Drop shipping: when the store does not have inventory or handle shipping, but istead transfers orders to the manufacturers or suppliers after a customer places an order with the storefront. There are countless examples of ecommerce stores that use drop shipping but here are five examples of successful web companies who started with or currently use the technique of drop shipping to fulfill their product orders.
1. Amazon
Amazon is a hybrid of drop shipping and fulfilling its own product shipments. If you see that an order is coming from a third party supplier and not Amazon.com, then they are utilizing the drop shipping technique.
2. Fab
Design based flash sale website that drop ships orders to design oriented suppliers.
3. MyWhiteWalls
Uses various art suppliers and main marketing technique of SEO to get targeted visitors to their storefront.
4. Gilt Groupe
Makes deals with big brand names in order to carry out the product shipping fulfillment once someone orders a discounted product from this flash sale website.
5. Zappos
Zappos is an example of a company that started as a drop shipping company then transitioned to handle their own inventory once they wanted more control over their business.