The Top AliExpress Alternatives To Quickly Get Your Dropshipping Business Off The Ground
If you’re looking to make a buck online, dropshipping might be the route to go. Running an online store using this method is right for you if you’re new to eCommerce. After all, you don’t really need a lot of money to source your products and manage them. All you need is to set up your store and search for suppliers. With the dropshipping method, you don’t need to sit on a large amount of inventory. Instead, you extend that responsibility to your supplier, who then delivers to your customers. Several dropshipping online stores use AliExpress to find suppliers for their products. And that’s no surprise. After all, the platform has a wide variety of products. Additionally, they have an efficient service. So, you’re just starting out in the business, you’re going to find this online marketplace crowded. The competition for merchant’s services might throw you off your entire eCommerce venture. However, you needn’t throw in the towel just yet. You can try your luck with alternative dropshipping sources. Several AliExpress alternatives offer a comparable variety of products. Furthermore, there’s less competition, making it easier to strike up a profitable relationship with a supplier. In this article, we present some dropshipping alternatives. If you’re not going in for AliExpress, you can use these different platforms to source your products. Dropshipping provides you with a way to increase your income without investing a lot. Debutify heightens your chances of doing so by offering a high converting Shopify theme. Start your profitable online business in one click. Download Debutify for free now! Why Should You Choose Alternative Dropshipping Sources? AliExpress is the dropshipping source of choice because it offers plenty of benefits.
For one, it has an immense hub of suppliers. And these suppliers are as many as there are types of products for sale. Additionally, the dropshipping giant has been in business for a long time. The brand has taken the time to perfect its craft. Consequently, it’s very efficient in delivering its service. However, there are still some areas where AliExpress falls short. And it is these factors that might want you to consider dropshipping alternatives. These include:
Extended Shipping Times A large share of the vendors that list their products on AliExpress hail from China. This can be a problem if you’re running your online store from the U.S. or Canada. And this becomes much worse if your target market is in the same area. The vast distance between these two territories increases the delivery time. Online shoppers value quick shipping times. If you can’t guarantee express shipping, they’ll find other stores that can. Suppose you want to retain your competitive advantage over your online rival. In that case, you’ll be better off finding AliExpress alternatives with quicker shipping times.
Untrustworthy Suppliers
AliExpress has been successful in the dropshipping trade because it has millions of suppliers. This provides online store brands with a variety of products to choose from. The platform has checks and balances in place to ensure that brands are dealing with genuine suppliers. However, the sheer amount of suppliers means that some bad elements are bound to slip through the cracks. Therefore, there’s a high chance that you might end up dealing with some unsavory characters. Your reputation – and, consequently, your finances – can take a hit if your suppliers don’t deliver products after receiving money.
In such a situation, alternative dropshipping sources start looking like an attractive proposition. International Relations
Trade tensions between the United States and China have rocked the global business world. The heightened tariffs on different imported products make their effect felt downstream. AliExpress is based in China. Therefore, importing products from there now requires you to spend more than before. As end consumers, your customers feel the brunt of this trade war. This is because you’re selling your products at a higher price. You can’t avoid it; you need to turn a profit. However, your customers might not be so understanding. If they feel your prices are too high for them, they’ll take their business elsewhere. Therefore, you need to find AliExpress alternatives. If you don’t, you’re likely to watch your online business putting up the shutters permanently. Now that you know why you need dropshipping alternatives, go through this list we’ve compiled. What Are The Best AliExpress Alternatives? Although AliExpress is a household name in the dropshipping industry, plenty of other outfits offer excellent service in this realm. Below, we’ve listed some of the best alternatives from which you can choose. They each have different features and qualities that might appeal to you. Let’s dive right in. SaleHoo If you’re still toying with the idea of starting an online store, SaleHoo is a viable alternative to AliExpress when it comes to sourcing your products. The New Zealand-founded dropshipping marketplace differs from its Chinese counterpart in considerably. On AliExpress, you input your product and look through the results to find a suitable supplier. However, things are a bit different on SaleHoo. This is especially apparent if this is your first time in this business. SaleHoo gives you ideas for what to sell. There’s a dedicated button on the site that spits out ideas for niches you can join. It then goes ahead and shows you how many suppliers on the platform offer such products. But that’s not the end. SaleHoo breaks the suppliers down to show you how many of them ship worldwide. You can also access several resources to educate yourself. The platform ensures that you’re pretty conversant with the industry to fully benefit from it. The platform also enables you to conduct market research for your niche and target audience.
One good bit about this is that it shows you how much you can expect to spend on a product from the platform. It then shows what the product retails for online and what you can make off it. SaleHoo’s most apparent disadvantage is that it only has thousands of suppliers. AliExpress goes over and beyond with its millions of suppliers. DHGate If you’ve been in the game long enough, you’ve been used to dealing with suppliers through AliExpress. Due to one reason or the other, you’re now looking for alternative dropshipping sources. However, you don’t want to jump into something so unfamiliar. This might set your business back a bit. Worry not. DHGate is as close as you can get to AliExpress without having to experience some of its negatives. Navigating the DHGate site isn’t so foreign to you because it’s almost identical to what AliExpress offers. Furthermore, the platform has a wide variety of products. Obviously, the lineup isn’t as varied. Still, the platform does an excellent job of having the vast majority of products that you want to dropship. These products are also very affordable. Another advantage of DHGate is that it’s free to use. Your fledgling online store won’t feel the financial pressure. The only reason for putting a star next to this name is that the shipping times are longer than you’d want. TaoBao
A significant section of the dropshipping industry is taken up by clothing products. This ranges from fashion all the way to baby clothes.
Given AliExpress’s variety of products, you might find it hard to secure quality suppliers for your online store. That’s where TaoBao comes in. This dropshipping platform has a particularly extensive collection of clothing suppliers. If you’re in this niche, this is the best platform because the suppliers have quality material to offer. Own an online fashion store? The free Debutify theme lends itself well to fashion brands. The intuitive design layout ensures that your products are distinctively visible, increasing conversion. However, you’re still likely to run into some problems like those you faced on AliExpress. For instance, TaoBao is located in China. The trade war with the U.S. is more than likely to affect your business. China slapped high tariffs on cotton imported from the States. Furthermore, the site is mainly in Chinese. You can quickly get around this with your browser translator. However, some of the images still have Chinese wording. You won’t be able to understand them. Being China-centric, this AliExpress alternative doesn’t offer all the payment options you need. Banggood Based in Hong Kong, this platform offers all the positives that AliExpress brings to the table. It has over 4 million products across all the different niches in dropshipping. You can get suppliers dealing in beauty, fashion, electronic and home improvement sectors. And unlike other alternative dropshipping sources, you can get drones. Well, that is if you’re into that sort of thing. Although most of the suppliers are in China, there are plenty of U.S-based vendors that you can get in touch with. Banggood also keeps a close eye on vendors, ensuring that you only deal with trustworthy parties. In some destinations, the platform allows for cash on delivery. AliExpress only enables online payments. However, Banggood has some drawbacks. The delivery time for some products can exceed a month. Conclusion AliExpress still stands tall over the dropshipping world. However, running such a big operation means that some problems will inevitably rear their heads. Online stores running on a dropshipping model can always turn to AliExpress alternatives. Several platforms offer this service, each with its own benefits and disadvantages. So, choose wisely when considering dropshipping alternatives. Dropshipping requires you to find the best vendors. The goods should be at a low cost but of high quality. Debutify offers a theme that puts a premium look to your products, easily justifying your retail price. Download the top converting Shopify theme Debutify now for free!