A good supplier can be the difference between success and failure for your dropshipping business. It is vital to ensure that you choose the best supplier to create growth. Here are five critical attributes to look for in a dropshipping service.
Quality products
Without quality products, your business is doomed from the outset. If your customers receive second-rate goods, they are unlikely to reorder. Additionally, the product quality will reflect on your business and affect your reputation.
Before you start working with a supplier, ask for a sample, or ask them to send a small test order. Once you have seen the products and shipping process for yourself, and made sure they come up to your required standards, you’ll feel better about signing up with the supplier.
Shipping options
Pay attention to the shipping options offered by your dropshipping supplier. While some of your future customers may not think twice about waiting for their order to arrive by standard mail, others will want their items quickly. Make sure your dropshipper offers different shipping services to ensure that your customers get their item when they want them. If your target market is international, make sure your supplier can cope.
If you use an order fulfillment center to dropship your orders, they should be able to accomidate most shipping requirements.
Communication channels
Your customers may not care that you are representing a dropshipping company. They may expect you to deal with their problems. Make sure that you have a reliable communication channel with your supplier and fulfillment center, and ideally get them to assign you a representative. This is a major advantage when it comes to dealing with potential issues. You may also want to make sure that you have more than one means to communicate with the company, such as by telephone, email, and instant messaging.
Evans can setup a customer facing help desk for shipping and product related questions. We can also provide you access to control the conversation as you see fit.
Single order
The beauty of dropshipping lies in the fact that you do not have to keep inventory. The down side of this is that you may need to submit bulk orders to get the best prices. Make sure that your supplier is willing to ship single items without applying any additional fees. If you have to buy in bulk to be competitive, you may defeat the purpose of dropshipping. Though a fulfillment center may be able to help to be the middle ground, especially in cases where you don’t have the space, or resources to store and ship goods yourself.
Return policy
Enquire about your supplier’s return policy, and get details in writing. Since you are representing the company, you need to ensure that your customers will have a positive experience on your e-commerce site, even if the products they receive are defective, or unwanted. You need to know how the supplier will deal with such issues, so that you can answer questions properly and handle difficult situations.
A good fulfillment center can also handle your customer’s returns, damages, and warranties. Every case is unique, and may require special warranty claims, RMA’s, or damage inspection.