How Do I Find “Real” Drop Ship Suppliers?

Finding real, authentic wholesalers that are willing to drop ship orders for you is certainly one of the hardest tasks for your new drop ship business. Do a search online and you’ll get pages after pages of companies offering to drop ship products for you. So how do you find the good ones? Well, there are a couple of ways.

Method 1: You can use the internet search – The problem is which are legit, and which are not? I would be VERY careful before taking any too good to be true program that you found online.

Method 2: You can contact a manufacturer – If you know an exact brand that you want to carry, you can contact the manufacturer directly and inquire as to who might distribute their products.

Method 3: You can attend merchandise shows – These are industry events where manufacturers and distributors showcase their goods. You’ll have to prove that you are in the retail industry to get in as they are generally not open to the public. If you see something you like, inquire with the rep as to whether they have a drop ship program.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I do not recommend methods 1 or 2. 2 is too time consuming; 1 can be questionable. 3 can work, and has worked for me in the past, but can also take a long time and be expensive in travel to the different shows.

Method 4: Buy in to a wholesaler directory – I know, this seems a little scammy too, but I can tell you its not. The first thing I did after incorporating my business was to buy One Source from Worldwide Brands. There is a one time, lifetime fee that I totally feel is worth it. Among many other business services, what’s valuable for us drop shippers is the Drop Ship Directory. This is a comprehensive list of thousands of legitimate manufacturers and distributors of wholesale merchandise that are willing to drop ship your orders. I have found nearly all of my suppliers off of this directory and could not live without it. New suppliers are being added all the time.

I hope that gives you some insight. It’s certainly possible to find suppliers without using a directory, however the time savings is worth every penny. Has anyone used a different, but similar wholesaler directory? Would you recommend it?

Tags: drop ship, business, onesource, worldwide brands, wholesale suppliers

4 Responses to “How Do I Find “Real” Drop Ship Suppliers?”

1. Jeanette P. Says:
   November 26th, 2007 at 2:03 pm

   Thank you for starting this blog! It’s an excellent resource for people just starting out in drop-shipping (like me).

   I have to question, though, your bit of advice about Worldwide Brands. I’ve heard that there’s a glut of retailers on there, so you end up paying $300 to sell products that MANY someone else’s are already selling. It could end up being a good chunk of change right out the window.

   Also, you may want to disclose that you’re earning affiliate income from promoting Worldwide, as well. Your affiliate code is attached to the link. Darren Rowse at ProBlogger suggests sites and services all the time, but is sure to disclose that he profits from any memberships purchased from click-throughs. It’s just an idea, if you want to keep up the integrity of the site.

   Other than that, good luck, and thank you!

2. Nothing found for Blog Index Php 2007 11 29 Is-worldwide-brands-worth-it Says:
   November 26th, 2007 at 6:08 pm

   [...] How Do I Find “Real” Drop Ship Suppliers? [...]

3. W Says:
   November 29th, 2007 at 4:43 pm

   I use WWB and also find free supplier sources with my InventorySource account at http://inventorysource.com/

4. Justin Says:
   November 30th, 2007 at 8:48 pm

   Yeah, inventory source is a great service. I need to do a post on that soon.

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