Drop Shipping is a method where you collect orders from customers and forward them to a wholesaler for a reduced rate , thereby collecting a commission. The wholesaler processes the order and delivers direct to the customer. Therefore you handle no product inventory.

Drop Shipping can be very lucrative but it’s important to note a few key tips. Firstly, have a niche! Having a niche will see you fill a demand in the marketplace. Sometimes less is more and there are a number of examples where entrepreneurs have advertised just a few products which has gone on to be extremely profitable. Secondly, good supplier relationships are extremely important. You want to have the selling confidence to know your customers are receiving a quality product in a timely manner. Search for Drop Shipping suppliers in your country , or seek out Drop Shipping forums or Facebook groups.

Be prepared that once you have found a supplier of choice which matches your niche, you will need to apply. They will want to know how you intend to market their products and you will need to include your chosen platform in which you intend to market with the existing address. Methods for this can be (but not limited to) websites, ebay stores, fanpages and Shopify stores.

If you have a website such as WordPress , it’s important that you have the appropriate features to process transactions so this will require a higher monthly subscription level. If you have a Facebook business page and are promoting there , you will likely want a Shopify store that you can share from for processing transactions. For the new person, this is why Ebay may be a good starting point although not appropriate in all situations. Not sure what niche you want to focus on in your eBay store? Choose a few categories of products with 20 product listings in each category and see what performs the best! This is particularly useful if you have a big supplier that handles hundreds or even thousands of different types of products.

Here are some great resource sites for you to check out!

Colour blocker is a good option that ships from Australia and offers Zip Pay.

Salehoo is a great option as it has some excellent training regarding Ebay and Amazon as well as excellent training on how to get started.

Dropship Australia Dropship Australia has some great links to forums, classifieds, ebay wholesale lots plus links to UK suppliers.

As always, if you wish to educate yourself there are some great low cost courses on Udemy which cover all aspects including how to use WordPress, Shopify, Ebay and Social Media as a means to generate orders and income.