Dropshipping Business: How Important Are Direct Relationships with Suppliers?

The current age of internet-enabled smartphone users has made e-commerce a booming trade across the world. Online business has dominated the contemporary business world, and a lot of people prefer to buy things online than in physical stores. Online transactions make it very easy to initiate and complete. Buying a car can be done in minutes — and what’s more, is that the car will be delivered to your doorstep if you make the necessary arrangements. 

About Dropshipping

With the high level of demand from people across the world, it’s expected that supply would increase. Thanks to the ease of doing business transactions online, anyone can order for almost anything from anywhere across the world. The business of online buying and selling is what conceived the idea of dropshipping. A lot of buyers/retailers prefer to purchase their products from China and the US due to the cheap production costs and production capacity. Chinese companies especially love online transactions because they make a large part of their profit from exports. Also, they are able to produce goods in very large quantities, which makes it easy to buy in bulk from them. As a result of this, most of these Chinese sellers set up an online shop where they display their inventory for people to check, order, make a payment, and track their shipment. 

Dropshipping is not a new term in business, but it’s unpopular, mainly among businessmen and women. Dropshipping is when retailers sell products from their wholesalers through their wholesalers. This business plan is especially suitable for online retailers who are just starting or retailers who do not have enough capital or space to accommodate products. With the consent of the wholesaler, retailers can advertise products on their own channel, and when an order comes in, they contact the wholesaler, who in turn ships the product to the customer. 

Dropshipping requires a lot of things, with patience and trust being on top of the list. In most cases, wholesalers and retailers do not have physical contact, and it’s very hard to see wholesalers who are into dropshipping. It should be noted, though, that not all wholesalers are into the dropshipping business. Aside from finding a wholesaler interested in dropshipping, getting duped or ripped off is very common. 

Advantages of  Dropshipping Business

No Need to Set Up an Inventory

There are a lot of advantages attached to dropshipping. As a retailer or seller, when you are into dropshipping, you save a lot of money because you don’t have to bother about setting up an inventory — setting up inventory costs a lot of money, especially for people who want to sell products in bulk. With dropshipping, you don’t have to worry about that because the product is basically with the wholesaler. The ease of doing the dropshipping business is aided by trust and patience. The wholesaler and the retailer must share a mutual trust that allows them to transact without trying to be dishonest in their dealings. Many people won’t dabble into the dropshipping business for fear of being scammed, which is why it is sometimes better to have a physical connection with each other. 

Easily Initiated Transactions

Direct relationships between buyers and suppliers make it very easy to initiate and execute transactions. Having a direct contact doesn’t in any way discard online purchases; it makes it stronger and more comfortable to sell products quickly. 

Starting a Dropshipping Business Is Very Easy

Dropshipping also makes it very easy to get your business started. With the right supplier and small capital, you can hit the ground running and create a successful brand for yourself. One mistake a lot of retailers make is believing that drop shipping guarantees quick, easy money for them —this is far from the truth. Dropshipping requires a lot of focus, intelligence, and the ability to source for the right materials. It’s expected that you’ll make some mistakes when you start, but it’s all part of the experience. 

Getting your business started, you need to start on the right foot, taking your time to find the best dropshipping wholesalers to help you out. Finding one can be tasking, and that’s another reason why there should be a direct relationship between the retailer and the supplier. To make this possible, more wholesalers should get involved in the dropshipping business plan. Also, they should make efforts to have physical customer care where people can register or complain. Several fake and phony sellers pose as dropshipping agents. These sellers will most likely ask you to pay an advance fee for registration and all of that. When you encounter such sellers, avoid them altogether — there’s a huge chance they are fake. 

Tips for Successful Dropshipping Business

You must know the type of goods you should try to market. For example, try as much as possible to avoid large products because they are challenging to dropship. Also, large products are costlier than the average or small package that people can easily order for. If there was a direct relationship with the supplier from the retailer, however, selecting the right product will be more comfortable. Even though it’s the seller that would initiate the delivery, any complaint, or loss will be directed at you by the client or consumer. For example, if the shipped item doesn’t get delivered on time, you as the retailer would be the one questioned by your client, and since you didn’t initiate the shipping, you have little to zero control of the movement of the product. 

The importance of direct relationships between buyers and suppliers cannot be overemphasized. Trusting someone you have direct contact with is undoubtedly better than taking a gamble of finding a merchant online.

Author Bio

Lilian O’Brien is a passionate journalist who enjoys writing about psychology and human relationships. Over the course of her career, she was a regular contributor to major media publications, and currently, she serves as an editor for onlinechatdatingsites.com.