Selecting suppliers is a critical step that every dropshipping business needs to take. But there are so many factors that need to be taken into consideration when you’re looking for dropshipping suppliers.
Even if you already know which products you want to sell, and you’re sure that they’ll prove to be successful for your business, you need to make sure that you find dropshipping suppliers that can provide the high-quality service that your business deserves.
That’s exactly why we’ve put this article together. We’re going to give you a list of the top dropshipping suppliers plus tips on how to choose the right one for your business. You’ll also learn the difference between dropshipping vendors and dropshipping wholesale too. Plus, we’ll throw in some red flags that you should look out for when you’re searching for dropshipping suppliers.
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Register TodayImportance of Dropshipping Suppliers
Dropshipping suppliers are integral to every dropshipping business. Without suppliers, dropshipping businesses cannot sustain themselves, as they won’t have any products to deliver to their customers. That’s why it’s essential that you know how to find dropshipping suppliers that will help your business to succeed without any hitches.
Dropshipping Vendors vs. Dropshipping Wholesalers
Before you start looking for dropshipping suppliers, it’s important to understand the difference between vendors and wholesalers.
Dropshipping vendors are suppliers who deal in a certain product range. They typically promote their items through dropshipping platforms and charge a higher price per unit than wholesalers. Dropshipping entrepreneurs looking to sell unique products online stand to gain the most from these suppliers.
Dropshipping wholesalers are suppliers who sell products in bulk at a low cost. Working with them means you’ll be able to offer low prices to your customers. Many dropshipping wholesalers have their own independent websites, but it’s not uncommon for them to use platforms and apps for showcasing their inventory.
6 Best Dropshipping Suppliers In 2021
Now that you understand the importance of dropshipping suppliers, let’s dive into our list of top dropshipping companies in 2021.
1. Oberlo
Oberlo is a dropshipping platform that makes it easy to find awesome products to sell online.
With Oberlo you can access a huge variety of different products with good profit potential in just a few clicks. Whether it’s fashion, electronics, toys, beauty, or the next trending product – Oberlo makes it easy for you to find products from dropshipping suppliers all over the world and instantly add them to your own online store.
Oberlo suppliers typically offer various shipping methods for delivering items to the customer’s doorstep. You can opt to get the products shipped via ePacket, Chinliexpra Post, AliExpress Shipping or UPS/DHL/FedEx. Suppliers can have offices in various countries, so delivery times can vary depending on where you want them to ship the items. That said, you can follow these shipping tips to make your life easier.
It costs nothing to add products to your store with Oberlo dropshipping– you can use our forever free plan and start selling today.
2. Printful
Printful is a print on demand dropshipping service that lets you sell custom products worldwide. Your customers can choose from a range of artwork to be printed on hoodies, t-shirts, laptop cases, and other products. Printful suppliers then manufacture the products and ship them directly to your customers. You’ll receive a tracking number when an item is shipped.
Besides product customization, Printful gives you the option to deliver products in branded packaging. You can opt to put branded labels, product inserts, and stickers on the cardboard boxes. Plus, you can take advantage of Printful’s partnership with some of the best global carriers to access discounting shipping rates.
Printful’s dropshipping service starts at $29 per month. The pricing includes access to the company’s product personalization tool that lets customers create one-of-a-kind items right on your website.
3. DropnShop
DropnShop is a dropshipping app designed to serve online stores dealing in French products. It sources products from leading French manufacturers and offers thousands of SKUs across various categories. International shipping is available at a fair cost.
What makes DropnShop worthy of mention in this best dropshipping companies list is that all of its products are kept under optimum conditions based on the criteria of the French legislation. So, whether you sell kids’ toys or skincare items, you can be sure that your customers will receive durable, high-quality products when you dropship through this app. All products are 100% made in France.
DropnShop offers a free plan for entrepreneurs who want to browse its catalog of products. If you want to add any of the items to your store, you’ll need to sign up for the $14 per month Family plan.
4. GlowRoad
GlowRoad is a Shopify dropshipping app that provides you with a list of suppliers that Indian ecommerce stores typically use. You can dropship the items to the UK, US, Australia, Canada, and 30+ countries. There are over 10,000 high-potential products to choose from, and all items to countries outside India ship out after a manual quality inspection in the GlowRoad warehouse.
The service also makes it easy to keep track of your orders. A tracking number is auto-generated when a package is sent out, so you can track its movement in real-time. Plus, GlowRoad has an option to ship all items in an order together in one package, so your customers won’t need to wait for multiple packages to arrive.
GlowRoad has no fee and is free for all dropshipping entrepreneurs. You pay only for the products you purchase.
5. PlusBuyer
PlusBuyer is a dropshipping wholesaler targeting businesses that sell electronics online. You’ll find some great products on its website, including gift items, digital products, consumer electronics, etc. The products are dropshipped directly from top manufacturers in China and are available at a very reasonable price.
PlusBuyer never includes any invoices or publicity materials within the packages sent to your customers, so it looks like you’ve shipped them yourself. Plus, it always double-checks account details to prevent fraudulent activity, especially if the billing address is different from the shipping address. This means you’ll need to ask your customers to verify their PayPal accounts before ordering an item from your store.
PlusBuyer doesn’t mention the price of its dropshipping service, but you can expect to pay a certain amount for order fulfillment.
6. Megagoods
Megagoods is a California-based dropshipping platform with an inventory of over 2000 electronics products. While it doesn’t have the biggest product catalog, it’s a good option if you’re looking for a low-cost niche option to run a dropshipping business. Some of the most credible brands, including Revlon and Boss, use this platform to sell their products.
Megagoods offers a 30-day free trial. This window allows you to browse the company’s inventory and get a feel of the suppliers without any upfront commitment. If you decide you want to use the platform, you’ll pay $14.99 per month to access it. Plus, there is a $1.50 fee for every order your website gets. Check the additional fees to ensure that your margins are good.
Finding Dropshipping Suppliers
Generally speaking, dropshipping suppliers aren’t known for their ability to market themselves to their audience, so finding the right dropship suppliers can be a difficult task.
You need to know in advance that finding dropshipping suppliers for your business could take a while. Another thing that you should take into consideration during your search is that you’re selecting suppliers which are likely based in Asia – the language barrier could take a little getting used to.
Nevertheless, you can find the right dropshipping supplier for your business. Here are a few steps that you can take to ensure that you find the right one:
1. Research
Once you’ve decided on the products that you would like to sell, research which dropshipping suppliers are out there, and which ones suit your needs best. You might need to choose between a domestic or overseas supplier depending on whether you’re dropshipping outside the US or catering to local customers. When you’re selecting suppliers, you’ll need to dive deep into raw material sourcing, delivery times, and service potential.
2. Contact Suppliers
Talk to the dropshipping supplier that suits your needs and start a relationship with them. Talking to them allows you to ask questions about the service that they provide. They may even provide you with contact information from some of their current customers so you can get first-hand experience of working with the supplier before committing to them.
Maintaining a good relationship with your dropshipping suppliers from the very start means that when you start doing business together you’ll have trust. This will make it easier to get questions answered quickly, and disputes resolved straight away. After all, you’re on the same team.
3. Check The Supplier’s Technology
Although dropshipping suppliers tend to have outdated websites, many good suppliers invest in technology to help streamline client operations. Features such as searchable order history, customizable data feeds, and a detailed product catalog make things convenient for online merchants. Some suppliers have systems that allow you to place orders via email. This might sound like a minor benefit, but it’s actually a luxury for store owners – you won’t have to call every order in or manually place it on the supplier’s website. Just send an email.
4. Order Samples from the Supplier
Once you’ve chosen your top two or three suppliers to do business with, order samples from them yourself. Test their quality of service, delivery times, packaging, and other supplier-related questions that you may have so you are entirely happy with the choice you make. Ordering product samples from a dropship supplier is an essential part of selecting suppliers as it will allow you to witness first-hand how your customers will experience your store.
5. Order From the Competition
If one of your competitors is using the same supplier as you, then you can find out how the supplier packages their products and offers them services, like custom labeling. If your competitor uses other suppliers, you can order from them to get an idea of the level of service you need to provide to rank in line with the competition.
6. Find the Right Supplier for Your Business
When you’re selecting suppliers, many can seem great when you look at their reviews and the products that they offer, but once you dig into the business they may not suit your audience. This could be because of the raw materials they use, the way they do business, or how they deal with returns. Be sure to talk to suppliers and get to know how they do business before you commit to working with them. Although you can choose not to use a supplier after issues arise, the damage might have already been done and your brand could have been harmed.
7. Dropshipping Suppliers to Avoid
It is hard to know which dropship suppliers to choose but there are some tell-tale signs that a supplier is to be avoided at all costs. Apart from bad reviews, negative feedback, and cheap quantity products, there are other factors that can reveal a bad dropshipping supplier.
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If a dropship supplier insists on monthly or ongoing fees to do business with them, this is a bad sign. Ongoing fees could mean a supplier is part of a directory as opposed to a single supplier.
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It is normal to have pre-order fees that increase slightly depending on size or complexity of an order, or decrease with bulk ordering. The research will highlight suppliers that charge higher than normal pre-order fees, which you want to stay away from.
- Minimum order size is another thing to keep in mind when choosing a dropship supplier. Most of the time a supplier is willing to charge the minimum order fee and fulfill orders as they come in. This means that if a supplier’s minimum order size is 200, you must pay for the 200 units upfront, but the supplier will fulfill the orders as they come from your online store. Suppliers that refuse to do this should be avoided as they are more suited for dropshipping wholesale.
Benefits of Dropshipping From Multiple Suppliers
When it comes to dropshipping, don’t feel like you need to rely on just one supplier to source your products. There are numerous benefits that come with selecting multiple dropshipping suppliers for your business. Let’s take a look at them below.
1. More Products Available
When you’re finding dropshipping suppliers for your business, you need to be thinking about the products that the suppliers are offering. One of the key, clear benefits that come with selecting multiple suppliers for your business is that they’ll likely be able to offer you a wider variety of products for your store. It’s always good to have more options – it’ll make it easier to find products that your customer loves if you have more choice.
2. More Business Relationships
As a dropshipper, relationships with your suppliers are so important. After all, without them, you won’t have products to deliver to your customers. This means that it’s in your best interest to have a positive, fruitful relationship with your suppliers.
If you decide to use multiple dropshipping suppliers to source your products from, you’ve got the potential to start and grow numerous business relationships. This can end up being a great asset for you as your business grows and scales.
3. Private Labeling
AliExpress dropshipping suppliers typically do not offer custom labelling support for dropshipping businesses. However, if you can demonstrate to them that you can generate consistent revenue by selling their products, you’re more likely to open up opportunities for them to offer this service. You can always contact each dropshipping supplier via direct message and inquire further into this personally.
Check out our wiki to learn how private labeling works in ecommerce.
4. Assess Your Product Quality
When you’re selecting suppliers to help you run your business you’ll want to find ones which can provide you with high quality products. This means that working with multiple dropshipping suppliers, especially as you’re starting your business, will help you to better understand the quality of the products that you receive through your test orders. If you can compare products from different dropshipping suppliers during your selection process, you’ll be much more educated on which ones are best suited for your dropshipping store.
5. Understand Your Customer's Experience
As a dropshipper, it’s important that you try to understand your customer’s experience with your store. This is especially true when it comes to the delivery of your products. Understanding your customer experience will help you to identify ways where your dropshipping suppliers can improve the service that they provide for your store. This is potentially even more important if you’re drop shipping from multiple suppliers, as the service that they provide may vary slightly.
Summary: How to Find, Select and Deal With Dropshipping Suppliers
As a dropshipper, you can’t do without high-quality suppliers. Since you won’t be stocking the products, it’s important to have dropshipping suppliers who are genuine and ship products on time. Hopefully, the tips and platforms we’ve mentioned above will help you find suppliers who will make it easy to run an ecommerce business.
In summary, here are the steps you need to take to ensure that you find good dropshipping suppliers:
- Research the dropshipping suppliers out there
- Ask questions about the service
- Inquire about the supplier’s technology
- Order samples from the supplier
- Buy from your competitors’ suppliers
- Dig into the supplier’s business
- Avoid dropshipping suppliers that charge an ongoing fee
Dropshipping is still a profitable business in 2021, so make sure you start on the right foot by finding reliable dropshipping suppliers to power your store’s operations. Good luck!
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Is there anything else you’d like to know more about and wish was included in this article? Let us know in the comments below!
