This resource introduces everything you need to know about dropshipping/wholesale suppliers, especially some pro tips in choosing the better one in 2021.
Are you thinking of adopting the dropshipping model into your sales strategy? You must have studied the benefits of choosing a good dropshipping supplier.
Dropshipping, in essence, means that you are entering a partnership with a wholesaler/supplier. Often, as the vendor, you will be at the mercies of your dropship supplier for product quality, turnaround time, return and refund management, and legal compliance to some extent.
This only depicts that you cannot skimp on choosing the best dropshipper for your business model. For one, you have to ensure your customers will be getting quality products, shipped on time, and handled properly to avoid any return problems.
Looking into suppliers before signing up with them will also explain how they conduct their business, giving you a clear picture of the kind of service you should expect.
There are so many inquiries you’re needed to make, before signing on to do business with any dropshipper.
However, below are the 6 most critical inquiries you shouldn’t ignore:
- How does the supplier handle return and refund complaints?
- What is the supplier’s turnaround time?
- How is the supplier’s customer support?
- Does the supplier insure orders?
- Does the supplier offer fraud protection?
- Are there any reviews and online references for this supplier?
Spotting a good supplier isn’t rocket science – and it’s no walk in the park either.
Pro-tips For Identifying High-quality Suppliers
Look For Suppliers With Industry Focus:
The best suppliers to work with are those that have knowledgeable sales representatives. These are expert staff who know all there is to know about the industry and their product line.
You can tell apart expert staff from ordinary staff when you engage them during the initial inquiry. Staff with industry focus will be able to offer invaluable insight and give actionable advice especially to beginners who are looking to launch a store in a niche they are not familiar with.
Look For Suppliers With Dedicated Customer Support:
Quality suppliers are able to assign individual sales representatives dedicated to taking care of your needs. This will especially make the initial inquiry swift and easy.
You will find also that having a specific sales representative assigned to you helps resolve any upcoming issues faster. You don’t have to nag everyone to have issues resolved.
Look For Dropshippers Who’ve Invested In Technology:
While plenty of dropshippers don’t care for sophisticated website design or the latest e-commerce systems, a supplier who recognizes the benefits of using modern e-commerce trends and invests heavily in the latest technology is pleasant to work with.
Features such as comprehensive online catalogs, searchable online order database, customizable data feeds, and real-time inventory help streamline operations for both the vendor and the supplier.
Consider Suppliers Who Can Take Orders Via E-mail:
This may seem trivial, but having to call every order in defeats the whole purpose of dropshipping being a convenient e-commerce business model (that can be fully automated). Manually placing orders on the dropshippers website makes the whole process more time-intensive.
Suppliers that can take orders via email make processing orders significantly convenient. And you can use some comprehensive automatic mailers to make the whole process automatic and seamless.
The Best Suppliers Are Centrally Located:
Vendors located in larger regions like the United States will find it convenient working with drop ship suppliers that are centrally located. Such a dropshipper can fulfill orders across 90% of the country within 2- 3 business days.
Suppliers located on one of the coasts usually take longer fulfilling orders meant to be delivered to the other coast. It would take more than 7 days for such an order to be shipped across the country.
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Centrally located dropshippers allow you to consistently promise faster lead time and potentially cutting the shipping cost.
Look For Wholesalers Who Are Organized And Efficient:
An organized supplier/wholesaler has competent staff and practical systems that result in seamless, efficient and error-free order fulfillment.
Disreputable suppliers and rogue dropshippers often lack coherent order placement and fulfillment systems – often botching up every third order or so and making you want to pull your hair out. These should be avoided, lest you brace for a nightmarish dropshipping experience.
Pro-tips For Spotting Fake Suppliers
- Stop ordering from suppliers with poor quality products
- Suppliers that don’t have proper return policies will sink your business
- Wholesale dropshippers who sell to the public may not be worth your time
- Suppliers with too many negative reviews are a bad sign
- Avoid suppliers who require abnormal pre-order fees
- Do not trust suppliers with suspicious contact information
Summary
The supplier plays an important role in the fulfillment process of the dropshipping sales system. As such it is critical that you source the top-notch suppliers to make your dropshipping business a success. Working with the wrong supplier will jeopardize your business before it gets off the ground.
