I think we can all agree - dropshipping is a great idea. Tiny companies and individuals can start in business almost instantly using the supply chain of larger wholesalers who send directly to customers.
But as with all simple and clean business ideas, the scam artists have moved in. Do you know the top 3 dropshipping scams?
(1) Asking for a signup/monthly fee before showing wholesale prices.
These “dropshippers” are nothing more than middlemen - using other dropshippers on your behalf and charging you sometimes close to or above retail. If you’ve seen the “make £80,000 on eBay” adverts this is where they usually come from.
(2) High postage costs or “handling” fee.
Not always a scam (some companies just have high overhead) but sometimes a middleman, who is using another dropshipper and charging you the extra handling fee or higher postage and making their money that way.
Not as bad as the scam in (1) as the prices are still competitive, but it’s worth digging a little deeper to find a similar dropshipper with lower postage who may be the original supplier.
How can you avoid these scams?
Simple - do your homework. Ask the suppliers difficult questions before handing any money over. Check how long they have been in business (a “whois” on their domain name) and put their name into the search engines and see if any complaints show up.