Here is a list of drop shipping companies you can use for your eBay auctions or online store. The list is current as of 12/2008. Leave comments if there are any dead links! For your own protection, make sure your research any company before you do business with them.

For the most part, all of these companies do not charge an extra fee or require a membership for you to take part in their drop shipping program.

You can also enjoy Free Advertising if you visit http://104inc.com and register your website.

1. BuyAtDiscounts.com – is legally licensed wholesale dropshipping supplier of electronic gifts, home and garden decor, and collectibles. They supply retail shops worldwide with top quality and affordable giftware products.  Most eBay stores are stocked with their products.   Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders, No Fee’s.

2. VistaWholesale.com/ – Offers hundreds of wholesale products including Candle Warmers, Fleece Blankets, Airsoft Guns, LED Flashlights, and Gag Gifts. They are also an importer and wholesale distributor of our own merchandise. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

3. SimpleDistributors.com/ – Simple Distributors is a top supplier and drop shipper of wholesale leather jackets, designer inspired handbags, leather motorcycle jackets, wholesale pocket knives, kitchenware, and much more. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

4. azWholesaleTools.com – AZ Wholesale Tools is a full service tool and supply wholesaler. They carry a huge variety of tools for any application at great prices. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

5. BargainWest.com – offers a wide collection of fine gifts and collectables for various occasions such as holidays, weddings, birthdays, wedding anniversary, graduations, kids and other special occasions. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

6. BellGolf – Golf clubs, accessories. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

7. BodySoulElements.com – Provides high quality natural handmade soaps, Shea butter, shampoos, salt glows, lavender linen sprays, jojoba lotions, soy candles, body scrubs, massage oils and so much more! Drop Ship Info: Not a Free Program.

8. a1WholesaleGifts.com – A1 Wholesale Gifts & Treasures is legally licensed wholesale supplier of gifts, home and garden decor, and collectibles. They supply retail shops worldwide with top quality and affordable giftware products. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

9. ckbProducts.com – Electronics, kitchen, sporting goods, tools. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

10. CountryMeadowSoaps.com – A manufacturer and distributor of skin care and spa products. Most of our products are based on natural ingredients such as shea butter, avocado butter, coconut oil, rice bran oil, plant extracts and various emollients and conditioners. Drop Ship Info: To qualify for a dropship account you must be a licensed business.

11. dhanish.com – Dhanish Direct Silver Jewelry Manufacturer. Costume jewelry, discounted jewelry. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

12. DropShipDirect.com – A wholesale supply chain distribution company. Electronics, arts and crafts, foods, apparel. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

13. DropShippedProducts.com – Discounted tools. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

14. jchsTools.com – Discount Tools, Contractors Tools, Power Tools, Hand Tools, Acoustic Guitars, Electric Tools, Drills, Grinders, Engine Hoist, Wood Working Tools, Hardware, Air Tool, Toys, Compressor, Screwdrivers, Router, Automotive Tools, Cordless Tools, Plumbing Tools, Garden Tools, Jointers, and more. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders

15. LowPricesForYou.com – DVD, VHS, Music CD’s. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders. All Drop Ship Sales Final

16. Lyante.com – Pins and earrings. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

17. NoveltiesWholesale.com – Sells knick knacks and the Hottest Novelties and General Merchandise in the USA and around the World. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

Knick knacks

18. 2Buypcs.com – Cell phone accessories Drop Ship Info: Special drop-shiping account required.

19. raxusa.com – Skateboards, skate accessories and clothing. Drop Ship Info: Must be a retail busines owner. No minimum order.

20. Sav-On-Closeouts.com – Seasonal products, knick knacks. Drop Ship Info: Free Drop Ship Program, No Minimum Orders.

2011 is looking like the year of the Cloud; there is more news about it now and the types that you can get than ever before. Although I think it would be pertinent not to forget dedicated server and co-location as well as complex hosting.

Cloud Hosting Research

Forrester (the famous research organization) recently surveyed 53 IT professionals at North American and European enterprises to find out where they run their email, calendar, contact, and task list services (what Forrester refers to as messaging or email services).

They spoke directly with IT professionals at 12 of those firms and with executives at 21 vendors. From that foundation of primary research, they analyzed the costs of moving email to a cloud-based service provider.

Of the 53 firms Forrester surveyed, 36 were considering or have considered a change in their email delivery facility. Cost was the motivation for 15 of these enterprises, and a further 13 were triggered by a transition, a consolidation, vendor switch, or version upgrade.

In the words of some of the IT professionals that were interviewed:

“Three years from now when my license comes due, I’ll strongly evaluate hosted email options. In the meantime, driving down to a consolidated environment is huge. If every group has its own email server, it’s a nightmare.” (Manufacturing company)

“We understand that IT isn’t a core competency for us; it’s a support mechanism. Do we need to spend time and resources to support email? We’re looking at ways to cut costs.Outsourcing email might be something we can do.” (Manufacturing company)

Not just for e-mail

Of course it’s not just for e-mail, people putting their whole system in the cloud, but this research just goes to show how important it’s all becoming. As a potential consumer of Cloud Hosting whether you’re a large blue-chip corporation or a small start-up I think it’s important to you to find out which of these really is what you want. Just because cloud is everywhere in the media as well as the buzzword of every blog, does not mean it is right for you?

Which way should you go?

I think you have to ask yourself some pertinent or probing questions about exactly the type of service you want. If you’re someone like Betfair or bettowin it’s likely that you’ll be under much more sustained pressure from outside influences, hackers and periodical shifts in demand than say someone like Argos (who could maybe have a couple of seasonal demands at Christmas and at new years sale time). Although it should be worth pointing out that both Argos and Paddy Power probably want the highest security possible to protect their customers from any sort of shenanigans.

When the Grand National is on, one would expect Paddy power and all the gambling sites have a much higher demand than just after Christmas…and of course House of Fraser, Argos and the main retailers e-commerce websites will always be under huge pressure before and after Christmas for the January sales

Buying this product is similar I suppose like with every purchase… buying a car is often a trade-off between quality and price and people like Skoda and possibly some of the Japanese and Far East brands sit well in between price and quality and do a very good job of it

The “IBM’ decision

In our industry I suppose there is a lot of what we call the “IBM decision”.

Way back in the last century (seems funny to say that now) in the 1980s and early 90s there was an old saying that “nobody got fired for buying IBM”. Today I think there is a certain amount of hangover from that in the data centre, co-location, dedicated server, cloud server industry.

People want to be safe, nobody wants to get sacked for helping out the little guy. I suppose the choice is to try and purchase from somewhere in the middle. But if you have the money to pay for something which is pretty similar but comes at a much higher price with supposed peace of mind.

As they say the choice is yours.

It should be a big surprise to anyone that young drivers have higher insurance rates than older car owners. There is a set of reasons behind such a state of affairs and parents unwilling to pay high premium rates for their teenage drivers shouldn’t think about dropping the coverage altogether. Instead, there are effective ways your teen driver can opt for lower insurance rates and save you some buck from the family budget. Here are some tips on how to do that:

1. Learn the offers at the market.

Shop around and see what local insurance companies have to offer. There are providers that specialize in high risk drivers (and teens also make part of this group), however there is also a small number of companies that work exclusively with teenage car owners and offer preferential rates. If you are able to find such a company in your area that would be the best option for you. Otherwise, compare the rates with different companies and choose the one that is more liberal towards young car owners.

2. Be a good student.

Good students can usually opt for special discounts with the majority of car insurance providers. This is because the statistics have proven that good students are safer and less risky drivers and thus can have lower rates. However, you should ask the insurance company what are the requirements and will be ready to provide proof with your current

3. Encourage the teen to pay a part of the premium.

Nothing encourages better saving and hard work when financial interest, so when you make the teen pay a part of the insurance premium you will instantly see how he or she tries to minimize these costs. This can be a good push for better grades and research on other insurance options. But be realistic about it, if your teen can’t manage to pay the premium in whole don’t put the burden and make him pay only the part he can.

4. Raise the deductibles.

Deductibles are the amount of money you have to pay upfront from your wallet before receiving the insurance benefits. And they are reverse-related to the insurance premiums, meaning that the higher is your deductible the lower premiums you will pay each year. So if your policy carries the smallest deductible, it’s better to raise it to the amount you can really pay out of pocket if something happens. This will cut your premiums for about 10-20%

5. Buy a vehicle that will give you low car insurance quotes.

It shouldn’t be a revelation to most of you that the car you drive strongly influences the rates you pay for insurance. And finding an insurance-friendly auto for your teen will really help cut the costs. Try searching car insurance quotes online to see what autos offer you the best saving opportunities and cost less to insure.

6. See if you can include the teen into your policy.

Some auto insurance companies allow parents to include teens into their insurance policies and sometimes it will help you in saving on insurance rates compared to having a separate policy for the young driver. Ask your insurance agent about your possibilities and if has any financial sense and provides some money saving options then write your teen in.

For most of us buying a home is the biggest investment to mike during the whole lifetime. And it seems reasonable that such an important investment needs reasonable coverage. That’s why you need home insurance.

What’s included in your homeowners insurance?

In case you finance your house purchase through a mortgage, your lender is most likely to require you buying basic homeowners insurance. The basic homeowners insurance includes coverage against the following risks:

• Theft
• Fire and lightning
• Smoke
• Frozen pipes
• Ice and snow

Basic insurance policies also usually include liability coverage for cases when someone is injured in your house. In case there are legal actions taken against you it will also pay for court fees. Basic insurance will also cover your costs in case it’s impossible to live in the house due to fire or any other accident.

What’s left out of coverage?

To learn what is not included into the coverage you should read through your policy, especially the Exclusions part. Things not covered by standard policies vary from one company to another, but most likely they will include damage due to earthquake, flood, nuclear accident, war, act of terrorism and similar. Still, you can purchase additional coverage for such events to be included into your home insurance policy. Wear and tear damage is never included into the policy because it’s considered to be maintenance, which is the owner’s sole responsibility.

How much coverage do I need?

When buying a house through mortgage loan your lender will require you to purchase minimum home insurance coverage (which is usually the purchase value of your home). However, it’s usually not the amount of coverage to meet your insurance needs. Instead, try calculating how much money it would require to rebuild your house entirely and use this amount as the base for getting the right coverage amount. Speak to your agent when completing the insurance policy to calculate the exact amount, or even run a full inspection for qualified appraisal.

Typically, liability limits are around $100,000, however it’s too little to protect your assets in case of legal action. You may opt to raise your limits up to $500,000 for an additional price. Sometimes it may be useful to get umbrella coverage, which pushes your limits beyond $1 million, however such coverage is typically offered only when you have both your auto and home insurance from the same carrier.

Money saving tips

Of course homeowners insurance can be quite costly sometimes. Especially when you have many items under additional coverage. In order to keep the coverage you need while still having reasonable rates you might want to consider raising your deductibles first. Deductibles are the amount of money you will have to pay out of your own pocket for the damage before the insurance policy kicks in. and the higher is that amount the lower will be your premium. The usual deductible within standard policies is $250. Try raising it to $500 or even $1000, and your rates will go down by up to 15%.

Another good way to make your home insurance cheaper is installing security features such as alarm or video, special locks and so on. This way you protect your assets and the insurance company is likely to give you a good discount for that.