about dropshipping

How does dropshipping work?

In a nutshell, dropshipping is a type of retailing where the dropshipee (The retailer) does not keep goods in stock, but instead passes the customer's order and shipment details to the dropshipper (The supplier), who then dispatches the goods to the customer directly. The retailer makes their profit on the difference between the supply and retail price.

An example...

Let's say you ran across a product on a dropshipping site for £20.00. You would sell that product for a price you would determine, let's use £50.00 plus £4.50 postage and packing for an example. After you collect the payment of £54.50 from the customer and their postal address, you would forward the £20.00 plus £4.50 postage costs to the supplier, and keep the £30.00 as profit, never having to touch or store the Product, as the supplier sends it out to the customer.

This type of arrangement is extremely beneficial to both yourself, and the supplier. The supplier does not have to open a storefront, or hire salespeople to sell their products, as that is the role of the dropshipper.

You, as the dropshipee, have a way to earn some spare money, having no start-up costs, no overhead, no packaging costs or headaches, and can create an extremely useful relationship with the supplier. Dropshipping is a great way to run a business without carrying stock.

Dropshipping in the UK

Dropshipping in the UK is nowhere nearly as big as in the United States. The dropshipping philosophy is in it's infancy but is beginning to take off.

The UK Dropshipping Bible contains a wealth of information on the UK Dropship Industry.