Constraints and limitations faced by Malaysian IM (2)

An aspiring Internet marketer very often neglects the importance of including the shipping charges in his calculation for the prices of products.
It is not surprising because when they first started they are always brain-washed by the Internet marketing gurus to sell downloadable information products which do not involve shipping.
Then there is another group of gurus who will encourage you to use drop shippers. Drop shippers are whole salers who will deliver the products to your customers directly from their storage space when you place the orders with them. In an ideal environment,working with a drop shipper will save you big sum of money. You don't need to have a store,no need to worry about packing and shipping.
But this ideal situation is difficult to find because reputable drop shippers will be reluctant to work with a stranger like you. Similarly you are reluctant to work with new drop shippers or those who do not have good reputations.Of course,there are some lucky Internet marketers doing successful business with reputable drop shippers.However,many new comers are cheated off their money and went out of business before they meet any good drop shippers.
Therefore drop shipping is not a very good option when starting your business online.
The alternative is to ship your goods yourself. First you must learn the proper way to pack your goods with the right type of protective materials,seal the package securely and label it clearly. Otherwise your forwarder will refuse your consignment because any damage or lost caused by sloppy packing may be blamed on them.
Then you have to look for a reliable forwarder or courier service company.
For large and heavy items you should send through forwarders by sea, while smaller and light items can be sent by courier service.
All courier service companies impose a minimum charge which is in the region of RM100. If the value of your product is very high,the minimum shipping charge will not pose a problem. Whereas for light and low value items,this minimum charge may make the buyer to change his/her mind. This is very common, it all boils down to human nature.
In the beginning I thought our national courier service,POS LAJU, may not be so expensive.But I was disappointed,they do not strive to compete with private companies to provide good service, instead they strive to follow them in charging high fees.
Unless the shipping charges is lowered, we Malaysians will be at a big disadvantage in running our online businesses.