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Dropshipping refers to the practice of having manufacturers or wholesalers fulfil orders on behalf of resellers. When done properly, dropshipping can be a very efficient business model. Manufacturers and wholesalers can create custom orders ecommerce merchants can list more stock and customers get more choice. With that in mind, here is a guide to dropshipping and how to find the best supplier for your business.
Top 10 dropshipping suppliers
Here are 10 of the top/most popular dropshipping suppliers
1. AliExpress Dropshipping + partners (Automizely, Modalyst)
Location: China
Supplier location: Global
Shipping options: Variable, depends on the seller
Shipping time: Variable, depends on the seller
Product categories: All categories
Product price range: All price ranges
Platform fee: None
General information
AliExpress has become a household name. Headquartered in China and working with suppliers all over the world. AliExpress stocks over 100 million products across all product categories and price ranges.
The key to succeeding on AliExpress is to choose your suppliers with great care. Look carefully at the length of time they have been on the platform and their feedback rating. If you have any doubts about either, move on.
Your next concern should be to check the shipping services they offer. Under platform rules, these are down to the seller. There are, however, three options endorsed by AliExpress. These are AliExpress Standard Shipping, AliExpress Premium Shipping and ePacket. It’s safest to stick with suppliers that support at least one of these.
2. Banggood
Location: Founded in China, Banggood now has offices and warehouses all over the world, including Australia.
Supplier location: Global
Shipping options: Variable, depends on the supplier
Shipping time: Variable, depends on the supplier
Product categories: All categories
Product price range: All price ranges
Platform fee: None
General information
Banggood operates in a very similar way to AliExpress but is a lot easier to navigate, especially for beginners. The other main way Banggood differentiates itself from AliExpress is that it actively courts international merchants. For example, it has a presence in Australia and displays prices on its website in Australian dollars.
This means that Banggood can be a good option for people still learning their way around dropshipping. With that said, it would be unfair to give the idea that Banggood is just the platform you use until you have enough experience to move to AliExpress. It’s a high-quality and effective dropshipping platform in its own right.
3. Doba
Location: USA (Utah)
Supplier location: USA/global
Shipping options: Variable, depends on the supplier
Shipping time: Variable, depends on the supplier
Product categories: All categories
Product price range: All price ranges
Platform fee: Start-up free, Business US$49.99 annually or US$359.88 monthly, Enterprise US$299.99 monthly or US$2999.88 annually
General information
Doba’s main selling point is its convenience, which does come at a price. Then again, most businesses could probably claim their platform fees as a tax-deductible expense. The very smallest or newest businesses might be able to get by with the free offering.
One of the benefits of Doba is that it pre-qualifies its suppliers. It also allows you to filter by supplier location, processing time and shipping time. This means that you should always have a reasonable idea of how long an item will take to arrive. You can therefore set your customer’s expectations accordingly.
Doba also offers in-built integrations with various ecommerce platforms including Amazon and eBay. That said, it might be risky to build a business around these. Third-party platforms update their rules from time to time. They could easily update them to stop integrations with drop-shipping companies.
4. Dropshipzone
Location: Australia (Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney)
Supplier location: Global
Shipping options: Variable, mostly depending on weight
Shipping time: Variable, depending on delivery location
Product categories: All categories
Product price range: All price ranges
Platform fee: None
General information
Dropshipzone doesn’t offer the same variety of products as the likes of AliExpress. Its product range is, however, more than big enough to keep most dropshippers more than happy. The shipping times Dropshipzone is able to offer will make them even happier.
Most of the products offered on Dropshipzone are dispatched from Melbourne. That means they can be shipped in as little as 3-4 days. Even shipping to remote locations such as Tasmania is relatively quick (usually 12-19 working days). Dropshipzone’s website is very easy to use and there are no platform fees.
5. MegaGoods
Location: USA (California)
Supplier location: USA (various)
Shipping options: Mainly FedEx (including international), some USPS options
Shipping time: Variable, shortest option is FedEx Next Day Air
Product categories: Consumer electronics and video games
Product price range: All price ranges
Platform fee: US$14.99 monthly plus US$1.50 per order plus a 20% restocking fee on returns
General information
MegaGoods is a very niche service. That means it’s either going to be exactly what you need, or no good to you whatsoever. Compared to other dropshippers, MegaGoods’ product range is relatively tiny. Its average inventory is just 2000 products in one or two categories.
Its software is similarly basic. Probably the most immediate evidence of this is the conspicuous lack of integrations. The website itself definitely isn’t as user-friendly as it could be, so it may take you a few sessions to get comfortable with it.
Technically, MegaGoods pre-qualifies its suppliers. It does not, however, give buyers much information about them. The products are typically sold on the manufacturer’s reputation rather than the supplier’s. MegaGoods does allow suppliers to stock reconditioned items, which are clearly marked as such.
Overall, if MegaGoods works for your business, then its fees are worth the money, despite the lack of features. Again, you’ll probably be able to claim the fees as a business expense.
6. SaleHoo
Location: New Zealand
Supplier location: Global
Shipping options: Variable, depends on the supplier
Shipping time: Variable, depends on the supplier
Product categories: All categories
Product price range: All price ranges
Platform fee: SaleHoo Directory US$67 annually or US$127 for lifetime access, SaleHoo Dropship Basic US$270 annually or US$27 monthly, Premium US$970 annually or US$97 monthly
General information
SaleHoo is very similar to Doba in the sense that you’re paying for convenience. Its pricing structure, however, is noticeably different. The most obvious difference is that it doesn’t have a free offering. On the flip side, its entry-level offering is far more affordable than Doba’s and its core offering is somewhat more affordable.
Like Doba, SaleHoo vets its suppliers. At least some of those suppliers also work with AliExpress. This is clear from the fact that SaleHoo lets you import some items directly from AliExpress. You could, therefore, potentially, use SaleHoo as a safe way to test the waters with AliExpress.
In fact, even if you’re familiar with AliExpress, being able to go straight to pre-vetted suppliers could save you a lot of time and energy. This, combined with the management tools and integrations SalesHoo offers, could be more than enough to justify the platform fees.
7. Spocket
Location: Canada
Supplier location: Global
Shipping options: Variable, depending on the seller
Shipping time: Variable, depending on the seller
Product categories: All categories
Product price range: All price ranges
Platform fee: Free, Starter US$24.99 monthly, Pro US$49.99 monthly or US$288 annually, Empire US99.99 monthly or US$684 annually, Unicorn US$948 annually
General information
Spocket’s headline selling point is that it has a high percentage of suppliers in the USA, Canada, the EU, the UK and Australia. In principle, therefore, your customers should generally be able to receive goods in five to seven days.
In practice, this high percentage of international suppliers only refers to suppliers who work directly with Spocket. Currently, that’s about 2000 suppliers. That figure may seem quite low but Spocket still has a default product range of about a million items.
It also has a Chrome extension called AliScraper that connects your Spocket account with AliExpress, thus significantly extending your choice of products. These suppliers are, however, not vetted by Spocket the way the suppliers on its own site are. They are also mainly based in China, which means you will need premium shipping if you want customers to receive their orders quickly.
A final point to note is that Spocket’s free plan only lets you view its catalogue, and its Starter plan currently limits you to just 25 items. This means that unless you’re running a very small store, you’re going to be looking at Pro or above.
8. Sunrise Wholesale
Location: USA (California)
Supplier location: USA
Shipping options: US domestic shipping only via UPS Ground, FedEx, or USPS
Shipping time: Varies, usually 5–7 days
Product categories: All categories
Product price range: All price ranges
Platform fee: US$49 monthly
General information
If you’re serious about using dropshipping to target the US market, then it may be worth trying to get an account with Sunrise Wholesale. The catch? Sunrise Wholesale only works with the US domestic market.
That means you need a presence in the US to get an account with them.. The effort this takes means that Sunrise Wholesale is only likely to be a practical option for a very small number of ecommerce merchants. If that’s you or if they do open up to international merchants, it’s definitely worth a look.
9. Wholesale2B
Location: USA (Nevada)
Supplier location: Global
Shipping options: Variable, depending on the seller
Shipping time: Variable, depending on the seller
Product categories: All categories
Product price range: All price ranges
Platform fee: Import to your existing store US$29.99 monthly or $215.93 annually, Import to marketplaces US$37.99 monthly or US$273.53 annually, Have a store created for you US$49.99 monthly or US$359.93 annually
General information
Wholesale2B’s main selling point is its integrations. They cover Amazon to WooCommerce and everything in between, including Bonanza. You should, however, note that each integration is a separate plan. Alternatively, you can import products into your own store or have Wholesale2B create a store for you.
It’s also important to note that Wholesale2B itself only organises shipping to the US and Canada. You can, however, ship internationally via a freight-forwarder. Shipping options and costs will all depend on the end supplier.
The product catalogue includes about a million items and all suppliers are vetted. Wholesale2B provides extensive information on both the products and the suppliers themselves. There is currently no direct integration with AliExpress. This means that if you want to use AliExpress as well, you would need to sign up with them directly, or pay fees to another dropshipper.
10. Worldwide Brands
Location: USA (Florida)
Supplier location: Global
Shipping options: Variable, depending on the seller
Shipping time: Variable, depending on the seller
Product categories: All categories
Product price range: All price ranges
Platform fee: One-off fee of US$299 or one-off instalment plan of US$99 deposit followed by 2 payments of US$110 each
General information
Worldwide Brands is the only dropshipping supplier that allows you to pay once and have permanent access to everything it offers. What it offers is also rather different to the other dropshipping suppliers, and it’s important to be clear on that difference.
With most dropshipping suppliers, you place your order on the platform. The platform then passes it on to the relevant supplier. The supplier manages fulfilment but the platform usually manages any returns. Worldwide Brands, however, works in the same way as AliExpress and some print-on-demand dropshipping suppliers.
Worldwide Brands is essentially a database of wholesale products and their suppliers. Like AliExpress, it works globally. Unlike AliExpress, the merchants on the database are vetted, which is essentially what you’re paying for. As Worldwide Brands is just a database, it does not offer integrations. The availability of integrations depends on the end supplier as do the shipping options.
Bonus suggestion – Printful
Location: USA (North Carolina)
Supplier location: N/A
Shipping options: Variable, depends on the country
Shipping time: Variable, depends on the country
Product categories: Printed items
Product price range: Various
Platform fee: None
General information
Like MegaGoods, Printful has a very specific niche. Again, that means it’s either exactly what you need or totally irrelevant to you. As the name suggests, Printful is a print-on-demand dropshipper. It can also produce sewn and embroidered designs.
Printful is its own supplier, with printing hubs all over the world. They produce the design you specify and ship the result to the end customer. Because Printful takes care of the packing and shipping, there are customisation options. For example, you can add printables such as thank-you notes and coupons.
Alternatively, you can use Printful as a warehousing and fulfilment hub. In this scenario, you would send them your products and have them dispatch them to end customers. They accept a wide range of products for fulfilment, not just printed items.
Assuming you use Printful for print-on-demand dropshipping, there are no platform fees to pay. You simply pay for the items you order and a percentage of that fee goes towards Printful itself. This means that Printful can be a great option for small or new businesses.
Which supplier is right for my business?
Now that you’ve researched the top suppliers, here’s a quick guide to finding the best dropshipping supplier for your business.
- Decide what products you want to sell and what location(s) you want to cover. Check what dropshipping suppliers meet these criteria.
- Research the suppliers you’ve listed. In particular, try to answer the following questions.
- Where are they based?
- Where are their suppliers based?
- Are their suppliers vetted?
- What information do you get about the products and their suppliers?
- Who manages shipping, them, the suppliers or a mixture of both?
- Who manages returns, them, the suppliers or a mixture of both?
- What are the guide times for shipping and returns?
- How do you feel about their website?
- Do they offer integrations and management tools?
- What support do they offer?
- What do reviews say about their service?
- What are their prices?
- Create a shortlist of potential candidates, open a trial account with them and test their services.
How to avoid common issues with dropshipping suppliers
The overall strategy for avoiding common issues with dropshipping suppliers is to do everything possible to make it transparent that you’re dropshipping. Here are the key pointers to making that happen.
- Give preference to suppliers who can personalise your orders so they look like they came directly from you.
- Only sell products you can buy from at least two suppliers. That minimises your chance of a product being out of stock.
- Monitor inventory. Even if you’re working with multiple suppliers, keep an eye on stock levels.
- Check dispatch information before you forward it to the customer.
Every so often your supplier is going to make a mistake because that’s just life. You want to catch it before your customer does.
- Monitor customer feedback
If you’ve chosen your dropshipping suppliers with care, you should have no issues with items not being as described. You should expect the occasional item to be lost or damaged in transit. This should, however, be a minor issue.
If customers start reporting any of these problems regularly, then you should raise the issue with your supplier. If necessary, you should change to a new one.
Dropshipping vs drop-servicing
Dropshipping and running a service business are both good options for new entrepreneurs. If you’ve been struggling to choose between them, then maybe you should consider drop-servicing. Drop-servicing is the same idea as dropshipping, but applied to services rather than goods.
In the drop-servicing model, you collect requests for services and pass them on to freelancers. The freelancers complete the work and return it to you. You pass it on to the client.
While the term drop-servicing is fairly new, the business concept existed long before dropshipping (and indeed the internet). One point to keep in mind, however, is that clients generally pay in arrears for services.
If you have issues getting payment from them, you may have to pay your freelancers before you have been paid yourself. If you don’t, you may struggle to get freelancers to work for you. This means that you need to be sure to have effective payment systems in place, ideally automated ones.
How Square can help
Regardless of whether you’re interested in dropshipping or dropservicing (or both), you’re going to need a website. Square Online is the best way to make that happen. Not only is it a great website-building tool, but it also gives you access to Square’s whole ecosystem.
That means you have a huge range of tools and services you can use to build your business. Square can help you with every aspect of your business from accepting online payments to marketing to inventory management. There are even specialist tools for different business sectors. What’s more, many of them are completely free!
