Many online sellers tout drop shipping for its ease; others dismiss it, arguing it leaves no room for profit. Like every other product sourcing method, drop shipping brings its own unique set of advantages and drawbacks to your E-Biz:
The Basics
Drop shipping is service some wholesale distributors provide that enables you to sell items on your website without physically stocking them. The wholesaler warehouses large quantities of product, which you list in your web store. Your retail customers place their orders with you, and you pass them on to the drop shipper. The drop shipper sends the product directly to your customers, but remains invisible to them. The end result is that your small business appears larger than it really is.
The Upside
According to Jason Sanchez, CEO of One Net Enterprises (http://www.oneinc.com), drop shipping presents your business with numerous benefits:
Lower overhead. Says Sanchez, The costs that go into warehousing and shipping individual items can be tremendous. It doesnt become efficient to do so until you do it on a large enough scale.
No inventory investments. You dont pay the wholesaler for an order until...