Good management skills are essential to the success of drop shipping

When you drop shippers, your supplier is getting the responsibilities out of your hands.

Yet, you can never hide the fact that you have no one but yourself to rely on in doing the job well. Thus, for women owned businesses good management skills are essential to the success of drop shipping.

So, here's how to do it:

• Drop shippers will never inform you that supplies are going down. So, check on stock levels by sending them an email or calling them twice a week.
• To prevent sudden stock shortages and escalating your customers' anger, have 2-3 items kept at your house. If supplies do run out, you can have these delivered to the buyers yourself.
• You must ensure that your listing description includes the number of weeks to ship after payment, especially when the drop shipper is located internationally. It usually takes 1-2 weeks so be sure to indicate this. When you're selling your products on eBay, you should include the location of your items to all of your potential buyers. Let's say, your supplier is located in China, you should disclose this so that buyers will have an idea on the expected shipping times. Uphold honesty as always. If you don't, you will only make your clients lose their trust on you. It's also best that you explain your location and the benefits they are going to get in your FAQ or description. An example could be receiving good quality goods at affordable prices and the like. It is also a must that you include a full guarantee and refund/returns policy so clients can erase their fears of quality away.
• As you include your policy on returns in your listing description, you should also confer with your supplier on the necessary steps to take if ever something goes wrong.
• As much as possible, make use of a drop shippers that gives you an opportunity to have your brand or eBay user name added to the packages they are sending. There are others who let you upload your logo to their website and they have it printed on their packages. They even have your own address as the return address instead of placing their company name.
• It's always a good idea to personalize. If your suppliers are amenable to it, then start giving your suppliers with hand-written thank-you notes that should be included in the packages. Not all will agree to this since it might obscure their shipping systems. But there's no harm in trying to ask.
• Lastly and most importantly, have every sale followed-up with a customer satisfaction survey. It's a good way of knowing how your supplier has been doing -if they are meeting your client's expectations or not. Keep in mind that eBay buyers can leave feedback on the various aspects of the sale. Thus, it is of utmost importance that every process of the sale is superbly done.

About the Author

Brendan Elias and Alex Ryan have been teaching women business owners how to start their own importing business from scratch, and import goods without the headache or hassle. Brendan has been featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, Live National TV on the Kerrie Ann Show, Financial Review and many more. If you would like free access to a video training series on importing from china then check out http://www.ChinaImportFormula.com.au

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