I ran into the same problem with drop shipping. Everything I found was the same stuff everyone else used. I also found similar sites that dropped shipped just to find out that neither one were the real drop shipper. They found a place who does the drop shipping and set up sites claiming to be a drop shipper. You can do that with a drop shipper. The prices where inflated by only a few dollars, but I couldn't sell the crap anywhere. It wasn't until later that I found the real place with the cheaper prices. I still couldn't have sold the stuff, though.
I asked some powersellers on eBay about it, and a few still liked the dropping shipping game. One guy told me that the best drop shippers are those that don't actually advertise as being a drop shipper. I found a place that had their own site and sold on eBay themselves. I emailed them and for $1, they would include a generic packing list without their information or the price. I made the most money from them than I did with any other drop shipper.
I sell to two different markets. I CANNOT sell any items from one to the other. I tried and failed horribly. What I did find, though, was what I could sell, and like John, I now buy wholesale. One drop shipper that I used also wholesales. The difference, though, is the price. I pay wholesale without any extra fees. Getting the stuff cheaper (20% cheaper) made it so I could actually sell the stuff, especially when I found out where the stuff would sell.
For the other market, I tried drop shipping, but the quality so really bad. If I could find someone that would buy it, they would quickly return it. I did find out what would sell (if it was made a little better). I now work with about 6 manufactures in China and import directly from them. You do have to pay up front and keep inventory, but you actually make money. I didn't like drop shipping. It made it easier to find which items I should stock and which I shouldn't, but I definitely lost money. I made the money back in the end, but if I could do it over again, I would probably spend time researching both markets and then find places that would give me a quantity discount instead of doing the drop shipping thing again. Then I would move up to wholesale. That being said, I am a member of a few auction information forums/sites where I offer to drop ship the items I stock.