Advice

David, one of my loyal readers recently left the following comment on one of the posts. I though it was important, so instead of burying the reply in the comments area, I’ll address it here.

I have been reviewing some of the websites that say they will set up a drop shipping website for you and provide you with drop shippers that will work with you etc. etc.

A couple of them are usellcorp and worldwide brands. Are they bogus operations? How do you know who to believe and whether are not you can trust them. I guess what I’m worried about is paying someone a sum of money for their services and then getting the run around.

Thank You

David -

Great question. There are a ton of scams out there - one of the reasons for this site and the ebook. Let me clear up a few things.

First, there are a number of companies that provide a database of drop shippers. These companies include WorldWideBrands, AidandTrade, and Salehoo (among others). I have personally used these three companies (click here for detailed reviews of each) and all are completely legitimate.

Now, there are other companies that are basically drop ship aggregators. They sign deals with a bunch of drop shippers. These companies can be useful if you need to sell a variety of items. However, you need to know that many charge a membership fee and they also markup the actual items (so you’ll pay more than wholesale). Probably the best known of these is Doba.

Finally, there are companies that are aggregators and also provide you with a shopping cart. Usellcorp is one of these. I quickly reviewed their site and belive that their prices are high ($1,000 for a basic cart system). A Web search reveals that you can get a very nice osCommerce setup for less than $500. If you are interested in going this route (and it does have some advantages, especially for beginners) check out Shopster.com. Don’t forget to sign-up for the newsletter where I reveal how to use Shopster to test any market before making a large investment.

Popularity: 74% [?]