Dropshipping industry has become immensely popular, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a research report, 52% of consumers moved to online shopping compared to before the pandemic. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that dropshipping businesses have increased rapidly.
While running a dropshipping business might be quite profitable, it is not easy as it seems. If you want to make your dropshipping business successful, you have to pay a lot of attention to one crucial aspect – finding the right supplier for your dropshipping business. It is a supplier’s responsibility to package your products, carry out a quality check, and ship the products safely and to the right customer. In case your supplier fails, your business fails too.
Therefore, it is important to choose someone that will have your back. However, it can be tricky as you will have to sift through endless options. Many suppliers offer the same service at the same price. Now, you must be wondering how to choose a credible supplier for your dropshipping business. Well, you will have to consider many factors for that.
Not sure which one are those? Read this article to learn expert tips on how to get the right dropshipping supplier for your business!
What Makes a Great Dropshipping Supplier?
Not all dropshipping suppliers are great at what they do. Therefore, if you want to make the process of working with dropshipping supplier hassle-free, you will need to consider the following factors:
Quality Service
Before finalizing any supplier for your dropshipping business, you need to ensure they offer a quality service, which means:
- Higher Customer Satisfaction
- Positive Customer Reviews
- More Word-of-Mouth Referrals
- Fewer Returns
Per-Order Fees
Dropshipping suppliers charge a fee per order, which means you have to pay them every time you place an order. It also makes sense as they have to invest a lot of time and resources to pack and ship products to your customers. However, the majority of suppliers charge businesses outrageous fees.
Therefore, the best approach is to do your math and see if you can make a good profit when paying a high fee per order. If the profit margins are low, it does not make any sense to choose a supplier that charges a hefty fee.
Fast Shipping
If it takes days or weeks for your dropshipping supplier to ship an item to your customers, they will definitely not be a good choice for your business. Dropshipping is already an overly competitive market with no room for a lengthy shipping process. Your business will not be able to succeed if it takes too long to deliver the orders to the customers.
In today’s world, customers are impatient and want immediate delivery. Therefore, any supplier that will ship quickly should be your top priority for your dropshipping business.
How to Get a Dropshipping Supplier?
As mentioned above, finding the right supplier for dropshipping business can be challenging, mainly because of an overwhelming number of suppliers available. However, many people new to running a dropshipping business do not know how to secure a dropshipping supplier. Do you fall into a similar category? Stress no more.
Here are a few steps you must follow to find a supplier for your dropshipping business:
Step #1: Do Your Research
To find a dropshipping supplier for your business, you need to do thorough research and locate them through the following:
Contact Manufacturer
Have you sourced your products? If yes, you can reach out directly to your manufacturer and ask them to provide you with their list of wholesale suppliers. By doing so, you will not only save a lot of time and effort but also be assured about suppliers’ legitimacy.
Search on Google
If you have not sourced your products or your manufacturer has no contacts, you can always use the first source people use for finding things – Google. While Google might be the fastest way to find dropshipping suppliers, it comes up with many risks.
The simplest way to find a dropshipping supplier on Google is to enter “Product + Dropshipping Supplier.” Also, while searching for dropshipping suppliers on Google, you must keep the following in your mind:
- Never decide on the website’s appearance, as many legitimate suppliers do not have a properly designed website.
- Don’t try too many keywords, as most suppliers do not have SEO knowledge.
Once Google displays a list of suppliers, go through it and fetch their contact details.
Subscribe to Online Directories
If you are unable to find any legitimate supplier through Google, there are many online directories to help you find the right supplier for your dropshipping business. These online directories have a large database and legitimate suppliers, as every supplier listed has gone through various types of screening to confirm their legitimacy.
Here are a few legitimate dropshipping supplier directories:
Attend Trade Shows
Another way to find a supplier for your dropshipping business is by attending tradeshows. They are the perfect events to find manufacturers and suppliers in the areas where you want to dropship. During tradeshows, you will get a lot of one-to-one interaction with suppliers. Therefore, it is important to come well-prepared. When well-prepared, business owners are able to demonstrate better what type of packaging they want, where they want to place branding, and much more.
Word-of-Mouth Referrals
It might be the last option, but it is quite effective for finding the right supplier for your dropshipping business – referrals. You must ask your friends, family members, colleagues, or neighbors if they could refer you to the best supplier for dropshipping your products.
Anyone in their social circle might know, even if they don’t know. Therefore, it is important to get them involved.
Step #2: Contact Suppliers
Once you have the contact details of the suppliers, you can contact them through any communication channel that suits you. Remember to ask the following questions:
- What are the payment terms? Are they negotiable?
- Are there any other costs than the “per-order fee”?
- How many days do they take to ship?
- What kind of guarantee do they offer?
- When might the prices change?
Step #3: Negotiate
Once you have found a few suppliers that meet your needs, it is time for you to negotiate. There is always room for negotiation with dropshipping suppliers as they often quote higher charges at first.
Therefore, you should take a little time and negotiate with them respectfully and professionally to get the best deal from them.
Step #4: Decide
It is important for new business owners not to rush while deciding on their dropshipping supplier. Even if you have the best deal from any supplier, you must take a little time and dig deep into their profile or website. You must reconsider the quality of their service, customer reviews, shipping time, and much more.
Once you have reconsidered thoroughly, you can close the deal with the supplier and schedule a meeting with them to discuss further.
