Having trouble finding legit suppliers for eCommerce site

[Guest24480]

At the moment I'm working on starting an eCommerce dropship site and I'm having some trouble finding suppliers (wholesalers/manufacturers). I know there is some stigma around here in regards to dropship sites but I still believe the model is alive and well, and I think I can gain some valuable experience quickly by starting one. I may not have much control without the products in hand, but it's the model I want to follow to start off.

Feel free to criticize this decision if you would like, I wouldn't mind hearing your opinions on whether I'm wasting my time or not.

Anyways, I'm running into a few problems as I try to narrow down and pick a niche. I'm doing well with finding a niche, but when it comes down to tracking down suppliers I'm having a lot of trouble.

I can't seem to differentiate between actual manufacturers/wholesalers and phony retailers posing as them and trying to make a quick buck. I read in the eCommercefuel guide that most legit wholesalers wouldn't list their prices on their site until you've signed up, and they don't sell to the general public. Is this true in anyone's experience?

I want to move on to contacting suppliers but I'm still having trouble finding ones that look like actual wholesale suppliers and not phonies. All I can find for the products I'm looking into are what look like wholesalers but they also sell to the general public. The good news is they seem legit in the respect that they ask for a tax ID # and re-seller's ID or whatever. But some of them even list their prices on their website which has me skeptical.

Should I be sourcing straight from manufacturers or taking the wholesale route in a dropship model? Most large manufacturers probably only deal with large wholesalers and don't have a dropship program. I guess the only way to figure out is to start contacting these companies, but I just don't want to get taken advantage of by phony wholesalers posed as legit ones.

Just wanted to hear anyone's experiences/opinion on the matter before I moved forward and started contacting these suppliers. Thank you

 

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[MPMike]

What is the product focus?

 

[Guest24480]

What is the product focus?

That's irrelevant


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[MPMike]

It's really does matter since some industries have developed drop shipping programs and others have not, you might not be finding what you are looking for because it dose not exist. Also depending on the industry some wholesale suppliers do sell direct to the public others don't. Also depending on the product there may be other considerations with drop-shipping like lead times, stock on hand, distributors, off price, licensing, etc... I am talking from experience in the wholesale manufacturing, distribution, and retail industry both as a buyer and seller in several markets, and now as an entrepreneur who's companies supply online retailers in specific categories.

 

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[Guest24480]

It's really does matter since some industries have developed drop shipping programs and others have not, you might not be finding what you are looking for because it dose not exist. Also depending on the industry some wholesale suppliers do sell direct to the public others don't. Also depending on the product there may be other considerations with drop-shipping like lead times, stock on hand, distributors, off price, licensing, etc... I am talking from experience in the wholesale manufacturing, distribution, and retail industry both as a buyer and seller in several markets, and now as an entrepreneur who's companies supply online retailers in specific categories.

I see. The reason I don't want to disclose it is because this is a public posting and I don't want my ideas stolen. Thought you were asking for the specific product and not the industry. That was a helpful post though, thank you. I will try to keep that in mind in my research.

A few of my ideas are in the games/recreation/hobbies industry, but that's about as narrow as I can explain it. Now that I think about it, this industry might not have as much of a dropshipping presense as others which is why I may be having trouble.


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[MPMike]

Yeah likely you will need to search for WD's with a drop ship program, avoid services like Doba (if they are still around) as they don't have inventory controls and it can make for lots of angry customers. The other issue you will have is data management as different companies often have their own format for data and inventory control.

 

[Walter Hay]

Maybe it's time to think outside the dropshipping box. It is possible to buy small quantities direct from real manufacturers overseas, as I have taught to hundreds of people in 35 countries. Direct importing is easy when you know how.

You might like to have a look at my post on The Pros and Cons of Dropshipping here:Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

 

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[JasonR]

At the moment I'm working on starting an eCommerce dropship site and I'm having some trouble finding suppliers

Drop shipping is dead. You can learn the ropes of ecommerce with drop shipping, but you will not be able to very profitable (if at all).

 

[Guest24480]

Maybe it's time to think outside the dropshipping box. It is possible to buy small quantities direct from real manufacturers overseas, as I have taught to hundreds of people in 35 countries. Direct importing is easy when you know how.

You might like to have a look at my post on The Pros and Cons of Dropshipping here:Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

I've been back and forth for awhile now trying to figure out which way to go (dropship vs. import) and I honestly just want to get started at this point. I'm tired of soaking up information and not taking any action. With that said, now I am having my doubts about dropshipping and I'm thinking about taking the importing route now.

This is what I was originally going to do when I first joined the forum but got overwhelmed trying to find trustworthy suppliers for my products. Now I've been chasing my tail for months and have gotten nowhere. I'm thinking about taking a look at your ebook.

Drop shipping is dead. You can learn the ropes of ecommerce with drop shipping, but you will not be able to very profitable (if at all).

Yeah, I kind of expected this and it makes sense now that you confirmed it. The barriers to entry are just too small to gain any sort of advantage over people doing the exact same thing you are.

 

[Walter Hay]

I've been back and forth for awhile now trying to figure out which way to go (dropship vs. import) and I honestly just want to get started at this point. I'm tired of soaking up information and not taking any action. With that said, now I am having my doubts about dropshipping and I'm thinking about taking the importing route now.

This is what I was originally going to do when I first joined the forum but got overwhelmed trying to find trustworthy suppliers for my products. Now I've been chasing my tail for months and have gotten nowhere. I'm thinking about taking a look at your ebook.

I am confident you won't be disappointed. See some of the comments posted on my AMA thread by happy users of my book.

One thing you will find of great value is that it will teach you how to locate those elusive trustworthy suppliers.

Walter

 

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[SEBASTlAN]

The reason I don't want to disclose it is because this is a public posting and I don't want my ideas stolen.

disappointing to see people still have such a mentality..

 

[biophase]

disappointing to see people still have such a mentality..

Maybe you would like to disclose what your business is or what you are working on?

 

[Guest24480]

disappointing to see people still have such a mentality..

Yeah because that way you'll have to come up with an original idea of your own. What a dissapointment


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[SEBASTlAN]

Maybe you would like to disclose what your business is or what you are working on?

Yeah supplements

 

[wbrett1027]

That's irrelevant


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So what are you asking for?


Brett.

 

[Walter Hay]

I am confident you won't be disappointed. See some of the comments posted on my AMA thread by happy users of my book.

One thing you will find of great value is that it will teach you how to locate those elusive trustworthy suppliers.

Walter

I suppose now that you have my book and have found it will give you what you need, this thread will die out, but maybe you could now start a progress thread on the subject.

Walter

 

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[10lapsdown]

I'm not sure how you can have an idea to protect if you are dropshipping... That's like saying you don't want to tell anyone your 'idea' to sell LEGO on a website. Big deal, you and 10000 other people.
I also have had trouble in this arena but it's pretty much saturated now no matter what market you are trying to sell into. I wouldn't say dropshipping is dead but it's certainly not what it used to be. If it's the way you wanna go, you just gotta keep trying and asking. Try other search engines other than google. It's funny how different the results can be. Just ask suppliers; they often don't advertise that they will indeed dropship. Maybe look at warehousing with a 3PL as an alternative.

Good luck

 

[Jambla]

Have you asked the manufactures for a list of approved wholesalers?

 

[Kevin Peter]

Follwing you guys closely. This is been a question to me from a long time (No business idea) but a good knowledge does help advicing people.

 

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[Guest24480]

I suppose now that you have my book and have found it will give you what you need, this thread will die out, but maybe you could now start a progress thread on the subject.

Walter

Good idea, I will start one when I get the chance.

I'm not sure how you can have an idea to protect if you are dropshipping... That's like saying you don't want to tell anyone your 'idea' to sell LEGO on a website. Big deal, you and 10000 other people.
I also have had trouble in this arena but it's pretty much saturated now no matter what market you are trying to sell into. I wouldn't say dropshipping is dead but it's certainly not what it used to be. If it's the way you wanna go, you just gotta keep trying and asking. Try other search engines other than google. It's funny how different the results can be. Just ask suppliers; they often don't advertise that they will indeed dropship. Maybe look at warehousing with a 3PL as an alternative.

Good luck

I agree with you to an extent, maybe 'idea' was the wrong word to use. Still, posting the product would run the risk of increased competition if someone decides to run with the same product focus. Yeah, it's not an idea unique to myself necessarily, but I still spent the time researching it and validating it so I wouldn't want anyone else to skip those steps.

I do appreciate the tips and insight as well, thank you. However, I decided I'm not going to take the dropship route because of lack of control, slim margins, and a few other reasons.

Although I won't be contributing, everyone is free to continue discussing dropshipping on this thread if they desire.

 

[unorthodox]

I never operated a drop ship site, however after searching drop-ship businesses for sale on bizbuysell.com, and reading this article: http://www.quora.com/Can-a-niche-dr...ic-examples-and-how-to-they-genereate-revenue

It seems as if drop-shipping is still viable. Also seems like buying the inventory is more profitable, I could be wrong.

Finding suppliers is easy. Call the real manufacturers of the product and ask to speak to somebody regarding listing their products on your site.

Once you get to the decision maker, explain your site, demographics. They will probably ask for a business id, website link etc.

I've tested this with kitchen sink suppliers.

 

[Walter Hay]

I never operated a drop ship site, however after searching drop-ship businesses for sale on bizbuysell.com, and reading this article: http://www.quora.com/Can-a-niche-dr...ic-examples-and-how-to-they-genereate-revenue

It seems as if drop-shipping is still viable. Also seems like buying the inventory is more profitable, I could be wrong.

Finding suppliers is easy. Call the real manufacturers of the product and ask to speak to somebody regarding listing their products on your site.

Once you get to the decision maker, explain your site, demographics. They will probably ask for a business id, website link etc.

I've tested this with kitchen sink suppliers.

I have seen a huge number of posts on another forum regarding the subject of dropshipping. The figures quoted by "successful" dropship resellers are almost always the total sales figures not the profit figures. Whenever profit margins are quoted they are in the range 10% to 20% with a few stating that they make 30%.

These figures are pathetic compared to what you can make on a small investment in your own inventory. I have emails from some that I have taught how to import direct from manufacturers, stating that they have made 300%. I will quote actual emails if you like.

You might be interested in an article I wrote on the subject in answer to a question. See:
Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

 

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[SeanyHang]

Maybe it's time to think outside the dropshipping box. It is possible to buy small quantities direct from real manufacturers overseas, as I have taught to hundreds of people in 35 countries. Direct importing is easy when you know how.

Hey Walter - I actually bought/read your book a few months ago. While I must agree and admit that you have a plethora of knowledge printed in between the covers, I'm not sure that you have anything in there about sourcing actual name-brands from manufacturers (which I assume is what @holmzee was looking for to set up a drop-shipping store). Maybe it's in a newer version?

Do you have any tips for sourcing the manufacturer or a wholesale distributor for products like - Idk - KRK Studio Monitors? Optimum nutrition's whey protein? Marshall amplifier? (Haha,I'm not trying to sell any of these - they were the first things I looked at.)

I made an awesome chunk of cash using both yours and The Startup Bros methods selling generic items from China on E-Bay. But I think it'd be pretty cool to find out how to add some name brand stuff to the store as well!

 

[Walter Hay]

Hey Walter - I actually bought/read your book a few months ago. While I must agree and admit that you have a plethora of knowledge printed in between the covers, I'm not sure that you have anything in there about importing actual name-brands from manufacturers (which I assume is what @holmzee was looking for to set up a drop-shipping store). Maybe it's in a newer version?

Do you have any tips for sourcing the manufacturer or a wholesale distributor for products like - Idk - KRK Studio Monitors? Optimum nutrition's whey protein? Marshall amplifier? (Haha,I'm not trying to sell any of these - they were the first things I looked at.)

I made an awesome chunk of cash using both yours and The Startup Bros methods selling generic items from China on E-Bay. But I think it'd be pretty cool to find out how to add some name brand stuff to the store as well!

You won't find anything in my book to help you source name brand products. In my AMA I posted about Parallel Importing, which describes how it may be possible to do it legally in some circumstances. See: Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

Importing name brand items that don't satisfy the requirements that I refer to in that post can result in confiscation, prosecution, fines or jail, being sued into bankruptcy, or at the very least, your name and address will be flagged by Customs and every subsequent shipment delayed for thorough inspection.

In short, it is not worth the risk.

If you do find a name brand product that does not have a CBP Recordation number, (see post above linked) the best way to source that product is to buy it retail in another country where it is legally available, but please read my post first. It is too risky to buy it in China.

 

[SeanyHang]

You won't find anything in my book to help you source name brand products. In my AMA I posted about Parallel Importing, which describes how it may be possible to do it legally in some circumstances. See: Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

Importing name brand items that don't satisfy the requirements that I refer to in that post can result in confiscation, prosecution, fines or jail, being sued into bankruptcy, or at the very least, your name and address will be flagged by Customs and every subsequent shipment delayed for thorough inspection.

In short, it is not worth the risk.

If you do find a name brand product that does not have a CBP Recordation number, (see post above linked) the best way to source that product is to buy it retail in another country where it is legally available, but please read my post first. It is too risky to buy it in China.

Right, I agree with you 100% that importing brand-name products from China is foolish. The chances of actually finding products that aren't knockoffs are minuscule and there are plenty of other legal troubles you may have to worry about.

I realize that I wasn't really clear in my last post - What I meant is that I figure @holmzee is looking for manufacturers or wholesale distributors in the states that he can call and ask if they'll dropship for him. I am personally also trying to find a way that I could call up name-brand companies and - rather than dropship - actually buy the products (nutritional supplements) at wholesale to sell in my store. This is obviously possible, as there are so many mom and pop stores that carry name brand products that aren't their own.

So far the only way that I've found to get in touch with distributors is to call up the manufacturers of the products and ask who their distributors are. My problem is that I can't always find the number or email of a products manufacturer.. Do you have any hacks that might get me in touch with manufacturers quicker or is what I'm doing (which is googling the hell out of a company and then calling whatever number I find) the best route to take?

You da man, Walter - and before you dish out any advice, lemme just say....

thank you.

 

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[Walter Hay]

Right, I agree with you 100% that importing brand-name products from China is foolish. The chances of actually finding products that aren't knockoffs are minuscule and there are plenty of other legal troubles you may have to worry about.

I realize that I wasn't really clear in my last post - What I meant is that I figure @holmzee is looking for manufacturers or wholesale distributors in the states that he can call and ask if they'll dropship for him. I am personally also trying to find a way that I could call up name-brand companies and - rather than dropship - actually buy the products (nutritional supplements) at wholesale to sell in my store. This is obviously possible, as there are so many mom and pop stores that carry name brand products that aren't their own.

So far the only way that I've found to get in touch with distributors is to call up the manufacturers of the products and ask who their distributors are. My problem is that I can't always find the number or email of a products manufacturer.. Do you have any hacks that might get me in touch with manufacturers quicker or is what I'm doing (which is googling the hell out of a company and then calling whatever number I find) the best route to take?

You da man, Walter - and before you dish out any advice, lemme just say....

thank you.

You're welcome.

Rather than Google, try http://www.thomasnet.com/ You will get contact details there.

Walter

 

[million$$$smile]

Drop shipping is dead. You can learn the ropes of ecommerce with drop shipping, but you will not be able to very profitable (if at all).

Though I have tremendous respect for @JasonR I gotta disagree.

Drop shipping CAN be viable. No, I would not want my business model to use drop shipping the majority of the time, but I would definitely utilize the opportunities that drop shipping allows.

I probably drop ship 20%-25% of the orders I get. Yes, at times profit margins can be thinner (about 22%-30%) but overall costs and profits can justify it.

Case #1: I sell widgets on Amazon. Customer has ordered an item to ship EXPEDITED to their address. The location is closer by two days shipping time to the drop shipper (either manufacturer or distributor) than it is from my location. I can have it shipped ground from the drop shipper quicker and less cost than if I were to expedite it. Customer paid $35 for expedited shipping. It might have cost me nearly that much if I had shipped it. Drop shipper sent nit for me for $12. Win/Win, customer received it quickly, and I pocketed an additional $23 for drop shipping the item.

Case #2: Customer orders 12 widgets and I only have 10 in stock. Rather than backordering 2 of the items causing re-shipment charges, I have all 12 items drop shipped to the customer and giving me the opportunity to sell the stock I have on hand also. Win/Win again.

Both of these scenarios happen more often than you think when you are shipping 100-150 packages daily.

If you are desiring to grow your business and move products quickly and in bulk, you should consider that aspect of business.

If it was dead, none of us would still be doing it

 

[million$$$smile]

And another thing while I'm on a roll..

Outsourcing/importing isn't the only way to build a business.

I just don't get it.

There are thousands and thousands of products manufactured right here in North America that are outstanding and profitable items.
No, they may not necessarily have a 300% profit but there are many, many that have 100%-150%.

And guess what? I don't have to worry about:

1. Chinese holidays that shut the whole country down
2. Untimely shipments by container from overseas
3. Quality of products less than anticipated
4. Customs, duty and time consuming paperwork

In the meantime:

1. I can order small quantities domestically
2. Have most items in 3-4 days
3. Consistent high quality products
4. Drop ship items if warranted
5. Know that I am supporting American workers and American made

Sometimes we are too close to the forest to see the trees.

US Products can be private branded. And there is plenty of profit. Otherwise we wouldn't be wholesaling a brand nationally.

And most American made products are held in high esteem world wide. Nothing stops me from selling globally.

Think out of the box.

Sometimes there is gold right under your feet....

 

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[JasonR]

If it was dead, none of us would still be doing it

Great points Randal!

I should have clarified - drop shipping as your MAIN/ONLY business model is "dead."

I also utilize Amazon - and technically that is a form of drop shipping.

Thanks for the clarification and insight.

To note, I also have a friend, who does drop ship things he doesn't keep in stock or want to stock. However, he still gets a customer when they buy someone else's products, so he may not make great margins, they are most certainly willing to buy from him again - so its almost a form of customer acquisition.

So, used the right way, drop shipping is a GOOD thing. Using it as your SOLE reason to start a business - well I don't think you've got any sort of edge on the competition.

 

[batsonlee168]

Hey man, I just read your post hop the below site could help you with your business.

http://small-order.hktdc.com/
this is a sourcing channel and you could order small amoung for your business, which would be benefit fo ryour ecommerce business, as you don't have to worry about too much stock.

http://hkmb.hktdc.com <-Hong Kong Mean Business
This is a market intelligent portal, which have updates regulary. they have some articles about th erecent trends of ecommerces in Asia.

Hope those sites help you.

Good Luck.