Locate Suppliers and Dropshippers for Small Business Products

Finding dropship products to sell on your small business website is much easier than most people believe. Manufacturers are eager to have more stores selling their products. There are a couple of methods you can use on how to find suppliers and dropshippers. The most time consuming but least expensive method of finding suppliers is to search out the type of products you want to sell, find out who makes the product, visit the manufacturer’s website to gain contact information, and contact the manufacturer directly to request a wholesale account. Many companies offer dropshipping services which means you will not have to maintain any inventory. Customers will order products from your site at the price set by you, you will then place the order with the manufacturer, and they will ship the product directly to your customer. This is the preferential method for beginners. You will want to inform any manufacturer you contact that you are interested in dropshipping in the initial contact. This can save you a significant amount of time because if the company does not have a dropshipping program you will want to move on to another supplier. It is also important to ask for order minimums in the initial contact. Some companies require a specific dollar amount for your first purchase before they will begin dropshipping. In some instances you may want to place the minimum order to establish your account with the company and be able to offer all of their products on your website. *TIP* Most “wholesale” clubs are a scam. We strongly urge you to go directly to the manufacturer rather than working through a wholesale club. There are several reasons we advise against this method of finding products. First, wholesale clubs purchase the products from the manufacturer, mark them up, and then sell them to you. You are restricting your profit margin by using this method of obtaining suppliers. Second, most of the products they offer are essentially worthless because the market is flooded with them. Third, the owner’s of these clubs likely have retail sites that sell the exact same products they are selling you for only slightly more than you can buy them for at their wholesale price. As with every other recommendation in this book, it is your decision but we want to make sure to warn you of the possible scams out there. We have already explained that this process can be time consuming but as an alternative you can purchase manufacturer lists. Most of these lists are inexpensive and includes the direct contact information of the manufacturer. We have only purchased one such list and found it to be extremely useful. For only $19.99 you can get a list of over 250 manufacturers along with links to their websites and their contact information. All of the manufacturers on the list offer dropshipping. Using such a service can eliminate a lot of searching. If you are interested in purchasing this list just click the “Get Suppliers” link on WebPalPro. You can also search the web for other dropship supplier lists but make sure you read the fine print and know for sure you are getting a list of manufacturers and not wholesalers or wholesale clubs. *TIP* Avoid any list that says they dropship for you or can provide you with 10,000+ products from their warehouse. This is a wholesale club and we have already covered why they are the least effective way of securing products for your site. We hope this was helpful on how to find suppliers and dropshippers for your business.