You can decide to start a dropshipping business overnight, but you can’t just pick a supplier mindlessly. Your choice of supplier could make or break your business in the short and long run. Even if you’ve taken a niche and found products to sell, it’s pertinent that you know how to find reliable suppliers for dropshipping. Ready to go? Let’s unveil the tips you need to choose reliable dropshipping suppliers.
Table of contents
- How do you get a supplier for dropshipping?
- Key factors you must consider to find supplier for dropshipping
- 12 Pro Tips to find dropship suppliers
- How to find supplier: FAQ
Please note:
Choosing a dropshipping supplier – just one thing you need to be care of. There are other significant points for your business. Read a detailed post with the best dropshipping tips that help you with it.
How Do You Get a Supplier for Dropshipping?
Finding a dropshipping supplier in 2024 should not be as hard as some people make it seem. You can find them on dropshipping marketplaces, reach out to product manufacturers, or even use wholesale directories. One of the most conventional ways is to make a quick search on Google. But then, you might be misled because most of the legitimate and reliable suppliers suck at SEO. They might not appear on the top of the search results.
So, in this comprehensive guide, we’ll show you where to find dropshipping supplier without using just search engines. These methods guarantee you’ll be working with reliable suppliers if you follow them.
Go for Suppliers on Dropshipping Marketplaces
If you’re just getting started with dropshipping, this seems to be the easiest way to find suppliers. Go to online supplier marketplaces for this purpose. You can use AliNext Plugin to import suppliers’ products automatically and even get recommendations on what to sell.
Wholesale Directories
There are online listings that flaunt wholesale suppliers worldwide. These listings are known as wholesale directories. When you check out these listings, you can find reliable suppliers.
Reach out to Product Manufacturers
If you already know the products you want to sell, you can reach out to the manufacturers and inquire if they allow dropshipping services. They could link you up with their wholesale buyers who allow dropshipping.
Key Factors You Must Consider to Find Supplier for Dropshipping
You don’t have to forget these vital factors that help you choose a good supplier for your dropshipping business.
- Area of operation: Where do you target mostly while marketing? When choosing a supplier, go for those who can deliver to your target locations easily and swiftly. On AliExpress, some sellers let you choose the warehouse you want the shipment to move from. So, you might want to go for suppliers with warehouses in Europe or the USA instead of China .
- Affordability: Of course, you want to profit; that is one of the major reasons you’re in business. Various suppliers have different prices for a particular product; you need to do your research properly to find those with the best deals without compromising quality.
- Modern Technology: Your choice of suppliers must have invested in their use of technology. With improved technology, you can enjoy automated updates on inventory, order fulfillment, and other real-time activities. AliNext Plugin lets you stay updated with prices and stock levels if you import from AliExpress with a few clicks.
- Reliability: You have to note that you own and run your business, and your customers will blame you and not your supplier if anything goes wrong. You need a reliable supplier who delivers as advertised, one who can deliver products within the time frame you announce to your customers. It’s also necessary to ask those who are already into ecommerce to suggest good suppliers, then do your research.
- Seller Guarantee: You need to protect yourself and brand from counterfeit products, and a good seller should grant you a refund policy. Check out that the product you want to import is guaranteed genuine, and your supplier has to guarantee this too.
- Top Quality: Good quality is synonymous with high cost, but ensuring top quality goes beyond just that. Product packaging, brand label, and even transit protection go to define your product and service quality. You need to choose a supplier who prioritizes these and do well to discuss these with them before you opt to use their service.
- Outstanding Customer Support: When doing dropshipping business, some pop-ups will appear on your site. To create a good shopping experience, you need strong and responsive customer support that can listen to your customers’ needs and help them out swiftly. To take your game up a notch, you can add a direct Skype feature or install a live chat feature that let prospects and customers contact you.
- Shared Culture: Shared culture objectives house good supplier relationships. That is why you need to discuss with your supplier to let you know if your potential business relationship will be hassle-free.
- Offer Relevant Product Option: It’s often better to choose a supplier that can offer you a wide variety of products within the category you know. You can get better deals with such suppliers and can ensure your customers’ satisfaction. AliExpress often has variants of a particular product. With the split feature of AliNext Plugin, you can make several products from one having a lot of variations. You can always choose the ones to import.
12 Pro Tips to find dropship suppliers
Most e-commerce entrepreneurs choose AliExpress as their marketplace, and many of them have attained remarkable success.
You too, can hit your milestone when you choose your supplier from AliExpress!
Before you proceed, here are some tips you can’t afford to miss if you want to get a quality and reliable supplier on AliExpress.
- Don’t always Fall for the Cheapest Prices
Literally, quality is synonymous with a high price!
Suffice it to be that prices go down with quality on AliExpress. With this in mind, you don’t have to feel you have got a juicy offer when you bump at the lowest price.
Do your research and find the price range from most sellers, and any odd price most probably indicates compromised quality.
It’s good to know that Chinese sellers on AliExpress often have tight margins. - Analyze Basic Information of the Supplier
Take your time to look at the details of your potential suppliers.
Look at their business name, what they sell, do they manufacture as well?
How many units of products have they sold? When was the store opened?
To check for these, hover over the supplier’s name and you’ll find details that will help you narrow your potential suppliers. - Check other Products the Supplier Sells
Does your choice of supplier sell different niche-products?
Suppliers who sell a variety of items in a different niche often lack top-notch professionalism and offer less favorable pricing.
For instance, if you want to import tech products, go for suppliers who specifically focus on the tech niche.
With this idea, you can cross-sell as you’ll get a better product idea when you choose a supplier with a specific market focus. - Purchase from Sellers That Have 95%+ Positive Rating
When you talk about seller evaluation on AliExpress, you shouldn’t undermine Positive Feedback Rate and Feedback Score.
While the Positive Feedback Rate indicates the rate of feedback the supplier has gotten over time, the Feedback Score shows the volume of sales made by the seller.
To make a good decision, keep your eyes on Feedback Scores of 2,000 or more, and 95%+ Positive Feedback rate.
However, sellers passing these don’t mean they are a perfect choice. Likewise, some sellers with lower ratings and scores can even outperform those with higher rates.
Another good tip is to stay away from products that have not gotten any feedback. Apparently, you wouldn’t want your customers to be the testers, and possibly pour their bad experiences – this kills your brand. You can import AliExpress reviews from your site too. - Communicate with your choice of supplier
When you shortlist suppliers, there is a need to communicate with them.
Call your potential suppliers, ask questions, analyze their professionalism, inquire about the shipping details, and negotiate in the case of big orders.
Make use of their live chat or call each supplier, then take note of how long it takes each of them to reply. - Don’t Fall for Fake Brand Products
The truth is that most of your customers want quality products, and some of them are ready to pull out any amount to have what they want.
Imagine selling fake brand products to them; you’re just killing your brand. To stay out of this, it’s better to leave out branded products as you will hardly get the real items. - Never Join the “Out of Stock” Team
No one would cheerfully want to tell their customers they are out of stock.
When you do, you don’t just lose customers but trust too. Here’s the way to go; get more than one supplier for the same or related products, so you don’t run out of products to sell to your customers.
If your first supplier goes out of stock, you can fall back on your second supplier, even if it entails selling a slightly different version of what the previous supplier used to offer.
When cases like this arise, you may make no profit or even lose a few bucks in the process; the aim is to maintain a large customer base that can always return and shop anytime confidently. - ePacket Shipping Service
Regular shipping can take about 20-60 days to deliver, but ePacket shipping cuts shipping time drastically to around 7 days.
When you want to choose a supplier, it’s imperative to find one that offers ePacket service because faster delivery doesn’t just build your brand but improves your buyers’ experience.
ePacket service was put into place to make shipping out of China cheaper and quicker. - Order Samples
Now, you have completed your due diligence and found a couple of suppliers you can buy from; it’s time to test orders.
If you have the financial power, you can place about 3 to 5 orders with various sellers and check their delivery time, product quality, and shipping package.
You can wait till the products are up on your stores before you order samples, but the best is to order before putting them up for sale in your store.
After every evaluation, the test order can be the last point of your supplier evaluation. Once your suppliers pass this and meet your requirement, you can use them. - Join Forums, Groups and Professional Networks
The fact is that most retailers will not want to reveal their suppliers to you. All you need to do is join relevant forums and groups to find the best suppliers for your brand.
Get good at building relationships with insiders in the industry, and soon you’ll become one of them. Build your LinkedIn profile to be very professional, and start connecting. Subscribe to newsletters in your industry and build your network. - Order from your Competitor
This is something most dropshippers will not tell you. If your competitor has a different supplier from yours or who you intend to use, place an order on their store to get an idea of the level of service they offer. You might want to consider them or take your game up a notch to stand above the competition. - General Tips for Safety – Buyers’ Safety Policy
You need to know your rights on AliExpress. As a buyer, you’re entitled to a Full Refund if a customer doesn’t get an ordered product.
Likewise, a Partial Refund is granted if the received item is not as described by the seller. You can click on Open Dispute if you wish to get a refund due to the seller’s inability to deliver within the said time or if it is not as described.
You can discuss possible solutions with the seller or go ahead to Escalate Dispute to AliExpress.com if you’re not satisfied with the seller’s suggestions.
At this point, AliExpress will resolve the issue.
Dropshipping from AliExpress gives a fair share to everyone!
While AliExpress as a platform gets its share of the revenue, you make your sales and get your profits while the suppliers also gain.
Get Aliexpress Dropshipping Plugin (AliNext) today, choose quality and reliable suppliers, and take your e-commerce business to another level!
FAQs
Can I use my own pictures in my store?
Yes, you can snap and add product images to your store. You might want to try a white background as it appears to engage prospects more.
How do I make my customers not worry about Chinese labeling if I ship from China?
On your Shipping Page, indicate that all products are shipped from your warehouse or affiliates’ in China. Make it transparent.
Can I have a supplier print custom names and logos?
Yes, but it’s mainly for big sellers. You’ll need to discuss that with your supplier to see if they’d grant your request.
Can I use review photos ad creatives?
It’s not very right. It was initially used for an honest review. You could buy the products, snap and use your own photos.
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