November 15th, 2007
We have mentioned the advantages and disadvantages of popular dropshipper lists. I am sure that you should try a 7-day FREE trial and probably buy another one time fee dropship directory – it does not cost a fortune.
But I admit that the most profitable dropship merchants that I have gained success with are those that are not on these lists. I have set these relations with wholesalers directly.
In this way I have succeeded to limit my competition and build personal relations with merchants who are not contacted by 100’s of dropshippers on a daily basis.
It was not easy as the most of those merchants have never heard of dropshipping business model when I have approached them first time. Also we have developed the business processes over time that are slightly different from a pure drop ship business (for instance, most of my suppliers are local, so I take care of shipping items myself). But it is still a dropship business as I do not carry and stock and do not store it anywhere.
How do you find these direct dropship merchants? Just a few ideas that you can add with your own:
- Google. It is necessary to dig deep and not to be satisfied with those you find on the first 2-3 result pages. It is a good didea to make use of ‘advanced search’
- Yellow Pages listings
- Better Business Bureau
- Local online business directories
- Local printed business directories
- Local phone business directories
Once you have made a nice list of merchants that carry product categories you are interested in, make a typical list of questions and contact those distributors (preferably by phone or in person). It makes sense to show the merchants advantages of your offer otherwise they will soon lose interest when they hear some unfamiliar words like drposhipping and vague prospects of sales volume.
Remember to make price comparison to make sure that you will be competitive online.
Test the market with displaying and promoting the products you obtain from your exclusive dropship merchants. Search for new or more dropship merchants if you are unhappy with the ones you have spotted. Just keep in mind that it is not an overnight process, but in the end will help you to get your most profitable dropship wholesalers.
[tags]direct dropshippers, dropship turnkey website, drop ship, wholesale, ebay, e-commerce, dropshippers list[/tags]