Your goal should be to find a dropshipper that will ship items one at a time instead of requiring that you purchase a fixed minimum number of items each time (single-unit purchases vs. minimum-order purchases). With this arrangement, you don't have to invest your limited cash reserves in inventory that might not sell (and that sits in your garage for months).

Thanks to stiff competition Web has created, many dropshippers will now do business with you without requiring that you pay a setup fee or have a tax ID number. You simply set up a reseller account (you're reseller) and start marketing products on your site. Account registration can often be done online at dropshipper's Web site. With this process, you can literally be selling products within minutes of setting up your reseller account.

Be warned, however, that some dropshippers are not as reliable as others. Also, be aware that some companies who claim to be dropshippers are really middlemen who have positioned themselves between online merchant (that's you) and real wholesale merchandise distributor. These middlemen will eat into your profits and usually don't offer much in way of customer support and service. They can actually hurt your business more than help it, so make it a point to do business only with--and directly with--established, reputable dropship companies.

Spend time to research dropshippers doing business in your particular product category, and try to get feedback from their current customers. Remember that your customer doesn't know (or care) that product they are purchasing from you really comes from a dropshipper. If there is a problem, your customer will come back to you for resolution, not dropshipper, so make sure that dropshipper you use has a policy for resolving problems quickly.

Setting up an online store that offers merchandise from dropshippers doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming. However, this brings up age-old question: If I build it, will they come? The age-old answer is: Only if you let them know you are there, but that's another column.

Here's to your success!

Tim Knox tim@dropshipwholesale.net For information on starting your own online or eBay business, visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net

Target Your Product To A Growing Customer Base Teens represent one of fastest-growing segments of consumer population, registering a growth of 16.6% between 1990 and 2000. Teens also wield significant buying power - both in their own right and in context of their family purchasing decisions. Recent studies have shown that teenagers age 15 to 19 spend as much as $100 per week, much of it on clothing and accessories. That's why this expanding segment of buying public is increasingly being targeted by smart marketers like Old Navy, The Gap, The Buckle, Pac Sun, and many others. As old business saw goes, "Sniff for money, then follow your nose."

Provide Great Customer Service I've preached this sermon before. Know what your customer expects and always over-deliver. Cater to their whims. Ask their name and use it with respect. Make them feel like your friend, not your meal ticket. Make their experience a good one and they will return.

Good Employees Make All The Difference Hire enthusiastic people and train them well. The manager of this store, who looked sixteen but privately professed to be twenty-six, was one of best salesmen I have ever seen. He dressed like his customers. He spoke their language. He knew their likes and dislikes. He was well-versed on fashion trends. He pointed out things that might be of interest to them and immediately agreed with whatever their opinion was.

"You'd look great in this shirt," he told a giggling gaggle of girls. It didn't seem to matter that he wasn't speaking to any one of them in particular. They all giggled some more and trotted off to fitting rooms to try on shirts. You could almost hear cash register ring.

Upsell, Upsell, Upsell Millions of dollars have been made by asking one simple question: Do you want fries with that?" When it came time to checkout young manager went into upsell mode by saying things like, "That's a great shirt you're buying… we have a really cool pair of shorts to match that! These earrings are on sale. They would look awesome with that necklace you're wearing!"

My daughter giggled and blushed with each compliment - slash - sales pitch and if I had not been one holding credit card, she would have bought everything he was selling.

During ride home Chelsea made defining comment of day.

"What a great store! I bet they sell a lot more stuff because of that cute sales guy!"

Business wisdom from mouths of babes. I should've had sons.

Here's to your success!

Tim Knox tim@dropshipwholesale.net For information on starting your own online or eBay business, visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net