Dropshipping providers that easily interface with Shopify
1. Ali Express
AliExpress is an international wholesale and dropshipping platform that connects e-commerce platforms with dropshipping suppliers and products. Most merchants selling on AliExpress are based in China and import their products from the region. The platform is open to people from all over the world for free.
Locations and shipping information:
AliExpress ships to 254 countries worldwide, including the United States. Packages shipped with standard shipping can take 15 to 45 business days to arrive. If you pay for expedited shipping, the estimated time to arrive is 7 to 15 business days.
Product types:
There are over 100 million products on AliExpress, in categories like fashion, toys, consumer electronics, skincare, jewelry, furniture, and even cars and motorcycles.
Recommended for:
Both beginners and experienced dropshippers can use AliExpress to find trending products, conduct market research, build relationships with suppliers, and order wholesale.
2. Alibaba ALI BABA
Alibaba is a B2B marketplace that connects buyers and sellers. The platform is geared more towards wholesalers than individual sellers, and facilitates direct transactions with manufacturers. Suppliers provide items in bulk and can fulfill orders for your dropshipping store.
Locations and shipping information:
Shipping through Alibaba can take time, depending on where you live. You will have to wait up to six weeks for shipments. To save costs, you can choose to ship by sea or air. On the other hand, you should do your research and plan accordingly.
Product types:
Alibaba has over 2.8 million suppliers and over 5,900 categories.
Recommended for:
Advanced dropshippers who prefer private label manufacturing and want to buy goods in bulk at the distribution level to sell as consumer products.
3. Worldwide Brands
Founded in 1999, Worldwide Brands is one of the oldest and most well-known supplier directories. The company advertises that it only includes suppliers who meet a set of guidelines, ensuring quality and legitimate wholesalers. We’ve used their supplier directory in the past to find legitimate wholesalers and brainstorm niche ideas, and we’ve found it useful.
Location and shipping options:
Worldwide Brands serves retailers around the world. The company is a supplier directory, so shipping costs and locations depend on the wholesale supplier you find through the platform.
Product types:
While the guide is missing some dropshipping suppliers we’ve worked with, it does include a large list of legitimate wholesale dropshipping supplier options. There are over 16 million approved wholesale products to choose from in niches like whale watching, jewelry and watches, consumer electronics, home decor, apparel, and more.
Recommended for:
If you want lifetime access to a quality and convenient wholesale supplier directory, you’re in luck.
4. Time
Instead of simply listing dropshipping suppliers, Doba integrates with suppliers (which is why it only has 165 suppliers), allowing you to place orders from multiple warehouses through a centralized interface. The company also includes a “push-to-market” tool that automates the process of listing items on eBay.
Doba’s centralized system offers more convenience than other dropshipping sites, which we assume is why the $60 monthly fee is significantly higher than other guides. If you value absolute convenience and being able to find the products you want among their suppliers, Doba’s interface could be worth the cost.
Locations and shipping information:
Worldwide shipping; rates depend on the specific dropshipping providers and the prices you set.
Product types:
Over two million products with a nice profit margin.
Recommended for:
If you can identify quality dropshipping suppliers on your own and have no problem working with them directly, you can save around $700 per year. If there are only a few key suppliers in your niche – reducing the number of parties you have to coordinate with – Doba could be the way to go.
5. Megagoods
Megagoods is a wholesale supplier of a wide range of products, but with a focus on consumer electronics. Although it is a wholesale supplier, Megagoods offers dropshipping services with no minimum purchase requirements, which means you can ship products directly to your customers without the risk of overstocking.
Locations and shipping information:
Megagoods is located in Santa Clarita, California, and ships internationally.
Product types:
Megagoods has a wide range of consumer electronics, including Bluetooth accessories, audio equipment, televisions, kitchen appliances, office tools, and more.
Recommended for:
Businesses that focus on electronic equipment and want to ship internationally.
6. Modalyst
Modalyst is an automated dropshipping app for online stores. It sells products from well-known brand names like Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, and other well-known brands that shoppers love. Modalyst also offers a curated list of cool, independent brands for every target audience.
The platform has an official API partnership with AliExpress Dropshipping, which gives you access to millions of new products that you can add to your store with one click via a Google Chrome extension.
Location and delivery options:
Modalyst is a great place to find the right supplier for your business, as it has its own marketplace of US suppliers and brands that can ship domestic orders in six to eight days under its free plan. Dropshipping suppliers from the UK and Australia are also available. Businesses can ship to over 80 countries worldwide, excluding countries in South America and Africa.
Product types:
General, with an emphasis on luxury and vintage brands. Modalyst is also part of the AliExpress Booster program, which gives dropshippers access to an endless catalog of products.
Recommended for:
Shopify users who want to add unique or high-value products to their stores. You can also sell products with your own branding using Modalyst’s Private Label plan. If you opt for the Pro plan, you can take advantage of all the premium brands and suppliers that Modalyst offers.
7. Spocket
Spocket is a Shopify dropshipping app that allows users to quickly and easily import products from multiple dropshipping suppliers (including AliExpress) into their Shopify store. The Spocket app automatically pulls orders from your Shopify store for seamless order processing. It even automatically adjusts your Shopify inventory levels, so you can be sure that products are in stock when your customers make a purchase.
Locations and shipping information:
Spocket is based in Vancouver, Canada, and works with suppliers around the world, including in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Brazil.
Product types:
Spocket offers a wide range of product categories, such as clothing, jewelry, beauty products, tech accessories, and pet products.
Recommended for:
Spocket has a convenient user interface and a seamless purchasing experience that is suitable for first-time dropshippers who are interested in offering a variety of fashion and beauty products.
8. CJDropshipping
CJDropshipping is a marketplace and list of bulk dropshipping suppliers that allows retailers to expand their dropshipping business in a cost-effective way. You can easily import products to your Shopify store, usually at a lower price than AliExpress, directly from 1688 and Taobao marketplaces. It is also a free Shopify app that you can add to your store alongside other dropshipping apps.
Location and shipping options:
CJDropshipping uses warehouses in the United States to do same-day processing for your store. It works with USPS, UPS, DHL, and FedEx. If you are shipping from China, it has its own shipping line called CJPacket, which can deliver products to the United States in 7 to 12 days.
Product types:
1668 and Taobao marketplaces are home to independent designers and small business owners in China. There are hundreds of millions of listings you can access through CJDropshipping, and the products range from mainstream products to hard-to-find products and even virtual products.
8. CROV
CROV connects retailers to a wide range of products from a verified list of dropshipping suppliers in the United States covering a wide range of industries. A unique feature of CROV is the product request feature, where merchants can call CROV’s professional sourcing team, who can help present supplier recommendations based on the unique needs of your business.
Location and delivery options:
Shipping is available in 42 countries. Costs depend on the dropshipping product suppliers and their shipping methods, which you can find on each product detail page in the guide. CROV has a warehouse in the United States for fast domestic shipping of orders.
Product types:
CROV offers over 35,000 products in over 20 different categories from which selected suppliers are selected.
Recommended for:
Ecommerce sellers who want to sell unique products on Shopify, Amazon, and eBay.
How to spot fake dropshipping suppliers
Depending on where you look, there’s a good chance you’ll come across a large number of “fake” dropshipping suppliers. Here are some dropshipping tips that can help you tell if a wholesale supplier is legitimate.
They want ongoing payments.
Genuine wholesale suppliers do not charge their customers monthly fees to transact and order from them. If a supplier asks for a monthly membership or service fee, there is a good chance that they are not legitimate.
It’s important to distinguish between suppliers and supplier directories here. Supplier directories are directories of wholesale suppliers organized by product type or market, and vetted to ensure that the suppliers are legitimate. Most directories will charge a fee, either one-time or ongoing, so you shouldn’t take this as a sign that the directory itself is not legitimate.
They are known to the general public.
To get a true wholesale price, you will need to apply for a wholesale account, prove you are a legitimate business, and get approved before you fulfill your first order. Dropshipping suppliers who offer products to the general public at a “wholesale price” are simply retailers offering items at inflated prices.
But here are some legitimate dropshipping fees you’re likely to encounter:
Order fee per order
Many wholesale suppliers that offer dropshipping will charge a dropshipping fee for each pre-order that can range from $2 to $5 or more, depending on the size and complexity of the items being shipped. This is standard practice in the industry, as the costs of packaging and shipping individual orders are much higher than shipping a bulk order.
Minimum order size
Some dropshipping suppliers will have a minimum initial order size, which is the lowest amount you need to purchase on your first order. They do this to prevent merchants who are interested in their products from wasting their time with small inquiries and orders that won’t translate into significant business.
If you’re into dropshipping, this can cause some pain points. For example, what do you do if a supplier has a minimum order of $500 but your average order is around $100? You don’t want to pre-order $500 worth of products just to get the privilege of opening a dropshipping account.
In this situation, it’s best to offer to pay the supplier $500 upfront to build up credit to use for your dropshipping orders. This allows you to meet the supplier’s minimum order requirement (since you’re committing to buying at least $500 worth of products) without having to place an extra large order when you don’t have the matching customer orders.
Learn more: How to make dropshipping a success: Tips and stories that can inspire your dropshipping journey.
Tips for Working with Wholesale Dropshipping Suppliers
Now that you know the difference between a hoax and the real thing, it’s time to start looking for dropshipping suppliers! You can use a number of different strategies, some more effective than others. The methods below are arranged by effectiveness and preference, with our favorite methods marked first.
Contact the manufacturer
This is our favorite way to easily find legitimate wholesale dropshipping suppliers. If you know what product(s) you want to sell dropshipping, call the manufacturer and ask for their list of wholesale dropshipping suppliers. You can then contact those suppliers to see if they offer dropshipping and find out how to open an account.
Since most wholesale suppliers that offer dropshipping carry products from a variety of manufacturers, this strategy will allow you to quickly source a selection of products within the niche you are researching. After making a few calls to the top manufacturers in the niche, you will be able to quickly identify the top dropshipping suppliers in that market.
Search using Google
Using Google to find quality wholesale dropshipping suppliers seems obvious, but there are a few rules that are important to keep in mind:
- You need to search extensively. Wholesale suppliers are bad at marketing and promotion, and they certainly won’t be at the top of the search results for “wholesale suppliers for product X.” This means you’ll probably have to search through a lot of search results—perhaps hundreds—to find the website of the supplier far down the list.
- Don’t judge by their website. Famous wholesale suppliers also have poorly designed 90s-style websites. So while a quality website can indicate a good supplier in some cases, many legitimate suppliers have homepages that are a bit of a stretch. Don’t let the poor design scare you away.
- Use lots of keyword variations. Wholesale suppliers don’t do a lot of SEO to make sure you find their websites, so you may need to try different search queries. Don’t stop at “ wholesale supplier.” Try using variations like “distributor,” “reseller,” “bulk,” “warehouse,” and “supplier.”
Place an order from the competitors
If you’re having trouble finding dropshipping suppliers, there’s always the old trick of ordering from the competition. Here’s how it works: Find a retailer you think does dropshipping and place a small order with that same friend. When you receive the package, Google the return address to find out who the original sender was. In some cases, this will be a supplier you can contact.
This is a tactic we’ve heard others talk about but haven’t used ourselves. And if you haven’t been able to find a supplier using the other techniques discussed above, there may be a good reason for that (e.g., the market is too small, there’s not enough demand to justify a supplier, etc.). So keep this technique in mind, but don’t rely on it too much.
Attend a trade show
A trade show allows you to connect with all the major manufacturers and wholesale suppliers in your niche. It’s a great way to network and research your products and suppliers in one place. This only works if you’ve already chosen your niche and/or product, and it’s not for everyone. But if you have the time and money to attend, it’s a great way to get to know the manufacturers and suppliers in the market.
Start selling dropshipping today
Whether you are a new e-commerce business owner or familiar with dropshipping, knowing your dropshipping supplier options can help you source quality products at a low cost and increase profitability.
With the rise of global online sales and shipping efficiency, it is no longer challenging to sell dropshipping online and get your products to your customers quickly.
By using this dropshipping guide to further improve your online business and create a path to financial freedom, you can live the life you’ve always wanted and make money online while doing it.
Understanding the dropshipping market
The dropshipping market is one of the fastest growing areas in the world of e-commerce. With the development of technology and the Internet, more and more people are turning to dropshipping as a way to start an independent business without spending capital on inventory. Dropshipping allows merchants to sell products without holding the inventory themselves, which reduces financial risk.
The benefits of dropshipping
- No inventory required: You don’t need to buy products in advance, which reduces financial risk.
- Flexibility: You can sell products from a wide range of categories without being limited to physical inventory.
- Ease of getting started: All you need is an online store, and you can start selling almost immediately.
- Ability to expand: You can add new products to your store very easily.
The Challenges of Dropshipping
- High competition: The dropshipping market is very competitive, so it is important to find a unique niche.
- Control over the quality of the products: Since you don’t see the products yourself, there is a risk that the products will not be of high quality.
- Customer Service: You are responsible for customer service, even if the problem is caused by the provider.
Choosing a suitable niche
One of the most important decisions you will have to make is which niche to choose. A niche is the area or category you intend to sell products in. It is important to choose a niche that is in demand, but not too competitive.
How to choose a niche
- Research the market: Use tools like Google Trends to check what people are searching for.
- Check out the competitors: Look for other stores in the same niche and see what they offer.
- Choose a niche you are interested in: If you are interested in the products you are selling, it will make it easier for you to market them.
Marketing your store
Once you have set up your store and selected your products, the next step is to market your store. There are several marketing methods that can help you reach potential customers.
Popular marketing methods
- Social media marketing: Use platforms like Facebook and Instagram to promote your products.
- Sponsored Promotion: Consider using sponsored advertising to reach a wider audience.
- Content Marketing: Create quality content that can attract customers to your store.
summary
Dropshipping is a great business model for people who want to start their own business without spending a fortune on inventory. With the right tools and resources, you can set up a successful store and sell products to customers around the world. You need to choose reliable suppliers, understand your market, and market your store effectively to be successful.
If you’re ready to start your dropshipping journey, feel free to explore the different options and find the right suppliers and tools for you. Good luck!