In conventional drop shipping, your customer’s orders ship directly from the manufacturer or dropshipping supplier to the customer. You can track where your products came from, such as the address and names of both supplier and manufacturer.
Blind drop shipping is a drop shipping method that ships orders directly from the manufacturer to the customer without getting any information about the address and name of the supplier; you will only get the shipper’s name and address.
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Is Blind Drop Shipping Legal?
Yes, blind drop shipping is a legal business model used by some well-known brands.
In a blind dropshipping setup, the supplier must be mindful when preparing the shipment, for it must include up to 3 Bill of Landings (BOL) to conceal the information.
Courtesy: Clever Business
How Does Blind Drop Shipping Work?
You need to contact your supplier if you want your business to function using the blind dropshipping business model. More clearly, the shipper arranges with their freight forwarder to remove the ‘Bill of Landing’ (BOL) once the shipment has cleared customs. A blind packing slip is sent along with the shipment to ensure the exclusion of the supplier’s information from the delivery.
Blind drop shippers get customers by web advertising and promoting a product as their own, even if it’s re-labeled. From this, the manufacturer has an advantage as this increases sales without additional marketing costs.
Why Do Retailers Use Blind Drop Shipping?
Blind drop ship helps retailers by keeping suppliers anonymous. This encourages your customers to order from you again instead of ordering directly from the source. From this, you get to be the middleman instead of losing customers to your supplier.
Benefits of Using Blind Drop Shipping
As you know, every drop ship method has its advantages and disadvantages. Let us look at the benefits of blind drop shipping:
#: Protective Advantage
Blind drop shipping protects your rights and interests as a business owner because the model prevents suppliers from using the shipping information you directly provided to your customers, who might “steal” future orders.
#: Client Retention
Since blind dropshipping keeps your supplier anonymous, your customers cannot order directly from the manufacturer or supplier; they have to use you as a middleman. And because your customers are used to you being the middle person, you can retain them for longer.
#: Maintains a hands-off approach
Blind drop shipping gives you a hands-off approach to managing your eCommerce business while protecting it. You won’t have to protect your inventory or maintain your stock; the supplier will take care of the shipping orders, allowing you to remain behind the scenes.
#: Brand Consistency
Customers want quick transit times and experiences that match their opinions of the brands they have purchased from because you have gained their trust and have to maintain it for your own sake. Blind drop shipping ensures consistency, which ensures your brand matches the orders.
#: Better Profit margin
Once you use blind dropshipping to establish a memorable brand in a specific niche, you can regulate product prices to increase profit and better cash flow within your business.
#: Supports Small Bussiness Growth
All drop shipping approaches allow beginner entrepreneurs to thrive in retail by teaming up with well-established manufacturers, an element of blind drop shipping that support startup or small business growth.
Drawbacks Of Blind Drop Shipping
Blind drop shipping also has drawbacks, the main of which are :
#: Issues with Order Returns
Some suppliers are reluctant to manage returns, which can make things difficult if a customer gets a damaged product. What will worry you the most is the processing returns and not shipping the orders.
#: Not all suppliers support blind drop shipping
This mostly happens with manufacturers and new sellers because they do not have experience with this model.
#: No control over product quality and shipping times
When order processing takes longer, delivery times will also take longer, which is not a good sign bearing in mind your customers are waiting for the delivery. Also, since the products come directly from the manufacturer, it isn’t easy to track the quality of the products at the end of it. This can destroy your relationship with your customers, especially when the product quality is not consistent after every purchase.
How to Start Blind Drop Shipping: A Step-by-Step Guide
You can start a blind dropshipping business using the following five steps:
Step 1: Pick a product
We’ve covered niche and product selection in various blog posts because it’s one of the keys to eCommerce and drop shipping —blind dropshipping— success. While many factors come into play with product selection, the most important thing to keep in mind is to sell in-demand products.
Success with blind drop shipping demands deep knowledge of your target market and how you can position your product in the market.
Step 2: Find suppliers
If you have decided to use blind drop shipping, you need to find suppliers who support this model, which you can do by contacting suppliers directly.
No matter which supplier-finding method or platform you use, ensure you ask suppliers directly if they offer blind drop shipping and their blind drop shipping program, and ensure you all understand what it means before proceeding.
Aim to work with suppliers with a feedback score of about 2,000-2 million —this will give you a glimpse of the best supplier to work with.
Step 3: Choose a website
Since you have already chosen your supplier and have a product, the next step is to look for a site that works well with blind drop shipping.
The following are some of the websites and platforms that are good for blind drop shipping:
AliExpress
AliExpress is the most favored Chinese drop shipping marketplace among beginner drop shippers because it has millions of niche products, supports global delivery, and is free to access
Most AliExpress manufacturers can support blind drop shipping; you only have to leave them a message indicating that you want that.
Wiio
Wiio supports blind drop shipping. When items reach Wiio’s warehouses, they undergo a repacking process to ensure no one can discover third-party sellers apart from your brands on the shipment.
Alibaba
Like AliExpress, you can ask individual Alibaba suppliers if they support blind drop shipping and only work with those that do.
CJDropshipping
The best thing about CJDropshipping is that they will help you source any drop shipping products from China, not only on AliExpress but also on Taobao and 1688.
You can start selling items found on their website for free.
Before your products ship out, they undergo a quality inspection and re-packaging process to ensure that goods are in good condition and there is no information about the Chinese supplier. They also offer drop shipping branding, which goes hand in with blind dropshipping ideas.
Banggood
Banggood is a Chinese marketplace centered on high-quality niche products. When you become one of Banggood’s drop-shipping partners, you get 5%-20% discounts on most items on the platform. All orders are assured to be blind shipped with no trace of them being from Banggood.
EPROLO
The most outstanding thing about EPROLO is the shipping period: you can deliver your customer’s orders to US/UK in 5-8 days and Europe between 8-12 days, depending on the Express shipping method.
Modalyst
Modalyst is one of the biggest drop shipping platforms on the internet. Modalyst’s fulfillment policies state that every supplier must deliver goods in neutral packages and stick to blind shipping standards.
Printful
Printful assures retailers that it will blindly send your drop ship orders without including any of its branding anywhere inside or on the shipment package.
When it comes to cost, this supplier is free. You only have to cater for shipping product costs.
Aside from Printful, other print-on-demand platforms such as Gooten, CustomCat, Printify, teelaunch, or Apliiq also support blind drop shipping.
Additionally:
Besides working with blind dropshipping suppliers, you can also work with a 3PL agency like Bestfulfill.
A professional 3PL dropshipping sourcing and fulfillment agency like Best fulfill can help you source products, inspect and warehouse them, manage inventory, and customize orders with your brand packaging before blind shipping them.
Step 4: Establish a store
You have already weighed the benefits and drawbacks of blind drop shipping, selected the products you will sell, and already have your supplier. The next step is creating and optimizing your eCommerce store. Your first option is to choose an online store platform.
Here, you have a variety of choices for blind drop shipping. You can go with WooCommerce, which goes hand in hand with WordPress, or use the Shopify route. After creating a platform, build a foundation, create content, set up store functionality, and finally, launch your blind drop shop store.
Step 5: Start marketing
Write down your marketing strategy. It may seem like you have everything figured out in your head, especially because you are doing everything yourself. However, you will have an easier time taking care of your business’s marketing needs if you have a plan detailing how you intend to market your store/products to drive your business needs to become and remain profitable.
You can use Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube influencers to market your blind drop shipping business. Monitor your marketing campaigns to know which marketing strategy works best for you. You can also use Facebook and Instagram Ads for marketing —PPC ads are the heartthrob of eCommerce businesses.
Alternative Methods of Achieving Blind Dropshipping?
Yes, there are alternative methods of doing blind dropshipping.
One of the best ways is to work with a professional drop shipping sourcing and fulfillment agency that offers 3PL fulfillment, like Bestfulfill.
A professional 3PL agency like Bestfulfill ensures that:
- You get products directly from your manufacturer or supplier.
- Package your products according to blind drop shipping requirements or branded packaging that showcases your brand.
- Blind ships orders worldwide using the best shipping method available for each country.
Conclusion
If you’re eager to start an eCommerce business that retains its customer base, then blind drop shipping is your best shot. The purpose of blind drop shipping is to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction while concealing your suppliers.
Nonetheless:
Before getting in, consider the pros and cons of blind drop shipping and decide whether it fits your business model and brand. Then, consult your supplier and find out if they can provide blind drop shipping fulfillment.
Blind Dropshipping FAQ
Commonly asked blind dropshipping questions include:
Q1: Do blind shipments have any restrictions?
Yes., certain carriers have restrictions on blind shipments to make sure they bill correctly. In some cases, carriers accept false names of businesses with inaccurate phone numbers and addresses, but the city and zip codes should always match with that of the genuine business.
Other carriers need correct zip codes when shipping goods. Some allow for the whole contact information and address to be incorrect. It all rests on the carrier; check with the carrier before making a blind shipment booking.
Q2: How do drop shipping returns and refunds work in blind drop shipping?
You can ask your customers to ship the goods they want to return to your store’s address. You receive the goods, assess the issue, then communicate with your blind drop shipping supplier.
You can also provide your supplier’s warehouse address to your customers to use as the return address.
Q3: Does blind drop shipping cost more?
The question of whether blind dropshipping costs more than conventional dropshipping has no straightforward answer because the cost of blind drop shipping may differ from one supplier to the next. Some may not even ask for any drop shipping fee.
Some suppliers may bill more, especially if you require additions such as branded packaging. It all depends on individual blind dropshipping suppliers and the services offered.