Looking for a Real Drop Ship Wholesaler to Supply Your Ebay Auctions?

Looking for a Real Drop Ship Wholesaler to Supply Your Ebay Auctions?

Every day people search the internet looking for that mythical drop shipper that has products at “true” wholesale price. But what does true wholesale price even mean? And, can a drop shipping company ever offer you true wholesale price?

If you want to sell on eBay, the answer is a simple no… No, a drop shipper cannot offer you true wholesale price. It seems everyone has a different definition of what “true” wholesale price means.

Does it mean less than retail price? Does it mean the lowest possible price? Does it mean the price the manufacturer charges when selling the product direct?

The fact is, there is no literal definition of “true” wholesale price. But for simplicity we will consider the “true” wholesale price to be the price of a product direct from a manufacturer.

So, why is it not possible to get true wholesale price as an eBay seller looking to have products drop shipped?  Because wholesale is about quantity… Bulk.

When you have a company drop ship products for you, that means you are generally selling just one at a time. And, while this may equal many product sales over time, it is not viable for a manufacturer or wholesaler to operate their business this way. Sure, there are some exceptions (large items, super-expensive items) but, in general, this is the case.

Now, if you have a large established store that is another story.  Then many manufacturers will happily provide you with catalogs full of products that can be drop shipped directly to your store after a customer orders one. A store will often refer to this as a “special order”.  When you ask a store “do you carry xyz product” and they might respond “we do not have them in stock, but we can special order one”…  That is drop shipping working in all of it’s glory.

But, back to eBay…

When you are selling products on eBay you have no established customer base. Manufacturers who drop ship are not going to want to work with you directly because there are no guarantees to the quantities you can sell.

Manufacturers often have very little markup on their products and they make their money on bulk sales. Selling 10,000 widgets at a .50/profit each will mean 00 for a manufacturer.  Drop shipping one for you means .50 for the manufacturer.  Nobody wants to bother with a .50 profit sale.  This is one reason most manufacturers will not sell to eBayers. There is another reason however…

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eBay sellers expose their products to a low-ball marketplace.

On eBay everyone is looking for a deal. The market is flooded with small sellers, like yourself, who will constantly lower the price of goods in order to generate more sales. This drives the value of a product down and, as you might expect, manufacturers do not like this. Many manufacturers even have what is called MAP pricing. This means Minimum Advertised Price. When a manufacturer requires their retailers to follow MAP guidelines this means that no retailer can advertise the product for less than the price suggested by the manufacturer. Now you understand why every store seems to sell that Xbox 360 for the same price and why Wal*Mart doesn’t offer iPods for any less than KMart. It all has to do with MAP pricing.

On eBay, it is too difficult to enforce MAP guidelines. When a manufacturer sells to an eBay seller they cannot spend the time to monitor the sales price. Also, since eBay is a auction site, the ending sales price of a product often cannot be controlled.

So, don’t be mislead. You are NOT going to be able to buy a new Xbox 360 from a drop shipper, sell it for less than everybody else and make a killing on eBay. In fact, the drop ship price on an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iPod Touch, or any other hot item is almost always MORE than the selling price on eBay. This is one way of assuring some eBayer doesn’t go and destroy the market value of a product.

Even true drop ship companies — that is companies who ONLY sell their products via drop shipping adhere to this rule. A good example is Mary Kay cosmetics. You are NOT allowed, as a Mary Kay rep, to sell your products on eBay. This includes free samples, rewards, and your base catalog products… Why? Because Mary Kay doesn’t want reps destroying the value of their products by selling them for less than their catalog price. Sure, you will find Mary Kay products on eBay. But they are either being sold IN BREACH of their contract or by a third party; resale.

So, where do you find a real drop shipper with “true” wholesale price that will fill your eBay orders? You don’t.  And don’t be mislead into thinking they’re out there of you only pay enough for the information.  They do not exist — not for the masses.

But if I don’t have a lot of money to invest in products how do I become a successful eBay seller? Is it still possible?… YES!!

It is still very possible to get started on your way to eBay PowerSeller success — without drop shipping. There are a couple of good options.

One option is to learn alternative sourcing methods like the ones taught in the Better Sources Guide.  Alternative sourcing methods is just a fancy way of saying — you can find products that are profitable and do not require a large investment (if any at all) — just like drop shipping but without the major problems. In fact, with the sourcing methods taught in “Better Sources” you can actually get much BETTER than “true” wholesale price. It is simply the best way to get started selling on eBay while avoiding drop shipping.

Another option is to join a sourcing company like WorldWide Brands. They offer some light-bulk wholesalers which means that you can buy only a small quantity of a product and get wholesale price.

But whatever you decide, please, do not fall for the drop shipping hype. Think of it this way, if you see a company offering access to tons of drop shipped products at the best prices — how many people do you think are using that exact company to compete with you?

To this day I have never, and I mean NEVER seen a drop shipping company that can help someone become successful on eBay. Good luck — don’t let this stop you from getting started selling on eBay. Just use it to help motivate yourself in the right direction. Away from drop shipping and towards real success.

Christopher Bernard is an eBay Power Seller and Expert Wholesale & Drop Ship Product Sourcing Specialist with Over 9 Years Experience. Christopher Currently Operates the Anti-Drop Shipping Website at http://www.DropShippingSucks.com

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How to be a Successful Drop Ship Seller in a Competitive Ebay Market

How to be a Successful Drop Ship Seller in a Competitive Ebay Market

To make a significant profit eBay sellers need to identify and market products that are currently in great demand. The problem is that, when you sell something “hot” there are at least 17 other people selling the same drop shipped product. To save time and effort it’s probably that, like them, you’ve used the drop shippers’ descriptions and photos when creating your own listings. That means that when buyers search for what you’re offering they see page after page of the same photo, title, and description.

It doesn’t matter if you are a Power Seller or part timer. Your item is lost in a sea of copy cats. And not just on eBay. Search engine spiders will classify listings with the same words and photos as duplicate content and that can ruin your rankings because of it. The more you customize your listing the greater your chances of making it to the first page of a Google search!

So, how do you stand out from the rest? Write a unique description of your drop shipped product, use your own photo of the item, and include a subtitle to differentiate your service. You don’t need to do a complete rewrite of the product description, just add some of your own spin. Consider adding some “end benefit” words to the copy and research what people who are selling other products say about what makes them better at servicing their customers. At a loss how to make your photo unique? You could try a different camera angle when shooting the visuals or, where applicable, show that there are size or “flavor” options.

Take these simple steps then watch your listing jump off that eBay search results page and into the SOLD category in My eBay.

This will take some time but is critical to making your eBay business a money maker. When selling a popular product it’s all about improving your drop shipping profit margin so gaining the lion’s share of sales is what it’s all about.

Cookie-cutter marketing is just that and while it may allow you to post more listings that’s irrelevant if products not selling. Remember that it’s up to you to differentiate your products and services on eBay. No one else can do that for you.

Certainly, not the drop shipper. He or she is not invested in making your eBay store successful. They are

providing products to hundreds of online retailers and don’t care who makes the most money selling through. Additionally, drop shippers know that some of those retailers are going to figure (out on their own), how to best sell those products.

You want to be one of those sellers.

Founder and CEO of WhatDoISell.com, Lisa Suttora is a noted eBay authority. An internationally known product sourcing and trending expert, Lisa has coached thousands of eBay entrepreneurs in building a successful eBay business. Lisa is the co-author of the best-selling product sourcing book “What to Sell on eBay and Where to Get It” from McGraw-Hill publishers and the Product Trending Editor for the Product Sourcing Radio Show. To receive your free e-course “15 Ways to Make Money on eBay” go to http://www.whatdoisell.com/15ways.

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