Unless you have been living under a rock, you will definitely have heard of Alibaba. Alibaba was built for wholesale purchases. Sellers on the platform will usually need you to fulfil minimum bulk order requirements. On Alibaba, you may communicate directly with Chinese manufacturers to place orders.
As a dropshipper, fulfilling minimum bulk orders is not ideal. That simply isn’t what dropshipping is about! Hence, many dropshippers tend to source for their products on AliExpress. It is made for businesses of smaller scale. Unlike their competitors like Worldwide Brands and Doba, starting a dropshipping business with AliExpress is free of startup and monthly fees. With a large database of millions of products to choose from, it is near impossible for you to not find what you’re looking to sell. However, you would want to ensure your customers to get exactly what they ordered in a timely fashion. Here are a few things to note when using AliExpress to fulfil your dropshipping orders.
1. Check the listings thoroughly
You filter through AliExpress and have narrowed down which products you intend to sell on your store. There are so many links listing the same products. How do you know who to choose from? Look out for listings with:
Detailed product descriptions
Customer reviews
Sellers with a good response rate
The barriers to entry to becoming an AliExpress vendor are low – anyone who passes their review process can be a seller. The vendor that you are interacting with could be a company, a supplier or an individual. These factors affect your product processing and shipping times.
In worst case scenarios, you may find your orders not fulfilled after having made payment. Reading through the customer reviews may help to lower such risks.
2. Beware of the additional inserts
Due to the ambiguity of who your vendor is, you end up working with a supplier or a competitor on AliExpress. While packing your customer’s order, some vendors might add additional inserts to promote their goods and services. You really don’t want this as your customers might turn to them instead. Before this happens, you can leave a note to the vendor saying ‘no additional promotional inserts’.
Alternatively, you may want to consider working with a reliable dropshipping agent to prevent this from happening. The dropshipping agent is able to pack your orders and customise your note to the clients. Xianchao Logistics provide customisation services ranging from thank-you notes to packaging. When your product is shipped out to your client, rest assured that we will not be competing with you for business.
3. Quality consistency
Ever experienced 2 of your customers ordering the same product but receiving goods of differing qualities? That is because some AliExpress vendors may have swapped suppliers to save cost or are making do to cope with the lack of stock. Consistent product quality is one of the most important factors in deciding the success of your dropshipping business. Not only that, your order processing and shipping times will be affected too!
Avoid these concerns by working with a credible dropshipping agent. At Xianchao Logistics, our customer service member will communicate your dropshipping business needs to trusted suppliers. Get started with us today!
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