Drop shipping or holding stock?

[VRSphil]

Hi,

I’m keen to set up a small online shop, using as simple and easy method as I can.

I work In quite a niche industry at the moment and one thing that bothers me is having to hunt around for all of the various weird and wonderful (and some normal) tools I need- some are quite hard to source, and would like to put them all in to one convenient shop, and utilise industry contacts, social media etc to get things going, initially alongside my job.

My first thought was to buy stock of each item I want to sell, as cheaply as possible but ensuring quality items/brands etc, slowly over the course of a few months as I get things started, and as something sells, replenish as necessary. But someone mentioned it might be easier to use a drop shipping model.

Aside from the difficulty finding suppliers to fulfil each order every time, are there any other major drawbacks to be aware of?

Any advice on this much appreciated

Thanks

[eatcustard]

You have no control over a drop shipper, find a good one and it will work, find a bad one and thats your business down the drain

[jas xjr]

i have sold a lot online but never drop shipped. the question in my mind would be that once the supplier has your customers details , why would they need you ? also what would distinguish you from other drop shippers ?
it may be a viable way of doing business and i would be interested to hear of peoples experiences.

[DSLiverpool]

Can you afford to stock yourself? if no then you dropship if yes you hold stock or my preference is hold 1 or minimal stock of everything and then decide if you drop ship or ship from your office. Its essential your supplier has an accurate stock feed that you pull in at least twice a day