Multi Vendor Shopping Carts Drop Ship Factor

November 8, 2009 · Filed Under Blogs, RSS and Podcasting 

Drop shippers are a useful bunch. There are a lot of positives that come along with getting reliable drop shippers. This is especially true for new merchants who lack the space (and money) to store products and the manpower to deal with packing and shipping arrangements. Some more established multi vendor shopping cart names already contribute integration with at least one drop shipper. ecommerce web hosting shopping cart integration is unusual, though. One essential thing to be aware of though, is that the shopping cart cost is usually abstracted from the fees for the drop shipping service.

There are a few things you should think about before deciding a drop shipper. These concerns should be addressed early in order to prevent problems later…

If you are going to think about the services of drop shippers, you have to find out that they are the supply chain to your business. You can either source your own drop shipper(s) or opt for one that is integrated with your multi vendor shopping cart provider. Therefore, the drop shipper you engage should not only be reliable but competitive and trustworthy as well. Along with these 3 characteristics, here are some factors that you would do well to think about:

Inventory

A product needs to be in stock in order for you to make a sale. Needless to say, healthy and consistent inventory levels are important. This means, stock information needs to be up-to-date (real-time) and exact.

As such, product information provided by drop shippers (to be displayed on the product page) should be sufficient and concrete. This is because you do not have access to the physical products and so will not be privy to any information save that which is given by the drop shipper. Commonly requested information: availability of alternative colors, material used, dimensions and weight.

Price

A competitive drop ship price (very close to wholesale, preferably) is the key to selling at higher margins. Remember, you need to take into account competitors’ pricing before you can make up your mind on your own. You should also factor in possible future discounts into your pricing calculations.

Just like inventory levels, product prices should be consistent.

Variety

It sounds cliched but variety is the spice of life. A perfect drop shipper should have a large database of drop ship products. A person may only buy one T-shirt if a variety of sizes are available, but he/she may buy more if the T-shirt comes in multiple colors as well. Frankly speaking, it also aids a buyer determine by doing a quick comparison.

Return Policy

You have to understand that your drop shipper’s return policy automatically becomes your return policy. Have a very closer look at your drop shippers’ return policies and make sure they are reliable before you decide to adopt them. If you agree to their policies, make sure you clearly express these return policies to your customers on your Terms & Conditions, Shipping or Return Policy or FAQ pages.

Customer Support

The best drop shippers get back to you within 1 business day, 2 at the most. In certain cases things do go wrong, even with the best drop shippers, such as an item being delivered in the wrong quantity, or perhaps in the wrong color. When something like this happens, it is essential that the situation be remedied as soon as possible. A quick response time is vital. The faster you hear back from your drop shipper, the relatively fast you can convey the latest situation to your customer in turn.

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