Drop Shipping

In the Retail business, Drop shipping is a term that has been gaining attention at a very fast pace. Drop shipping is such a form of business, where the seller does not physically hold any stock of products that he/she sells. In Drop Shipping, the seller mainly markets his products via websites or social media through which customers can get a wide range of options to order from. Investments like building warehouses or stock rooms or workers to watch over such facilities are not needed in case of a Drop Shipping business. However, the actual products are sold by other manufacturers, wholesalers, or other retail sellers to the customers. 

The Drop Shipping business person has to send the order details along with the customer shipping address to the other manufacturer or wholesalers who now directly ships the actual product to the customer’s address. However, sometimes the seller may also forward the product to the Drop Shipper who does the final shipment to the customer. Thus, a network triangle of the supply chain works here. The customer connects with the Drop Shipping business, who in turn connects further with the wholesaler or manufacturer, or other retailers. The Drop Shipping business has to be in touch with all its dealers or manufacturers for ensuring continuous shipment of quality products, timely service, and overall customer satisfaction aspects. It is very important to have detailed knowledge about the authenticity of every single dealer that comes under the list of suppliers.

In such a case, the customer has no knowledge about the actual source from where the order is actually getting shipped or who is the seller of those products. The customer places the order online through the Company website by viewing the product catalog as given on the website. With the advent of e-commerce businesses, Drop Shipping has gained and is being initiated by business enthusiastic people as well as companies. The Drop Shipping business earns a profit by increasing the customer price from the wholesale price.

TIPS TO A CUSTOMER WHILE ORDERING:

• Since a customer does not know the actual origin of the products, it is very important as the customer to do a little bit of research about the company from where the order is being placed.
• A comparative study of the price difference should be done between similar e-commerce companies selling the same products.
• Careful observation of the product images given on the website. Sometimes internet downloaded products are given.