Anybody Tried the "Drop Shipping" Forum?

[WebCat]

I'm impressed with the drop shipping forum. If a person was looking for long lists of suppliers of items to resell, this is a great resource!

Now..... I wonder if I can get a discount on a 65" HD TV???

WebCat

 

[TopNames.com]

Yea..I have a link to Wholesale411.com on my site. Good resource.

 

[Domainut]

Haven't tried it yet, but looking forward to exploring all new sections.

 

[Edwin]

Anybody Tried the "Drop Shipping" Forum?

Am I missing something? There's no "Drop Shipping Forum" but simply a search box on a page that searches the Wholesale411.com website - presumably with an affiliate code embedded.

Frankly I have no idea at all why this merited the screen real estate taken up by a whole "forum"

 

[WebCat]

Edwin, it's a start. I for one, had not heard of Wholesale411.com before this. There is also room for developing this as time wears on.

Do you have any constructive suggestions which could make this forum more useful?

I think they would be well received and appreciated!

 

[Nexus]

Originally posted by Edwin
Am I missing something?

I don't think so. I mentioned what I expected from the drop-ship forum, but it turned into a bit of a rant (I detected a little anger slipping in), and I'm trying to cut-back so I erased it. To be honest, I think the idea could benefit from having someone creatively and insightfully determine a unique presentation for all exclusive features (on the forum template level). This is the only level on which I want to describe this without better incentive for spending my time. Hope it helps.

~ Nexus

 

[A D]

Nexus,

Feel free to get specific on what you want and I will get it implemented.

-=DCG=-

 

[Ed30]

People sell lists of wholesalers etc apparently on ebay which, I am told, are generally a rip off (I've never bothered buying one for that reason). A list/directory + recommendations of wholesalers/dropshipping companies that people have used profitably would be great. For instance, which ones have you used and still use DCG? I am interested in folks who have a lot of websites, how they find goods to sell. This is the sort of info this area needs. Just a suggestion.

 

[Edwin]

I see it's already changed to "Drop Shipping Forum". Why not make the link to Wholesale411.com a single "sticky" thread at the top of that forum (so that it's always visible) rather than a sub-forum?

 

[JMJ]

Been searching wholesale411.com for months.

 

[WebCat]

Hey Jolt! Thanks for posting.

So... I am very curious, what have your results been like with 411? Have you found reliable sources for products? And have those sources proven themselves dependable with respect to quality of products and delivering on time?

Best Regards,
WebCat

 

[JMJ]

I've actually bought from one company but from what I can tell you can get the same price from alot of places. I did find one other great deal from a wholesaler but not sure if it was from there. I've been doing alot of research so it gets confusing. I'm hoping to open a Trend Outlet here in Nashville so it's not primarily web related.

 

[izopod]

Originally posted by Ed30
A list/directory + recommendations of wholesalers/dropshipping companies that people have used profitably would be great.

I agree ...

 

[Nexus]

Originally posted by DotComGod
Nexus,
Feel free to get specific on what you want and I will get it implemented.
-=DCG=-

Thanks, DCG. I can say a few things that I feel are the most important in my mind. Right now the product called "Exclusive Membership" comes across as mostly another collection of forums. I've started and stopped and restarted this post, because there are a lot of small issues regarding "improvement", but I think the "big picture" needs some work as well. I think there are some main areas I could point to:

1. Clarity of Purpose - If being a "professional" domainer defines being an "exclusive" member, this forum should make clear that this is purely about business. For this: --Kill most of the "busy" normal web interface and make it clear visitors are in the "EXCLUSIVE" area with a button BACK to Dnforum but otherwise, highlighting and concentrating on exclusive related menus, easily accessible search tools, etc... as if it is the elite service it is targetted as being. Even if it is mostly a color scheme changing, the top should be smaller (one-inch thick max) and SAY on it somewhere, DnForum - Exclusive Area.
2. Expansive Scope - The range of items the area tries to cover is a good start, and represent interesting ideas. Instead of simply having a "trademark forum", is it possible to license the database from the USPTO and provide an interface to it similar to NameProtect? I heard the data license is only $2,000 a year with FTP access for getting new updates weekly. Other professional tools like patching into the UDRP decission search engines (similar to the drop-ship search engine), and more would be appreciated as well. If the forum layout for Exclusive was redesigned with the right eye, it could incorporate much of these "tools" into an easily accessible format that doesn't require jumping between too many pages, or scrolling down a long list of items (using DHTML). I can tell you there are few good examples of this type of utility in design, but it's that uniqueness that would in my opinion create very strong, and highly appreciated, and peerless value in this industry. Unfortunately, much of what would make "Exclusive" truly powerful requires custom development and more than a good share of vision and head-knocking. It would be simpler if it were just bug fixing.
3. Utility - First, I'll say this note starts off in familiar territory before getting constructive. I think the exclusive area seems to have more than enough social capital to make it somewhat useful, but like some of the wrangling I've heard, I feel it may be gaining this capital at the cost of other DnForum areas. Relying mostly on new forums, there is an implication that these areas could easily have been added to the existing forums without extra expense. As potential however, the "Exclusive" area could be the flowerbed for the Exclusive related discussion, and not the necessarily the other way around. I realize DnForum is a "forum", but I think a forum can have different formats, as long as its purpose is to foster excellent group communication.

Some of these points are less practical than they are philosophical, but I'll PM you a very practical notion to see what you think about it. In the end I feel that providing unique tools and options for simplifying the day-to-day grind and *further* empower an individual's efficacy at this trade would be the best win-win for both business and customer concerns.

Some of my thoughts.

Regarding the wholesale drop-ship lists, I mentioned World Wide Brands earlier before erasing it. You can find them here: http://www.info1.mydssd.com/wwb/

I have not purchased their product, but they seem very well put together, and I'm planning to buy it soon. I was expecting something similarly authoritative (though outsourced) for the exclusive forum.

~ Nexus

 

[RON2]

Great info, thanks for the link.

 

[A D]

Nexus,

All good point that I will begin to look at this weekend and I can tell you that I will license the tradmark db and will go look for it now.

All excellent recommendations.

I will never be upset with constructive criticism as that's what allows me to make this place better. Thanks again!

-=DCG=-

 

[A D]

Thanks to Nexus's point....

If anyone had any links to db's or apps that thye think will benefit the community, i will spare no reasonable expense to get the for dnforum.com

post them if you know them....PLEASE!

-=DCG=-

 

[Nexus]

You're welcome, DCG. As an added note, my trademark db pricing information is outdated. All the fees have gone up a bit, and it looks like the product offerings have been updated as well. I'm sure it would still be a little easier than diffing zonefiles though.

~ Nexus

 

[A D]

Called USPTO and they have no clue what I am talking about. Have talked to 6 people so far.

Finally got right guy and he's not in today! UGGGGGhhhh!

Oh well, as you can see I am catively pursuing this and we WILL get this feature!

-=DCG=-

 

[Nexus]

You have to love bureaucracy, one of the sure signs that there is an opportunity for providing value.

This looks like a good page to work off of:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/catalog/products/tmprod-2.htm

Phone numbers appear under each offering. Somewhere around there I think there is also sample data, but when that guy gets back in, he'll probably be able to give you a good picture. Damn the long weekend!

Best,
~ Nexus