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7 Tips for Choosing Dropshipping Suppliers

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Last editedJuly 20213 min read

Dropshipping has become one of the most popular business models for young entrepreneurs looking to get into the business world, being a relatively low-risk, low-cost way to sell products online. However, dropshipping comes with its pitfalls, and in order to find true success, you need to make sure you do it the right way.

One of the most fundamental factors in establishing a successful dropshipping business is ensuring you’ve found the best dropshipping suppliers for the product you want to sell. But remember, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the fastest dropshipping suppliers are best.

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is the process of selling products online that you don’t have to have any physical interaction with. With dropshipping, you purchase the product you’re selling from a third-party supplier at its wholesale cost, and the product is then shipped directly from supplier to customer. You mark up the price of the product, and keep the profits. You never have to see the product or manage inventory – you simply buy from the supplier once a customer makes a purchase.

How to get suppliers for dropshipping

You want to find dropshipping suppliers that are trustworthy and consistent and offer a viable, valuable product. You can use a dropshipping suppliers directory to find a product that works for you, but there are a few factors to consider first. Here’s how to get suppliers for dropshipping that’ll set you up for success:

A smart approach to dropshipping is to see what’s currently trending and tap into an emerging or already fruitful market. See which items are top sellers in major marketplaces, which items are trending on Google, and try to gauge what people are looking to buy at the moment.

2. Understand your market

It’s best to capitalise on a niche interest that you know a lot about. You don’t want to try and sell a product that thousands of other stores are trying to sell, but you don’t want to offer something that’s so niche that you won’t reach a wide audience. Find a middle-ground between something that’s trending and something that’s too specific, and use your specialist knowledge or passion for the product to help it stand out. If you’re selling to a particularly niche market, you’re limiting your audience.

3. Understand the competition

Find other dropshippers who are successfully selling in the same market and figure out what’s working best for them. Look at their pricing, their marketing and branding to help guide your approach to dropshipping. Assess how competitive the market is and if it’s worth you joining the fold.

4. Think about costs and pricing

When looking at potential dropshipping suppliers, you’ll need to consider how viable their pricing is against how much profit you hope to earn. If the wholesale cost is too high, you might need to push for a markup that limits your customer base in order to make a substantial profit. You’ll also need to think about shipping costs and the logistics of getting the product from supplier to customer in the most cost-effective way possible.

The most successful Australian dropshipping suppliers offer cheap products like phone cases, kitchenware, and pet products, for example.

5. Consider fulfilment and admin

The easiest way to open an e-commerce dropshipping store is using a specialised CMS like Shopify. Whatever you’re using, ensure that your supplier can be easily integrated with your system to allow for a seamless process.

At the start, it may be easiest to do things manually; wait for a purchase to be made, and buy the product from your supplier listing your customer’s address for delivery. However, as you grow, you’ll want to automate this process so that as soon as a customer makes a purchase, the fulfilment occurs immediately without you having to do a thing.

Integrating your supply chain with your e-commerce platform is the best way to do this, so look out for Australian dropshipping suppliers that offer this benefit.

6. What’s your brand?

You want to make sure your supplier is a good reflection of the brand you want to build. For example, if your brand promotes an eco-friendly outlook – you’d want to ensure that the packaging of your product reflects these values. Some Australian dropshipping suppliers will offer the option for branded packaging with your logo and brand name, although this will typically come at a cost.

7. Test your supplier

Before you fully commit to your dropshipping suppliers – first test them by buying a product from them. Because you don’t handle the product with dropshipping, there might be details you’re missing without seeing it in-person. You also want to make sure you’re using the fastest dropshipping suppliers (who also maintain quality) so you can offer your customers quick and easy delivery.

The only way to be sure that the product is of good quality, the shipping is reliable, and the packaging is what you need, is to first order the product for yourself. This also allows you to photograph the product for more unique branding.

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