I need an estimate as to how big the practice of "drop shipping" is,
in dollars. The answer should look something like this:
"According to Jupiter Research, $X billion of commerce conducted over
the internet was consummated using drop shipping in 2003."
The source definately doesn?t have to be Jupiter Research, but the more
recognizable the source, the better. The time frame should be any
period (month, year, quarter) starting with Jan 2002 (The more recent,
the better). Also, Ill take an answer which relates the size of drop
shipping in general, not just with regards to business conducted over
the internet. |
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
16 Dec 2004 19:13 PST
Hello inkfarmmike-ga,
This is turning out to be tougher than anticipated, partly because
there are so many facets to the wholesale inventory/orders
management/distribution chain that it's sometimes hard to know when
drop shipping starts and ends, and other activities come into play.
Best I've been able to do thus far is a statement along these lines:
"A single drop-ship company in the U.S. -- by no means the largest --
handles more than five and a half million items a year with a value of
more than $750 million."
Would that sort of statement be of use to you at all..?
Let me know.
pafalafa-ga
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Clarification of Question by
inkfarmmike-ga
on
18 Dec 2004 01:32 PST
pafalafa-ga-
My purpose is this: I am writing a business plan for a product whose
target market is e-commerce merchants who fill orders by drop
shipping, that is, using drop-ship wholesalers. I need to show that
this is a big market. To make my point, any of the following would be
acceptable:
1) An estimate of the total value of (online or other) orders filled
using drop shipping.
2) An estimate of the fraction of US online revenues comprised of
orders filled using drop shipping.
3) An estimate of the total number of drop ship merchants in the US or
North America. The distinction between drop ship merchants and drop
ship wholesalers is important here, as there are many more merchants
than wholesalers. An estimate which doesnt make the
merchant/wholesaler distinction, such as "The total number of drop
ship companies in the US is estimated at..." would be acceptable as
long as the number is large enough.
If you are able to find answers to 1 and 3 or 2 and 3 above, Ill up the price to
$150.
Ill also consider any other estimates, quotations, or data, which make my point.
For all of the above, the data should come from a source with at least
a bit of recognizability, credibility or prestige.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
19 Dec 2004 19:58 PST
Hello again.
I just wanted to let you know that I hadn't forgotten you, but quite
frankly, I'm not finding much more than what I had a few days ago. As
robust as the drop-ship industry is, there just doesn't seem to be a
heck of a lot of market information about it.
I'll keep exploring, but perhaps another one of my Google Answer
colleagues would have better luck. If they're aware of any sources
that I haven't come across myself, I'm sure they'll post the
information here for you to consider.
Best of luck,
pafalafa-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
inkfarmmike-ga
on
20 Dec 2004 21:40 PST
Ok, thank you. I have increased the price to $200.
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