Picking Supplier For Your Dropshipping Business
Choosing a dropshipper is key to your success in building a successful dropshipping business. There are many things to take into consideration before you do so, like their customer service, payment options, return policies and shipping time frames.
Below we’ll cover some of these factors and show you how you can find an effective dropshipper for your needs.
Find a supplier who will help you, not hinder you
With any business there is going to be questions that arise at every step, but when it comes to making sure everything goes smoothly and seamlessly as possible in running your business, it’s essential that you get a supplier who is willing to go above and beyond with customer service before, during and after placing your order with them. There are two reasons for having good customer service with your dropshipper: firstly, you want to ensure that issues don’t crop up once you have sold an item through your online store; if they do, having someone you can easily contact to solve these problems is paramount. Secondly, if you have your suppliers support from day one of building your business, they can provide valuable advice and information on how to run things smoothly.
Is cost-effective shipping important?
A vital factor that most people seem to forget about when choosing their dropshipper is whether or not shipping is included in the price of the items or added on top of their cost. This may seem like something small to consider, but could end up being a costly mistake further down the line. If you pick a supplier whose shipping costs are built into their prices, then you will have no control over what you have to pay for postage, which can make products more expensive than they need to be. Always check beforehand if your dropshipper charges extra for postage and research how much these extra fees might be so that there are no surprises later on when your business starts taking off.
Do they give refunds?
It can be hard to recover from mistakes that you make when starting a business, especially if it means making payments on products you haven’t even sold yet. However, if your dropshipper is willing to work with you by giving you partial or full refunds for any products that don’t sell, then there should be no cause for concern.
What about shipping timeframes?
You’ll want to consider how long it might take for an item to get from your supplier’s warehouse to its final destination. This will affect how quickly you can send out packages and how long customers must wait before receiving their purchases. It’s important that there isn’t too much of a delay between order and dispatch, because customers won’t be happy having to wait weeks or months before getting their hands on items they’ve purchased online.
Do they offer customer support outside business hours?
Even if you’re in charge of answering customer queries when running your own dropshipping business, it’s always good to have someone else who is willing to help if need be. If possible, choose a supplier who is able to provide phone support during weekday evenings and weekends so that if questions do arise after-hours, you have someone available who can answer them straight away.