How to Locate Drop Shippers for Your Success

By Brad Beiermann
Posted Monday, November 8, 2004

Like the human heart, drop shippers can keep the blood pumping in an internet business. Often, they can be the key to success for online retail businesses who do not wish to stock actual inventory. Drop shippers are the source of wholesale merchandise many Websites offer to customers. An authentic drop shipper will have many qualities that make them desirable by an online retail business: They do not require you to buy a minimum amount of products. They do all the warehousing and shipping of their products. They do not charge for initial setup fees or membership dues. They will ship product from their location to your customer.

Because the task of locating true drop shippers can be very labor intensive, so many people turn to us (www.hienote.com) to help them locate drop shippers which saves them time and money on doing the searches for drop shippers themselves.

Good Drop Shippers

Finding a good drop shipper is critical but there are some drawbacks to drop shipping. If you sell products from a wholesale drop shipper, you are dependent on them to get your products shipped to your customer's on-time. Drop shippers are truly a business partner of yours as they handle some of the critical pieces for your online business.

Interestingly, not all drop shippers want to work with online businesses. This is particularly true for folks wanting to sell products via online auctions. The most common reason for not wanting to work with online retailers relates to profit erosion and competition from sub-wholesalers. We will not go into that discussion for this article.

Where do you find them?

Finding a good genuine drop shipper takes time, research and plenty of fortitude. While there are no formally published methodologies describing how to find drop shippers, there are several techniques to take note. There are at least three methods proven to be tried and true. We will examine three of them: Internet searches Trade show searches Government Embassies

Search Methodologies

Regardless of the search methodology used, they will all have one thing in common. They require labor intensive research.

Internet Searches. Doing an Internet search for a drop shipper has become one of the most widely used methods of finding a drop shipper. Many folks leverage the search engines to locate a desired product. After finding a specific product, they work their way backwards towards a search for a manufacturer listing the product. The manufacturer can sometimes be found by discovering several retailers selling the same product listing the name of a manufacturer. Once the manufacturer is discovered, a phone call can be made to find out about their distribution policies. At this point you can begin discussions to find out information about their drop shipping and business policies.

Trade Show Searches. Trade shows happen across the country in many major cities. There are many large shows that feature manufacturers and focus on a particular market segment (i.e. sporting goods, gift market, automotive, hardware…etc.). A trade show has the advantage of getting you face-to-face with manufacturers. Trade shows are some of the best ways to meeting a quality drop shipper as you can perform an interview and get the critical information needed for your business. Likewise, it gives your drop shipper a chance to meet you and find out your needs and requirements.

Government Embassies. Some of the government embassies have become a real opportunity for manufacturers, in other countries seeking to sell their products in the U.S. Many U.S. drop shippers in the import/export business have requested a list of these manufacturers from the embassies. Likewise, you can also get in contact with these same manufacturers to find out their U.S. wholesale distribution centers.

You're Search.

Regardless of the search methodology you choose, hard work and persistence will get you the desired results. Remember, your searches should always be focused on the brands and products you wish to sell. Once you have a couple of successful searches under your belt, you will start to get a little quicker at spotting the authentic drop shippers from the middlemen.

About the Author
Brad Beiermann Ph.D., is President of Hienote Inc., Crystal Lake, IL 60039. Dr. Beiermann is one of the leading experts in business technology and e-commerce. Hienote Inc. specializes in assisting businesses locate wholesale drop shipping companies. You can visit their site at (www.hienote.com), or call 1-800-342-0386.