How to Protect Yourself From Illegitimate Wholesalers, Dropshippers, etc

April 22, 2008

Now if your choice of making money online is eBay power selling you can find many wholesale sources on the Internet, and make lots of money online with them, but you may also come across sites developed specifically to scam sellers looking for a good deal. So what can you do to protect yourself from these fakes and deal with the real wholesalers and make some real money online?

Well first off, a supplier may be selling knock offs of well known brands but this does not mean he’s trying to scam you. A lot of suppliers from China and other countries sell knock offs, but as long as you know what you are purchasing, then it shouldn’t be a problem. Always be very cautious when spending or trying to make money online.

Some wholesalers will tell you they can only do business through Western union and wire transfers to accept payments. Note* that these are INSECURE ways to pay someone. But for Chinese wholesalers and other foreign countries these are the only ways to make a transaction. Paypal and credit cards and literally impossible to get.

So play it on the safe side and stay away from these wholesalers, because chances are you won’t be satisfied. On the other hand if you want to risk it and still play it safe, then just purchase small amounts at a time to begin with and see if you can build trust with this wholesaler then take it from there. If you want to MAKE money online and NOT lose money online you MUST use caution.

Stay Away If…

You get a fake address that doesn’t exist, or is in a poor or residential area.
You are not asked for a business or tax id number.
No contact details listed on website.
When you call, person who answers doesn’t identify themselves immediately after answering.
Company stops replying to emails.
Images are copied from other sites.
Wholesaler becomes shifty when asked for a sample.
Company has no land line number. (cellphones are NOT acceptable)
No full business name or registration number.

When making money online you should always use secure payments like Escrow, Cod and Paypal (verified) use these steps to help you make money online while protecting yourself from illegitimate people trying to scam you out of your money.