Drop Shipper Review - DBL

There is a lot to be said for drop shipping as an income stream. No inventory to carry, no shipping to worry about, no upfront costs to stock your store. It can be a good solution, but like anything else worthwhile, it takes some work to make it profitable. A large part of that work comes with finding a reputable drop shipper who you can make money with. This post is going to review just such a company.

DBL Distributing - you can visit them at http://www.dbldistributing.com/ - is a company that has been in business for some time. I'm not affiliated with them in any way shape or form, but I have used them in the past and have been very happy with the experience. They have a large selection of product, which is important. When using a drop shipper, your margins can tend to be lower than if you carry inventory. It's a trade off. DBL's large selection allows you to have enough items to choose from that you can be picky, finding the items that will provide you with the largest profit potential.

Something else that I like about DBL is their shipping. They ship very quickly, same day shipping for the most part, and their packaging is done well. No problems with damaged goods, or wrong products being sent out. I also like their support, they have nice, clean pictures of their products, with good descriptions. Makes it very easy to create ads for the products you choose to sell.

Finally, they do not have minimum order requirements, which is important. I'm a believer that to truly make good money selling long term, 99 percent of the time you need to carry inventory. Don't let me discourage you, there is definitely income potential in drop shipping, I have just found the margins to be smaller than when carrying inventory. Because of this belief, I put drop shipping in a niche category. I would use it when you are getting started and don't have the money to purchase as much inventory as you would like, or use it as a compliment to your stocked items you offer.

Last thing I will say before ending this is about their requirements to get set up. They will require a reseller's license. If you don't have one, they are not difficult to get, nor are they expensive. It's something you will want to have anyways if you are serious about setting up an online sales business. Check back in, I will be reviewing more drop shipping companies and more wholesale providers in the future.

Come visit me at www.makingmoneyresources.com/blog/ for more great articles!

Ebay - Out of the Box Ideas

Ebay. Everyone knows what ebay is. Looking for something out of the ordinary? Try ebay! Looking for a great deal? Try ebay! Not only does everyone know about ebay, but it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You have customers shopping for what you are selling every minute of every day. What a great market place! The $100,000 question is, how do I take advantage of this? Well, you need to have something to sell. Pretty simple.

Chances are you have things laying around the house to sell right now. That’s great, but if you want to create a true income stream, you need to have a business plan that includes a source for your inventory. I always recommend buying wholesale lots, building and growing your inventory of items that sell very well. That’s what worked for me, but there are other interesting ways to go about this. Take a look at some of these out of the box ideas:

Garage sales

Garage sales are a pretty good place to find stuff to resale, but they can take a lot of time on your part for very modest returns, unless you really come across something great. If you are going to go this route, I would definitely mix it with the consignment idea.

Consignment

I would suggest that you advertise locally in your community to sell their unwanted items on eBay for them. You could also tie this in with working the garage sales. Offer to take their unsold items off their hands, list it on ebay and split the profit with them. If you make your split with them based on the sales price minus the shipping, it makes things much easier than trying to figure what your shipping costs are, what your listing costs are, etc. Make sure you write up an agreement, and take the items with you so they are in your possession, you don’t want to sell an item and find out later that it is lost or given away.

Storage Auctions

Chances are you have a few mini-storage complexes within driving distance. These can offer a treasure trove for the ebay seller. When someone does not pay their rent for a period of time, these mini-storage companies auction off the contents of their unit. Usually they will auction off the entire contents of each unit in one large lot. These auction dates and times can be found in your local paper, they have to publish them. Usually you can take a look in the storage unit, but cannot go through the boxes or items. For a small investment, you can obtain a large amount of different items that you can sell.

Estate sales

These are like treasure hunts. You can find a lot of quality items. The trick is, is to watch the newspapers close, and make sure you bring enough money for the high end items that you can sell for even more. Also, you have the opportunity to buy bulk lots at some of these sales.

Ebay itself

Yes, ebay itself is a great source for inventory. They have a wholesale section, and you can often times find large lots for a very good price. You can also search out government auctions, a lot of state and local governments auction off lots of various items. Do a little digging, find out when they list their auctions, with a bit of research, you could have a great source!

Ebay Wholesale Sources

In selling online, one of the biggest concerns is suppliers. You can't sell something if you don't know where to buy it wholesale. Additionally, if you don't have a track record with a particular company, how do you know you can trust them with your money? I sold online and on Ebay for a number of years, and over that time have accumulated a great deal of wholesale contacts that are good to work with, honor their word and offer good selling merchandise at prices that allow you to make a profit. In this post, I am going to concentrate on wholesalers of name brand and high end designer clothing, purses, shoes and more. I will address wholesale sources for other types of merchandise in later posts.

I think it is a good business decision to sell name brand merchandise. People like to buy authentic name brand items, and there will always be a market for it. All right, enough of the small talk, here's some of the sites I have been to that sell the high end name brand items that will sell very well for you. Please feel free to add to this list or leave your feedback on any of the companies discussed here:

http://www.luxurymagazzino.com/index.php

One of the best sites for authentic designer brands, check these guys out first. They guarantee authenticity, I've used them in the past, they stand behind everything they sell. Their specialty is the purchase of large parcels of European merchandise and the importing of it to the US. They carry a full range of authentic items, Armani, Burberry, Cartier, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gucci, Nike, Versace, Phat Farm, Ralph Lauren and more.

http://eluxury.com/estore/index.jsp

The only Authentic Retail Louis Vuitton site on the Internet for new products. This info is straight from the L.V. site. L.V. doesn't sell wholesale, ever. When buying used or vintage always ask for Authentication. Eluxury also sells other name brand items, not necessarily a wholesaler, but a good resource for name brand goods.

http://www.advantageliquidators.com/

International fashion and surplus. Brands they carry include Playboy, Prada, Enyce, Tommy, Puma, Gap, Lee, Seven7 and more, pretty decent prices on some items, worth a look.

http://www.streetnstrut25.com/

Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Coach, Armani, Dior and more, name brand shoes at wholesale prices.

http://www.topper.com/

They carry brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, name brand sunglasses, closeouts and more.

http://www.varshaa.com/

Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, Sean John, Tommy Hilfiger and more.

http://www.unusualthreads.com/index.html

Authentic high end purses/bags.

www.redtagclothing.com

Free Membership. You might recognize a lot of these items, but without the names.

Ebay Basics

How would you like to become a powerseller on Ebay? It can be a very good and legitimate source of income. It also offers the opportunity to create a number of differant income streams all in one place. This is one way you can make money that only takes hard work, good planning and some start up funds. You can tailor your business plan around your budget. You can even get going with no start up fees by selling information products or drop shipping items.

I have some great experience in this and have put together a terrific resource guide. I was a powerseller on Ebay for a time, and made a decent income at it. Click Here To Read My Free Making Money Resources Ebay Report that will guide you, step by step, through the process to become a successful ebay seller.

This guide is geared towards those just getting started on Ebay, although it would probably also benefit Ebay veterans. It will help you get set up correctly, and will give you many time saving and cost cutting ideas. If you truly want to make money on Ebay, you need to be business-like in your efforts. It's not a hard job, but it is a job. Customer service, shipping, research, buying, it can become time consuming, but it is also very rewarding. It is truly an online job that you can work from home at and make an unlimited amount of money. Well, maybe not unlimited, but you catch my drift.... Bottom line is the harder you work and the more time you put in, the better you will do.

Feel free to contact me with any questions, I'm happy to help anyone out who is just getting started!