If you haven’t heard of dropshipping before, it is probably the next big thing in entrepreneurship. Probably the best thing about this method of business is that you never have to leave your home to be successful in this area and it only takes a few hours a week compared to a ‘regular’ job. From product creation/posting to delivery to the customer – everything can be done using your internet connection.
Being a drop shipper means owning a virtual store, like Amazon, as opposed to a physical one, like Currys. When a visitor to your online store makes a purchase, it is the wholesaler that delivers the product – so you don’t even need to do that yourself.
That doesn’t mean that you don’t have a say in how your items are despatched. The wholesaler will be the one hiring the courier service, but it could be best to take charge of this aspect yourself.
You could just let the wholesaler or buyer decide how the items are shipped, but this is your business and some things are best dealt with yourself. In the age of internet shopping, people have come to expect a certain level of service, and with so many options available to consumers you have to make sure that you are hitting all the right notes – delivery included.
If your chosen courier service makes a mistake, gets lost, is damages an item… who is the buyer going to blame? It won’t be the courier; it will be you that will be blamed, and your business is going to take a hit because of it.
If a dropship item is coming from overseas, China is a popular one, you will want the item to get to its destination in good time. This can be problematic with purchases from other countries but once in the UK, you will want a courier service that can collect and speed the package (legally, naturally) to the buyer as quickly and as reliably as possible.
Tracking isn’t always possible until the item is actually ‘in-country’, but this is something a good courier company (like Speed Couriers) can take care of with zero problems. Our tracking services are second to none and the client (you) as full access so you can provide your customers with updates.
A customer may not always remember a package that arrived in good time, but you can bet they will always remember a late delivery.
Coverage is another factor to consider. You are going to want to pick a courier company that can reach not just any corner of the UK but can also take care of getting a package out of the country too for international deliveries. A national courier service is the obvious choice here, as you would expect.
Many overseas orders, especially those coming from China, offer very vague tracking. While this is not going to be in your control most of the time, you can at least make that packages are tracked once they hit the UK. Never choose a courier that does not offer parcel or vehicle tracking.
Many other factors will determine the success or failure of a dropshipping business, but a high quality and dependable courier service is one that should be chosen carefully.
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