Simplx Blog

I have said it before and I will say it again…..Simplx is the best way, and the only way in my opinion, to truly be successful with drop shipping.  I will happily challenge anyone to a test of success on eBay with their drop ship method of choice and even let them choose the metrics to determine the winner (as long as the metric doesn’t measure wasting time or money :).  I don’t say that to sound arrogant or prideful; my intention is to share my passion and belief from years of experience and success with Simplx.

There are several fundamental problems with other drop shipping models that make it difficult or impossible to be successful.  When I refer to other drop shipping models I mean getting involved with a company that sells you a list of drop shippers for you to contact and establish a relationship, or stores their own inventory in a warehouse and charges you a membership fee to give you access to that inventory, or that even sets up the relationships on your behalf and then charges you a drop ship fee for each product and/or a monthly access fee for the service.  I should probably dedicate a blog to discuss the fundamental problems of the different drop ship models, but for this blog I want to focus on the pitfalls to watch for when using Simplx

Simplx allows you to work with retail merchants that truly understand the supply chain.  These merchants know how to service a customer and what it means to get a quality product at the lowest price in the hands of a consumer.  Simplx allows you to work with these merchants and as such eliminates most of the fundamental problems that other drop shipping models have.  Unfortunately using Simplx can still be difficult and after a discussion with our trainer Riley we identified 4 main pitfalls that many Simplx members run into.  Hopefully a discussion about these pitfalls will help steer our valued and prospective members in the right direction.

PITFALL #1 — MANAGING MERCHANT RELATIONSHIPS

Even though Simplx sets up a commissionable affiliate relationship with hundreds of retail merchants, as a Simplx member you will still be required to set up a consumer account with that merchant for purposes of keeping your address and payment methods on file.  This is no different that making a purchase online for yourself from your favorite store and setting up an account.  I recommend that you set up an email address specifically for your Simplx drop shipping and use that when creating an account at a Simplx merchant.  The biggest pitfall that Simplx members run into with the merchant relationship is when they pick up the phone and contact that merchant directly.  That conversation often goes something like this:

NEW SIMPLX MEMBER: Hi, my name is Adam and I just signed up with Simplx to drop ship your products and had a question about a product on your website.

$6/hr CUSTOMER SERVICE REP: Umm, I’m sorry sir but we don’t do drop shipping and I don’t know what you mean by Simplx.

NEW SIMPLX MEMBER: Huh? I’m on the Simplx website right now and your company is listed right here and it says you will pay me 10% commission for every product that I sell.

$6/hr CUSTOMER SERVICE REP: Hmm, well there must be some kind of mistake or misunderstanding because I’ve never heard of Simplx.

NEW SIMPLX MEMBER: (with frustration and budding anger) Ok, well I’m going to call someone over there because something’s not right here……click.

What just happened?  Well, for starters Adam didn’t get his questioned answered about the product on the website.  On top of that he has now upset himself for no reason and he is no longer focusing on making money with his Simplx account.  What Adam didn’t know before he started his conversation with xyz merchant is that the $6/hr customer service representative will not be familiar with the names of the affiliate relationships that xyz merchant has set up.  In fact it is likely that the he doesn’t even know that their company has contracted affiliate relationships.  Secondly it is likely that the he is not familiar with the term drop shipping.  Have you purchased a gift for someone online and had that merchant ship that product to your family member?  If yes, then you have already participated in dropshipping minus the economical aspect that Simplx provides.  In my attempt for a little entertainment with this example I hope it successfully illustrates the pitfall to avoid.  If you have a question for a Simplx merchant about product then please contact them and get your question answered.  If you have a question about your Simplx account or a problem with a Simplx merchant in regards to your account, then contact Simplx and let us help you get it straightened out.

PITFALL #2 — COPYRIGHTS AND VERO

Through Simplx affiliate relationships our members may use images and content from a merchant website for the purpose of promoting and selling those products.  Even though members may have this legal right, product manufacturers may still enforce copyrights on their products through eBay’s VeRO program which stands for (Verified Rights Owner.)

eBay is committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of third parties and to providing its users with a safe place to trade. eBay created the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program so that intellectual property owners could easily report listings that infringe their rights. It is in eBay’s interest to ensure that infringing items are removed from the site, as they erode buyer and seller trust.

The biggest issue we have seen with the VeRO enforcement with Simplx members usually has to do with the stock photo that you pull from a merchant’s website that belongs to the manufacturer.  If the manufacturer doesn’t like your auction for whatever reason they have the right and power through eBay to close down your listing.  This has happened only a few times in the past with some of my listings.  If I still wanted to sell that particular product then I would either edit the stock image by putting other images or words over the top of the image or I would purchase the product for myself and take my own photo and then use that photo for all of my listings.

PITFALL #3 — GROWING TOO FAST

See my previous blog PayPal Woes.

PITFALL #4 — FINDING NEW PRODUCTS TO SELL

These pitfalls weren’t listed in any order of importance, but if they were then this would definitely be the number 1.  We get more requests for help from new Simplx members wanting to find products that will sell well from their own website or from eBay than any other request.  The great thing about the Simplx model unlike any other drop shipping models is there are millions of different products to search through and sell.  What it really means is once you begin having success with your Simplx account, you don’t have to be concerned about telling your neighbor or your brother about your success with the fear that you may be creating a competitor for yourself.  There is plenty of room for you and for your brother to both be successful selling different products on eBay through the Simplx network.

With that being said let’s address this topic of finding new products.  First, make sure you are familiar with the Simplx Calculator and you use it frequently in the beginning to determine which products will sell well.  After a couple of months of searching through products to sell, you will get a good feel for profitable selling products without having to return to the calculator each time.  Second, make sure you subscribe to newsletters to at least 10 or 15 of the merchants you think you would like to use to drop ship products.  Third, almost every merchant has a “deals” page and you need to browse through those deals on a regular basis.  Fourth, ABB (always be browsing)…..the more you look at products the easier you will notice it becomes to find products to sell.  Once I start plugging products into the calculator I usually find something I want to list for sale after 6 to 8 products.  During the Simplx training session on “How to Find Hot Selling Products” you will be directed to several other lists and resources that you can turn to in order to find the hottest selling products on eBay as well as product trends that you will find useful in your product search.  Lastly, don’t give up.  There are plenty of products for you and your brother to list and sell to reach your financial objectives, but you need to stay committed and never give up.  Be sure to use the hot line if you ever find yourself running into the wall.  The process is difficult at first, but it does become very easy with time.

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