Auctions Information

Dropship Your Way to Success


Many people know they would like to start an Internet business, but they don't have a product to sell. The solution is often drop shipping.

Drop shipping is a business arrangement in which a company (often the manufacturer of a product) sells a product at wholesale prices to a reseller and ships the product directly to the reseller's customers. The retailer makes the company's products available to customers, often through a web site, collects payment, and then orders the product from the manufacturer. This arrangement works well for both the manufacturer and the seller. The manufacturer is able to make the product available to a large number of retailers. The retailers are able to sell products they would not otherwise have access to. Drop shipping allows almost anyone to start a retail company without needing to order large amounts of inventory. This eliminates the need to store the product and cuts overhead dramatically. The reseller only orders products after he has sold it, and in most cases only after being paid. For small businesses concerned about cash flow, this is very attractive.

There are two different philosophies concerning what items to sell via a drop shipper. You may choose whichever appeals to you. The first group believes that you should research the market to determine what items to sell. They say you need to find a high demand item, then locate a drop shipper that sells that item. The second group believes that you should sell what you are interested in. If you like knives, find a company willing to drop ship knives. If you like power tools, find a drop shipper for those. They believe that if you sell something you enjoy, you will do a better job selling. Whichever method you choose, an outstanding way to find a drop shipper is the web site, World Wide Brands (http://databuilders.net/wwb). The people at WWB work full time finding companies willing to drop ship their products for you, Their database is updated constantly to insure only the best companies are made available.

If you decide to go it alone and find a drop shipper yourself, look for a company that either drop ships exclusively, or requires you to register as a member before getting the wholesale prices. If anyone can log into the site and pay the same low price, why should customers buy from you? Many companies require you to provide a business license number before allowing you to register. This is to insure you are a legitimate retailer. If you do not have a license, you should get one. Ideally, the company will deal exclusively in the product you want to sell.

I also do not support companies charging for drop shipping. You may see some offers similar to "Sell hundreds of products for only $29.95 a month." They go on to tell you that you can make thousands of dollars selling their products on E-Bay, so the $29.95 they charge shouldn't matter. There are enough companies that don't charge anything. Avoid paying for the right to sell someone's product for them.

Perhaps the most difficult part in starting a drop ship business, is building the web site. If you have never built a web site before, it can be an overwhelming task. You must consider each detail, from deciding what software to use, to finding a host, and accepting payments. I recommend using osCommerce to build your online store. It is free software that can be modified to look like you want it to. There is an online knowledge base that can answer many of your questions about setting it up and configuring it, or you can let someone else set it up for you.

Thousands of people are making money using the osCommerce, drop shipping combination. It is a powerful, inexpensive way to get your business started.

About The Author

Jason Conley is the owner of Databuilders, a web hosting company for small and home office businesses. He has built a number of drop ship web sites using osCommerce, and contributes regularly to the osCommerce support forum. You can contact Jason at jkconley@databuilders.net, or visit Databuilders at http://databuilders.net.


MORE RESOURCES:

CBS News

Auction of Ronald Reagan blood vial cancelled
Fox News
LONDON – A European auction house Thursday cancelled the planned online sale of a vial containing dried blood residue said to be from Ronald Reagan after complaints from the late US president's family and foundation. The PFC Auction house said in a ...
Auction of Reagan Blood Vial CanceledWall Street Journal
Online auction of Ronald Reagan's blood canceledCBS News
Auction of Ronald Reagan blood vial canceledHouston Chronicle
USA TODAY -Pakistan Daily Times -Northwest Herald
all 650 news articles »


msnbc.com

Auctioned dinosaur skeleton believed to be smuggled
msnbc.com
[ Up For Auction: A Natural History Gallery ] What makes them certain? To most scientists Tyrannosaurus bataar goes by a different name, Tarbosaurus bataar; but both are considered tyrannosaurs. So far at least, the remains of tarbosaurs haven't shown ...
Dinosaur Skeleton: Mongolia President Enters Fray Over Tyrannosaur Bataar FossilHuffington Post

all 3 news articles »


Times LIVE

Diego Rivera Bombs at Auction, Are Budget Cuts to Blame for Museum Crime Wave ...
ARTINFO
by ARTINFO – Wifredo Lam Sets New Record at Sotheby's, But Rivera Bombs Big Time: The Cuban surrealist's 1944 canvas "Idolo" fetched $4.56 million at last night's Latin American sale at Sotheby's, more than doubling the artist's previous auction record ...
NEW YORK AUCTIONS OF AMERICAN ARTArtnet
Diego Rivera poised to top NY Latam art auctionsTimes LIVE

all 221 news articles »


Plain Dealer

Aspire Auctions makes Internet its auction venue: Full House
Plain Dealer
By Julie Washington, The Plain Dealer View full sizeAspire AuctionsAspire Auctions of Cleveland is conducting its first online auction of the year in May, including a collection of artwork by Ohio artist Clyde Singer. Online auctions have become more ...



Brazil's Central Bank Offers Foreign Exchange Swaps At Auction
Wall Street Journal
The central bank holds swap auctions when the Brazilian real is weakening amid volatile conditions in the exchange market. The auctions offer investors the opportunity to hedge against US dollars. The central bank also held swap auctions on Tuesday and ...

and more »


Treasury Auctions
Wall Street Journal
Tuesday: $27 billion in 26-week bills will be sold, dated May 29 and maturing Nov. 29. Cusip number is 9127956U0. Noncompetitive tenders must be received by 11 am EDT Tuesday and competitive tenders by 11:30 am Also Tuesday, the Treasury will reopen ...

and more »


Premiere Estates Auction Company Auctions 7000 sq ft Bayfront Estate In Ocean ...
PR Newswire (press release)
LOS ANGELES, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Premiere Estates Auction Company (PEAC) today announced the sale of their Ocean City, NJ Auction Property at 279 Bay Shore Drive. The 7000 sq ft estate, popularly dubbed "Beauty on the Bay", sold on Auction Day ...

and more »


Ronald Reagan Blood Sale Canceled, Auction House Announces
Huffington Post
By GREGORY KATZ 05/24/12 10:37 AM ET LONDON — An auction house on Thursday cancelled the sale of a vial containing dried blood residue said to be from Ronald Reagan, announcing that the seller will instead donate the item to the late US president's ...



Deadline for bids by agencies for spectrum auction extended
Economic Times
NEW DELHI: The government has decided to extend the deadline for submitting bids by prospective agencies to conduct e-auction of spectrum in 22 telecom service areas. Last dates for queries by prospective bidders, submission of bids etc have been ...

and more »


Reagan's blood off auction block
WBRC
By Cecelia Hanley - email Bidding has been canceled in the auction that selling a vial of President Ronald Reagan's blood. (Source: PFC Auctions) (RNN) - A European auction house that was selling a vial that allegedly contains blood from Ronald Reagan ...


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