Ecommerce Web Hosting Shopping Cart Drop Ship Factor

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

A couple of things you should decide on before choosing a drop shipper. These concerns should be addressed early in order to help prevent problems later…

If you are going to use the services of drop shippers, you have to realize 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 ecommerce web hosting shopping cart provider. Suffice to say, the drop shipper you select 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 decide on:

Inventory

A product needs to be in stock in order for you to make a sale. Suffice to say, good and regular inventory levels are essential. Hence,, stock information needs to be up-to-date (real-time) and specific.

As such, product information provided by drop shippers (to be displayed on the product page) should be sufficient and exact. 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 presented by the drop shipper. Commonly requested information: availability of alternative colors, dimensions and weight, material used.

Price

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

Just like inventory levels, product prices should be stable.

Variety

It sounds cliched but variety is the spice of life. A reliable drop shipper should have a potential 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. Psychologically speaking, it also assists a buyer make the decision 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 close look at your drop shippers’ return policies and make sure they are reasonable before you select to adopt them. If you consent to their policies, make sure you ultimately express these return policies to your customers on your Terms & Conditions, Shipping or Return Policy or FAQ pages.

Customer Support

A professional drop shippers get back to you within 1 business day, 2 at the most. Sometimes 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 crucial that the situation be remedied as quickly as possible. A quick response time is vital. The faster you hear back from your drop shipper, the relatively fast you can communicate the latest situation to your customer in turn.