For those frustrated with the drop shipping process or simply looking for a change of pace, there are a number of alternatives to explore. Some of these resources come from larger, well-known companies, and others come from emerging players in the wholesale industry.

Compliance by Amazon

Amazon.com is a leading online retailer, if not the leading online retailer. However, the online superstore also offers a service called Fulfillment by Amazon, which allows drop-shipping wholesalers to sell their products online with Amazon doing much of the heavy lifting. Amazon will store, pack, and ship the merchandise on behalf of the sellers and provide customer service if necessary. Fulfillment by Amazon also allows sellers to fulfill their orders from multiple sales channels; all while being stored in one of Amazon’s fulfillment centers.

ShipMyOrders.com

ShipMyOrders provides order fulfillment, logistics, and warehousing for a wide range of products, including DVDs, books, cosmetics, electronics, and more. ShipMyOrders specializes in order warehousing, processing and fulfillment, as well as distribution to customers around the world. Among the company’s services are merchandise storage, product photography, and customer service.

National Compliance Services

National Fulfillment Services serves business-to-business businesses as well as consumer-facing entities. The company, in business for more than 45 years, serves a wide range of industries, and its warehouse can ship products using any standard carrier. In addition, NFS can gift wrap products, include special promotional materials and messages, or fulfill other specialized packaging needs.

bonanzale

Bonanzle is one of the growing newcomers on the scene and aspires to be the “simplest online marketplace”. The company recently secured $1 million in venture capital funding and is quickly hot on the heels of the biggest companies in the field of drop shipping. Bonanzle users can quickly import their eBay dropshipping listings into the site, and their fees are significantly lower than eBay’s. For example, items listed under $50 incur a $1 final value fee, while on eBay many final value fees are a flat 12 percent. Another advantage is that there is absolutely no listing fee on Bonanzle.

eCrater

eCrater is another alternative to drop shipping and is equally light on the fees that frustrate many wholesalers who drop ship. Among eCrater’s many promoted benefits are unlimited site categories and products available to sellers. eCrater is also compatible with PayPal and Google Checkout, and merchants can use up to 10 photos per listing at no cost. As a “100% Totally and Completely Free” site, eCrater also offers bulk listings, eBay listing imports, and fully editable shops at no cost to users. Users can also customize their storefront addresses, with a personal eCrater URL included for free. One thing to note is that eCrater listings are based on fixed prices, so those looking for auction sales should look elsewhere.

Tight rope

A relatively new company, Highwire strives to take the guesswork out of online marketing with its suite of products and services. From marketing and site design to product management and order processing, Highwire aims to make it easy and affordable for shippers to create their own online stores. Among Highwire’s benefits, the site offers flexible shipping options based on your business needs, and shipping rates are calculated in real time. Highwire’s services come in a multi-tier price scale, ranging from absolutely free to around $50 a month for premium service.

Pay

Integrated into Facebook, Payment is new but may have the advantage of a captive audience in the millions of Facebook users. The service allows drop-shippers who already have a Facebook fan page to integrate the shopping experience on Facebook; shoppers no longer have to navigate outside of Facebook to purchase your products. Payment’s Open Cart Network allows customers to check out from any Facebook store, thereby reducing the chance of users abandoning their shopping carts. The payment supports more than 20 currencies and is TRUSTe certified. You don’t need a merchant account to use Payvment, but you will need a PayPal account to collect payments. Customers can pay with PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover.

SaleHoo

While you’re not directly in the drop shipping business itself, SaleHoo can point you in the right direction. The site serves as a directory for other drop shippers, provides product reviews, vendor information, and many other details shoppers seek. The site features over 8,000 legitimate shippers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and liquidators. All SaleHoo vendors are verified and the site uses a review system to weed out rogue dealers.