A good supplier can be the difference between success and failure for your drop shipping business. It is vital to ensure that you choose the best supplier to create growth. Here are five critical attributes to look for in a drop shipping service.
Here are a few Tips for Starting a Drop shipping Business:
Quality
Without quality products, your business is doomed from the outset. If your customers receive second-rate goods, they are unlikely to reorder. Additionally, the product quality will reflect on your business and affect your reputation.
Before you start working with a supplier, ask for a sample, or ask them to send a small test order. Once you have seen the products and shipping process for yourself, and made sure they come up to your required standards, you’ll feel better about signing up with the supplier.
Shipping
Pay attention to the shipping options offered by your drop shipping supplier. While some of your future customers may not think twice about waiting for their order to arrive by standard mail, others will want their items quickly. Make sure your drop shipper offers different shipping services to ensure that your customers get their item when they want them. If your target market is international, make sure your supplier can cope.
If you use an order fulfillment center to drop ship your orders, they should be able to accommodate most shipping requirements.
Communication
Your customers may not care that you are representing a drop shipping company. They may expect you to deal with their problems. Make sure that you have a reliable communication channel with your supplier and fulfillment center, and ideally get them to assign you a representative. This is a major advantage when it comes to dealing with potential issues. You may also want to make sure that you have more than one means to communicate with the company, such as by telephone, email, and instant messaging.
Policy
Inquire about your supplier’s return policy, and get details in writing. Since you are representing the company, you need to ensure that your customers will have a positive experience on your e-commerce site, even if the products they receive are defective, or unwanted. You need to know how the supplier will deal with such issues, so that you can answer questions properly and handle difficult situations.
A good fulfillment center can also handle your customer’s returns, damages, and warranties. Every case is unique, and may require special warranty claims, RMA’s, or damage inspection.