Drop shipping is becoming more common place for small and online-only retailers. It is a way for these mom and pop type businesses to cut their costs and it can be a way for customers to save some time.
Instead of three entities — the customer, wholesaler and retailer — having to have their hands on the product, the retailer acts as liaison between the customer and wholesaler, but the product is never in their presence.
In more detail, when a customer works with a retailer that has a drop shipping process, the customer orders from the retailer, and the retailer receives the payment; however, the product is mailed to the customer directly from the wholesaler, thus saving on shipping, and time.
When a customer orders a product from an online-only company, or a company that displays their inventory in a catalog, the customer already knows that they are not going to be able to get their order immediately. In situations like this, drop shipping is not a problem, as the delay is already anticipated.
Even in brick and mortar stores, lots of extra inventory of a certain product isn’t always available. There may be limited quantities on hand, or only a display model. The vast amounts of that product may just be sitting in a warehouse across the country. Drop shipping wouldn’t matter in these situations either, because the item has to come from somewhere else anyway.
Retailers and wholesalers alike can benefit from items being drop shipped. Small retailers and online only companies don’t have the expense and headache that comes with shipping, which is left to wholesalers who ship things professionally anyway. In addition, inventory is cut way down, which saves on theft expenses, and staff expenses, since fewer employees are needed when there is no back stock to stay on top of.
Wholesalers of any given product benefit as well. The retailers that sell their products basically become their salesmen. If a retailer wants to make their cut of a product, they are going to talk it up to customers in an effort to sell! Therefore the wholesalers can have a whole fleet of companies helping them make their product mainstream.
In conclusion, drop shipping could work for you! It is a way to cut costs, and increase sales. Wholesalers and retailers involved can have their process become easier, and customers walk away happy, having received what it was that they wanted. They will never have to know that the way the got it may have been different than they thought!
About the Author
Stu Wiseman is a marketing consultant at Doba. Though often mistaken as a dropshipper, Doba’s role is actually as a software platform that provides retailers easy access to hundreds of wholesale suppliers, all of which combine to offer millions of wholesale products from one location.