I received a convo recently asking me whether I am interested to go into a drop shipping arrangement. My first reaction was, "What is Drop Shipping Arrangement?". After googling and investigation on the Etsy forums... Here's what I found..Drop shipping is a supply chain management technique in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock, but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer.
I also found some help in the following thread on the Etsy forum.
Here's my arrangement.
Retailer lists my item (use my photos) on his/her website. The customer will order from the website, he/she will in turn place an order on my Etsy shop. She will pay me for the item. I will send to her head office. She will send the item to the customer. Basically I do not have directly contact with the customer. With regards to the stock of the items, I will also keep her posted on the quantity in case I have sold out the item.
What do you think of "drop shipping arrangement"? What do you think of my arrangement?
Personally, I think it would give it a go since I have not done it before. In directly, the retailer would be like any of my customers. By listing on his/her website, it gives me some promotion and advertising exposure online.
I will let everyone know how this arrangement works for me in the next few months.. maybe my views on it will change again :)