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Old November 20, 2001, 04:08 PM
Marty Foley
 
Posts: n/a
Default Drop shipping: Pros and Cons...

Jack,

Drop shipping *can* be done profitably, and offers a number of advantages:

* It allows a middleman (dealer) to market products without any inventory investment.

* No inventory investment means you can start and operate with very little capital.

* Risk is greatly reduced - and cash flow improved - because you don't pay for products until after your customer pays you for them.

* There is no need to worry about handling, packing, shipping, protecting or maintaining product inventory - all these steps are taken care of by the drop shipper.

* Since no room is needed for storing inventory, a drop shipping business can be operated from a very small space.

* There is no risk of inventory being damaged, stolen, outdated or becoming obsolete while in storage. No insurance coverage is needed to help protect you from such losses.

* You never need to be concerned about being over- or under-stocked, since you only order the exact amount that your customer pays you in advance for.

* The sales potential of a product can be tested with minimal risk and expense.

If a product doesn't sell as well as expected, you can drop it and cut your losses quickly, without being stuck with unsold inventory.

* It can help you conduct inexpensive market research.

As you market drop shipped products to your market, you'll find out which particular products sell well to your market, and which don't. Such knowledge can be used in the creation of your own successful products.

* Drop shipping lets you quickly come up with products to sell, thus helping generate income in your business while you develop or acquire your own products (which is an ideal goal to aim for).

* You can diversify your product line rapidly and
inexpensively.

[The above has been excerpted from my Free "Drop Shipping Dollars" Email Course.]

Because of the lower profit margins involved with drop shipping (and it's online equivalent, an affiliate program) I recommend selling drop shipped items as a sideline to your own products or services that you control. That's usually a better strategy in the long run, anyway.

Best Regards,
Marty Foley


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