Online Auctions, wholesaling and dropshipping
A lot of people these days earn a living online by selling products trough online aucions like eBay! 
.
If you have a product of your own you can offer it through E-bay.
If you don't, you start by making a lists of products you would like to sell and go for wholesale or dropshipping.
What are wholesale and dropshipping?
According to the United Nations Statistics Division, Wholesale is the resale (sale without transformation) of new and used goods to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional or professional users, or to other wholesalers, or involves acting as an agent or broker in buying merchandise for, or selling merchandise, to such persons or companies. Wholesalers frequently physically assemble, sort and grade goods in large lots, break bulk, repack and redistribute in smaller lots, for example pharmaceuticals; store, refrigerate, deliver and install goods, engage in sales promotion for their customers and label design." (UNSTATS - United Nations Statistics Division).
So if you go into wholesale you must make an investment first by buying goods and then selling the again and if you don't succeed in make a good price you run the risk of losing money. Also you have to take care of the process of delivering the goods to the customers.
If you want to step into dropshipping you have to watch out very carefully with which company you are going to deal. Because if the company does not deliver, you will be in trouble. Some companies even claim to be a dropshipper but in fact they are nothing.. What can also happen is that the product is sold out so you have to keep in touch with your wholesaler to keep your information up to date. A good wholesaler will also inform you of supplies by mail or online.
Pricing:
A good wholesale company never will show their prices to the general public. So you have to get in contact with them to find out. After that you have to check the
prices online, on E-bay or on other places where simular products are sold to determine if it is possible for you to make a good profit. Check also their shipping costs.
More info:
10-Top-Tips-To-Successfull-Dropshipping
Ebay.com/community (get help and find information in the Ebay forum)
How to find wholesale or dropship companies?
Directories:
Uk and International Whole- and Dropshippers
Or perform a search on Google or Yahoo on wholesalers or dropshipper, in combination with the products of your interest.
How to check wholesalers or dropshipper?
Check them at the BBB (only for US based businesses) and/or investigate them through the search engines or internet fora. You can also check them out by buying one item and see what happens.
My own experiences:
Sorry, none at the moment! My opinion is that dropshipping could be a good instrument to earn money but I've also stumbled upon a lot of horror stories about dropshippers, so you have to be very careful.
If you have a product of your own you can offer it through E-bay.
If you don't, you start by making a lists of products you would like to sell and go for wholesale or dropshipping.
What are wholesale and dropshipping?
According to the United Nations Statistics Division, Wholesale is the resale (sale without transformation) of new and used goods to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional or professional users, or to other wholesalers, or involves acting as an agent or broker in buying merchandise for, or selling merchandise, to such persons or companies. Wholesalers frequently physically assemble, sort and grade goods in large lots, break bulk, repack and redistribute in smaller lots, for example pharmaceuticals; store, refrigerate, deliver and install goods, engage in sales promotion for their customers and label design." (UNSTATS - United Nations Statistics Division).
So if you go into wholesale you must make an investment first by buying goods and then selling the again and if you don't succeed in make a good price you run the risk of losing money. Also you have to take care of the process of delivering the goods to the customers.
Drop shipping is a type of retailing in which the retailer does not keep goods/product in stock, but instead passes customer orders and shipment details to wholesalers, who then dispatch the goods to the customer directly. The retailers make their profit on the difference between the wholesale and retail price. (from Wikipedia)
So with drop shipping you don't have to keep stocks yourself. The wholesaler will take care of the delivery process. This is why dropshipping has become very popular on auction sites.
If you want to step into dropshipping you have to watch out very carefully with which company you are going to deal. Because if the company does not deliver, you will be in trouble. Some companies even claim to be a dropshipper but in fact they are nothing.. What can also happen is that the product is sold out so you have to keep in touch with your wholesaler to keep your information up to date. A good wholesaler will also inform you of supplies by mail or online.
Pricing:
A good wholesale company never will show their prices to the general public. So you have to get in contact with them to find out. After that you have to check the
prices online, on E-bay or on other places where simular products are sold to determine if it is possible for you to make a good profit. Check also their shipping costs.
More info:
10-Top-Tips-To-Successfull-Dropshipping
Ebay.com/community (get help and find information in the Ebay forum)
How to find wholesale or dropship companies?
Directories:
Uk and International Whole- and Dropshippers
Or perform a search on Google or Yahoo on wholesalers or dropshipper, in combination with the products of your interest.
How to check wholesalers or dropshipper?
Check them at the BBB (only for US based businesses) and/or investigate them through the search engines or internet fora. You can also check them out by buying one item and see what happens.
My own experiences:
Sorry, none at the moment! My opinion is that dropshipping could be a good instrument to earn money but I've also stumbled upon a lot of horror stories about dropshippers, so you have to be very careful.
Last modified: Thursday, 24 July 2014, 2:54 PM