Hi everyone, I am new here. My question is...............
How does one find legitimate drop shippers to use. Does anyone here use them with success? This is a new area for me so would like to get some insite from actual ussers and any you would recommend.
Thanks (Diane)

I've used drop shipping before in my eBay days, think just about everyone has those days.

Anyway Chris Malta's program at http://worldwidebrands.com is the #1 resource for drop shipping. They have thousands of suppliers in everything you can think of.

My recommendations are to get a basic ecommerce site created you can get a decent design starting at $250 with PayPal payment integration. It allows you to add as many products as you want.

What some do is once they are paid by the customer they then use their credit card and pay the drop shipper.

Good Luck,
Donnie

Hi Diane;

Our company has partnered with several drop-ship suppliers and
we offer an ecommerce solution with full product integration.
No need to copy and paste or download a suppliers product
details...it is pre-loaded!

The added bonus of our solution is that it is also eBay
integrated for multi-channel marketing!!

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish more
info, or the suppliers contact details.

Alot of them are scams, so it is good that you are aware that you do have to look for legitimate ones. I have thought about looking into a drop shipment arrangement with a company, but what has made me leary was the fact that I would have to give the drop shipper the name and address of my customer, and once I do that, what would stop the dropshipper from stealing my customers and marketing directly to them?

Good Morning;

This is a concern many people have and depending on the "type" of dropshipper you partner with, may have some validity.

However, there are a great deal of companies that offer a dropship program that do not market direct to consumers (wholesale only). I would recommend if this is a primary concern to focus on finding a Supplier that works within this type of structure.

Secondly, ensure that the dropship supplier offers "blind" dropshipping. This will reduce the possibilities of your customer learning who your supplier is, as no mention of them would be made on the packing slip, and no invoice would ever be sent.

You must be prepared to do the due-diligence to ensure whoever you decide to utilize as your supplier that they're working to help you and not work against your efforts. This may take no effort at all to find (depending on product vertical), or it could take weeks or months to find that "perfect" Supply Partner.

I have worked with a large variety of dropship suppliers in my 8 plus years, and for the most part, have found them to be very professional and above board. I do not dispute that there may be a few that would have no challenge stealing customers, but I would believe this to be a very small percentage. The vast majority understand that in the long term, having their resellers build a base of customers and they concentrate on fulfillment is far more effective and less expensive then trying to build a consumer-direct base of customers on their own.

I hope this helps you. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have more questions.