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Setting up Accounts With Distributors
Our Drop Ship Source Directory
represents more than half a MILLION brand name products (as of this
publication) that you can sell on your Internet Store. Every one of
them meets the following criteria:
They will ALL Drop Ship for your
Internet Store.
They will NOT charge you ANY fees to set up an account with them.
They will NOT force you to buy a minimum number of products; single
products sent directly to a single customer of yours are just fine
with all of them.
They are ALL genuine manufacturers, or authorized factory
wholesalers of the products they sell.
They ALL offer genuine wholesale pricing.
They ALL KNOW that they are listed in our Directory. They are
EXPECTING calls from people just like you.
Wholesale distributors are the
middle link in the "retail chain". They buy in bulk from
manufacturers, and they sell in smaller quantities to retail
operations (like your Internet Store). The vast majority of
distributors will ONLY sell in bulk. However, there are more and
more top quality distributors who are beginning to drop ship for
Internet businesses. They see that Ecommerce is the wave of the
future, and they know that they'd better be positioned to ride that
wave.
Finding quality, brand name
wholesale distributors that satisfies all the 6 criteria that I list
above is VERY difficult, but they're out there. We've found them,
and we find more and more every week.
They are CRITICAL to your success
if you want to retail on the Internet without stocking products.
I'm going to talk about contacting
and establishing accounts with the distributors we list in our
Directory, but the same basic principles hold true no matter what
distributor you're contacting. It's just a lot easier with the
companies we list, because as I said, they KNOW they are listed with
us, and EXPECT calls from Netrepreneurs like you.
We list contact information such as
the distributor's company name, address, contact person, phone
number, fax number, email addresses, ordering methods, credit terms,
drop ship fees, shipping methods and regions, and a comments section
that tells you special things you should know about them. These are
all important things to know, no matter what distributor you are
trying to contact. The Directory will tell you whether you should
contact them by phone, email, or start an account on their web site.
If you call, sound professional.
It's better if they can't hear your kids screaming at each other in
the background, or your Kid Rock CD blasting from the stereo.
When I call, I say something like
this:
"Hello, this is Chris Malta, from
WorldWide Brands, Inc. I'm interested in retailing your products on
my ECommerce site. Can you tell me how I can get started with a drop
ship arrangement?"
Use your name, and always use your
business name. If a distributor thinks for one minute that you're
trying to buy products for your personal use at wholesale prices,
you'll probably never hear from them again.
Let the sales rep tell you what
they need from you on the first call. Don't ask too many questions
about what you get from them yet.
They may want you to fax or email
them some combination of the following:
A copy of your Sales Tax Resale Certificate. We talked about this
before. A real wholesale distributor MUST have a copy of this in
order to sell you products at wholesale.
Some form of credit references.
Don't Panic! Virtually all of the distributors we list will accept
personal credit information, such as the name of your bank. The
majority of our distributors won't even ask for this unless you are
trying to set up a "Net 30" (where they bill you once a month)
account with them. The most common way to get started with these
distributors is to simply pay them with your personal or business
credit card as you order products for your customers. In a situation
like that, they are unlikely to ask you for credit references.
Wait two or three days after you
think they've received your information. If you have not heard back
from the sales rep, call a SECOND time. Simply ask if they received
your information, and if they need anything else from you. If they
want further info, send it as soon as you can. If they say they're
working on your account, thank them and hang up.
Sometimes it takes days to
establish an account, sometimes weeks, depending on who you're
dealing with. Most of the time it's days.
Sometimes it's immediate; some of
the drop shippers we list in The Drop Ship Source Directory will set
you up during your first phone call, and give you an account number
within minutes.
Remember, if you're looking for
distributors on your own, there should be NO CHARGE associated with
setting up an account. If a distributor tries to charge you a setup
fee of any kind, they are NOT a real wholesale distributor.
There are things you will need from
THEM as well. Most distributors will give you an information packet
containing all the answers to those questions, right up front.
Once your account is set up, you
can call and begin asking questions such as "How soon after I place
an order do you ship it?", "Do you have overnight shipping
available?", and (my personal favorite), "Happy New Year, Dave; it's
82 degrees here in Orlando -how's the weather up there in
Saskatoon?"
Some of them have secure Internet
sites that they will give you passwords to, so that you can access
images and descriptions of the products you want to sell. You can go
there and download (copy to your computer) all the images you need.
You can also highlight the product descriptions, copy them to your
computer, and place them in a word processor document, for later
placement on your Store.
Some of the distributors have all
this available for you in a single download file. Others will send
you a CD. As I said, they already know what you will need, and
should have no trouble providing it.
However long it takes to get that
account, be patient, don't bombard the rep with phone calls or
emails, and above all, LISTEN to what they are saying to you. A
sales rep that likes you will go out of his or her way to help with
other issues in the future.
Setting up an account with a
distributor is easy when you do it right. The distributors we list
are used to dealing with businesses such as yours, whether you are a
start-up, or a 'Net veteran. They'll help you with what you need. If
you have questions, just ask.
However, you should not ask a
distributor's sales rep technical questions about how to place
products on your web site. He or she is a salesperson, not a
technical help desk.
If you have questions like that,
spare your distributor, and email me if you can't find the answer.
I'll help all I can. :o)
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Article by Chris Malta. Chris Malta
is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. He has worked with
computer Systems for 18 years. He's been involved in eCommerce
systems, networking and site design for more than 6 years. He's
taught college-level computer courses in Western NY. He developed
The Drop Ship Source Directory, and he and his partners at Worldwide
Brands, Inc., publish the Directory and run eCommerce sites of their
own using Drop Shipping as their only business method.
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