How to realize which business model will suit us most?

Hi all you friends, I'm a newbie in this business living in Turkey/Istanbul.
Now trying to clarifying a good path for me to move on through.

It looks like me that the pros or cons of drop-shipping is seriously depend on where you are actually living.

For exp, I listed some couple of choices for an e-seller living in Turkey.

- Importing something from China to Turkey and sell here.
- Doing an International drop-shipping from China to US.
- Finding a wholesaler from US and try to sell your product in US.

What are the tax/duty issues and average shipping times for above listed cases.
Which of those do you thing will suit me most?

Thanks.

Hi mssale and welcome to SaleHoo, nice to see another member from Turkey on the boards.

To cover your question. It wouldn't make sense to have a product imported to you in Turkey, only to then on-sell to another country, that's just doubling your shipping time and expense.

Of course if you are going to be selling into the local market, than that's a definite option. A side issue to that is, if you are Drop Shipping, it's always a really good idea to order in the product for yourself first.

That gives you a chance to check the quality ad even take your own photos so it makes it much harder for buyers to identify it as a drop shipped product.

With Drop Shipping from China to the US the two main issues to watch out for would be shipping time, shipping price and item location. For example, a buyer in the US might be put off from buying a product listed as being in China because of shipping times.

Selling from a US supplier into the US market is probably the best option as it ticks all the boxes. Your shipping time should be good, of course that will come down to the supplier in the end. Shipping costs should be in the right ball park, and you have the big advantage of the item location being listed as in the US.

: )

I have to agree with what fudjj has said about importing items, then shipping them to buyers in another country - shipping costs can really kill your chances of making steady sales.

Unless you are ordering a huge shipment (which can drive down the shipping cost per unit) it's generally not worth it.

It sounds like drop shipping could work best for you at the moment.

Just make sure you go for an item(s) that have little competition as when you drop ship items, you will usually be paying more than other sellers who are buying them wholesale.

Another strategy you could use would be offering a little extra to help make your items look more valuable to buyers.

For example, if you were drop shipping cutlery sets, you could offer a free set of serviettes with every purchase.

Even if they are paying slightly more, many buyers can't resist these little deals!

I agree with what fudjj and alice suggested :)

Another option you might want to explore is actually sourcing the items locally, although this would depend much on the type of product you are planning to sell.

Also, when importing or dropshipping from China avoid buying anything branded. 9 out of 10 times these items may end up as copies or fakes. Especially when selling to the US, they have very strict laws against selling such products and very high fines and penalties.

What products are you interested in? May be we could help you find suitable suppliers once you have decided on which model suits you most.

Cheers!