Many people have been looking for a way to earn extra income at home, with less or no expenses. If you are an avid researcher of income opportunities at home, you might have come across drop shipping. Drop shipping entails you, the potential reseller, having to market and sell merchandise manufactured from countries such as China, Vietnam, Taiwan, etc.

Now, you might ask, “If I am going to sell merchandise from other countries, how will I send them to my buyer? Will it cost me more than what I will get in return?”

Basically, drop shipping is a very convenient way of selling and shipping from your home.  The process is actually really easy. Here are the steps in drop shipping.

1.       Market and sell the merchandise from your buyer. Decide on his or her mode of payment. Some examples of mode of payments are 50% deposit before processing, then the second 50% after processing or 100% up front. Most customers will usually prefer 30-50% deposit. Most sellers will prefer no less than 30 percent as this will give assurance that the buyer will not flake out.

2.       Send shipping details to manufacturer in distant country. What is great about drop shipping is that you can even ask to have a “company name” put as the sender. Anyway, after sending the shipping details, you would not have to worry about the shipping process. You will just have to reassure your customer that the package will come in seventeen to fourteen days. 

3.       Send the tracking number to customer to maintain a level of trust.

Those are basically the steps when it comes to sealing a deal in the drop shipping industry. The merchandise goes straight to the customer. This means that it will not pass through you. Customs duties will also be under the name of the customer. Convenient isn’t it?

Well, before you enter into a business arrangement with drop – shippers from foreign countries, you must do your research first.

Here are a few guidelines on how to keep your money, your customers’ money, and your name free from any degradation.

1.       Make sure that the company is legit. Be sure that the company you are entering into an agreement has had very good feedbacks. Also, ask around if the company is reliable. Of course, there are many reliable drop – shippers who are in it for the long haul, and they would not want to tarnish their name just to make a couple of bucks. Although you have to be wary of drop –shippers who are not reliable. There will be some who will follow through on the shipping but will ship the wrong item. Hence, the burden of explaining what happened falls on you. You will have to properly compensate the troubles you have caused your customer.

2.       Be familiar with shipping procedures so as not to make any mistakes. Research on what courier they will be using. Ask whether they will ship with a protective casing so as not to damage the goods.

3.       Be familiar with custom duties so as to make your customer aware of the extra charges.

4.       Always, always try out their service first before selling to your customers. This will decrease the risk of any mishaps happening in the future that might cause more trouble than what you are getting as profit. This also dwells in being ethical. You should not sell to others if you yourself do not have faith on the company or product.

If you think that the company you are canvassing checks out on all these guidelines, by all means go for it! Drop Shipping is a very good way to earn extra income on the side. Once you hit the right company, you will see the benjamins roll into your pocket

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