Companies have used dropshipping for years to enable them to sell off leftover categories of products from suppliers to reduce costs and travel time from the manufacturer to the end customer. Modern technology has turned dropshipping into a successful way to sell products with minimal handling. As long as the end customer is happy, they will continue buying from you.
Dropshipping can have downfalls as well as benefits. Choosing your products, suppliers, and management software are all crucial to the success of your dropshipping business model. This page is a guide to how to dropship on eBay from Aliexpress and how to select the best eBay dropshipping suppliers.
How to Find Dropshipping Suppliers
Shopify offers a quick list of basic questions you should consider with any dropshipping supplier you are thinking of working with.
- Location and shipping options. Where is the vendor dropshipping from? How long does production take after a customer has placed an order?
- Product types. What types of products do they dropship? Where do the dropshippers buy from?
- Recommended for. Is this supplier suited for beginner or experienced dropshippers?
The essential goal with dropshipping is giving yourself a hands-free method of selling products online through your ecommerce store.
Finding the right supplier for you to work with can be overwhelming. But if you keep your list of needs handy, it will help you focus on the best dropshipping suppliers for your niche. Here are some ways to find the right supplier:
- Start with the manufacturer. You can contact manufacturers directly to discuss dropshipping their products. They can tell you which wholesalers they prefer to work with.
- Talk to the wholesalers. Wholesalers generally work with more than one manufacturer. If you’ve narrowed down your list of products, you can determine which wholesaler carries them.
If you can work with a wholesaler’s preferred dropshipping company, your operation will run more smoothly.
Different Types of Dropshipping Companies
1. Online Marketplace
An online marketplace is a collection of small companies that use a single platform to sell products. This allows you to work with different companies, but use one platform for managing your relationship with all of them.
2. Manufacturer
Some manufacturers will dropship directly to your end customer. But, don’t be surprised if they say no. Some manufacturers can’t or won’t deal with the end customer directly.
3. Wholesale Suppliers
Wholesalers work directly with manufacturers and stock standard products in their own warehouse. Most wholesale companies work with various manufacturing companies, so you might have a one-stop shop.
4. Supplier Directories
Supplier directories aren’t suppliers themselves, but instead a vetted list of suppliers for an industry.
How to Spot Fake Dropshipping Suppliers
It’s sad to say, but not every supplier listed online is legitimate. Some are scammers or fake suppliers. What steps do you need to take to spot a fake company?
- Easy to find on Google. This is one category of queries in which the fake suppliers may come up on search engine results pages (SERPs) before the legit ones. That’s because many wholesalers don’t use the best search engine optimization (SEO) tactics.
- Ongoing fees. Real wholesalers DO NOT charge ongoing fees for using their service. They make money on the profit between the manufacturer’s and wholesaler’s costs. If they require monthly fees, they may be fake.
- They sell to the public. Real wholesalers don’t sell to the end customer for “wholesale prices.” That is a retailer just marketing to the public.
- Low-quality website. Scammers post scammy websites. While a legitimate supplier’s website might not be the most exciting, it will be professional with real information.
- Won’t sign a contract. If a supplier won’t sign an agreement to work with you, then run away quickly. A legal agreement protects you, your supplier, and your customers. Here is a sample of a supplier contract.
Legitimate Wholesale Fees
There are some wholesale fees that are legitimate.
- Pre-order fees. Dropshippers may charge a small fee depending on the complexity and size of your order. This industry-standard covers the wholesaler’s costs for packaging and shipping individual orders.
- Minimum order sizes. Wholesale companies may require a minimum order size to do business with them. This practice eliminates merchants that won’t give them enough business to be profitable.
Minimum order sizes can potentially be a problem for you. If the supplier has a $250 minimum initial order size, and you have an order for $50, what do you do? Most suppliers will allow you to pay the minimum fee upfront as credit for future orders.
The Best Dropshipping Suppliers
Finding the best drop shipping suppliers will be unique to your business because you have a niche in mind for your store. However, there are some suppliers and directories that are consistently reliable to consider.
Oberlo
Shopify recommends Oberlo as the best free dropshipping supplier for Shopify on its own list of best dropshippers. Shopify says,
Oberlo is a dropshipping platform that makes it easy to find products on AliExpress to sell in your Shopify store. The site offers over 30,000 of the best dropshipping products in 60+ niche categories from vendors for dropshipping around the world. Oberlo offers free sign-up, with paid plans starting at $29.99/month.
Shopify rates this supplier as good for beginners and experienced dropshipping entrepreneurs.
Printful
Printful is a print-on-demand (POD) company. Printful sells a wide range of apparel, artwork, and housewares, and then prints a personalized design on them before shipping. According to Ecommerce Platforms,
The best thing about Printful is that it’s free to signup, there are no minimum orders, and there are over 225 products for you to choose from.
Printful has excellent customer service and transparent order fulfillment.
Modalyst
Modalyst is highly recommended by Shopify as the best high-ticket dropshipping supplier for U.S. clothing. According to Shopify,
It’s known for offering products from brand names like Calvin Klein, DSquare, Dolce & Gabbana, and more well-known brands that shoppers will love. Modalyst also offers a curated list of independent and trendy brands for every target audience.
Modalyst has an official partnership with AliExpress dropshipping center, ships to the UK, Australia, and a total of 80 countries.
Spoket
Spoket is a supplier marketplace that you can use when you are just starting out, and easily scale up as your business grows. Spoket offers a 30% to 60% discount off the standard retail price, which adds up quickly. BigCommerce says,
Spocket is a dropshipping marketplace that enables retailers to start and scale their online stores. Sprocket connects retailers to thousands of suppliers across USA and Europe,” says BigCommerce. Spocket is a dropshipping marketplace that enables retailers to start and scale their online stores.
SaleHoo
SaleHoo is a supplier directory that partners well with eBay or Amazon merchants. According to Sixads,
The directory has over 8,000 bulk-purchase and dropshipping suppliers, which would pretty much set you up for life!
SaleHoo is affordable for beginners at $67 per year and has a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Worldwide Brands
Worldwide Brands comes highly recommended by BigCommerce, Ecommerce Platforms, and Sixads all saying that Worldwide Brands:
. . .a real industry veteran founded in 1999 – is one of the best wholesale supplier directories out there. All suppliers included in the directory have been thoroughly vetted as legitimate and reliable.
Joining Worldwide Brands costs $299 for lifetime access to the marketplace.
eBay Dropshipping Policies
eBay may not have as big a market as Amazon dropshipping, but it’s still a great place to sell products. Statistica says,
eBay’s platform connects buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets worldwide, and it ranks as the second most visited online marketplace in 2021, only surpassed by long-time rival Amazon.
However, because eBay had issues in the past with so-called “dropshippers,” they have pretty strict rules for dropshipping.
eBay Dropshipping 2021
- You must buy from manufacturers or wholesalers; you cannot buy from retailers, then sell on eBay or you will be severely penalized.
“Activity that doesn’t follow eBay policy could result in a range of actions including but not limited to: administratively ending or canceling listings,” hiding or demoting all listings from search results, lowering seller rating, buying or selling restrictions, loss of buyer or seller protection, and account suspension. “All fees paid or payable in relation to listings or accounts on which we take any action will not be refunded or otherwise credited to your account.”
- You must be able to guarantee delivery within 30 days.
- You are responsible for shipping and customer satisfaction.
eBay says,
Remember that if you use drop shipping, you’re still responsible for the safe delivery of the item within the time frame stated in your listing and for the buyer’s overall satisfaction with their purchase.
How to Be Successful Dropshipping on eBay
Here are some tips for you as you begin your journey dropshipping on eBay.
Take a Course
Just like in a brick-and-mortar store, there are lots of things to learn. The best practice is to take a course that teaches you the basics, such as eBay-approved dropshippers, how to dropship on eBay from Aliexpress, eBay dropshipping software, and is dropshipping on eBay worth it. You can find a list of courses here:
- Shopify – https://www.shopify.com/learn/course/how-to-start-a-dropshipping-business
- Oberlo – https://www.oberlo.com/blog/best-dropshipping-courses
- Dropshipping Titans – https://www.dropshippingtitans.com/p/courses
Use Dropshipping Software
If you want to have a small business dropshipping from eBay, it’s important to stay on top of your inventory and customer orders. That’s a tall order, even if you’re experienced at retail.
The right eBay dropshipping software will make everything much easier, and organize all of your inventory, ordering, and sales data. Ordoro has software already designed to do just that and will keep you looking professional to your customers and vendors.
Find the Right Products to Sell on eBay
Ordoro can help you find the right products to start your business with the right eBay dropshipping suppliers. You can start selling products and begin your eBay journey.
Ready to Get to Work?
Do you need some help learning how to start an eBay dropshipping business? Schedule a demo for more information about dropshipping and how Ordoro can help you.
