The Wholesale Forums

[MickUK]

Originally Posted by Pete

This is not a TWF problem. This is one of the safest places to buy on the net.

This is not even an internet problem.

From the guy who comes around to patch your driveway with used motor oil to guys like Bernie Madoff, there are always people ripping others off and no amount of checking is going to catch them all.

I rail all the time about these one-week wonders, but I get cussed as trying to capture the market for myself and stifling competition. Actually, there are fewer now than a few months ago.

It is your responsibility to vet who you purchase from, whether here or for driveway repairs. Anyone can spend a bit of time and see who gets good reviews and who is new and questionable. Anthony does way more than most forums and advertising directories by at least verifying who is who. He cannot guarantee performance.

I, as much as anyone, feel part of my presence here is to warn and teach the newbies, but the fact is that some don't want to hear, that saving a bit is far more important than paying just a bit more to an known, established trader.

Since I actually have two businesses here, I see the same in the web hosting / design business. Over the months we've seen some quite horrible examples of "designer for hire".

Deal with someone with a track record. There are some here and their names come up time after time as being good sources. Not just Vital, but several others have sprung up over the last 3 or 4 months, often with a membership kind of deal, only to end up backing off, changing "plans", going with what they hope might work a bit better for them.

Then there are others, with some previous business experience who have opened up with some no-nonsense "I've got the goods, if you have the money you can buy them" terms that haven't changed since the day they opened the doors.

Ask your potential suppliers "what business experience have you had before TWF?". For many it might be "I sold tickets to the school play."

Very well said. It is important that you know a little bit about the person you are trading with. I keep an eye out over a period of time aswell to see what sort of experiences others are having with them. At the moment I regularly use one supplier and he was happy to post all his company details etc which made me very confident in dealing with him.

[generalzia]

Yes I also got bitten by quickdropshipping and a little bit by dropthegoods who caused a few delays to my orders. Luckily for me it was a few orders and I stopped immediately. Since then I've given up on dropshipping and been buying wholesale and have no regrets!

But I'd agree that dropthegoods and hardwareheroes are very credible dropshippers here and will still use them now and then when needed.

And yes, something needs to be done about the likes of vitaldropship and quickdropshipping etc.

[JordiRoz]

I'm a new trader with a lack of startup money, but not a big fan of dropshipping.

I want to buy products and make sure that they're alright, before selling them to someone else.
Many people seem to have forgotten that you can sell products locally, as well as online and physical stock is good for that - you never know when someone will want what you have. As well, the prices are better for buying in bulk.

I see how I could do more deals quicker through dropshipping, but I want to establish businesses through my life, and will start as I mean to go on. Honestly, the cons of dropshipping outweigh the pros for me.

[hardwareheroes]

Originally Posted by JordiRoz

Honestly, the cons of dropshipping outweigh the pros for me.

I would be interested in seeing your list of pros and cons ?

[JordiRoz]

hardwareheroes - if you really want me too, I'll make a list - but the chances are it will end up with post after post of picking away at how people disagree with me.

Nothing against dropshippers, and I've heard you're one of the best on these forums.

But for instance - your 4gb shuffle styles:

Quantity: 1+ 10+ 25+ Price: £14.49 £11.50 £10.00
For dropshipping, you can pay 14.49, which is still a decent price, or you can put more money in at significantly cheaper prices and not have to worry about other people's stock levels or delivery times.

Maybe I have a lack of trust for people, especially dropshippers, after all the hassle with it I've seen of this site, but I'd rather have stock in hand and trust in my own services.

[hardwareheroes]

Originally Posted by JordiRoz

Maybe I have a lack of trust for people, especially dropshippers, after all the hassle with it I've seen of this site, but I'd rather have stock in hand and trust in my own services.

EVERYONE would rather have stock in hand - thats nothing to do with dropshippers - simple business sense. Easier to control the service to your clients and maximise profit. But for those among us who can't.......?

Another rule of business is to not become personally involved. If you have little capital just now, there is nothing to stop you taking advantage of a good dropshippers services and start making more money - you will be able to buy your own stock quicker if you are earning in the meantime......if you didn't allow personal feelings to cloud business judgement.

After all that, I do know where you are coming from. It was because of a bad experience with a dropshipper that I set up my own dropshipping company (well it was one of the reasons anyway). There is a right way and a wrong way to go about this and a few shades of grey in between also

[Pete]

For every problem dropshipper, or every problem with any dropshipper, there are way more tales of woe from those dealing with "wholesalers" of varying degrees. Just like any other business deal, you need to know who you are dealing with.

It's amazing how many new, often young, sellers come on here, dropshipping or not, and there is a flurry of activity. "Send my your price list" "I'll take a dozen" "you've got the deal m8", etc. Sometimes a couple of pages long. Then two or three weeks, maybe a month later the bottom drops out.

Personally, I put the blame on the buyers, jumping on the latest deal without thinking of the possible results. Reputation and experience are what should tell you who to deal with, not simply price or a new face. Whether dropshipper or any other type source.

[davidschwimmer]

Always best to spread across as many suppliers as possible, I was loving having Charnos as my supplier/wholesaler. they were round the corner, I could pick up same day and post right off. They have now gone into admin and are very hard to get items off now. Luckily I am with Gossard and several others so I can just swap straight across. My advice, never ever rely on one person/company.