A drop-ship supplier is a wholesaler, importer or manufacturer who is willing and able to deliver goods directly to a resellers’ (retailers) customers. A drop-ship supplier is not a middleman working for a wholesaler or manufacturer.

To take advantage of this fast growing business model you will need to:

  • be a genuine wholesaler, importer or manufacturer (no-middlemen).

    Do not attempt to act as an agent for other wholesalers. You must have the stock in your control. Trying to act as an agent for other companies invariably leads to problems for the agent and the reseller and may result in legal action. A Genuine Wholesaler, Importer or Manufacturer is a business that stocks or manufactures products in bulk. A ‘dropship supplier’ is a wholesaler who is willing and able to send products in retail AND/OR wholesale quantities directly to a resellers customer. Dropshipping is not about promoting your wholesale business to the customers of resellers and where possible the goods should arrive at the customer’s location with only the documentation supplied to you by the reseller. A sales receipt should be provided to the reseller for the wholesale price charged.
  • deliver products directly to the customers for resellers.Delivering directly to consumers is the core to dropshipping. If you do not have or are not willing to create the infrastructure to deliver products directly to the resellers’ customers you do have another option available to you. You can engage with a Fulfillment Service where they will stock your products and send individual items on your behalf. We will teach more about this option in the members area.

    Most resellers sell products in retail quantities and are looking for wholesalers who are willing to deliver products in small quantities. With this in mind it would be fair to say that a wholesaler could charge a little more than their ‘bulk quantity’ prices due to the fact that they will need to break cartons. Most resellers understand this and factor it as a part of their business plans.

  • provide a price list and shipping costs.The easier you make it for a reseller the more they will sell for you. Provide clear prices and shipping costs. Try not to leave it up to a reseller to calculate shipping costs.
  • provide images and product information to resellers.For resellers to successfully promote your products you should provide them with the same sales and marketing materials that you would provide for an employed sales person.

    If you are able provide your reseller with a product datafeed that is compatible with many of the eCommerce systems available. You may also be asked to provide preparation for delivery to Amazon, but that would be more in selling wholesale lots rather than smaller lots. We will teach more about this in the members area.

  • be able to notify resellers of price changes and/or product shortages.Just like employed salespeople, your resellers are depending on you to keep them informed of possible supply problems or end of stock issues. Dropship suppliers who are having great success from this system are looking out for the interests of resellers as well as their own.
  • provide support and advice to resellers for your products.You should always support your products. Give clear instructions to your resellers in advance on what to do if they have warranty enquiries or product quality issues with their customers. Make sure you notify resellers if you ever have a product recall for any reason. This will build your reputation as a genuine dropship business and attract more resellers to increase your sales.
  • provide written terms and conditions to resellers. Provide clear, concise terms and conditions to your resellers. If you do not want your products sold on a particular web site or you have a set price for products that resellers must use, let them know in your terms and conditions. This will avoid potential problems and misunderstandings in the future.

If you would like to add your business to the drop-ship suppliers directory you must first register. You will than have access to the Dropship Suppliers Directory and you can create your business listing. Every submission to the directory is checked for authenticity and must be approved. If you provide all of the information required this can be completed within 24 hours.

Please contact us is you have any questions.