10 things you need to know about Dropshipping before you list on ebay

Many new sellers or people who want to become sellers hear about drop shipping and think it is the key to making quick money on ebay. Well the truth is, it isn't that simple. There are ways to make money with dropshippers and many people do. But it isn't as simple as the advertisers make you believe.
Here are a few things you need to think about if you are considering dropshipping.
1. Know the company that you are working with. Learn as much about them as you can. Any company worth their salt will give you their information without blinking an eye.
Ebay requires that you indicate where the item will be shipped from so you will, at the very least, need the zip code of their warehouse. Call their support phone number and see how easy it is to get someone on the phone. Do anything you can do to get to know them. They are going to become your business partner. You wouldn't go into business with a person you didn't know without checking them out first, treat a dropshipper the same way.
2. How often do they ship? Ebay customers, just the same as any other buyer in the world, want to have their item as quickly as possible. You, as the ebay seller, need to know how long it will usually take so that you can write an informed listing or answer questions from potential buyers. If a buyer wants to purchase something from you and needs it in two weeks, they need to be able to calculate whether or not they would have time to purchase from you. If you aren't able to answer that question than you should not use that dropshipper. And, "ships right away" is not good enough. You need to know if "right away" is a matter of hours or a matter of days.
3. How does payment work? and are you set up for it? Most dropshippers will require you to pay for items prior to having them sent out. Do you have a credit card with consistently enough credit available to handle the volume you plan to do? Remember that paypal takes a few days to be able to transfer the money from paypal to your bank account, are you prepared to cover those few days? It would be unreasonable to expect your customer to wait during that time.
4. Returns. There will be returns from time to time and if the company you are working with doesn't allow for returns will you pick up the slack? Even if you state that 'all sales are final' in your listing, paypal can make you take a return in certain cases. Be prepared for those.
5. Quality. Do you know the quality of the product(s) that you are going to be selling? One picture of the item is not enough. You'll need to be able to write a complete description too. The size, weight and feel. If possible, get samples. You may have to buy them but would be worth it in the long run. Customers on the internet are dependant on you to describe to them what they are getting and if you are unable to do that, you won't make as much money as you could.
6. Quantity. Will you have access to the inventory numbers? If you list 100 items and sell 60, will they be able to fulfill the order? It would not be fun to have to go in an refund 40 of your 60 sales! And, even though paypal would refund the fees, it would be a real hassle to get back your ebay final value fees. Also, think of the impact that would have on your feedback! Some buyers would understand when you tell them that it is out of stock while others will leave you a negative. So, if half of those 40 we talked about, left you a negative, what would your score look like? And, more than likely it would get you kicked off ebay, or at least suspended. If you do have access to inventory levels you should check them daily.
7. Competition. This one should be a factor in all selling on ebay, not just with dropshippers. Research your competition and what kind of numbers they are actually pulling. Look at how many of this item are already listed, how many actually sell and at what price. There are many research tools out there and too many to go into here, that is for anyother blog entry. The important thing is that you do your research.
8. Know how the item will be sent. The best would obviously be with a tracking number and insured. If you want to every have repeat customers you need to make sure that the dropshipping company puts your name or company name on the label and not theirs. This may sound minor, but it is important.
You are the seller so if the buyer is unhappy or the item never arrives, or arrives broken, YOU are still responsible!
And, do they do international sales? if so, what are their policies and timeframes?
9. Don't get caught up with scams. If someone is asking you for money before ever giving you anything than more than likely it is a scam. If you think it may be legit than call them up, go in person to their offices, or ask to speak to a rep, don't just hand over your money. There are many many websites that promise lists of dropshippers for a fee. Please be aware of what you are getting before you ever hand over your money. Is a list of dropshippers what you need? You may be able to find this on your own using a search engine and a little extra time.
10. Start out slow. If you have done all of your homework and you are convinced that you will be able to make money using this company, start out slow. Don't go in and invest a ton of money designing a website and printing up business cards just yet. Start out with a dozen listings or so but no more. Sell those items, fulfil those orders and tweak whatever needs to be tweaked in your system. Then, as your feedback builds, start adding more listings a little at a time. I hear horror stories about companies that came through perfectly on the first transactions and then closed up shop leaving the ebay seller with hundreds of orders and no way to fulfill them. If things are going to go bad, it would always be better to only have a hand full of problems. Make sure that whatever you do, you do it small enough that you can recover if things go bad.
Good Luck.