What to dropship??


fransuke
Free Member
  • Posts: 6
  • Joined: 25 Feb 11
  • Karma:
28 Mar 11 12:35:01 pm
Hi,

Looking for advice on the best way to decide what to sell.

As I am a keen golfer, I thought about golf products however when i look up golf dropshippers, the prices to get equipment and accessories for isn't as good as to what price they can be obtained on E-Bay already.

What is the best way to source a product range that can make you profit? When I say profit I am not talking crazy money, an extra €100 per month and I'd be happy :-)

Even though I am not based in the USA I am willing to use USA based dropshippers for dropshipping around the US although I would love to be able to do it closer to home in the UL and Ireland.

Can someone help me with discovering what are good products to sell.

Thanks

Fran


irene_salehoo
Site Admin
  • Posts: 2563
  • Joined: 21 Mar 10
  • Karma:
28 Mar 11 11:35:55 pm
Hi Fran,

Glad to have you with us! I'll try to address each of your concerns. :)

You can’t expect to create much profit margin from drop shipping. This method is great for you have a feel of the reselling business and to get your feet wet, without having to cough up much capital. But to enjoy good profits, you can source your items wholesale or through liquidation. Some resellers get products and resell using a combination of these supplier types – drop shippers, wholesales and liquidators.

Due to competition, the best pricing scheme are never listed in the wholesaler’s website. You need to fill out an application for drop shipping or wholesale purchase before you can negotiate for good reselling prices. Most suppliers will also often tailor these prices to your order, the more items will be given discounts for example. And once you have established a good business relationship with the suppliers, you can request once more for better prices! :)

And if you are comparing prices with the ones listed at eBay, please note that it is not uncommon to find products selling at prices the same as or lower than wholesaler. The reality is that a lot of wholesalers are also on eBay selling directly to the public. This seems unfair but yep, this is the unfortunate truth.

Here’s what you can do about it –

* Order in bulk quantities to drive the wholesale price down
* Sell on another auction site other than eBay – there are heaps to choose from and profit margins are usually better. Craigslist is also a good place to sell if you live in the USA. (Let us know if you need more suggestions for places to sell online)
* Buy liquidation – this lets you get product for pennies on the dollar. (I’ll let you in on a secret, this is how lots of powersellers make money on eBay these days)
* Find a niche market with few competitors – collectibles and one-off items have amazing profit margins, even on eBay.

And when it comes to finding a good niche, you are into a treasure hunt. :)
This entails looking for clues on what will sell well. And what will sell well is dependent on a lot of factors – your market (target customers and location), your interest, the supply and the current product trend/ demand. Before you can decide on which product to work on, you need to do a lot of research. Some sellers spend months, if not years selling a variety of items before they start finding niche items that they will stick with. Some try on several niches.

There’s a video that you can check out Link hidden: Login to view where Alice revealed one of her niche hunting methods. An important point she shared is that what is popular doesn’t make a good niche, because popular items also tend to be highly competitive to sell.

Welcome to SaleHoo!


Irene

richelle_salehoo1
Site Admin
  • Posts: 5202
  • Joined: 20 Oct 08
  • Karma:
28 Mar 11 11:55:25 pm
Hi Fran,

One of the most frequently suggested ways of finding out what's hot on eBay is by checking out eBay Pulse - Link hidden: Login to view or by doing a completed items search. Here other eBay.uk guides that may help -

Link hidden: Login to view
Link hidden: Login to view

Also, you can try checking out local trends - on magazines, news, newspapers or radio. Try to observe what people use or talk about in your locality or your covered market. Off times conversations with your friends about what they want to buy or long for are already clues to what you can sell online. You can also try checking your own shopping list - you never know that what is on your list might be on other people's list too!

Hobbies and interests is also an aspect worth considering :) There are many emerging hobbyist that shop online for the actual item or component parts.

I'm not sure if you are already a season seller but if you're not, one of the best ways of starting out is by selling things from around your home. I recent replied to another post that you may find helpful, please visit this link to read more about why selling things from your home is a great way of discovering what to sell - Link hidden: Login to view

We also have guides that may help you in your brainstorming -

Link hidden: Login to view
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Hope this help you off to a good start! All the best =)


Richelle

Customer Support Manager
SaleHoo Group Limited

fransuke
Free Member
  • Posts: 6
  • Joined: 25 Feb 11
  • Karma:
31 Mar 11 12:08:16 pm
Hello ladies,

Many thanks for the replies, very informative.

That's fine about the profit margin Irene, I basically jsut want to start dropshipping as you put it to get my feet wet and to see how it goes and then kick on from there.

Can you provide me with some other online sale sites for both the US and UK?

Many thanks

Fran


richelle_salehoo1
Site Admin
  • Posts: 5202
  • Joined: 20 Oct 08
  • Karma:
31 Mar 11 11:24:09 pm
Hi Fran,

There really seems to be a scarcity of golf dropshippers, been searching online and so far found these outside SaleHoo -

Link hidden: Login to view
Link hidden: Login to view

Also, found this site based in the UK that offered good deals for Gold products althought they are not a wholesaler/dropshipper - Link hidden: Login to view

Please note that we have not used the sites mentioned above but they all seem relatively safe to deal with and were recommended on other forums.

I'm not sure if you have seen all these suppliers in the directory, just in case you haven't -

Link hidden: Login to view
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I also found a previous post with a list of highly or positively rated dropshippers - Link hidden: Login to view

Hope this helps. All the best! :)


Richelle

Customer Support Manager
SaleHoo Group Limited

fransuke
Free Member
  • Posts: 6
  • Joined: 25 Feb 11
  • Karma:
3 Apr 11 11:46:45 am
Thanks Richelle, would you have a listing of dropshippers of general sporting goods in the UK?

Also looking for a list of alternative auction sites to EBay if you can help.

Thanks

Fran


richelle_salehoo1
Site Admin
  • Posts: 5202
  • Joined: 20 Oct 08
  • Karma:
3 Apr 11 11:56:45 pm
You're welcome Fran :)

Sorry but there doesn't seem to be any UK based dropshippers for sports items in our directory. I'll try to do an off directory search and let you know as soon as I find suitable dropshippers.

For eBay alternatives, you might find these helpful -

Link hidden: Login to view
Link hidden: Login to view

Talk to you soon!


Richelle

Customer Support Manager
SaleHoo Group Limited

syahmi
Free Member
  • Posts: 5
  • Joined: 22 Mar 11
  • Karma:
4 Apr 11 01:57:37 am
HI there,

What do you mean by " Buy liquidation – this lets you get product for pennies on the dollar. (I’ll let you in on a secret, this is how lots of powersellers make money on eBay these days) " ?


richelle_salehoo1
Site Admin
  • Posts: 5202
  • Joined: 20 Oct 08
  • Karma:
4 Apr 11 02:53:59 am
HI there,

What do you mean by " Buy liquidation – this lets you get product for pennies on the dollar. (I’ll let you in on a secret, this is how lots of powersellers make money on eBay these days) " ?


This simply means that you source your products thru liquidators. We have numerous liquidators for various products.

For a comprehensive definition please visit this link - Link hidden: Login to view

And for further info you might find these helpful -

Link hidden: Login to view
Link hidden: Login to view

Hope this helps :)


Richelle

Customer Support Manager
SaleHoo Group Limited

 

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