Choosing suppliers is one of the hardest tasks when starting out. You can avoid a lot of heartache and expense by ensuring that any supplier you are considering using is reputable.

• Always check out the supplier's website thoroughly. Ensure that they are displaying full contact details, VAT registration number (UK and Europe) and, if a Limited Company, the company registration number and registered office address. Look at their Terms & Conditions: are they reasonable? Is the site littered with spelling and grammatical errors? Lack of attention to such details often denotes sloppiness in other areas of business. What payment options do they offer? If Western Union is the preferred payment method, avoid.
• Next, do a WHOIS check on the domain name. Check that the ownership details match the information on the website. How long has the site existed? How frequently has it been moved? Regular changes of nameserver generally indicate that a site is being repeatedly closed down for some infraction of rules - selling fakes, perhaps, or just outright scamming.
• Google the business name with the word "scam" appended. This will show up any forum discussions etc on the legitimacy of the supplier. Do read and weigh up the comments carefully, though. Bear in mind that many people will unfairly label a business a scam simply because it doesn't have the products that person was hoping for, or because the prices are higher than was anticipated.
• If a site requires that you pay a registration fee before you have access to pricing, drop them a line and ask for sample prices for a handful of items you are interested in. A reputable supplier will be happy to provide this information.
• Once you have signed up with a supplier, always place a test order. Have it sent to a friend or relative, preferably in a different town. Check the standard of the packaging, and make sure there is no reference to the supplier's company. Some carriers require that the supplier's address is shown on the package, but there should be no mention of their name unless they actually manufacture the goods.

One tactic we DO NOT recommend is the following, which has been touted by many forums as an excellent way of checking out a potential supplier:

"Ask what this particular guy called "pitfall questions." A pitfall question is one where you ask a misleading question about the technical details about the product (which you've carefully researched before contacting the supplier) to see if you can trip him up (if he's a scammer) as he tries to close in for the kill.

For instance, he might ask a vendor, 'Will the Ipod Nanos have the good AC/DC plug, I need the 220/240V European norm?'

If the vendor replies: 'Yes of course, we have the European models!', he's probably a scam artist, because a professional’s reply would be: 'Since Nanos are charging via a USB 2.0 cable, power plug is an option. They will charge on any computer on earth equipped with USB 2.0. Language can be chosen at first start or changed later.'"

Another variation on this says that if the supplier has to check and call you back, it is "proof" he is either a scammer or a middleman who has to contact the "real" dropshipper for the information.

This is, of course, utter nonsense. Would you expect a shop assistant or even a store manager to have an expert knowledge of every single item s/he sells, and to be able to quote the specifications of a product without at least looking at the box? If your supplier offers only a tiny range of goods, then I suppose you might expect a detailed knowledge of those items. However, a supplier who offers a catalogue of hundreds or even thousands of products might well need to pop down to the warehouse and look in the box to answer a technical question.

Reputable suppliers will be busy enough sourcing stock, processing orders and dealing with genuine enquiries from real customers, without having to fend off "pitfall" questioners as well!