Amazon, eBay and Shopify are some of the biggest names in the world of eCommerce. The number of online businesses have seen a mushroom growth in the past few years. This is especially true because the cost of setting up an online store is as little as $20.
The alternative is to set up a warehouse and purchase goods for your store which can be quite expensive and take years to take off. Dropshipping is a modern business model that takes all of these factors out of the equation.
What you need to know about Dropshipping
Many eCommerce websites have become a successful 6 figure business through wholesale dropshipping. Dropshipping in itself is another name for price arbitrage which refers to low-cost products and selling them at higher prices.
Dropshipping businesses allow you to start a business without any store or any cash. All you need is a store, product listings, and marketing to help sell the products listed on your store.
Here’s how it works:
First and foremost a product source is required, preferably at a low wholesale price from a supplier. Then you can have the product listed on your store at a relatively higher retail price
Customers usually reach out to you after they see the product listing. They often land on your page if it shows up in the top search results. You can send these customers’ orders to the supplier of the products listed in your store. These products will be shipped to them directly by the supplier and between you and the supplier, you get to keep the difference between the original and selling price of the product.
The great thing about having a dropshipping business here is that you can easily set up a store. You can add inventory easily to the store and there is little or no business risk involved. There are millions of products out there that you can sell on your e-commerce site. You can sell these products from anywhere in the world.
Alas, it is not a perfect model and the hurdle that many face going into the dropshipping business is finding the right product and supplier.
Even if you do find the right products, as the authority on the eCommerce site, you need to ensure that the product you are promoting is the same one that was sold and delivered to the customer and that they are delivered on time.
You also have to ensure that the products which are delivered to the customers are in good condition because if they are not, they will be returned and you will get negative reviews on your eCommerce site.
The mark of a top supplier is that they include you in their marketing materials to align themselves with your site and services. Sketchy suppliers will not care about your business’ reputation and this way you will end up losing money and not be able to ensure the success of your business.
To find the right suppliers for your dropshipping business here are a few tips to help you out.
Pick the right directories
Wondering why you need to pick a directory?
Well, the good thing about directories is that they help authenticate suppliers for your business. This way you can find the best products, quality, price and legitimate brands which will spare you the frustration of losing your money to frauds and poor-selling practises reflecting on your business.
A dropshipping directory or survive is a platform that gives you access to a large number of wholesalers, suppliers, auctioneers and other dropshipping businesses . You’re sure to find lots of great sellers and products A dropshipping directory is essentially a giant list of different wholesalers, suppliers, other dropshippers, auctioneers, and other types of people selling goods and products.
The directories have to pay for companies to be listed on their platforms and so it is a personal stake for them to find the right suppliers and wholesalers.
Dropshipping directories or web platforms are where you can find back end inventory systems that you can rely on. It is also a source for back end inventory and product descriptions for your site so that your customers are better informed about the products they purchase.
Sites such as SaleHoo, Doba and Dropship Direct are great platforms for finding verified, authenticated products that you can easily search and integrate on your site.
It’s just a matter of a few clicks that allow you to find the best products and suppliers for your business.
The product data such as names of products, description, specs and even the images are pushed straight from the directory and integrated on your eCommerce site.
The integration is properly automated and you will see that the data is updated on an hourly basis by the directory managers. The back end management allows you to handle management better and saves times
The only difference you will notice is that in the case of a regular directory and a service/platform is that you have to pay for service/platforms to be able to pay on a yearly or monthly basis.
All you have to do is give ideas for dropshipping which then requires you to take a look at about 12 dropshipping suppliers to help build your business.
Here is a list of these dropshipping directories broken down into categories to help you find the best suppliers for your dropshipping venture.
Alibaba – AliExpress
Alibaba(or AliExpress) is easily one of the oldest wholesale supplier directories out there. They sell about 1.8 million goods and it provides easy access to the seller. The main difference between Alibaba and AliExpress is that Alibaba is a
eBay
Another popular name in the dropshipping business is eBay that is free to use, provides worldwide brands and provides customers with wholesale suppliers in Asia. Their main selling points are integrating Shopify and providing a large product selection.
Dropship Direct
Dropship Direct is another platform that provides you with lifetime access for $299. The directory itself has over 100,000 products from over 900 suppliers. The main selling points are that you can deliver blind, white-label products as well as provide flat-rate shipping.
Another great platform for finding suppliers is a Uk-based wholesale directory known as The Wholealer.co.uk which you have to pay $37 for per month to access the largest database of UK-based suppliers. You get access to licensed goods to sell on your dropshipping website.
eSources
eSource is another one of the largest UK based wholesaler-distributors that verify and hold the TradePass badge. eSources is a great free to use resource for anyone looking to start a dropshipping business.
WholesaleCentral
For $20 per month, WholesaleCentral is among the oldest directories which provide free search and allows you to contact buyers and find ideal suppliers. Their biggest selling point is that it has the largest selection of suppliers and contact options for your business.
Toptenwholesale
Toptenwholesale is a leading platform that connects buyers and wholesale suppliers from the US to a detailed directory on a clean and easy to use interface.
Globalsources
Globalsources is a great free to use platform that is based in China and provides the largest orders. It is a great platform for wholesalers and they provide white labels as well for better branding. The platform is free to use.
Inventory Source
Inventory source is a popular dropshipping survival that provides robust inventory as well as back end management. Their main selling points are that they are integrated with Shopify, BigCommerce and more.
Doba
Another one of the biggest dropshipping services in the USA is Doba. The dropshipping service allows you to access about 2 million products. It can easily be integrated with Amazon, Shopify and eBay. For $29 per month.
Megagoods
If you are looking for a dropshipping service that is solely focused on consumer electronics and video games, then Megagoods is right for you. You can get many bling drop shipping offers, the USA made products on here with affordable fees. Just have to pay $14.99 per month.
SaleHoo.com
SaleHoo.com is a New Zealand based drop shipping service that was started in 2005. The online directory allows you to access hundreds of manufacturers and suppliers. You can personally verify suppliers on this directory which allows you to ensure that products are authenticated and legitimate.
There is a wide variety of products from clothing, fashion, electronics and more. All of this from vetted suppliers. The best thing about this directory is that it provides Market Research Labs and an in-depth discovery tool that helps you determine if a product works on different online marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon and more. This way you are marketing the right product in the right marketplace for the maximum amount of sales. You will have to pay $67 upfront and this makes it quite an expensive service.
Worldwide Brands
Worldwide Brands is also one of the oldest supplier directories out there similar to AliExpress. It was founded in 1999 and at the moment has over 8000 vetted suppliers. Worldwide Brands has a process of actually visiting the factories of the brands they take on to determine if the products they offer are legitimate.
WWB has a lifetime membership of USD 299 that you pay one time. It can be considered an investment of sorts because, in the long run, you may have to pay more for ‘cheaper’ services such as Doba and SaleHoo.
WIth WWB you have access to 1.8 million goods.
