Because the concept of drop shipping is relatively new, most people know little about it, so they fill in the gaps with rumors and conjecture, resulting in misinformation of mythical proportions. In this article, I reveal the 4 most common drop shipping myths, and then proceed to bust those myths.

Myth #1: Drop shipping means big money for little work

Sure drop shipping saves you from warehousing, inventorying, packaging, and shipping items, but those tasks play a relatively minor role in building a successful online retail business. You can now invest the time and resources you save on menial tasks in the retailer's labors of love:

• Market research
• Product research
• Advertising
• Customer service
• Developing more efficient ways of doing business
• Expansion

The truth is that even though drop shipping... Read More

Most retailers agree: drop shipping, if used properly, is a huge time and labor saver.

But is it a money saver as well? It is often said that time is money. But just what is the true value of drop shipping?

We will attempt to answer that question in this article from a scientific approach, using logic to come to a conclusion as to what the value of drop shipping is for you.

The value of time is different for everybody... Read More

Backorders can break the backs of online retailers. If you can't quickly deliver a product to your customer, they might just cancel their order and look for a more reliable webstore. Because drop shipping places inventory control in the hands of your supplier, it raises your exposure to the risk of backorders. You can, however, implement some strategies for minimizing your exposure to backorder situations:

• Monitor Quantities on Hand (QOH)
• Run shorter auctions
• Cancel an auction when supplies run low
• Pad your inventory by drop shipping items to yourself

In the following sections, I explain these strategies in greater detail... Read More

As an online merchant, you're well aware of how much time and money you spend preparing an item description and packaging and shipping products. By following the traditional auction model, you actually spend more in time and money to deliver less merchandise. With drop shipping, you can significantly increase productivity, slash costs, and boost your bottom line.

In this article, I demonstrate how you can incorporate drop shipping into your current online business to save 55 minutes on the following tasks:

• Prepare the item description
• Package and address the item
• Ship the item

You also save money:

• Your hourly rate for performing these tasks
• Packaging materials
• Shipping costs
• Mileage to the post office

Let's do the math... Read More

In my article, "The Value of Drop Shipping," I sing the praises of drop shipping in helping you reduce costs both in time and money and more efficiently ship product. You can maximize the power of drop shipping by embracing the following four drop shipping best practices:

• Choose your drop shipper wisely
• Focus on margins as a dollar amount
• Research products carefully

In the following sections, I explain each of these practices in greater detail.

Choose the Best Drop Shipper

With drop shipping you lose some control over inventory and shipping. To minimize the risk of being unable to fill a customer's order, choose a drop shipper who offers the following... Read More

For retail businesses, expanding into a new market can be a risky proposition. Aside from additional marketing costs, there are also the costs of storing new inventory that may or may not sell.

This is just one more situation where drop shipping can help save you time, money, and a lot of unwanted stress. Just like drop shipping is a low risk way to break into the retail business, it can also help your existing business get its feet wet in new markets.

Let's take a look at an imaginary online retailer that sells camping equipment. For years, this retailer has focused on specializing in tents and sleeping bags only. Now, to increase sales and profits, he wants to expand into more camping accessories such as cookware, backpacks, propane, emergency equipment, and so forth. The problem is, he's worried that he won't be able to... Read More