Drop Shipping

One person or a tiny team can now accomplish much more than before.

I've been doing 'drop shipping' off-and-on as a side-gig for over 30 years.  It's always been a great way to make extra money.

What used to take us 15 to 18 hours to complete now requires only 4 to 6 hours and that time can be delegated to team members.

Today, Internet Drop Shippers typically make the sale from their own online store, then buy the product and take responsibility for fulfillment.  This is very different from 'Affiliate Marketers' who send buyers to another firm to make their purchase.  

"Drop shipping is a streamlined form of retail business wherein the seller accepts customer orders but does not keep goods sold in stock.  Instead, in a form of supply chain management, it transfers the orders and their shipment details to either the manufacturer, a wholesaler, another retailer, or a fulfillment house, which then ships the goods directly to the customer.  As such, the retailer is responsible for marketing and selling a product, but has little or no control over product quality, storage, inventory management, or shipping.  This eliminates the costs of maintaining a warehouse – or even a brick and mortar storefront, purchasing and storing inventory, and employing necessary staff for such functions.  As in any other form of retail, the seller makes their profit on the difference between an item's wholesale and retail price, less any pertinent selling, merchant, or shipping fees accruing to them." - Wikipedia

My Personal 'Drop-Shipping' Story - how it started:  In the 1990's while working from home in the technology industry writing code for software applications, I'd also sell networking equipment (my side gig) to independent computer shops coast-to-coast without ever leaving my house.  I was a self-employed independent contractor with the 3Com Corporation which means - whenever I'd make a sale - I'd need to buy the item from 3Com because I never ever stocked any inventory.  I only purchased what I had already sold and had collected payment for.  The customer would order it, pay for it and then I'd have it shipped.  No credit, loans or investment capital required.

Communication with my customers was primarily done via my 'land line' telephone, fax machine, and my own telnet bulletin board system which ran on a computer server that I built for myself as a hobby.  This was both prior to and during the very earliest days of public access to the Internet and the World Wide Web.   

3Com in those days customarily used independent distributors.  I'd make the sale and collect payment from my customer and then place my order with the manufacturer.  3Com's fulfillment department would print the invoices, packing slips and shipping labels all with my business name and information, then attach them and ship the product directly to my customer.  You can still find many companies in a wide variety of industries that will work with you in this way.

Historical Side Note:  In 1996 I started using a popular handheld device that had a microprocessor for storing and organizing information.  It was called a PDA ( Personal Digital Assistant).  Mine was the PalmPilot, which I obtained through 3Com.  I still have one of the mobile phone versions (running Palm OS) that I later purchased from Sprint and yes it still works - but there's no cellular network for it today.  The release of the iPhone in 2007 from Apple is what eventually turned it into a collector's item.

B2B ARBITRAGE BULK SALES EXAMPLE:  If you can 'buy low and sell high' you can purchase a truck load of goods like lumber, hay, electronics, bolts of material, etc. and contract for a truck to pick up and deliver the goods to your customer on your behalf.  This can be done routinely using a 'blind bill of lading and invoices' which means the end customer won't know where you obtained your supply and can't easily cut you out of the middle of their supply chain.

 B2C:  Drop-shippers using the internet frequently make a hundred sales with a profit of $10 each - to earn (net) a thousand dollars.  

• Think bigger and you could make thousands of dollars in one sale!  

  • One way of thinking bigger is to realize how a single customer's subscription can - over time - turn even a very small profit into thousands of dollars in lifetime value.

• Today you can own a drop-shipping business like mine without ever buying inventory.  

• Our distribution channel has over 40 million products that consumers shop for online and purchase every day.  

• Everyone is a consumer.  We'll show how to use an exclusive system that'll turn your own spending into earning.  

• This business model enables you to get a 'fast start' which means - you can get started right away with or without having your own products or service.