It’s a pretty serious question that faces retailers of women’s whoesale clothing these days. ‘Do I dropship, and act as a middleman, or do I stock the inventory myself?’ There are arguments on both sides of this issue, because while there are attractive advantages to dropshipping products, there are also disadvantages involved. To help explain the issue, we’ve put together a little primer for you.
What is Dropshipping, exactly? In a nutshell, it’s selling through a third party. Company A, who holds the actual inventory offers Dropshipping. Company B is, for instance, a women’s clothing retailer, wants to sell company A’s products to their customers. The Customer then orders the items through company B, who sends the order on to company A. Company A sends the items directly to the customer. It can be a little confusing, but in reality, it’s a fairly simple process.
What are the advantages of Dropshipping? The advantages are fairly clear cut. A company who uses another party to dropship does not have to buy inventory of their own. They can start a business much more cheaply because they do not have to pay the cost of start up. They don’t have to store items, nor are they ever left with spare inventory.
What are the disadvantages of Dropshipping? There are always negatives to every positive. With dropshipping, retailers hold far less physical merchandise, if any. As a result, their customers have no way of seeing the physical items before they purchase. This can be problematic, as it can lead to a high percentage of returns. Another disadvantage is the time involved in handling customer service. If a customer is dissatisfied, they will contact you, rather than the company who shipped their product. You will have to contact the shipper, delaying customer service time, which may anger the customer. Also, by relying on a third party shipper, you will be responsible for any mistakes they make. If they delay shipping, or have a problem with the order, it will be you who is held accountable. A customer may avoid buying from you because of a mistake on the part of your shipper. Competition is also a large factor. Dropshippers sell indiscriminately to anyone, meaning that there will be a lot of places offering the same products you are selling. You may not be able to afford to compete with their prices.
How can I get the advantages of dropshipping, and avoid those nasty negatives? You can do this by working with a dropshipper that you trust, and one that has an exclusive shipping policy. Our partner program, for instance, works very closely with both our women’s wholesale clothing customers and retail customers. We handle customer service on your behalf, so no time is lost going through you. We have a very exclusive policy, so there is very little competition for your product. We provide a website for you to showcase your merchandise, and we offer a no-hassle return policy. The best part is, no one will ever know you work through a third party company.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Once you’ve put together your wholesale dropship list, you can access all your wholesale dropship information at once. This makes your job as a wholesale retailer much easier, and will help you complete your goals that much more efficiently.