It has come to my attention recently that many people are trying the Ecommerce world, whether with websites or the hugely popular EBay. I offer this piece of advice to those just starting out, or thinking about starting out, choose your drop shippers wisely. It is my contention that many of these wholesale distributors have too many internal problems and that you will be disappointed in the total lack of customer service. Yes they will take your money; they will promise you the world, but when you need the products they charged you for, guess what? So are most drop shippers really evil? I believe that a few for sure fit into that category and some are almost pure evil. The thing that makes me believe that is how quickly they can make you angry, or maybe all the curse words that it conjures up when speaking to a customer representative You will feel like you the flames are licking at your feet when they tell you things like the shipment is pending, or that they have computer problems, or best yet, that the item they said had 20 in stock is now out and no dateline for the supplier to get some more. Try explaining that to your customer; believe me that is not fun. What if your customer tells you they need a refund? The whole process could take weeks and still they get a 10-20 percent re-stocking fee and your customer is out shipping on both ways. Does that sound like a way to instill great customer support? Then you ask to speak to supervisor, ha!!! Good luck, they are as rare as water in a desert, and so the customer representative says here is the email address for the supervisor. Do you really believe that you will get a response? Evil I tell you pure evil and a cold heart. So what can someone do when starting out on EBay or a new Internet business? 1. Never pay for a whole year from the drop shipper, pay month to month even if it is more expensive. 2. Read the contract they offer completely and ask lots of questions before you make a commitment. 3. Find out where the products are being shipped from and the average shipping costs. Many products have high shipping rates and a fee attached as well. 4. Ask for full details on refunds and make sure you advertise the policy to your customers before they order from you. 5. Get phone numbers and emails of your drop shipper and make sure you know the hours of customer support. 6. Use a credit card that may expire soon so that if they keep it in the system, it will not be charged for fees and orders inadvertently. 7. Always document the shipping times from time of order and track it, you will make a better case if you have detailed facts in your hands. 8. Go to church regularly and pray for the Drop Shippers, some may not be Satans children just yet. I would not let one or two negative experiences with drop shippers turn you against them all, it just takes some due diligence on your part to make sure you check out the company before you put your companys good name on the line. I had to learn the hard way, but you have the ability to save yourself from the darkness that lurks in those warehouses. |
