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For as long as I can remember, I've been interested in dropshipping. When I was in my early twenties, I began looking for additional ways to make money. Unfortunately, in my search I encountered many scams and disappointments along the way, but I kept my faith and eventually discovered dropshipping.

Dropshipping is when a store owner, either online or in a brick and mortar store, does not stock their own inventory. The store owner accepts an order from a customer, and then the store owner places the order and has an outside distribution company ship it to their customer. Dropshipping is great for online business owners, store owners who don't have enough room in their shop to keep a lot of inventory, and those who want to work out of their homes.

After much research, I decided that I would give dropshipping a try and see if I could make it work for me. I joined World Wide Brands, DOBA, eBay and many other sites that allowed me to sell products I didn't actually have in stock. During the next weeks, I spent my time reviewing products, determining what price I could sell and list items for, and checking shipping costs. I was determined, that when I started selling products, I was going to know everything I needed to and have answers for everything.

Unfortunately, as many of us know, things don't always work out the way we hope they do and as listed my first item for sale, it was obvious I would never have every answer. I started receiving questions where my customer's would want very specific information about the item I was selling, questions asking for discounts if the product was refurbished, and questions regarding my return policy. It didn't take long before I felt as though I was completely in over my head. Since I didn't have the actual product in my possession, it was difficult to give specific answers to my potential customer's questions, but I learned that if I did enough research I'd be able to answer them as much as I could.

My first few weeks of having items listed for sale were stressful, but I stuck with it. After a few months I had encountered many different situations and was figuring out how to provide excellent customer service and make sure everyone was getting what they wanted. I began making a little money on each sale and eventually was even able to branch out to selling items on eBay for people around my community. I earned a reputation as being very fair and honest and began to get additional customer simply by word of mouth.

I stayed with my dropshipping business for about two years before I had to stop so I would have time to go back to school, but starting an online business was one of the best things I've ever done for myself. During the years I had my business I was able to earn additional income to support myself and my husband, I learned excellent customer service skills, and I learned additional business skills that allowed me to get the job that I have today as an account manager for other online businesses. While it was hard in the beginning, I'm thankful I stuck with it and encourage many others today to attempt their own online business. Even if it doesn't work out or you have to give your business up at some point in your life, you'll meet wonderful people and learn skills that will help you through your entire life.

Learn more about this author, Marie J Kelley.
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