Dropshipping products requires you to find the right supplier. Drop shippers must be cautious when choosing suppliers to source their products from. This is because your reputation as a dropshipper could be at stake. You can list the products of any supplier on your website, and contact them when orders are received. However, this doesn’t guarantee the quality or speed of shipping. This quick guide will help you identify trustworthy suppliers and show you the steps to follow when negotiating with dropshipping providers.
Dropshipping can be risky because you don’t have control over how the products are handled and delivered to customers. Dropshipping is not a safe business model. You can’t guarantee the quality and safety of the products or the shipping time. You can only find out if the supplier has fulfilled his obligations if you get feedback from the customer.
Dropshipping products from overseas suppliers can lead to many problems. While the supplier might be at fault, customers won’t be able to point fingers at the supplier. It will be the customer who sold them the product in the first instance.
These are some of the most common problems that dropshipped products may encounter:
- Bad product packaging
- Late delivery of the package
- Delivery delayed due to customs
- Shipping damage to product
- Lost package during shipping
- Shipping service information is incorrect
- Delivered package to the wrong address
- Advertisements that aren’t related to the product being shipped in the package
Before you dropship, make sure you do your research on potential suppliers to reduce the chance of such issues. How can you do this? These are the qualifications you should be looking for!
The supplier is a veteran in dropshipping. They have the experience, strength, stability, and systems to handle large orders.
They are different from their competitors. Have the supplier tell you about their strengths, and then compare them with the information that you have about the supplier. You can verify the accuracy of the information provided by the supplier if you do your research.
The supplier will process your order in 2-3 days. This time is standard. It is better if they are able to do it on weekends or holidays.
There are many shipping options available to customers. A good supplier will ship products via sea freight, air freight and express shipping at a discounted rate.
Your supplier must have an integrated data feed system. Stock levels between you and your dropshipping supplier must be current. This allows your customers to know exactly when your products are available so that they can make an immediate decision about which items to buy.
A more favorable and reasonable return and refund policy. Dropshipping businesses are subject to returns. The supplier’s ability and willingness to accept returns will determine whether you retain your customer or lose them forever.
A Product Mafia subscription is a faster way to find reliable suppliers. It will allow you to access winning products as well as their suppliers. After you have chosen the dropshipping supplier, you can begin negotiations.
You won’t be able to negotiate with suppliers if you don’t know how to do so. Dropshipping is not the best strategy. To get high markups on your products, you must negotiate with suppliers. These are some steps that you can take to make sure you both benefit from the deal.
- Always ask questions. Do not accept the lowest price offered by suppliers. Because this is a standard practice in their business, you won’t cause any problems with suppliers by asking questions. They will tell you if the price can be reduced. If you don’t ask, you won’t know.
- Professionally deal with suppliers. In a businesslike way, negotiate with the supplier. Be clear about why you think the supplier should offer you a better deal. If they accept your proposal, tell them about the benefits your business can offer.
- You should not be focusing on the price, but other aspects of the deal. If the supplier’s price is not negotiable, you should offer other items as part of a deal. You can negotiate a payment extension, faster shipping, or other benefits. While discounts on product prices are wonderful, it is better to negotiate other aspects of the deal that will be more advantageous for both you and your supplier.
- Ask about bulk ordering upfront. While most suppliers do not require you to place a minimum order and they will only pay you after you sell the item, it may be more advantageous to order bulk quantities. They may be willing to keep your stock and ship it whenever you place an order. Sometimes, you might be able negotiate lower shipping costs.
- Both parties should agree that the deal is mutually beneficial. Both you and your supplier should be benefited by the deal. While you wouldn’t mind them agreeing to a lower price, they may cut corners on other areas, such as the quality or speed of delivery.
- Renegotiate regularly. You should never stop negotiating with your supplier. You should review the agreement frequently to see if there are ways to improve your relationships with dropshipping suppliers.
Last words
It can be tedious and time-consuming to find reliable dropshipping suppliers. This is a crucial part of dropshipping and something you shouldn’t overlook. The supplier will be responsible for shipping the products to your customers. With a subscription, Product Mafia will help you quickly find the winning products and suppliers. The only thing left is to negotiate with these suppliers by following the steps I have described in this article.
