not the seller's location. If you are listing something that is going to be delivered from the UK, but you live in Canada for example, then the location should be the UK.

Listing your location as the item's location, then shipping from a completely different location is a recipe for big trouble with some buyers, especially if there is a long shipping time involved.

You have to be very careful to match a customer's expectations with what you have the ability to deliver on. It's when this little equation gets out of sync when problems have the most potential to happen.

richelle_salehoo1

Hi and Welcome to SaleHoo, JFAudet :)

Just to add to Marc's post, another reason why it is a good idea to always mention your item's location is so that your customer's will have an idea ahead of time of any additional fees that they may have to pay when they receive their package such as importation fees and taxes (should one be required).

All the best!

jfaudet

Thank you to both of you for your answers. It does make sense.

sarhuy

are we literally sending them this list of questions?

richelle_salehoo1

Thank you to both of you for your answers. It does make sense.

You're welcome JFAudet :) Glad to be of help!

@Sarhuy: That's nice to know that the questions are being put to good use :) Hope these help you find a dropshipper that is completely suited to your needs!

Cheers

paul20

i found that this is very helpful. :)

richelle_salehoo1

Welcome to SaleHoo, Paul! Nice to have you with us :)

Should you need help with anything please feel free to let us know.

Cheers

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