[stomachmonkey]

There is no shortage of funding groups who will front you money for things like inventory.

Their monies are collateralized by the value of the inventory as well as a personal guarantee from you.

Typically they will receive payments for items sold and you draw down from the account.

In short they own the inventory and are first in line on the money stream.

Not sure if the guys I've dealt with will work the retail side.

We use them to build inventory and wholesale to the retailer which makes setting up the payment terms easier since they are bulk orders, not single unit.

Your other options are consignment or give back some of your margin to defray the drop ship costs till you can get a better sense of how much of and which of their offerings you can move.