AliExpress has a large database of suppliers offering to send products directly to customers worldwide. This attribute makes it an excellent platform for entrepreneurs looking to launch a dropshipping business.
Finding reliable suppliers, however, can be a challenge. Who can you trust? Which suppliers offer the best quality? How do you ensure timely delivery? This AliExpress dropshipping guide will help you answer these questions and more.
What is AliExpress?
AliExpress is a large online marketplace with more than 100 million products, making it a key destination for buyers looking for a vast selection of items. Founded in 2010, it is part of the Alibaba Group, a leading ecommerce company based in China.
The platform predominantly hosts manufacturers from overseas, which is why it often lists trending products at wholesale prices. You can find a vast array of items on AliExpress, from the latest in fashion and jewelry to electronics and home décor.
Does AliExpress facilitate dropshipping?
AliExpress facilitates dropshipping. After you add a product from its platform to your ecommerce store, you can sell it without ever handling the item yourself. Tools like DSers and other similar dropshipping applications make it easy to find, select, and import products to your store.
Here’s the process:
- Choose AliExpress products you want to sell and add them to your store.
- Set your selling price higher than the wholesale price to make a profit.
- When someone orders from your store, you buy the product from AliExpress at its wholesale price.
- The AliExpress seller then ships the product directly to your customer.
Compared to other marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, AliExpress’s infrastructure is better suited for dropshipping order fulfillment.
How much does it cost to dropship on AliExpress?
You can dropship on AliExpress for free. Unlike competing marketplaces like Worldwide Brands and Doba, AliExpress doesn’t charge a monthly fee for accessing its suppliers. If you’re looking to start your own dropshipping business but lack initial funds, AliExpress is an ideal starting point.
What are the benefits of dropshipping on AliExpress?
There are several benefits to dropshipping AliExpress products:
Low startup costs
AliExpress dropshipping doesn’t require much money. After you create an online store, you can integrate it with AliExpress to start dropshipping. The only cost you’ll incur is the fee for the app that connects your store with AliExpress.
Affordable items
AliExpress offers a wide range of products at competitive prices, allowing you to find items that fit within your budget. This means you can source products with high-profit margins without breaking the bank.
Diverse suppliers
AliExpress gives you access to a wide range of suppliers, including those with warehouses in the US and EU. This enables you to save on shipping costs by partnering with suppliers located closer to your customers.
How to dropship with AliExpress
Here are the steps you need to take to get started with AliExpress dropshipping:
Identify the right AliExpress dropshipping products
Start by deciding what types of products you want to sell. Consider exploring different categories on a marketplace like AliExpress and choose something that sparks your interest or that you have knowledge about.
But given the extensive range of items available, choosing specific products to sell can be daunting. To assist in this process, we’ve outlined some criteria to help you filter through the options effectively.
Avoid branded items
Opt for products that are unbranded. This strategy helps you steer clear of counterfeit goods and ensures your store operates within legal boundaries.
Assess previous orders
Seek out products with a high number of previous orders. A substantial order history suggests a steady demand and a dependable supplier.
Check the ratings
Choose products that have received high ratings, preferably over 4.5 stars. High ratings often reflect good quality and customer satisfaction.
Consider pricing and profit margin
Target products with a wholesale price between $1 to $20. This price range allows for a significant markup to cover marketing costs and generate profit.
2. Choose a reliable supplier
In dropshipping, your role is to bring customers and suppliers together through your website and marketing efforts. For a positive customer experience, it’s crucial that these suppliers provide precise product details and fast shipping, and uphold high quality standards.
So, how do you ensure you’re choosing the right suppliers? Here are a few tips to guide you:
- Review their feedback: AliExpress displays a feedback rating next to each seller’s name. Opt for suppliers with a satisfaction rate of at least 95%. This rating reflects the level of customer satisfaction.
- Examine their track record: Click on the seller’s name for a detailed look at their feedback. Check how long they’ve been active on AliExpress and their shipping reliability. Established suppliers with years of experience are generally more trustworthy.
- Inspect product photos: Verify that the product photos are original and belong to the manufacturer, not copied from other retailers. A quick Google image search can help determine the originality of the photos.
- Evaluate their responsiveness: Feel free to ask potential suppliers questions before placing an order. A responsive seller should answer promptly and clearly. A lack of response is a major concern.
- Place a test order: Place an order with the supplier to personally evaluate the customer experience, including shipping time and product quality. This firsthand insight is invaluable.
3. Set up your Shopify dropshipping store
Start building your Shopify store with its easy-to-use web builder. If you’re new to Shopify, there’s a three-day free trial available for sign-ups.
At this initial phase, don’t stress over branding and design details too much. There’s always room to refine your store’s look and introduce more sophisticated features down the line.
4. Start adding AliExpress products
After setting up your Shopify store, choosing a product category, and picking a supplier, it’s time to add products to your store.
Simply copying images and descriptions from AliExpress listings won’t cut it if you aim for success. Here’s how to enrich your store content:
Write your own product descriptions
The descriptions on AliExpress often lack professional copywriting and fail to highlight the benefits of the products. Crafting unique content for your store not only helps in converting customers but also avoids the pitfalls of duplicate content, ensuring your store’s pages are original.
Inform customers about delivery times
Given that many suppliers are based in China, shipping can take longer—up to 20 days in some cases. Make sure your product pages or other areas of your store clearly state delivery estimates to set the right expectations.
Offer free shipping
Competitive shipping rates can be a key advantage. Look for AliExpress sellers who provide free or affordable shipping so you can extend free shipping offers to your customers, enhancing your store’s appeal.
Price products appropriately
Aim to price your products at about double their wholesale cost. A 50% margin is healthy for your online business, covering marketing, support, and other essential expenses, making the venture worthwhile.
Use an order tracking app
To manage inquiries about shipping status due to longer delivery times, integrate an order tracking app from the Shopify App Store. This keeps your customers informed about their purchase progress.
Bonus tips for dropshipping on AliExpress
1. Don’t go for the lowest price
On AliExpress, lower prices often indicate lower quality products. Retailers frequently encounter situations where a more affordable product turns out to be of subpar quality. To avoid such pitfalls, it’s wise to be wary of prices that seem too good to be true.
For instance, if the majority of suppliers price a specific item at $50 and one supplier lists it at $35, this significant price difference could signal a compromise in the product’s quality or authenticity.
2. Pay attention to a supplier’s responsiveness
To evaluate a supplier’s responsiveness, you can make up an urgent issue and message a supplier about it to see how they respond. Things to take note of include the supplier’s response time and his or her command of English, along with their ability to understand your problem and provide you with clear information. If they just respond with a generic, meaningless message, you can cross that supplier off your list.
After all, chances are good that, at some point, you’ll have a real situation like the one you made up, and you’ll want to know your supplier will handle it correctly. When you’re trying to create a successful ecommerce business with AliExpress dropshipping, your suppliers are essential, so always choose wisely.
3. Look for ePacket delivery
When using AliExpress for dropshipping, make sure to evaluate your shipping options. It’s true that this is a common hurdle that most dropshipping ecommerce entrepreneurs must figure out how to deal with. To do so, start by always keeping your eye out for AliExpress dropshipping suppliers that can offer the best delivery options possible for your AliExpress dropshipping store.
AliExpress Premium Shipping is the best balance between cheapness and speediness. ePacket shipping, also known as AliExpress Premium Shipping, is ideal. With ePacket, most deliveries arrive within 30 days, door to door, and include a tracking code, which your customers can use to check for the location of their order.
How to choose the right product to sell
Choosing the right dropshipping products matters greatly when dropshipping with AliExpress. This process starts by generating a large list of potential items. Then, eliminate any that don’t seem promising. What’s left are a few standout products, perfect for advertising. Add more related products to the store to maintain a natural, diverse selection.
Consider these top three resources for discovering product ideas:
1. Your mind
Great product ideas already occupy your mind. Contemplate your hobbies, favored products, and observed trends. Make time to brainstorm and jot down all ideas. Don’t worry about potential bestsellers at this point, just add to your list.
2. Other online stores
For inspiration, explore other Shopify stores. Look at their offerings, bestsellers, and featured products. Major online retail sites with loads of data and dedicated product-selection teams offer valuable insights.
3. Social shopping sites
Sites like Pinterest and Fancy offer untapped potential, with millions of unique products. They might not be your first thought for product ideas, but their value is immense as social media becomes increasingly influential. Create an account on each, subscribe to relevant categories and lists, and monitor trending product feeds. Identify popular items and add them to your list.
Filtering AliExpress dropshipping product ideas
When you’re satisfied with the length of your product list, it’s time to refine it down so it only contains the very best ideas.
- Look for niche products that are not as readily available on mainstream ecommerce sites or in stores. This will help ensure that you create a successful ecommerce business with products that are actually in demand. For instance, even if there is no specific market to pinpoint for selling a regular belt, you can easily draw the conclusion that cycling gear will be of interest among cycling enthusiasts. Choose your dropshipping niche wisely!
- There are a few different product categories that have grown to large proportions in the past few years. Odds are, a mixture of large scale marketplaces and smaller shops have already seized the opportunity to sell these products. To avoid markets that are already saturated, cross off the following categories from your idea list: jewelry, books, clothing, and electronics. At this stage in the ecommerce game, you’ll need to be hyper specific in order to find a lucrative niche.
- Based on industry standards, a product price between $40 to $60 (with a 200% markup) is optimal. This range factors in better conversion rates at lower prices and the increased customer support expectations with higher prices.
- Scan through your product ideas and enter each one, as well as variations on its name, into the Google Keywords Analysis tool. Select “Keyword Ideas” and check how many searches each low competition keyword receives. When doing ecommerce SEO, avoid product categories that have little or no search traffic. The key is striking the right balance between keyword competition and search traffic.
- Next, go to trends.google.com, search each of your product ideas, and look at the trends. Is the trend increasing or decreasing? Are there any other patterns worth noting? Where are the spikes occurring? Cross out products whose trends are fading, as well as seasonal items.
After crossing off any ideas that don’t prove to be worth testing, you’ll be left with a few potential winners. Now it’s time to open a store and try them out.
What are some of the best AliExpress dropshipping products?
Here is a list of the best dropshipping products to sell on AliExpress
- Yoga mats
- Electric toothbrushes
- Kids’ face masks
- Portable blenders
- Acne patches
- Squat-proof leggings
- Tracksuit
- Wine fridges
- Ceiling fans
- Soap dish
- Bedside lamps
- Pencil cases
- Gaming monitors
- Socket wrenches
- Ergonomic chairs
How to verify product quality with samples
For your AliExpress dropshipping business to succeed, it’s important to make sure your products are good quality. But getting samples for every single item can be expensive, especially when you have lots of different products.
A smart way to handle this is to select products for sampling based on how well they perform in your ads. If you see certain items getting a lot of positive attention on social media, those are the ones to get samples of first. This method lets you check the quality of products that are already popular with your audience, helping you ensure quality without spending too much on samples.
Does AliExpress offer refunds and returns?
AliExpress suppliers typically don’t offer returns for orders, which means you need a plan of action and a dedicated dropshipping returns policy. Two of the most common reasons for returns are:
The customer never received their order: In this instance, it’s essential to address this directly with your AliExpress supplier, as repeated instances can harm your business. You might consider choosing a different delivery option to avoid such issues. If it does happen, discuss with your customer whether a refund or return best suits their needs.
The product was damaged in transit: In the unfortunate case where a product gets damaged en route to a customer, it’s advisable to ask for images of the damaged goods and then issue a refund. If you think the packaging was insufficient, speaking with your AliExpress supplier might be necessary.
Is it possible to dropship products from AliExpress to Amazon?
You can dropship AliExpress products on Amazon by connecting both platforms to your Shopify store. Here’s how to do it:
- Install a dropshipping app like DSers on your store.
- Import AliExpress products to your store through Dsers.
- Connect your Shopify store with Amazon by setting up an Amazon integration.
- Use the integration to create and manage your Amazon listings directly from your Shopify admin.
Once everything is set up, you can use DSers to create listings on Amazon for products you already have in your Shopify store or make offers for products that are already being sold on Amazon. Shopify will keep your Amazon listings updated to match your store’s inventory.
Start dropshipping with AliExpress successfully
Dropshipping with AliExpress started because entrepreneurs were looking for easy and efficient ways to sell products online without having to deal with inventory or shipping. This method quickly became popular, helping many ecommerce businesses thrive.
If AliExpress dropshipping aligns with your business plan, consider trying out Shopify dropshipping apps. These apps simplify the process of adding products to your store and handling shipping orders.
So what are you waiting for? Start your dropshipping journey with AliExpress and write your own ecommerce success story. An exciting adventure awaits.
AliExpress dropshipping FAQ
Will customers know products come from AliExpress?
AliExpress packages are usually shipped without promotional materials or invoices. But to be safe, you can ask suppliers not to include these materials. You can also set up custom packaging and use AliExpress premium shipping or ePacket. But keep in mind, packages will have Chinese shipping labels.
Where does AliExpress ship from?
Most AliExpress sellers operate from China and ship items from there. However, AliExpress does not always show the country of origin in the shipment details. In some cases, the shipping carrier can hint at the item’s origin, but this isn’t a definitive indication.
Why would someone buy from me if they can buy the same product from AliExpress cheaper?
Why should you dropship? Because you can do it better! You could be an exceptional marketer, reaching potential customers before others. You also have the potential to build a trustworthy brand that gives customers a sense of security. Furthermore, your customer service can strengthen relationships with your clients.
What is AliExpress Premium Shipping?
AliExpress Premium Shipping is an ePacket delivery option. It typically delivers shipments to the US, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and several other thriving economies within 15 to 30 days.
Using ePacket is advisable wherever possible. This shipping option can enhance your ecommerce success and customer satisfaction when dropshipping from AliExpress.