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How many drop shipped
products are available in the directory?
We do not track the exact number
of products for a several reasons:
1. Our focus is not on the
quantity of products, but rather the number of categories of
products available. Most importantly, our goal is help
you find products you can sell and have them drop shipped to
your customers. It would not be helpful to anyone if
we advertised millions of products, and none of them fit
your interest or niche. For a niche business resource, we
feel the need to have a broad array of drop ship categories
to fill a particular niche market. We offer a custom
search service
for those who cannot find a particular product. Also, it is
necessary to maintain a good balance of offerings in the
directory. Why is this important? We have seen other
directories advertise having 500,000 to 5,000,000 products
available. Upon further inspection of their content, a
majority of their products fall within a small number of
product categories (i.e. electronics, cameras...etc.). As a
result, your odds of finding a product in your line of
business are greatly reduced if the number of categories are
limited.
2. A drop shipper (particularly an
importer) is constantly adding or deleting product to their
portfolio. So, the number of products offered by a
particular drop shipper can always be changing. Therefore,
we do not keep track of every product they inventory. Again,
the emphasis is on the category of products they carry not
the quantity.
3. As mentioned earlier, it would
not matter how many products were available if we did not
have anything in your business niche category.
How many drop
shippers are in the directory?
The exact number is always
changing since we are constantly adding drop shippers to the
directory. We learned a couple of interesting lessons early in
our business about advertising the number of products/drop
shippers in our directory. We are going to share those
lessons with you right now...
The majority of folks who first
called to ask us ask this question usually did not know
exactly what they wanted to sell. In some cases, they had seen other
directories advertise hundreds, or even thousands of drop
shippers. They bought their list. Looked through their list,
and still could not decide what they wanted to sell. OR, they had
only an "rough idea" of what to sell and did not
succeed in selling the item(s) online.
Here are two key lessons:
LESSON #1: If you do not
know what you are going to sell, no drop shipping directory
is going to answer this question for you. Do a marketing
plan before you do anything else. Successful online
retailers and eBay retailers already know this fact. It does not have to be a
time consuming task. The time you spend doing a quick marketing
plan will help you win online. There are many good books on
this subject. If you do not want to spend the
time or money on a book, we have compiled a quick marketing
plan sheet you could use to get started.
Click here
to open the page. Again, there are many good books on this
subject matter. Our favorite, publication is called:
Market Planning Guide
by David H. Bangs
ISBN: 0793159717
LESSON #2: Many drop ship
directories advertise the number of products, or drop
shippers as a marketing strategy to get you to buy their
directory. They want the customer to think, "If they have
thousands of drop shippers with millions of products, I will
probably find something to sell." Those directory companies know many people have
not thought about a business plan, product plan, sales plan,
or marketing plan. They prey on customers who have not taken
the time to thoroughly think about their own
product sales plans. Do not fall into this trap of thinking.
If you are taking the time to read this, then you are
already one step ahead. As an honest and legitimate
business, we do not follow this marketing method. For this reason, we do not advertise the number
of drop shippers or products. We added a
Free
Preview with a search to help give you an idea of the
contents of the directory, and the number of drop shippers. Also check out our
drop ship directory buyers guide as a great reference.
How many categories
of drop shippers and products are in the directory?
You can find a list of our drop
shipping categories in our directory sample page located at:
http://www.hienotedirectory.com/trial/ds_by_products.php
The number of categories will be
increasing as we find new drop shippers for a requested
business niche.
How do you find drop
shippers for the directory?
Our method of finding drop
shippers is unique, meticulous, and very time consuming. You
can find a description of our search methods on the
methodology page located at:
http://www.hienotedirectory.com/methodology.htm
Will I find big brand
name products in the directory?
We are focused as a resource for
niche marketing businesses, and not the mass market
businesses. So, you will find very few big brand name
products in the directory. Why? There are countless start-up online
retail businesses who have been led to believe they should
sell big brand name products as a core product offering for
their retail website. After all, most consumers are familiar
with big brand names (i.e. Kodak, Bushnell, Sony...etc.) and
have grown to trust and follow their favorite brand name
products. So, the popular way of thinking suggests that big
brand name products are what a new online business should
sell. Why? Again, the big brand name products are popular,
well known, trusted and carry a name of quality.
Unfortunately, this has often resulted in a losing battle
for numerous small online businesses. How? In a few
words...intense competition, brutal price wars and extreme
market saturation. These businesses basically entered into
the commodity business without knowing what hit them! Many
of them are no longer in business.
Are all of the
listings in your directory authentic drop shippers?
Yes. They will all drop ship
without requiring minimum quantity orders. Also,
if there are any special arrangements needed with the drop
shipper, we have included the notes with the listing.
I am looking to sell a particular type
of product on the Web, but I do not see the category of
product listed in your sample listing. Why?
Not every wholesaler drop ships.
In the case of import drop shippers, they might feel a
particular product would not fit their market portfolio. So,
they simply will not carry the product. As a more recent
issue, some wholesalers have discontinued their drop
shipping programs due to retail abuse going on in the online
auction world, or have started ADAs (see drop ship
FAQs for more info). They are not in the auction
business, they are into the retail supplier business. In
addition, drop shipping is somewhat of an "special" service
program offered by wholesalers. Again, there is not a drop shipper for every product available in the
marketplace.
What can I do if I have lost my
password to the directory?
Contact our customer service. Click here
for customer service.
What should I do if
the method of payment does not include my credit card
company?
Contact the wholesale drop ship
company listed and confirm which credit card they take as
this can sometimes change. If they do not take your type of
credit card, ask them about other forms of payment.
Is there a printed version of the
directory?
No. We do not offer printed copies of the directory as the
information is always changing. By keeping the directory
purely online, we are able to update a drop shipper's
information.
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