Internet Business and Drop Shipping. A Word of Caution

The Internet is a strange beast and the hype got ahead of most people, even me. I decided to write this Ebook about my experiences owning an Internet Business. Most people would think this is a cushy place, but in the real world, it's much different. This book tells about my experiences, starting, selling tons of merchandise worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but actually realizing a wage of less than minimum. If you ever thought of opening up an Internet Business, Ebay, Amazon or Yahoo Store, I would encourage you to read this book first. A DROP-SHIPPERS CAUTIONARY TALE, 15 chapters, 22 pages. $9.99.

Don't believe the ads in the newspapers or the hype on the web, Drop shipping and other forms of selling on the web is tough! For most web entrepreneurs, it is not at all profitable and may even be a credit killer!

Here is an excerpt from the book:

The whole inner back page of my local newspaper has an Advertisement on how to be a millionaire using proven techniques for Ebay Sales. This ad has been running daily now for two weeks. When someone tells you, 'you can be a millionaire if you just follow these steps,' you know you are about to be fleeced. It also tells you that money is so hard to make on the web, that it's easier to sell people programs to make money than it is to actually make the money. So who is making money on the Internet?

The big boys are, that's who: Ebay, Amazon.com, Yahoo Stores, Google, Yahoo Search Services, Shopping.com, MySimon.com, Pricegrabber.com, United States Postal Service, UPS and FedEx, and of course the Wholesalers. These are the top tier companies making money off the web. Ebay, Amazon & Yahoo collect fees for letting you have a store on their space, plus final value fees, merchant fees, etc. As with my example of Ebay above, if for every sale, they collect about $8 and they are doing hundreds of thousands of sales per day, you can see how they are making money for providing software and basic support. Google, Yahoo Search Services, Shopping.com, Pricegrabber and MySimon are all in the business of providing comparative shopping experiences and advertising. You can sort items by price which forces retailers to sink to a rock bottom price if they want to sell anything. What was a great value at a 50-60% gross margin is now a terrible bargain if you can get the same product from another store charging only a 25% margin. The Internet has become a race to the bottom of the price spiral. Like Walmart did to Brick and Mortar stores, Ebay, Amazon and Yahoo Stores does to virtually everything sold on the Internet. Price is the only real measure. Service, integrity and to a certain extent, quality got flushed or are marginalized. I won't say it is Ebay or Amazon or the other Big Boys fault that a free fall in price has happened, but the general consumer expects it.