What is the best way to find drop shippers and distributers for selling products? Let the ideas, suggestions, comments, and facts flow in!

Calling them myself? One by One?
Going through the big boys only?
How do I find the smaller drop shippers?

Help?

Hey Marketer,
I started writing one message to you but than reread your message and wrote another, than reread your message and realized "I am confused!"
I believe Drop Shippers and Distributors are two different individuals and that is why I am confused on what information you are asking for.
Drop Shipper - Someone who will ship your product for you under your business name.
Distributor - Someone who will sell and ship your product for you (sometimes under their own business name).
I am curious as to which you are interested in?
This will help me in discerning how to answer your question.

Thanks Strapworks,

Really I am interested in both... how to find them. I am interested in expanding my product line and need to know how and where to look.

Is that how a lot of you all find your products also or do you warehouse your products and send yourself?

I need to know where to begin.

Alright, that gives me a good place to start, I will focus on one at a time.
Drop Shippers - A drop shipper is usually someone you buy product from. If they were shipping product you made or supplied than they would be a distributor. I would contact the suppliers you buy from and ask them if they offer drop shipping, than you don't have to carry an inventory. But, with most suppliers they have minimums to purchases, so you want to make sure you either have multiple orders or pass those minimums onto your customers. If you are looking at selling other companies products than they could also be a drop shipper for you. I would check out "Online Malls" for companies that are looking for sales reps. You go out and sell their product under your own business name or under their's and they ship.
Distributors - Again, "Online Malls" are great places to place your product for sale cheaply. They take almost any product from any company and throw it in a category for sale. When a purchase is made they contact you and you ship. But, mainly a distributor is someone who will store or purchase your product from you and sell it in their business name or yours. I am not sure where you are going to find distributors for your products, but I would just run a search through any search engine for "sales reps".
From what I am hearing from you I imagine you are kind of just looking for any way to make some extra money. Am I right? If I am the best way (easiest in most cases) is to become an "Affiliate" for several websites (reputable websites that sell good product and look like they will grow). You can even setup a free website and place their links on your site, visitors to your site click on those links, make purchases, and you get a percentage of the sale.
Most of the business owners you will find in the Forums carry their own product and ship on their own also.
If you are looking to be a reputable business person with a solid entreprenuerial (don't know about the spelling on that ) business than I would spend some time and money to find a "niche".
What is a "niche"? A niche would be a product or service that is either not offered by anyone else or does not have high competition. Find something that you can look unique with. Maybe something you can take and change/tweek to make something new!
This world is full of competition. The ones that survive are because of one of two reasons.
1. They either have a lot of money
or
2. They have a "niche"
Fit one of those two and you will make it to retirement.
Good Luck and Best Wishes

We've found a lot of great deals at Wholesale Central. A free wholesale search site, which has a option to view all the dropshippers regisitered with them.

Check it out at WholesaleCentral.com

Another good resource is the uk wholesale trade directory