Dropshipping is one business alternative you could consider if you don't want to invest in lots of stock and items if you don't have the money and the space to store them, you can just list products on either your own website or on eBay, but before you start there are some drawbacks to start and these are where to find dropshippers?

As usual the Internet is chock full of lists for dropshippers and suppliers of wholesale products, but these lists you have to pay for, which makes it difficult for people having to start out, one that I do recommend is eSources as it has a huge list of leads for dropshippers and suppliers, but the only drawback is most of them you have to contact individually or be prepared to pay a dropship membership fee, but if you only plan on doing one or two dropshippers for a niche I guess it could be worth it using eSources.

I've only just regained interest in dropshipping again after I got frustrated a few years ago with not being able to find good dropshippers that I could invest my time into and make some extra cash from.

The best tips I can give are to go with dropship sites that are linked to some type of company that has access to warehouse products, because the last thing you want is to get to an agents website who just sells a handful of products and takes the biggest cut out of your dropship profits, agents are them ones who set up reseller accounts that usually look exactly like the main companies website they dropship for and they can make quite a bit for themselves and from your efforts too, so try and keep an eye out for them, there are some professional agents who are very sneaky and then there are those who just look like amateurs when they try and get you to sign up for the dropship program.

It's in your best interests to be wary of the scammers online, so that's why I recommend using Esources, although some dodgy looking dropshippers may slip the net through there too, just use your common sense when building up your lists of contacts and suppliers for your dropshipping ventures.

For those who need to know what Dropshipping is, it is a way of building an online business usually through businesses that provide the service and you list the product either on your own website or blog or on eBay and when someone buys, you log into your dropshipping account for that product purchase and add the buyers delivery details and you take the percentage of the price you marked up from the wholesale price and that's your profit and then the customer receives their product in whatever time the dropshipper delivers and in most cases the buyer is oblivious to them being passed through two retail parties.

When dropshipping on eBay you should have access to the dropshippers catalogue of products, so as to download images and get the exact product description information so you can make your listings, or if you have your own retail site which most o us don't, you can get a csv file with all of the products in stock, so you can upload them to your site - with a little technical know how I might add.

An image on eBay listings is vitally important as people want to see what they are going to buy and so it is best to get clear images that show the product in good lighting so people can see for themselves, most good dropshippers do provide the product images, never do business with those that don't go out of their way to help you as they could be shit and cause you problems later on down the line.

You'll also find on your travels that some dropship merchants don't allow you to list their products on eBay and that's their choice, but really you want a selection of dropshippers that give you lots of selling options and eBay is up there as a top selling avenue, as well as your own website, so go for more options and try and build relationships with these online shops that offer dropshipping, as you are bringing them business or at least you will be, it's like working for an affiliate network, you get in with the affiliate managers and you may just get some unexpected benefits on special offers and who knows what else.

My Mrs has tried out a Lingerie drop shipper and has received some free products in the past and has had access to some offers that anyone else wouldn't have had the opportunity to benefit from.

Dropshipping tip- Always keep an eye on your drop shippers product levels, because sometimes products can go out of stock and that wastes time especially when someone buys and then you have to inform them about it, saying that it will be two weeks instead of 48 hours, always offer the option and security of having a refund, if it's there then they may feel better about waiting, unless they are impatient and want the money back.

I've always been a fan of affiliate marketing over the years, but it's not until the past 4 months that I have seen my Mrs and a few friends do a bit of the old drop ship and they've seen some results, especially through eBay that I've thought about giving it a go.

More than likely I will test a few products and list them on eBay, before I try and launch a website that lists them that way as I know a bit about listing eBay items through selling some of my tattoos

Drop Shipping is a good viable business online with cheap start up costs initially, but you do need to look and by looking I mean strain your eyes to look for these drop shippers as they are like a well kept secret out there on the Internet.