As we’ve touched on before, communication is a key factor in developing a successful relationship with your dropship companies. This is of particular importance when you’re setting up your account with the dropship companies, but what many people seem to forget is that it remains just as important all throughout the tenure of your business!
One of the greatest disadvantages to dropshipping is that because you do not carry any inventory yourself, you are at the mercy of the dropship companies you use as far as shipping and stocking is concerned. In a particularly bad case, you could even find yourself with an order you have received, paid in full, but have no means of fulfilling it… the very definition of crisis!
However, that doesn’t need to happen. Most of the novice dropshippers’ problems come from simply forgetting to stay in contact with the dropship companies you are using. If they’re overloaded with orders, you want to know this! You need to know just how long they normally take to respond, or ship out an order before you start getting business flowing to them. You may not be able to control how they operate, but you can keep in communication with them and even try having a few sample items get shipped out your way in order to have a good understanding of just what your customers will need to expect when ordering items.
There’s a little extra cost involved, and a bit more work, but it is better to know all that you can about how your dropship companies operate, and keep in constant communication regarding inventory levels or just general levels of business, rather than remaining in the dark and possibly out of luck should an order fulfillment hit some bumps in the road. Plan in advance and keep the communication lines open and active, and you’ll do well in avoiding many sticky situations!
