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Oona123polo
Registered Member

Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 1

Posted 1/19/2008 3:25 PM (GMT -4)

Hello!

I really hope that someone can help! I am creating an online business specialising in equestrian products but I am so stumped as to where to start.

I have the company name and a list of products that I wish to sell, but I need distributors that are willing to send the product straight to the customer rather than me having to buy in bulk and have my own store room. I have spoken to a few distributors but they only sell to retail stores on the high street, not onliners like me!

Does anyone have any advice at all?????

Thank you in advance!! smile

MitchA
BVC Expert

Date Joined Mar 2006
Total Posts : 1737

Posted 1/19/2008 5:51 PM (GMT -4)

Seems to me you're putting the cart before the horse... What are you going to be selling and who is going to want to buy from you?

Line up the products and a dependable supply line for each one. Until you perform this basic step, you're not running much of a business.

I understand a maker's reluctance to deal with you. Be prepared for a lot of "no thanks". Many producers will not sell to an on-line-only store in order to protect their brick-and-mortar dealers' market share and profit magins. In a specialty market, some dealers may have exclusive rights to geographic areas and no-compete clauses in their agreements. This will preclude the distribution of products through catalog sales and the 'net. Some producers will rather sell fewer items and retain tighter control over the client base. Other producers may be at capacity and cannot take on more sales.

Other makers have their own retail outlets and don't need the competition.

Good luck, and sharpen your elbows.

The business world is a shallow trench filled with slime, despair and violence... a vapid wasteland of greed and immorality. But there's a downside also.

Andy Miller
BVC Expert

Date Joined Nov 2003
Total Posts : 2131

Posted 1/19/2008 7:11 PM (GMT -4)

Try following up on the hits in Google for "dropshipper equestrian" and "dropshipping equestrian" and similar. At first glance, there are dozens of potential drop shippers that serve that market.

Andy Miller
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MitchA
BVC Expert

Date Joined Mar 2006
Total Posts : 1737

Posted 1/19/2008 8:42 PM (GMT -4)

Follow Andy's advise, but don't be surprized if most of the goods easily found and sold are close-outs and rejects. Odd-lot buyers fill containers and send the stuff over to the US hoping to find anyone to move it, like on ebay. Inspect samples of the goods carefully. Getting a return rate of 5 - 10% or more will kill you and fill your garage (make sure they take returns).

Don't get caught in a 'make money at home' scheme.

My first Google hit for "equestrian dropshipping": http://www.lightinthebox.com/wholesale-Equestrian_c837

Amazingly, they also sell Wii and camcorders, and oh, yea... equestrian stuff.

See also: http://www.dropshippingsucks.com/index-g.htm - to avoid some of the pitfalls. Careful though, this guy is selling a service too!!

The business world is a shallow trench filled with slime, despair and violence... a vapid wasteland of greed and immorality. But there's a downside also.

Post Edited (MitchA) : 1/19/2008 6:45:01 PM (GMT-5)

Andy Miller
BVC Expert

Date Joined Nov 2003
Total Posts : 2131

Posted 1/20/2008 1:50 PM (GMT -4)

Excellent advice Mitch. I should have followed some of the links to see what I was recommending. It's not pretty.

Andy Miller
Structured Solutions
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birdsafe
BVC Expert

Date Joined Feb 2007
Total Posts : 1329

Posted 3/2/2008 4:04 PM (GMT -4)

When I started out I ran into similar problems -- distributors didn't want to deal with what they perceived to be a low-value customer (being online). I was able to find a couple who were willing to work with me and now they are reaping the benefits. I actually got a call from one a year ago that initially turned me down and I told them that had they responded to my initial inquiry, they might be doing tens of thousands of dollars a month now that they gave up on, and they offered me no benefit over my current suppliers. I have had others that turned me down now want some of our business. Some of them just don't get it.

There are pet distributor associations that you can search out online that might be of help to you. One of the issues you will run into doing all drop-ship is if you don't find one distributor to ship ALL your products, then your shipping costs are going to kill you (or your customer) if you end up having to ship from multiple vendors. Plus you lose control over packaging quality. I have about 10 percent of our products drop shipped, normally bulkier items or slow-moving items - usually once customers begin to realize our customer service and value-added benefits, then they don't mind the added shipping -- but I do get complaints over the packaging from vendors (as all our shipments from here are all new boxes, packed nicely and this is what customers expect).

Plus remember -- if you can do a business having someone else do the fulfillment for you, so can dozens of others. You need to find a niche and provide customers a unique product selection and value-added benefits that competitors cannot.

Joe Arbogast
www.birdsafe.com
www.birdsafestore.com

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PeterAnthony
Registered Member

Date Joined Jun 2008
Total Posts : 1

Posted 6/4/2008 2:53 AM (GMT -4)

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Post Edited (PeterAnthony) : 6/4/2008 2:17:54 AM (GMT-4)

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