Wednesday, October 24

International Shipping Hassles


This week has been one of those weeks when nothing seems to be going right. I am sick with a major infection. I am behind in school from being sick and I have had three eBay sales go the way of the creek. Two are international orders that are two big to ship USPS and UPS wants over $300 dollars to ship them!!! There needs to be some compromise between the two services. I might be able to find another shipper myself but I am working with a drop shipper so my options are only what they offer.

The other order gone bad was an order that was made and when I went to make the order from the drop shipper they had conveniently discontinued the item. The big problem was that the customer sent me a money order before I found out that the item was no longer available. Soooo I had to wait and get the money order, cash it and send a refund through my bank. Like I said, it has been one of those weeks.
Advice...
  • Join Ebates if you still have not. I have earned over $140 in rebates from just going to their site before I shop at the online stores I was already planning on going to. I use it a lot for Gap, Ink Cartridges, and drugstore.com. The link to use is http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?id=32696671. If you sign up you get $5 just for joining.
  • In the past 10 months I have learned quite a bit. The biggest realization I have come to is do not limit your possibilities. My business has not formed the way I would have imagined it. I am not selling the items I initially wanted to sell. You have to be open to opportunities that come knocking and realize when other ideas need to be put away. The item you want to sell won't always be a money maker or the wholesalers you find that sell the item may not be people you want to have a business relationship with. I always invest in small amounts of new items I am buying wholesale to make sure it is going to sell. I also give my drop shipment items about six months and if they are not selling I end the listings and move on to something new. In short, be flexible!
Until next time...(Hopefully next month!)