Clarifying the great drop-shop issue?

Greetings, all.

I've been reading different threads about different drop-ship modules and solutions and am still a little confused, especially when one current thread says a drop-ship module is impossible while another current thread asks tech questions about an existing one.

So...

1. Is the free add-on, "Drop Shipping Purchase Orders w/ PDF Packing List Last Updated by: Scott Turner Jun 22 2008 Unknown 3.12" an earlier version of "Drop Shipping Purchase Orders 4" which is now being sold at zencartmod.com?

2. I also saw a thread about the commercial mod, Advanced Shipper 3.6.0, from dev.ceon.net. If I can charge just one or two shipping rates for all my items (from a few drop-shippers), what mod do you recommend? I sense one of #1...

3. Is there any progress on the automation front (an email with the order automatically going to the drop-shipper after payment)? I would contribute funds to that end.

Cheers,

Robbie

The problem with drop-shipping and zencart is chiefly to do with the simple fact that (as OpenSource software) the standard Zencart has to be as generic as possible - while drop-shipping is very complicated and has to be highly customized. (No two operators of zencart stores are likely to have identical drop-shipping needs.)

This latter point (in parenthes above) is what makes constructing a "one-size-fits-all" drop-shipping module well nigh impossible.

Forum user "lankeeyankee" seems to have found a workable solution using the drop ship module you speak of, and the shipping module from ceon.

Software aside, you must (as a fulfilment agent) consider the logistics of drop-shipping, and the possible tangible effects it could have on your customers...

... for example:

You have 3 different dropshippers, all with their own shipping policies, pricing, delivery timeframes and methods.

A customer comes to your store and fills the shopping cart with 3 products - one from each drop-shipper. Each item costs about $10.

So the shopping cart sub-total is $30.

However:

• Drop-shipper A charges $6.95 (minimum) and ships with FedEx
• Drop-shipper B charges $5.75 (minimum) and ships with DHL
• Drop-shipper C charges $6.50 (minimum) and ships with USPS

Not only will the shipping (for a $30 order) now cost the customer almost $20 but the consignment will come in THREE SEPARATE DELIVERIES.

... and if each one must be "signed for", it basically means the customer must be "bound to the delivery address" until all arrive.

When you consider the theory and idea of dropshipping, it's often a good idea to think about what effect your decision will have in reality.

• Will I pay $20 shipping on a $30 order? (NO WAY)
• Will I sit around for several days waiting for my order to arrive? (NO WAY)
• Will I click out of your site and shop elsewhere? (ABSOLUTELY)

And what about the real hassle of:

A customer goes ahead and orders the 3 items... but only 2 arrive. He gets peed off and returns them to you and wants a refund... Each drop shipper's policies in this regard differ... You have hours of manual admin to do

This will take up all your time! - for a $30 order ?

schoolboy:

The problem with drop-shipping and zencart is chiefly to do with the simple fact that (as OpenSource software) the standard Zencart has to be as generic as possible - while drop-shipping is very complicated and has to be highly customized. (No two operators of zencart stores are likely to have identical drop-shipping needs.)
....
And what about the real hassle of:

A customer goes ahead and orders the 3 items... but only 2 arrive. He gets peed off and returns them to you and wants a refund... Each drop shipper's policies in this regard differ... You have hours of manual admin to do

This will take up all your time! - for a $30 order ?

I hear what you're saying. But at least for now, my needs would be pretty simple.

Funny thing is, I re-read the thread with user "lankeeyankee" and that does seem to be the way to go, the drop-shipper mod and ceon's. I guess this didn't sink in yesterday when I was reading threads and working on my site for 9 hours straight.

So last thing- is the free drop-ship mod an earlier version of V4 now for sale?

-Robbie

giftmeister:

So last thing- is the free drop-ship mod an earlier version of V4 now for sale?

-Robbie

It's an earlier version that doesn't have as many features as the paid version. I'm not sure what all of the differences are, I haven't looked into it since I am happy with the free version and am starting to look at making some alterations to adapt it to my unique situation.

It's not 100% perfect for us in every way, but I'd say 98% of the time the combination of the drop ship purchase order mod and Ceon's Advance Shipper mod(this one especially) gets it done for us. But, our situation is unique of course. For us, we don't get a lot of crossover sales between vendors in one order, so it works great. Those times where we do get orders with items from more than 1 vendor can create abandoned carts because the combined shipping is too high if they are smaller $ items, but we accept that and are working to remedy most of these issues by stocking some of the smaller items so we ship part of the order from here(cheaper than from the vendor since they charge a drop ship fee plus a handling fee on the shipping) and the rest from the other vendor. Not perfect, since we wanted to be 100% drop ship to allow us freedom to run our business from anywhere, but we are converting a lot of sales that would have been lost and these little sales add up to $$$.:yes:

I am happy to help with any more advice about running a drop ship operation with ZC, I think we have ironed out a lot of issues now and things are running pretty smoothly. ZC is the best open source cart system and is very flexible.

Good luck!