Drop Shipping: Selling Wholesale Without Keeping The Inventory

By Author: Ann Hoskins
Total Articles: 30
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With increasing number of people looking to supplement their income by utilizing the internet for online auctions or sale, drop shipping is, for many, the best of both worlds. The wholesale market is no longer only for large businesses with huge operating budgets. In fact, many wholesale sources are quite happy to work with small companies and individuals as they develop viable online enterprises.

For someone working from home perhaps the biggest challenge is inventory. What will you sell? How will you store it? Where can you ship? The drop shipping industry eliminates most of the hard stuff and leaves you with a small profit in exchange for your management skills.

Here is how one unique company manages to blend both personalization and drop shipping into a marketing solution for the crafty and creative. ArtsNow.com has over 200 items that can be personalized on the site with the customer's artwork or photograph. The seller designs the product, or offers the personalization option, and sends the order via the ArtsNow website. ...
... The product is then produced and ArtsNow sends the product to the customer on behalf of the seller. The seller, if he is using the internet, Ebay or some other auction venue, never actually has the item in his hand. Rather, he relies on the ArtsNow drop shipping program to deliver his order.

How does this benefit the seller? The time spent designing the products is considerably less than would be required to produce, package and ship the same items. Once the seller has a niche, such as pets, nature, sports, etc. he need only take the time to add the personalization to his product, all of which is done online.

Many drop shipping programs exist for everything from food products, home furnishings, hobby supplies, and clothing to high end electronics. Wholesale news, found on industry websites or magazines and newsletters are a reliable way to track down suppliers. Often times a simple phone call asking if a supplier will drop ship is enough to establish a profitable business.

It is important to remember that drop shipping is a tool for a business and not a panacea of riches. Management and organization are essential to a successful online or offline business based on the drop ship model.


Ann Hoskins has been writing and publishing articles about wholesale and drop shipping. She is a business consultant and has been specializing in logistics management and shipping for more than 10 years.