Multi Vendor Shopping Carts Drop Ship Feature

Drop shippers are a useful bunch. There are a lot of positives that come along with getting reliable drop shippers. This is especially true for new merchants who lack the space (and money) to store products and the manpower to deal with packing and shipping arrangements. Some more established multi vendor shopping cart names already develop integration with at least one drop shipper. ecommerce web hosting carts integration is unusual, though. One essential thing to be aware of though, is that the shopping carts cost is usually abstracted from the fees for the drop shipping service.

There are a few things you should think about before deciding a drop shipper. These concerns should be addressed early in order to steer clear of problems later…

If you are going to think about the services of drop shippers, you have to comprehend that they are the supply chain to your business. You can either source your own drop shipper(s) or opt for one that is integrated with your multi vendor shopping carts provider. Therefore, the drop shipper you pick should not only be reliable but competitive and trustworthy as well. Along with these 3 characteristics, here are some aspects that you would do well to think about:

Inventory

A product needs to be in stock in order for you to make a sale. Needless to say, healthy and consistent inventory levels are essential. As such, stock information needs to be up-to-date (real-time) and exact.

As such, product information provided by drop shippers (to be displayed on the product page) should be sufficient and accurate. This is because you do not have access to the physical products and so will not be privy to any information save that which is provided by the drop shipper. Commonly requested information: availability of alternative colors, material used, dimensions and weight.

Price

A competitive drop ship price (very close to wholesale, preferably) is the key to selling at higher margins. Remember, you need to take into account competitors’ pricing before you can decide on your own. You should also factor in possible future discounts into your pricing calculations.

Just like inventory levels, product prices should be regular.

Variety

It sounds cliched but variety is the spice of life. A brilliant drop shipper should have a potential database of drop ship products. A person may only buy one T-shirt if a variety of sizes are available, but he/she may buy more if the T-shirt comes in several colors as well. Frankly speaking, it also supports a buyer determine by doing a quick comparison.

Return Policy

You have to understand that your drop shipper’s return policy automatically becomes your return policy. Have a very closer look at your drop shippers’ return policies and make sure they are reliable before you make the decision to adopt them. If you agree to their policies, make sure you clearly express these return policies to your customers on your Terms & Conditions, Shipping or Return Policy or FAQ pages.

Customer Support

A professional drop shippers get back to you within 1 business day, 2 at the most. In certain cases things do go wrong, even with the best drop shippers, such as an item being delivered in the wrong quantity, or perhaps in the wrong color. When something like this happens, it is essential that the situation be fixed as soon as possible. A speedy response time is vital. The faster you hear back from your drop shipper, the relatively fast you can convey the latest situation to your customer in turn.