Doba's Dropshipping Blog

The sound of music, it seems, has become a big part of everybody’s lives these days, and we’re not talking about the Julie Andrews musical. With incredible advances in technology, music comes with a new vocabulary, with devices like the iPod replacing Walkman and CDs replacing vinyl and brand new words like shuffle, flash memory and storing and downloading music from the cloud (whatever that means). Your customers take for granted that they can personally own every Bob Dylan song ever recorded — live concerts included — and keep them on a single device.

In this blog post, the last such eBay Product Spotlight for 2011, I’ll share ways to successfully (more…)

Jake Sabey has held a lot of jobs here at Doba, and to say he’s carried out his duties with a lot of panache would be the understatement of the year. He’s a popular figure around here, and just looking at him can make you laugh (in a good way, of course). He’s so loved that one of our employees named his dog after him. Not just “Jake” or “Sabey,” but “Jake Sabey.” Now that’s a sign of true affection!

Get to know this colorful and loving character below:

Doba: Who are you and what do you to do here at Doba? 

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This week I‘m pleased to shine Doba’s the spotlight on a pair of drop-ship suppliers who started up with us this past summer — suppliers Ginseng and Inca. If your customers are tech or jewelry aficionados, these suppliers should capture your interest.

Supplier Ginseng (active in the Doba catalog since Aug. 19, 2011) carries all manner of computer parts. For the tech savvy customer, Ginseng provides a vast variety of hardware ranging from wicked fast Intel processors and DVD+RW SATA drives to Cisco wireless access point hubs and Lenovo ThinkPad high capacity batteries. Ginseng also has a large selection of memory kits to upgrade the RAM on nearly any computer and convert your painfully slow relic into a blazing fast machine.

Supplier Ginseng doesn’t charge a drop-ship fee on any orders and (more…)

Those of us who work hard here at Doba are taking some time off during the holidays, meaning you won’t be able to reach our Customer Service phone support line from Christmas Day (next Sunday) through Monday, Jan. 2, 2012.

However, during that time, you can get all the support you need through our online chat, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. MST. The online chat feature is available by logging in to your Doba account and clicking the Help Center link. That’s located at the top right hand corner of the page.

If during the holiday break you have questions about basic Doba functionality, we recommend (more…)

Running your own business might be compared to the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. For one thing, it’s an exciting challenge. It’s a crowded field, but the danger is there nonetheless. And it’s exhilarating — as long as you don’t get gored in the process.

In business, much like running with the bulls, if you don’t know what you’re getting into, it can be a treacherous endeavor. What I want to do today is explain the function of a merchant processor in the scheme of things when it comes on online retailing.

In order to accept credit and debit cards on your own website, you’ll need a merchant processor who will (more…)

Like everybody else, I’ve got the holidays all up in my head, wondering if I’m fully prepared for the chaotic weeks ahead. In today’s post, I want to highlight two products that helped prepare others for the unexpected.

But first, here’s some back-story: My parents are driving from Chicago to Utah to be with my family this Christmas and it reminded me of similar trips when I was a youngster, coming out to visit my grandparents during the holidays and most summers.

In preparing for the long haul across the country, I remember the first things my dad would toss in the car were a functional flashlight and plenty of blankets. He would do this even before we packed our suitcases. What made packing these items so important to him?

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A recent survey conducted for Experian by Nottingham Trent University’s International Fraud Prevention Research Centre shows that lack of patience will kill an online sale faster than you can say “Happy Holidays.” Well, maybe not quite that fast, but certainly in less time than you’d like.

In fact, the recent study shows that online shoppers will abandon their pursuit of an item online after only four minutes if they’re delayed by identity verification and other security checks imposed by you, the retail merchant.

The Experian survey shows that 44 percent of consumers making an online purchase (more…)

In today’s blog post I want to talk about the opportunity to market products to collectors. We all know someone who collects stuff — in fact, I’ve learned that a lot of my fellow Dobans who are collectors.

When I recently asked a few of our affiliated retailers what it is exactly that they like to collect, I heard responses that included hats, glittered items, jewelry, tattoos, purses and belt buckles. One collects debt, but there’s always a clown in the crowd. As for myself, I’ve been know to collect shoes and shoelaces — but that’s a long story. More recently as many of you know, I’ve been collecting dirty diapers (yuck).

My Grandma had more than 200 clocks hanging on the walls in her house. My aunt has a kitchen themed with a chicken décor, and I have some friends who are even bigger shoe collectors than yours truly. Otherwise known as “Sneakerheads.”

I remember when Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and cards were popular items to collect. Same with Pound Puppies, Beanie Babies and model cars. Pez dispensers, action figures, Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars are among the top products that collectors seek. I’ve seen a television program focusing on toaster collectors. They interviewed a guy that had more than 3,000 toasters. They filled every shelf in every room of his house.

The thing about collecting that online retailers need to know is that it’s a hobby that’s always going to be there. It’s just human nature to connect with things that make you feel good. And it’s not a passing fad. There have been collectors in the past, present and there will be collectors in the future. There aren’t any limit to what people will collect and there’s no limit to how much they’ll collect.

Of course this presents a perfect opportunity for online retailers. It’s almost an unfair advantage knowing that collectors will always be around, needing more items to add to their collection. Your task is to dial into this opportunity and research the behavior of collectors in order to get into the minds of your target customer. This research also gives you a big advantage over your competition.

Here are two of many products from the Doba product catalog that appropriately target collectors, offering them a chance to scratch their “gotta-have-it” itch. These are also products I’ve personally purchased as gifts for collectors I know: (more…)

As an online retailer who uses drop-shipping to fulfill orders, it’s easy to feel like the underdog when you find yourself competing against a merchant who purchases their products in bulk. Trying to compete on price alone with these kinds of resellers can be like bringing a knife to a gunfight.

That’s why it is important to compete on something other than price. Competing on value instead of price is an especially potent tactic when combined with a merchandising strategy that focuses on products with a stated Minimum Advertised Price (MAP).

MAP is the lowest price for which a manufacturer will allow a specific product to be sold. Many manufacturers don’t insist on MAP pricing for their products, but those that do are worthy of consideration because there’s the requirement that — regardless of whether you drop ship the product or purchase it in bulk — you can’t offer the product for less than the stated MAP. Do that, and you can lose access to that supplier’s products. You might even be banned from participating in some marketplaces such as eBay or Amazon.

Right about now you might be thinking your best bet is to (more…)

Cyber Monday is one of the busiest online shopping days of the year, and for those of us who work at Doba, that means we’re going to take a few days off to spend some quality time with our families and friends over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Because, come Monday morning, we’re going to hit the decks running, fielding calls and queries from our online retailers and suppliers alike as Cyber Monday gets underway. Our offices will be closed on Thanksgiving Day —Thursday, Nov. 24 — as well as Friday, Nov. 25. We’ll reopen at (more…)