Finding Dropshipping Suppliers

Generally speaking, dropshipping suppliers aren’t known for their ability to market themselves to their audience, so finding the right dropship suppliers can be a difficult task.

You need to know in advance that finding dropshipping suppliers for your business could take a while. Another thing that you should take into consideration during your search is that you’re selecting suppliers which are likely based in Asia – the language barrier could take a little getting used to.

Nevertheless, you can find the right dropshipping supplier for your business. Here are a few steps that you can take to ensure that you find the right one:

Research
Once you’ve decided on the products that you would like to sell, research which dropshipping suppliers are out there, and which ones suit your needs best. You might need to choose whether to go with a domestic or overseas supplier depending on the number of suppliers in your chosen product niche. When you’re selecting suppliers you’ll need to dive deep into raw material sourcing, delivery times, and service potential.

Contact Suppliers
Talk to the dropshipping supplier that suits your needs and start a relationship with them. Talking to them allows you to ask questions about the service that they provide. They may even provide you with contact information from some of their current customers so you can get first-hand experience of working with the supplier before committing to them.

Maintaining a good relationship with your dropshipping suppliers from the very start means that when you start doing business together you’ll have trust. This will make it easier to get questions answered quickly, and disputes resolved straight away. After all, you’re on the same team.

Order Samples from the Supplier
Once you’ve chosen your top two or three suppliers to do business with, order samples from them yourself. Test their quality of service, delivery times, packaging, and other supplier-related questions that you may have so you are entirely happy with the choice you make. Ordering samples from a dropship supplier is an essential part of selecting suppliers as it will allow you to witness first-hand how your customers will experience your store.

Order From the Competition
If one of your competitors is using the same supplier as you then you can find out how the supplier packages their products and offers their services, like custom labeling. If your competitor uses other suppliers you can order from them to get an idea of the level to service you need to provide to rank in line with the competition.

Find the Right Supplier for Your Business
When you’re selecting suppliers, many can seem great when you look at their reviews and the products that they offer, but once you dig into the business they may not suit your audience. This could be because of the raw materials they use, the way they do business, or how they deal with returns. Be sure to talk to suppliers and get to know how they do business before you commit to working with them. Although you can choose not to use a supplier after issues arise, the damage might have already been done and your brand could have been harmed.

Dropshipping Suppliers to Avoid
It is hard to know which dropship suppliers to choose but there are some tell-tale signs that a supplier is to be avoided at all costs. Apart from bad reviews, negative feedback, and cheap quantity products, there are other factors that can anticipate a bad dropshipping supplier.

If a dropship supplier insists on monthly or ongoing fees to do business with them this is a bad sign. Ongoing fees could mean a supplier is part of a directory as opposed to a single supplier.
It is normal to have pre-order fees that increase slightly depending on size or complexity of an order, or decrease with bulk ordering. The research will highlight suppliers that charge higher than normal pre-order fees, which you want to stay away from.
Minimum order size is another thing to keep in mind when choosing a dropship supplier. Most of the time a supplier is willing to charge the minimum order fee and fulfill orders as they come in. This means that if a supplier’s minimum order size is 200, you must pay for the 200 units upfront but the supplier will fulfill the orders as they come from your online store. Suppliers that refuse to do this should be avoided as they are more suited for dropshipping wholesale.
Importance of Dropshipping Suppliers
Dropshipping suppliers are integral to every dropshipping more info business. Without suppliers, dropshipping businesses cannot sustain themselves, as they won’t have any products to deliver to their customers. That’s why it’s essential that you know how to find dropshipping suppliers that will help your business to succeed without any hitches. Let’s dive in to our top tips for finding dropshipping suppliers .

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