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Dropshipping

WizardofOZWizardofOZ subscriber Posts: 1
edited January 2009 in Home-Based Businesses
I am researching "Dropshipping" before I decide on how or with whom to get involved.
 
I came across www.inetdropshipping.com and find that they are offering what seems to be a complete package of Website & Domain Name, Integrated Marketing, Product etc all for a price which all .seems to be too good to be true.
 
I am based in Australia and was wondering how they operated on a global level with their shipping of sales.
 
I sent them an e-mail asking them for more information and this is the reply I received from them:
 

David,
To be able to dropship and gain access to the lowest wholesale prices, you need a membership with DropshipDesign. We work with over 60 suppliers, members get instant access to more than 500,000 products through DropshipDesign membership. We add new products and/or suppliers every month.
Click http://www.inetdropship.com




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Login using your credentials. If you forgot your credentials please click on the FORGOT MY PASSWORD link.




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Click on the CONTACT US page at the top of the page and click on the ticket number 106098 to review our reply and/or add more comments



Please note that both the username and the password are case sensitive, so please be careful.
 
 
From this e-mail I now know that if I was to wanting to market to Australian buyers this is not the company for me to be involved with. As we know the Web is global so being involved with them and selling to the USA & Canada there no boundaries from where you can sell from. So I will more than likely get involved in these two markets and use the experience then to develop my own website for Australian Markets.
 
I am also wanting to know more about "inetdropship" and am hoping there are others who have experience with "inetdropship" can tell me how it is working for them.
 
WizardofOz  

Comments

  • WizardofOZWizardofOZ subscriber Posts: 1
    Many thanks for your comments. So sorry for the boo boo with the URL, I always proof read before Is end and this one just got away from me. I have been to their website and can find nothing relating to Terms and Conditions. this was the closest thing I found (copied from their site):Our company is a legitimate entity registered under the name of
    DropshipDesign.com with the state of WA. We realize that it is important for you
    to feel confident about the legitimacy of our company. We invite your to call
    the Washington State Department of Revenue and inquire about our company. We
    interact with the Washington State Department of Revenue on a monthly basis
    since we take the responsibility of reporting and paying for the sales tax on
    the merchandise that our customers sell. Please note that, as an incentive to
    our members, we do not chargeback the sales tax, we take full responsibility for
    reporting and paying all sales tax for you.
    All the products that we sell come directly from the manufacturers and/or
    from legitimate distributors that can provide us with the lowest wholesale
    prices available online.
    The founders of DropshipDesign.com have designed and built this system from
    the ground up. With over 20 years of experience working as professional IT
    consultants, the founders were able to make use of their own knowledge and
    talents to build a fully integrated system without any dependencies on other
    thir party companies. This is why we can afford to sell such a complete turnkey
    system at such a low price. We do our best to focus on what matters the most.
    For example, we provide you with all the tools and services that you need while
    you focus in on marketing and advertising the products. We do all the rest
    for you.
    Here are more key reasons why you should feel comfortable in committing to a
    long business relationship with DropshipDesign.com:
    DropshipDesign.com is the only company that provides you with a
    dropship website plan that is fully integrated with the suppliers. Your website
    will be updated daily, directly from the suppliers with the most recent content.
    New products will automatically be added to your website for you.
    We do not charge our members any monthly fees. All that we ask is
    a one time setup fee and a yearly renewal fee of only $67.00, regardless of how
    many dropship plans and/or features you have.
    DropshipDesign.com is the only company that allows its members to
    add their own products to the website plan with no additional fees. You can list
    and sell your own products and we will not take any fees from your transaction!
    DropshipDesign.com is the only company that will pay the paypal
    fees and the credit card fees for you on purchases made from the website plan.
    DropshipDesign.com is the only company that will report and pay
    for the excise revenue tax that you earn from sales made on the website plan.
    Make even more money with our free 2 tier affiliate reseller
    program. Simply help us resell our dropship plans and we will pay you as much as
    $84.99 per sale!Our eBay ad Wizard will help you list items on ebay with one
    simple click!
    DropshipDesign.com was designed and developed solely by its
    founders, with over 20 years in professional IT experience.
    We offer over thousands of products available to you at
    unbeatable wholesale prices for you to sell to others.
    We constantly make deals with new manufacturers from trade shows
    in an effort to bring you the latest items to hit the market. Be the first ones
    to start selling the latest and hottest item on ebay.
    We will dropship anywhere in the USA with NO MINIMUM. We also
    have limited international shipping available on all our jewelry items.
    Our program is eBay friendly! The quantity in stock is updated
    daily so you can choose items that will last until your auction is over!
    We handle all the orders for you, including returns! We will not
    leave you hanging once you buy from us. Since we fulfill all the orders for you,
    we have a legitimate interest in helping you with your orders and keeping your
    customers happy.
    No need for a merchant account since we capture and process the
    payments for you.
    We take care of paying the sales tax for you when items are sold
    from your website.
    No need to pay up front for inventory, we stock and ship to your
    buyer for you!
    Unprecedented customer service for you and your customers.
    An amazing selection of products with REAL wholesale prices.
    24 hours access to our services.
    Personalize your website by choosing from a selection of
    templates and by adding your own HTML code such as banners, links, etc.
    You can now add your own products to your website. This is perfect if
    you already have deals with other dropshippers OR if you manufacture your own
    products. This feature is offered to you at no extra charge and is
    included in the Website Plan. We will allow you to add as many products
    as you want to your website!
     
    Basically it tells me all they can do for me and all I have to do is be able to sell. At this point I am still inclined to go with them whilst taking keeping your advice in mind.
    The only thing that doesn`t impress me with them is that until you go looking it takes a while before you find out about the yearly renewal fee of USD $67
    Again many thanks,
    WizardofOZ
  • WizardofOZWizardofOZ subscriber Posts: 1
    I interpret their set up fee as the reality fee for the website and domain name. The interesting thing that you mention that items are out of stock is a huge concern.
    I have a background in business where I used to deal with customers face to face on a daily basis wanting something which we did not keep in stock but could make a phone call and have the next day. There is nothing more frustrating than a supplier who hasn`t got what they claim to supply so I appreciate your comments regarding out of stock items.
    Frustrating because they actually lose the customer for you and I can see this easily applying on the Internet. Buyers on the Net have far greater access to purchase elsewhere than we have in our daily lives and because of this  I understand that emphasis must be placed on stock availability and customer service.
    The other thing that goes hand in hand with all this is quality of product. From a customer service point of view whenever I had a product return we always made sure the customer walker away happy even if it meant a full refund.
    I believe it is the responsibility of the supplier to ensure that with the end sale they still have ownership to ensure quality. Having said that I have read and re-read "inetdropship`s" Returns Policy which sadly leaves a lot to be desired regarding their attitude towards a customer`s non-satisfaction. The way I see it they do not want to ever have to return any money for damaged goods and at the same time never deal with a buyers complaint. Obviously it is all just toooooo difficult for them.
    They leave all that up to you deal with their lack of "duty of care". I think from the way they have worded their returns policy they need to seriously start taking on board what I would call "Approved Suppliers" who must meet a high criteria of Standards, Quality Supply , Customer Satisfaction and Product Guarantee.
    At the end of the day it is the end seller`s reputation that suffers and the last thing I would want as a result of their policy making is to lose business because of something I can`t control which makes me look like a fool and a "rip off merchant" and ultimately they are their own worst enemy because we (as informed investors) will not be involved in a journey on a leaky boat.
    It seems that they have the system right but the "Returns" and "Stock" part of the process can seriously let you down and could be costly in the long run.
    Cheers,
    WizardofOZ 
     
  • ninchan632ninchan632 subscriber Posts: 0
    Dropshipping is a good delivery method (outsource).  If the company is unable or uncertain of their capabilities to deliver goods to other continent, it leaves you with two choices.  One - try to sell their products in USA and Canada (after all you are doing it online).  Two - look for another venture which would meet your targeted clients, Australia. 
    SuhaimiNinchanceshttp://urlPass.com/3uavhttp://urlPass.com/3uau 
  • WizardofOZWizardofOZ subscriber Posts: 1
    G`day Ninchan,
    Many thanks for your thoughts. You are right if your not sure or if you have doubts don`t go there!
    I research, explore and discuss to come to an informed decision.
    I realise that there are plenty of dubious entrepreneurs out there and this is why I enjoy comments like yours because I know that on the other side of the coin you have the good operators and people who look out for others in forums like this.
    I look forward to keeping in touch.
    Many thanks and Cheers,
    WizardofOZ
  • WizardofOZWizardofOZ subscriber Posts: 1
    I have sent an e-mail (28.10.08) to "inetdropship" regarding their Returns Policy, Suppliers and my concerns.
     
    I got a swift reply from them and this is it:
     
    David,
    The return policy is imposed on us by the suppliers so we cannot make any changes. We have been using the same policy for many years and it has not caused any problems thus far.
    As far as the suppliers, yes we do have to filter them at first and we do establish a business relation with them before adding their products to our inventory. We update the site each morning with the most recent information provided by each supplier. We do our best to add the best suppliers and we do keep a ratio of canceled orders on a per supplier basis. Suppliers that exceed our internal preset thresholds are removed from our network.
     
    ***************
     
    It appears from their reply that they seem to have their finger on the pulse persay. Still it is troubling that they have alot of zero stock products, I think it would be wiser from a Site Sellers point of view that when a stock item hits zero it automatically becomes invisible on the Website until it is back in stock.
     
    Nothing worse than walking into a store to find that there is nothing left on the shelf, the customer leaves, gets what they want elsewhere and never comes back.
     
    Ciao for now,
     
    WizardofOZ
    WizardofOZ10/29/2008 4:45 AM
  • WizardofOZWizardofOZ subscriber Posts: 1

    I sent a message to "inetdropship" about making direct contact with Site Sellers who are with them so I could get hands on feedback.
     
    This is my e-mail:
    Yep Me Again,



     



    Many thanks for your swift reply to my previous message. Can only say I was impressed and gives you a big thumbs up!!



     



    Would you now please provide me with a random list of current Site Sellers (let say 7) so I can look at their websites and make contact with them so as to ask them of their experiences.



     



    Also how many Site Sellers do you have?



     



    Your ability to be able to do this will show me transparency which will be a determining factor on whether I sign up with you guys.



     



    I look forward to your quick reply.



     



    David J. Buck
     
    Their reply:



     




     








     






     













    10/30/2008 2:53:29 PM




    SALES TEAM




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    David,
    To be able to dropship and gain access to the lowest wholesale prices, you need a membership with DropshipDesign. We work with over 60 suppliers, members get instant access to more than 500,000 products through DropshipDesign membership. We add new products and/or suppliers every month.
    Click HERE for info how to signup!
    Here are links to existing customers:
    http://www.retaildropshipper.com
    http://www.in2electronics.com
    http://www.giftsgalorepro.co.uk
    We have the following templates available which you will be able to choose from the control panel of your website and change the look and feel with a single click of the mouse.
    http://www.dropshipdesign.com/templates.html
    You can also see some of our customers comments by clicking on the link below:
    http://www.dropshipdesign.com/testimonials.html
    We have thousands of members.





























     
     
    It appears they have sent me an auto-response message as it does not have that personally written feel about it,
     
    All I asked them for was random Site Sellers and an accurate number of people who have signed up. Instead they send me a marketing letter which only addresses my request in part and feeling cheated.
     
    To say and I quote " we have thousands of members" is non-specific and vague. I honestly don`t put a lot of faith in Testimonials. This is why I was wanting a direct link to somebody who can speak from their experiences.
    Their response on this occassion has done very little to encourage me, if anything it is discouraging.
     
    WizardofOZ 

  • WizardofOZWizardofOZ subscriber Posts: 1
    Hello Everyone,
    Well after much deliberation I finally decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and get involved with iNetdropship.
    From my e-mail experiences up to now iNetdropship can be either very good and on other occassions not so good.
    To come to my decision I weighed up what they were offering against doing it all from scratch. Thought it was better to spend USD $199 than maybe a couple of thousand dollars should I get it wrong.
    So now I have my website: www.bigblueroo.com and I would appreciate any feedback about it`s potential. The site is 99% for American & Canadian consumers. Feedback e-mails can be posted here or sent to www.bigblueroo.co.uk)  which up to now I am still waiting to receive. Has been over a week now (this is what I mean by how they can be good and then not so good) and I am getting a bit frustrated.
    Also is there anybody out there who can let me know how you get recognised on search engines without costing an arm and a leg.
    One of the hidden costs with iNetdropship is you have top pay for search engine exposure. Cost is for one month with two submissions - USD $49.00, 3 months with six submissions is USD $99.00 and 6 months with 12 submissions is USD $149.00. This gives you access to 500 search engines with each submission.
    Sadly I would have thought if they wanted products to sell this would have all been part of the package, even if they increased the price of joining. I hate having to keep on paying, just would have been happy to pay USD $248.00 up front ($199 + $49) and would also feel more honest.
    Well for now that is about it and I look forward to anyone`s ideas or comments about www.bigblueroo.com and search engines.
    Cheers,
    Dvaid J. Buck
     
  • scamreporterscamreporter subscriber Posts: 0
    Sorry to hear that you "bit the bullet" against your better judgement.
     
    When you asked them for references from site owners, and they provided you a canned reply without responding, didn`t that raise a red flag with you?  I only wish I posted this reply earlier for you.
     
    Yeah, the concept sounds enticing, that`s the point.  The fact is, inetdropship is a scam.  Don`t waste any more money with them or waste money advertising.  They make money off of subscriptions and do not provide a traffic-functional website.  That`s why they put their own dropship advertising on your website.  Think about it, is that what your customers really want to know?  lol.  Yes, you can take their advertising off and try to customize to the hilt, but the result will be the same for the following reasons:
     
    The truth from personal experience:

    The website they give you is impossibly slow and ugly.  It looks "canned", and customers know it.  The "bounce rate" is 90% .. 9 out of 10 people leave off of the title page quickly, no matter how you try to customize it or whatever your price is.
    The product search is ridiculously slow and inept and often results in more than 100 pages of irrelevant products, or no products at all.  Less than 1% actually bother to search.
    The prices for products, while they look low, are inflated on the back-end with exorbitant shipping and handling -- typical eBay ploy -- which completely infuriates customers and they will never come back again.
    Customers can attempt to order products which are actually out of stock but the out-of-stock report is too late.  Say goodbye again.
    The database contains many products with no images, minimal descriptions, and out-of-stock products -- terrible.
    Their image server is underpowered and actually crashes when you need it most, not showing any product images if they have any traffic.
    Your website is limited to 500 page views per hour, and then they turn your site off (even the control panel) for a considerable period, so don`t try for many visitors.  They must have thousands of sucker-sites on the same server.
    You can`t do proper Google Analytics on your own website, because their ecommerce page is on another website.
    Their quick response is part of the deception of a functioning company.  slick.
    You are opening yourself to a lawsuit if customers are dissatisfied.  inetdropship won`t tell you who the suppliers are, so customers will come after you.  You`ll have a hard time finding where they are also:  they proxied their domain so their corporate address won`t show.
    There are probably many other nightmares from other subscribers -- please reply to this thread so that we can take collective action.

    Conclusion:  They need a class-action lawsuit to refund all the subscription monies.  For now, I`m proceeding with the state attorney`s office, BBB and the FTC.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
  • ninchan632ninchan632 subscriber Posts: 0
    Good day Mr Wizard!
    You decided to get yourself involved with the site, a tough decision though.  I have visited the website you mentioned and for a no-webmaster like myself, the site seems alright.  I did try to test a few search engine for your website.  No come back - unless I typed in the whole phrase "bigblueroo".  I  tried my own marketing the whole of last 2 years and the outcome of those 8-12 hours  per day, posting ads were bad experience for me.  Nevertheless, there is one SEO which is making my life easier-the IBP.  Apart from that I am sure you know some of the websites that provide good free services for marketers.  Just let me know if you need any suggestion.  Until then, good luck and have an excellent business year.ninchan6321/10/2009 8:17 AM
  • WizardofOZWizardofOZ subscriber Posts: 1
    G`day Scamreporter,
    Many thanks for your e-mail. It has taken a while but finally somebody has opened the door for the information I have been looking for.
    Your comments are what I was looking for when I started all this. Sadly I could not find them until today. (meaning similar comments from others)
    Yes I did see the "very big red flag", but as the risk taker I am I did not choose to ignore it but decided to see where things would lead me to and use this forum to report my experiences, be they good or bad.
    Either way this would provide valuable information, such as yours, to others who might be pondering using iNetdropship.
    As time goes by I will see what happens and hopefully I may be able to make some profit.
    Again I am so pleased to have your comments and I think now so will many others.
    All the best for a prosperous 2009.
    Cheers,David J. Buck
    P.S. I have created a 25% discount voucher for members of Startup Nation. If you would like to receive your voucher for use on www.bigblueroo.com.or www.bigblueroo.co.uk please e-mail me (quote your Startup Nation user name for verification) at sales@bigblueroo.co.uk
    I have also created bigblueroo@gmail.com on Messenger and can be contacted directly when I am online.
    Good Luck Everyone!
  • WizardofOZWizardofOZ subscriber Posts: 1
    G`day Ninchan,
    Thanks for the tip with IBP and I will have a look see.
    Hope you too have a successful business year.
    Cheers,
    David J. Buck
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