The Current Online Marketing Mantra - Sale of Physical Product / Drop Shipping

Online sale of physical products may not have the same advantages that sale of electronic products have, but it does have its own advantages. When it comes to shopping, nothing beats the feel of buying something that you can touch and feel. The sale of physical products is the largest source of business and commerce globally and with the advent of Internet and E-commerce, the online sale of physical products generates a large share of online revenue.

The sale of physical products may comprise of your own physical goods that you have manufactured or bought from some other sources. You may also go for drop-shipping. These companies sell wholesale as well as take individual orders and handle the processes of delivering it to the customer. A large share of E-business relies on the sale of physical products. When you sell your physical products online you have two options. You can take care of the entire process on your own, or alternatively, you can contract shipping and product handling to outsourced contractors who can take care of these vital aspects for your online business. In the second option, you outsource the shipping and handling to professionals and have more time for marketing and business development.

How to Sell your Physical Products Online

The strategy for selling physical products depends on the product you wish to sell, the target audience and the geographical location that you are targetting. However, with the advent of payment gateways and international courier and cargo companies offering their services at affordable rates, the sale of physical products to any part of the globe is possible. The kind of product you would like to offer is up to you.  The sale of your products will depend on whether there is enough demand for that product.

Unlike electronic products, creating physical products requires a substantial investment. For the sale of physical products, you will have to do an extensive research of the market. The first prerequisite to sell your product online, of course, is to set up your website. You should provide some information about the product you intend to sell online. You will have to maintain sufficient physical stocks of the products offered for sale, for which substantial financial investment is required. You can establish a network of independent internet marketeers or affiliates to boost your marketing efforts and thus have more time to concentrate on core aspects of your E-business.

Drop Shipping System- An Innovative System for Selling Physical Products Online

Drop-shipping is a system of the sale of physical products that you promote on behalf of a particular manufacturer. You take orders directly, and the manufacturer ensures its delivery to the buyer.

Selling products made by other manufacturers through drop-shipping has an advantage of the support of the company that manufactures the product. The sale of a physical product of another company through drop-shipping might not give you high profit margins, but your risks are lower and you avoid the hassle of managing large inventories.

Here are the features and advantages of the drop-shipping system:

•  You generate the orders on your website and accept them on behalf of the manufacturer. 

• You deduct your your profits from the sale price of the product.

• Thereafter, you forward the order to the company along with the wholesale cost.

• The company acts on your order and ships the product directly to the buyer/customer.

• The advantage of the drop-shipping system of sale is that you do not have to maintain any inventory, and thus save on investment on stocks.

• The profits though are lower, but they are certainly more secure than other affiliate programs

Drop-shipping has been in practice for many decades under the garb of mail order shopping.   Mail order has been used as a successful and powerful sales system. Many top catalogers and direct response marketers have been doing mail order business and making good profits. 

Drop-shipping uses similar techniques of marketing for the Internet. An un-tapped source of profit is waiting to be exploited by well-informed Internet marketeers.

To begin your drop-shipping business, you need to contact the manufacturers.  Online directories provide essential contact information of companies offering their products for this business model. There is a database of drop-shippers with over 4,000 brands. You will need a state tax reseller number before they allow you to sell their products.  You are not required to pay any fee to become a drop-ship dealer.

 
It is better to enter into an agreement with the source company that they will never solicit your customers directly or indirectly. You need this to protect your business from unscrupulous manufacturers. If the company refuses to sign such an agreement, do not deal with them. You will not want to lose your customers that you have nurtured so painstakingly. 

Disadvantages of Drop Shipping

While drop-shipping offers many advantages for Internet marketeers, it has its disadvantages too. As an e-business owner, you should be aware of the disadvantages of drop-shipping method to avoid losses and enhance your profits. Drop-shipping is not the preferred mode of e-business for price-sensitive products such as computer hardware. Selling such products through drop-shipping method is not a viable option because of frequent price fluctuations and low margins. Therefore, be very careful while selecting the products and their prices for drop-shipping. It would be better to select the products that have a high demand but without many sellers offering them online. Moreover, you should select the products that offer a good profit margin.

Moreover, while selecting the drop-shipping method, you stand a chance of losing the advantage of branding. When you select drop-shipping, you may find it difficult to handle multiple suppliers and you may end up paying more per product. Last but not the least; you should be careful of the drop-shipping scams operating on E-bay and other Internet sites. Most of the lists offered by these operators are outdated or non-working. Or, they may be offering links to other sites that ask for money. It is therefore necessary to stay clear from such unscrupulous operators.  

Secrets about Drop Shipping

Before you enter the field of Drop-shipping, here is what you should know to make it a profitable venture for you.

•  You will find a large number of companies offering drop-ship products for you. It is better to deal with companies of repute, who you know manufacture quality products; provide quality customer support, and quick feedback. You would not like to lose customers to unscrupulous companies. 

• Make sure that the company you deal with will ship single items at any one time, and not force you to commit to a minimum number of their product line. There is no point in investing in inventory that will not sell.

• Do not invest heavily on setting up your online store. Save both time and money. You will find a number of reputed companies that offer low-cost quality web hosting solutions for your site and online store.

• Make sure that you are able to add new products or remove redundant or sold products from your online store immediately.

 Sale of physical products either on your own or through drop-shipping is a good income generating Internet marketing business model. Drop-shipping is a great marketing tool wherein you can establish a profitable business venture without making any substantial investment.