After flying home from eBay Live! last week, I spent about two days home and then I was off to Salt Lake City. While there I presented to about 50 auto dealers for [tag]eBay Motors[/tag], and on Friday I was able to take a little time before my flight home to visit the offices of Doba.
In case you're not familiar with Doba, they are a regular exhibitor at eBay Live! and one of only 30 [tag]eBay Certified Service Provider[/tag]s. There members receive access to a very large catalog of products from suppliers who will drop ship the products on behalf of sellers. Members list the items on eBay or their own sites, sell them, and then process the order. The customer receives the product directly from the source. This enables sellers to sell a large number of items without the hassle of stocking inventory or spending a lot of money up front.
I have personally used [tag]Doba[/tag]'s services and found them to be outstanding. My products are split between some I have on hand, and a few that I have drop shipped. When ever I've used Doba, their suppliers have delivered items I've sold quicker than the items I ship myself. That is why I have also joined their affiliate program. I recommend them from personal experience.
In the past, some folks have looked at [tag]drop shipping[/tag] in a less-than-favorable light due to problems with suppliers, long delivery times, and shady practices by some sellers. It is not fair to lump Doba in with this group. In my opinion, they have made drop shipping respectable, and they have helped many people get started selling, or expand their product lines successfully.
In my opinion Doba is a great way to source product, but it should not be used as your sole source. Just as a business generally has multiple revenue streams a business on eBay should have multiple sourcing streams. You my buy product directly from some suppliers and stock it, you may manufacture products to sell, but for expanding an existing product line I believe Doba is a great resource.
The real reason I am writing about this is the people I met. While I know Doba's CEO, Jeremy Hanks from working together at eBay Live! in year's past, and Mikal Belicove from our weekly webinars, I met lots of other Doba employees Friday. Everyone I met was extremely nice, and my impression of them is that they sincerely want to help people succeed in their online selling endeavors. I was quite pleased at what I found there. They are a very nice group and their hospitality was outstanding.
The other thing that happened while I perused the Doba offices was this:
I knew it was a hot day in Orem, Utah - but never expected a melted handle on my laptop bag. This took a little over three hours. (The computer still works fine btw...) This is my most favorite top-loading Targus bag which I talk about to everyone! And now it's melted! I wonder if I can find a bag like this on Doba...?
As a side note to parents and pet owners: Can you imagine people leaving a child or pet in a car on a hot day? This is a really graphic reminder.
[tags]melted laptop bag,product sourcing[/tags]
Popularity: 4% [?]
0 comments ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment