Drop Shipping Business

Sell for Home DIY: Electric drills

January 16, 2010 at 1:28 AM | Posted in Mail Order, Online Auctions, Small Business | Leave a Comment
Tags: customer, drill, law, manufacturer, selling

After a hammer and screwdriver, the electric drill is probably the DIY enthusiast’s most used and most useful tool. With different accessories it is also a versatile tool, and the mail order selling of the drill itself plus a whole collection of accessories has been popular for a number of years. Though relatively heavy, packing is not difficult since the drills usually come in makers’ cartons which may only need outer wrapping to make them suitable for transit through the mails.

The price/weight ratio, however, may be a problem. As with all mechanical things, there is bound to be a certain number of drills that will fail to operate satisfactorily or even break down altogether. It is at this point, rather than at the time of sale, that the weight of the drill becomes a nuisance. Unless a very simple repair is all that is needed — and it is also within your competence — you will have to return the drill to the manufacturer for repair, and although the repair during the guarantee period may be free, you will have to bear the cost of getting the drill to the manufacturer, and then have the cost of returning the repaired drill to your customer. You may also wish to reimburse the customer‘s costs in returning the drill to you in the first place.

It may be that the customer chooses to deal direct with the manufacturer and that the manufacturer is prepared to deal direct with your customer; but remember that the customer‘s contract in law is with you as the retailer, and he is entirely within his rights to return unsatisfactory equipment to you and to insist that you deal with the problem. The cost to you of dealing with problems of this kind can take a substantial bite out of the profit you hoped to get from the original sale. For this reason if for no other, you should choose the equipment you sell with the greatest care, preferring the reliable to the cheap, because the cheap isn’t cheap if you have excessive costs dealing with returned goods. But even the best drills will give rise to some returns, and you must allow for this in the price you charge.