wholesale knitted and crochet toys and drop shipping

We have often been asked whether we will drop ship for online retailers but this was not something we were able to do so we were very pleased when our partner DCR Retail  stepped in to help offer this service

Drop shipping, for any who do not know, is where the retailer sells an item and then sends the order through to be fulfilled by the wholesaler.

The benefit to the retailer is that they do not have the risk or the cost of stock, and the benefit to the wholesaler is that their products are more visible to consumers as they are offered for sale by more retailers. However it is a very labour intensive way of selling goods. Products have to be hand picked and dispatched and then invoices raised for amounts typically below £10.

In order to be successful at drop shipping a wholesaler has to have dedicated resource and this is where the Catch 22 clause kicks in. The retailers who want a drop shipping service are usually small, or new, or both and looking for a way to build up a business whilst maximising cash flow. Their orders for their wholesalers are small and irregular

Drop shipping is lower margin for retailers than buying the product out right but suits start up businesses. More established retailers with larger turnovers do not normally want to give away the margin associated with drop shipping. But for the wholesaler this can mean dozens of small retailers with small turnovers which does not sit well with a business model based on shifting large quantities.

There are many wholesalers who specialise in drop shipping and who have been set up specifically to drop ship. Unfortunately Best Years are not one of them.

DCR Retail however were geared up to service drop shipping requirements.

So for the past year or so Best Years have been working with DCR Retail to offer our range of wholesale knitted and crochet toys on a drop ship basis.

Unfortunately we have now decided to close our drop shipping business. The reason for this is very simple. Out of the hundreds of retailers who have asked for drop shipping facilities we have received just 6 orders so far in 2011 and these came from just 4 accounts.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause any of our customers but there needs to be a certain level of business to make drop shipping a viable operation to run and taking less than £50 in 6 months doesn't get close!

However we maintain our policy of having no minimum order quantity and we are always happy to work with small and tiny retailers so please email us sales@bestyears.co.uk if you need any more information on any of our toys