Aliexpress Dropshipping 2024 Guide – Everything You Need to Know

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If you’re scouring the web for a comprehensive AliExpress dropshipping guide, then you’re in the right place. During this post, we’re going to explore everything you need to start selling online with the help of this fabulous platform.

Does that sound good to you? Perfect. Let’s dive straight in!

What’s DropShipping?

If you’re new to the sphere of ecommerce selling, you might be a tad unsure of what dropshipping actually is.

In short, it’s just a business model that empowers you to sell online. However, when a customer buys something, your supplier then ships the product directly to the shopper on your behalf.

It almost goes without saying that you’ll sell your suppliers products at a profit (which obviously, is how you’ll make your money!)

Generally, you can market and sell a $5 item you’ve purchased via AliExpress for as much as $20 – that’s a massive ROI.

It’s the potential to make a huge return on your investment, that makes dropshipping more appealing than other business models, say, affiliate marketing. For those of you who don’t know, when you sell affiliate products, you earn a commission pre-determined by the supplier. Whereas, as we’ve just said, with drop shipping, you have the freedom to price your own products (which provides the opportunity for generating higher profits).

Dropshipping is also easier than opening a traditional brick and mortar store. Like the ones you see lining the high streets. With an in-person shop, the entrepreneur has to come up with winning product ideas, find suppliers and/or manufacturers; then shell out for products and their shipping. That’s not including the hassle and expense of marketing the brand to achieve those all-important sales.

Sadly, you could easily waste all this time and money to then to realize your chosen products don’t sell very well, if at all. That’s the risk you take with traditional commerce. Whereas with the ecommerce dropshipping model, you donโ€™t (necessarily) have to squander your precious budget on any of the above!

Why You Should Start Dropshipping?

We’ve only just scratched the surface on the perks of drop shipping. So, before we delve into the nitty-gritty of AliExpress, we thought it would be useful to hammer home why so many entrepreneurs utilize this business model…

Enjoy Location Freedom

Just like the large majority of other online businesses, you can run your dropshipping venture from virtually anywhere around the world.

So, if you fancy being a digital nomad, dropshipping could be a perfect way of transforming this dream into a reality.

There’s Lots of Money to be Made

As we’ve already alluded to, when done well, there’s lots of money to be made from dropshipping. Take Tim Kock for instance. He created a dropshipping store and generated a whopping $6,667 in under eight weeks!

Obviously, not everyone who launches a dropshipping business will have a success story quite as impressive as that, but you get the idea. There’s a lot of potential to make serious money.

Plus, a massive budget isn’t necessary to get started. Even when it comes to ‘learning the ropes’ you won’t have to fork out hundreds of dollars on fancy courses sold by ‘gurus.’ Instead, there are tons of blogs posts, podcasts, and video tutorials. Within days you’ll be able to learn the foundations of how to set up and launch a successful ecommerce venture without spending a penny!

The Internet is Your Oyster

With over three billion people online and a seemingly limitless number of products to sell on your store, there’s a good chance you’ll find a profitable market. The internet is your oyster, so go out there and find your niche. There’s no limit on your creativity!

What’s AliExpress Dropshipping?

So, what’s AliExpress Dropshipping?

In short, AliExpress is a massive online retailer based in China, owned by the Alibaba Group. Launched back in 2010, it comprises thousands of merchants selling products to business owners all over the world.

๐Ÿ‘‰ At the time of writing, AliExpress’ website is currently available in the following languages:

  • English
  • Spanish
  • Dutch
  • French
  • Italian
  • German
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Russian

With so many languages catered for, you can quickly see why AliExpress is so popular with entrepreneurs across the globe!

Why Dropship Using AliExpress?

Yes, there are tons of online retailers you could use to kickstart your dropshipping business. But, AliExpress is the most popular platform — and for good reasons.

As we’ve just hinted at, AliExpress lists hundreds, if not thousands, of reputable vendors selling products at extremely reasonable prices.

Plus, masses of business owners have used AliExpress for years, sp suppliers are well-versed with the needs of entrepreneurs and as such (usually), try to accommodate your wishes.

Best of all, there isn’t an upfront charge to sell AliExpress products. So, you have the freedom to test a variety of merchandise without the fear of wasting hard-earned cash.

Once you delve further into the practicalities of AliExpress dropshipping, you’ll find plenty of apps that can import product details and images from AliExpress product listings to your store. It doesn’t matter whether dropshipping is a side hustle or your full-time gig; time is money.

So, automating the majority of your business with plugins like these is an absolute must (but more on that later).

what-is-aliexpress-dropshipping-home

Hold your horses; they’re not the only things entrepreneurs love about AliExpress…

Their Products Are (Usually) Excellent Quality

Yes, like most other online retailers, AliExpress also sell their fair share of ‘dud’ products.

However, the key difference with AliExpress is how easy they make finding the cream of the crop. Due to the vast quantities of people using their services, their โ€œreview sectionโ€ is on fire!

So, use this to your advantage. 

๐Ÿ‘‰ To increase the likelihood of finding and using a supplier selling high-quality products, do the following:

  • Only work alongside suppliers boasting a positive feedback rating of 95% (or higher).
  • For a more accurate feel for how suppliers perform, only use merchants with a feedback score of 2,000 (or more).
  • Look at the written reviews section at the bottom of the product listing. It’s essential to take on board what other e-commerce merchants say about suppliers. If you don’t, you run a much higher risk of relying on AliExpress suppliers who are unreliable. Your brand’s reputation is only as good as your suppliers. So, don’t run the risk of doing business with vendors who haven’t been tried and tested!

As you can see, within minutes, you’ll get a feel for which products showcase superior quality.

๐Ÿ“ข Top Tip: On the AliExpress product listing, click on the feedback tab. This provides a full break down of the supplier’s feedback score.

Handy Hack: The ‘Feedback Score’ refers to the sellerโ€™s sales volume, whereas the ‘Positive Feedback’ score indicates their feedback rate.

Any Other Advice?

Don’t just opt for the supplier offering the lowest price. Although it’s tempting, remember, if everyone used the cheapest merchandise, albeit inferior quality, the overall standard of AliExpress products would decline.

Instead, we suggest researching and comparing the prices of different suppliers who offer similar products. If several sellers market their goods at roughly the same price point, but one or two merchants offer a significantly lower price, there’s a good chance they’ve compromised on quality. So, avoid them like the plague. You don’t want a reputation for selling shoddy products!

what is aliexpress top selection

AliExpress Shipping is (Usually) Budget-Friendly

Despite the majority of products on AliExpress coming all the way from China, you might be surprised to hear that most shipping costs are either free or exceptionally cheap.

This is a massive perk.

Offering customers free shipping often sweetens the deal and could be that all-important incentive that convinces the shopper to complete their purchase.

However, if you want customers to receive their products quicker than free shipping allows for, use AliExpress’ premium shipping option (also known as ePacket).

When you opt for ePacket shipping, it usually takes between seven to 14 days for orders to reach the US, Canada, Australia, or the UK. Sometimes you’ll find taking a slight hit in profit so you can offer quicker shipping times is worth it. After all, higher levels of customer satisfaction are essential for bolstering brand loyalty.

๐Ÿ“ข Top Tip: You can use DSers (more on this later) to help identify in seconds which products in your niche have an ePacket delivery option.

Aliexpress Dropshipping

What is ePacket Delivery?

To understand how the Chinese dropshipping company works, letโ€™s take a slightly closer look at ePacket delivery and how it works. If youโ€™re running an eCommerce business with deliveries from Hong Kong, youโ€™ll probably use ePacket delivery. This started as a postal agreement between the US and Hong Kong postal services, but there are now 38 countries that share the service.

EPacket delivery is one of the most popular solutions for AliExpress shipping, often delivering to the destination within 15 days โ€“ which is about half of the time of many packages using other methods. There are also other fast shipping options available beyond ePacket delivery, but they may be too expensive for your AliExpress dropshipping business.

To sign up for EPacket delivery with your credit card, youโ€™ll need to check what the package and size limits are for the items you can ship. Most packages can only weigh up to 3kg, and they canโ€™t be wider than 90 cm, or longer than 60cm. If youโ€™re not sure about the limitations, consider speaking to the post office or connecting with your supplier to learn more.

The benefits of ePacket shipping for dropshipping include:

  • Budget friendly: You can pay a tiny amount per country and item for ePacket delivery depending on the partner that you work with.
  • Speed: Many AliExpress shipping options can take months. However, importing and order fulfillment with ePacket delivery takes around 15 days, which can help to improve your profit margins.
  • Convenient: Most ePacket shipping providers will allow you to easily track your package as it goes to your customer, which helps you to keep your client updated about the status of their purchase.

Of course, ePacket shipping does have its downsides too. For instance, you canโ€™t necessarily access this function in other parts of the world. Additionally, itโ€™s worth noting that there are limitations on the sizes and weights of the items that you can send to your customers.

How To Start Dropshipping with AliExpress

So, having read all the above, you probably want to get going.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Here’s how to get started.

1. Pick A Niche

First things first, select a niche.

Unsure what a niche is?

In short, a niche is a specific section of an industry. For instance, pet products, gym gear, baby accessories — these are all fabulous examples of niches.

If you’re not sure which niche to specialize in, browse through AliExpress and take a look at other digital stores to glean inspiration. As you do, make a list of niches you like the sound of.

Failing that, the following places are all fabulous for kickstarting your product research:

  • AliExpress’ Weekly Most Popular Products
  • Amazon’s Best Sellers
  • eBay Daily Deals
  • Lazada’s Top Sellers
  • LightInTheBox’s Top Sellers List

๐Ÿ“ข Top Tip: Find a niche you’re passionate about. For example, if you love yoga, consider selling yoga mats, exercise clothing, sports bottles, etc. You’ll find creating content and marketing your store a much easier process.

Plus, a genuine passion for the products you’re selling will help keep you motivated once the initial novelty of running a business wears off.

๐Ÿ’ก A word of advice: Find a niche with plenty of merchandise options. Ideally, you want products that aren’t readily available in high street stores or mainstream ecommerce shops. It stands to reason; there’s a higher demand for these kinds of items (so they’re easier to sell).

Now What?

Take your list of niches and product ideas and type them into Google’s Keyword Planner.

Then, select โ€˜Keyword Ideas.โ€™ This will show how many people are searching for the product (and other relevant keywords). With this info, you can avoid picking a niche with little or no traffic.

๐Ÿ’ก Handy Hack: The secret to conducting effective keyword research is striking a balance between competition and search traffic — which can be a hard line to follow. Ideally, you want keywords with the lowest possible competition, while still boasting lots of searches. If you’re struggling with this, AHREFs could help (this is a fabulous tool for identifying high-converting keywords).

We also recommend using trends.google.com.

Copy and past potential products and see whether its demand is increasing or decreasing — are there any noticeable patterns? Avoid niches where products are dwindling in popularity, or if the majority of merchandise is seasonal. Otherwise, you’ll find marketing your store way harder!

Product Ideas to Fuel Your Inspiration

If you’re still unsure, hopefully, these product ideas will get your creative juices flowing…

Phone Grips

How many times have you accidentally smashed the screen of your smartphone? Probably at least once, especially if you’re an iPhone user. Phone grips present an ideal solution to a genuine consumer problem. Plus, there’s a decent mark up to be had, making it easy to market and profitable — win-win!

Aliexpress Dropshipping
Fitness Leggings

Fitness clothing of all guises, especially leggings, tend to sell well. Tons of brands have jumped on the health and fitness bandwagon, and for a good reason — it’s profitable!

Aliexpress Dropshipping

Magnetic Eyelashes

Like we’ve already said, when it comes to choosing ecommerce products to sell, the nicer, the better — and magnetic eyelashes certainly fall into that category!

Aliexpress Dropshipping

What is Shopify

Aliexpress Dropshipping - shopify homepage

Shopify’s an online store builder used by hundreds of dropshippers. Within hours, you can create beautiful looking digital stores and start selling.

However, you’ll have to pay for this software (after a two-week free trial). Plus,  you’ll need to populate your site with products — which is where DSers comes in.

What is DSers?

DSers, recognized as an official ecommerce solution by AliExpress since Oberlo Shut down, simplifies the drop shipping order process and facilitates bulk payments on AliExpress.

As we’ve already a said, a lot of your dropshipping business can be automated, which is where DSers comes into play.

๐Ÿ‘‰ This is how it works:

  1. Download the DSers extension onto your Shopify store.
  2. With just a click of the button, import the AliExpress products you want to sell.
  3. A customer buys your product(s)
  4. Shopify sends payment via your PayPal account.
  5. Oberlo finds the item on AliExpress on your behalf, and automatically fills out the customer details, and buys it from the necessary AliExpress supplier.
  6. The AliExpress supplier then ships the order directly to the sellerโ€™s address.
  7. Once the order’s dispatched, Oberlo sends the customer a tracking code on your behalf.

Voila, it really is as simple as that. 

Thousands of new merchants sign up to sell their goodies via Oberlo each and every month — so you’ll have an abundance of products to choose from across an array of niches. From fashion to electronics, to toys and beauty…and everything else in between, you’re bound to find something that appeals to your audience.

With DSers, you don’t need to think about storing, packaging, or shipping your products. So, you can focus your limited time and energy on growing your brand, marketing your products, and making those all-important sales.

Best of all, you can whittle this process down to just two clicks: one to order, one to finalize!

If you’re working with a tight budget, never fear. For Shopify users, Oberlo’s entirely free for the first 500 products — which when you’re starting out is plenty!

Last but not least, Oberlo also notifies you if there are any changes to the inventory or price of the products you’re selling. So, in theory, you’ll never be caught short!

3.  Order Samples

You can never be too careful with dropshipping products. Don’t be tempted to sell anything without inspecting it first.

So, order a sample.

This is the only way to ensure your e-commerce store sells products your customers can depend on.

๐Ÿ“ข Top Tip: If you’re ordering a few items, opt for Express Delivery. That way, it should be with you in a few days. When it comes to samples, the quicker, the better, so you can get up and running as soon as possible!

A Few Dropshipping Tips

As a bonus, we’ve added a few dropshipping tips to help you hit the ground running.

Setting Product Prices

As we’ve said time and again, dropshipping gives you the freedom to set your own product price. But be warned, don’t be tempted to overprice your items. Today’s online shoppers are savvier than ever before, so they’ll know if they’re being ripped off. Price your products too high, and you’ll run the risk of consumers clicking off your site and heading to your competitors.

Be Wary of Branded Products

Genuine luxury brands on AliExpress are few and far between — so don’t risk selling them. There’s a good chance they’re counterfeit products and you could run into copyright issues. AliExpress strongly discourages their suppliers selling these kinds of goods. So much so, you canโ€™t even search for Versace or Chanel, because they’ve blocked these keywords.

Only Use Responsive Suppliers

Before you commit to using an AliExpress vendor, send them over a message. Take note of how long it takes for them to respond. You’ll also get a feel for how well the supplier speaks English. Needless to say, this skill is essential for effective communication (presuming you can’t speak Mandarin).

If the supplier takes weeks to respond, or they send you a useless response, they’re probably not worth doing business with. After all, if you have to contact them urgently, and they’re unable (or unwilling) to get back to you with a helpful solution, you’ll inevitably run into problems.

Learn the Art of eCommerce

Yes, launching a dropshipping business is relatively straightforward — but there are a few things you’ll need to learn. Namely, how to drive qualified traffic to your store.

Without traffic, you won’t make sales, period.

There are tons of traffic generation methods you can use to drum up customers, so take some time to research them.

๐Ÿ‘‰ We urge you to learn the basics of:

  • Social media advertising (Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.)
  • Email marketing
  • SEO
  • Pay per click ads

Typically, a mixture of all the above will help your store gain enough traction to secure your first few sales. Over time, you’ll then be able to look at your stats and get a feel for which marketing method works best for your niche. Then hone in on that. Let the data guide your marketing methods!

๐Ÿ“ข Top Tip: If you don’t want customers to receive promotions or invoices from your suppliers inside their package, just tell them that, and they’ll usually abide by your wishes (to be fair it’s only a very few suppliers who do that anyway, so you should be fine)!

๐Ÿ’ก Handy Hack: You can even request custom packaging. So, contact your dropshipping suppliers directly to see what they’ll do for you.

What If I Don’t Want to Use Shopify?

If for whatever reason you don’t fancy using Shopify, WooCommerce is a fabulous alternative — especially, if you already have a WordPress website.

In short, WooCommerce is a plugin you can download that allows you to set up your own e-commerce store from the convenience of your WordPress site.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Similar to Shopify, it’s both a wallet-friendly and intuitive option that enables you to:

  • Sell both digital and physical products
  • Manage inventory and shipping tasks
  • Make secure payments
  • Sort taxes

Just like WordPress, WooCommerce is both free and open-source. So, you can download the plugin and modify it as you wish without paying a penny!

But never fear, although itโ€™s incredibly powerful; itโ€™s very beginner-friendly — you donโ€™t need any coding knowledge at all.

WooDropship

woodropship - what is aliexpress dropshipping

Now, that we’ve covered what WooCommerce actually is, you’re probably wondering: ‘how can I start dropshipping with this solution?’

The answer: WooDropship.

So, what does WooDropship do?

๐Ÿ‘‰ Well, in answer to your question, this extension allows you to:

  • Add and sell AliExpress products
  • Ship products directly to your customers.
  • Set the price of your products — You can even set how much profit you want to make from each AliExpress item you sell and edit the pricing of your products in bulk.
  • Access to inventory and price syncing tools — so when a product price changes or a product goes out of stock on AliExpress, WooDropship will automatically update your sales pages.
  • An inbuilt image editor — With just a click of the mouse, you can easily remove any watermarks printed on AliExpress product images.
  • Customize your product details — You can modify your product titles, descriptions, images, variants, etc. to ensure all your sales pages reflect the aesthetic of your store.

So, basically, it’s the WooCommerce version of DSers. How awesome is that?

Pros and Cons of AliExpress Dropshipping

Like everything else in life, there are a few pros and cons to AliExpress dropshipping. So, let’s explore these in greater detail.

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

We’ll start with the positives…

You Can Buy Cheap Products

This is the most notable benefit to dropshipping with AliExpress. The majority of products retailed on AliExpress are incredibly cost-effective, as is the shipping. Like we said earlier, this is usually either free or incredibly cheap. So there’s a good chance you’ll be able to make a decent markup on these items.

It’s Easier to Sell High-Maintenance Products

It goes without saying, some products cost more to stock and ship than others. As such, the harder the product is to ship to customers, the handier it is to dropship them via AliExpress.

By ‘hard-to-ship’ products, we mean:

  • Heavy products: The weightier the product, the more it costs to ship (often making them too costly to make a profit).
  • Larger products: Merchandise that takes up tons of space to store.
  • Valuables: High-value items that need additional security and insurance.
  • Fragile products: Goods requiring special care whilst ship.

On the whole, it just doesnโ€™t make sense to pay for extortionate storage and shipping fees when you can dropship these goods directly from AliExpress at no extra expense!

Minimal risk

If your plan for building a business doesnโ€™t work out, then you donโ€™t have to risk losing all the money that you initially put into starting your business. Compared to retailing, where you lose all the investment youโ€™ve put into products in your inventory, dropshipping enables you to pay only when you have received an order from a customer.

The small amount of risk in this kind of business operation is ideal for companies that would otherwise struggle to get financing and support for a company’s growth.

Flexible locations

With AliExpress dropshipping, thereโ€™s no need to open a brick and mortar store, so you can run your business from anywhere. All you need is a computer and a stable connection to the internet. Itโ€™s your choice where you want to run your company from.

If you and your family decide to move somewhere new after you start your dropshipping business, you can pick up your entire company and move it with you, without having to look for new real estate or worry about transporting goods to a new facility.

No inventory management

Buying, storing, and looking after your inventory can be an expensive and time-consuming process, particularly if youโ€™re building a large store step-by-step in the United States. With AliDropship technology and aliexpress.com, you donโ€™t need to maintain any inventory for your dropship store. This means thereโ€™s also less risk associated with things like someone stealing your inventory, or your warehouse suffering from damage.

Plus, because youโ€™re not handling the inventory on your end, you donโ€™t have to find people to come and look after your warehouse either.

Low overheads

Aside from a minimal financial commitment initially, running a dropshipping store also means that you have fewer overheads in the form of things like employee salaries, rent, bills, and so on. With dropshipping, there are no overhead costs to worry about. If your store grows to the point where you canโ€™t handle it alone, you can even hire virtual staff.

The minimal overheads could mean that if youโ€™re new to running your own business online, AliExpress dropshipping can give you an easy way to start making some serious cash, without a lot of initial risk and investment. You might not even have to seek out a loan.

Cons ๐Ÿ‘Ž

Now for the downsides to AliExpress dropshipping

Beware of False Advertising

This is hands down the worst thing about AliExpress.

By ‘false advertisement,’ we’re referring to the fact that a product on AliExpress may look fabulous online, but in reality, the quality of the product doesn’t match either yours or the customerโ€™s expectations. To limit the chances of falling foul to this, follow the tips we gave you earlier on how to find a reputable AliExpress supplier.

Quite competitive

AliExpress is one of the most affordable and popular dropshipping suppliers in the current marketplace. No matter what kind of niche you choose, youโ€™re still going to struggle to make a massive impact or stand out from the crowd. Thereโ€™s already hundreds and thousands of other dropshipping merchants out there just like you.

Minimal control

Lack of control is one of the biggest issues with using AliExpress. You donโ€™t have a lot of control over your suppliers, their fulfillment processes, and anything else they do. Youโ€™re going to have to trust that theyโ€™ll deliver the kind of quality you expect, and that theyโ€™ll provide the items to your customers on time.

This means that you need to spend a lot of time looking for the right person or company to support you in your business.

Much Longer Shipping Times

As we’ve already said, AliExpress’ merchants’ turnaround times vary greatly. Some ship orders as quickly as one week and others can take as long as 60 days. This may put some customers off, especially when other ecommerce giants like Amazon Prime can deliver orders by the next day!

Itโ€™s worth remembering that there are different shipping times available depending on the shipping option you choose. If you take your time sourcing the right supplier, you can reduce your upfront cost and improve delivery outcomes. However, since your products are coming from China, itโ€™s likely that you may need to pay a significant amount if you want much faster deliveries.

Poor profit margins

Depending on your product categories, it is possible to make a decent amount of money with something like AliExpress dropshipping. However, if you have a crowded target market, itโ€™s going to be difficult to get a significant profit margin. Remember, there are going to be a lot of people out there offering items with the same product descriptions as yours.

Usually, because there arenโ€™t any special features or extra bonuses that can set one dropshipped item apart from another, companies need to compete on price, which has a significant impact on your margins. Make sure that thereโ€™s enough space for another company to come in and start making a profit in your area before you get involved with dropshipping.

Returns Can Be a Nightmare

Since all products on Aliexpress are sourced and shipped from China, it can be a real hassle to return your customers’ orders to the original AliExpress seller and get a refund.

Some AliExpress suppliers offer a small refund to get you to just keep the product. Namely because shipping it back to them usually costs too much time, money, and hassle for it to be worth it! Again, refunds and returns are another thing you should consider discussing with a potential supplier before committing to doing business with them.

๐Ÿ“ข Top Tip: If you feel you’re entitled to a refund from your AliExpress supplier, and so far you’ve been unsuccessful, contact Aliexpress’ customer support team directly. Depending on the product and the merchant, they sometimes offer refunds. But, be aware this isn’t likely.

AliExpress Dropshipping: FAQ’s

Has reading the above sparked a few questions? Continue reading to find the answers to frequently asked questions about AliExpress dropshipping.

Why Would Someone Buy From Me If They Can Get the Same Product From AliExpress Cheaper?

Ahh. This one’s simple.

When you think about it, retailers have been buying products from suppliers for lower prices and selling them on at a profit for decades! This is how traditional brick and mortar stores have always conducted their business!

So, just like an in-person shop, with a bit of time and effort, you can easily create a better shopping experience than AliExpress. Period.

With tools like Shopify and Oberlo, you can create a trustworthy store that shoppers feel more comfortable buying from.

Couple this with providing customers with valuable content and you have a winning combination! Perhaps you could publish a blog or offer a free e-book for shoppers to download? This works wonders for helping you build trust with your audience while establishing yourself as an authority in your industry.

AliExpress Shipping Takes Too Long: What Can I Do?

Youโ€™ll be amazed at how many shoppers are comfortable with longer waiting times. The stats speak for themselves: Alibaba made over $17.7 billion in sales in just one day. So, clearly, there are people out there willing to wait a little longer to receive their products!

As long as you make your delivery times VERY clear on your sales pages, you should be okay.

It’s all about setting realistic customer expectations. Plus, if you’re selling your products at a competitive price, you’ll often find people will put up with waiting…if it means getting a discount.

I Need to Return an AliExpress Product: How Do I Do That?

On the whole, AliExpress suppliers don’t typically accept returns. As such, you’ll have to figure out how to handle returns and refunds on your own.

So, as you may have already guessed, this means writing and publishing a clear returns policy on your store.

๐Ÿ“ข Top Tip: Do a quick Google search for ‘template returns policies’ and you should find one you can modify to suit your needs.

As you’re creating your refund policy, think about why customers might want to return your products.

๐Ÿ‘‰ On the whole, if a shopper wants a refund, it’s usually because either:

1. They didn’t receive their order

If that’s the case, you’ll need to contact the AliExpress supplier directly and get the issue resolved. It’s imperative you nip these sorts of mistakes firmly in the bud because it could damage your brand’s reputation.

2. The product was damaged on route to their delivery address.

In the unfortunate event that a product gets damaged on itโ€™s a way to a customer, we suggest asking the consumer to take a picture of the damaged goods. That way you can query it with your supplier more effectively. Then go ahead and issue the shopper with a refund.

Does Amazon Allow dropshipping? How Does It Work?

No, Amazon doesn’t permit traditional dropshipping on their platform, but that doesn’t mean you have to fulfill orders yourself,

Instead, you can turn to Fulfilment By Amazon (Amazon FBA), which just like regular dropshipping, takes the picking, packing, and shipping of orders out of your hands.

This is how it works:

  1. Set up your Amazon FBA account.
  2. Create your product listings
  3. Ship your products to Amazon, and they’ll take care of the rest.

By ‘the rest,’ we mean:

  • Selecting, packing, and shipping your merchandise.
  • Providing customers with tracking info.
  • Customer service (including returns)

However, youโ€™ll have to factor in Amazonโ€™s fulfillment fees, which vary depending on the size of the items you’re shipping and the time of year. But on the whole, prepare to pay $3+ for lightweight items.

Yes, it really is as simple as that.

You can also add Amazon as a sales channel on your Shopify store using the Amazon plugin. This tracks your inventory and notifies you in your Shopify dashboard when there are outstanding Amazon orders to fulfill.

Is AliExpress Dropshipping Dead?

The simple answer is no — definitely not.

Over the last few years, dropshipping has earned entrepreneurs millions, and there’s still a lot of money to be made. However, you’ll have to be prepared to get a little more creative to stand out in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The real-life case studies speak for themselves. In 2017, Johnny FD made as much as $203,728.15 in net profits dropshipping, so it’s safe to say this business model certainly isn’t dead!

Is Dropshipping from AliExpress Profitable?

Again, yes, dropshipping from AliExpress has the potential to be extremely profitable. You just need to hold yourself accountable by writing down how much you want to earn and then working out how many products you need to sell to meet this target. Clear goal-setting is essential for keeping an eye on your profits.

Is AliExpress a drop shipper?

No, you’re the drop shipper.

A drop shipper is the store owner that “dropships” the products from the supplier on the Aliexpress platform.

Best Aliexpress Alternatives?

There are tons of AliExpress alternatives, here are some of our favorites:

Salehoo

salehoo

Salehoo. This is another fabulous AliExpress alternative that supports the dropshipping business model.

Like the others in this list, Salehoo also offers dropshippers a large selection of trusted suppliers. Best of all, Salehoo provides a few training videos on how to make the most out of their marketplace, so you’ll be able to do business with them in no time. Not to mention, users also report that Salehoo’s customer support is both friendly and helpful.

Wholesale2B

wholesale2b

Unlike AliExpress, Wholesale2B is a US-based wholesale supplier directory.

They have as many as two million products on offer, spanning over 120 categories — which they add to each and every day.

Needless to say, if you’re based in the States, this is a fabulous AliExpress alternative.

Wholesale2B is best described as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for dropshippers. In addition to reliable suppliers, you can also get advice on how to to set up an online store.  Wholesale2B  integrates with the majority of eCommerce platforms including Amazon, eBay, BigCommerce, Shopify, and WooCommerce — just to name a few! So there’s a good chance you’ll be able to use Wholesale2B.

To give you a feel for the sorts of products you’ll find over there, here are a few examples of Wholesale2B’s products categories:

  • Apparel
  • Electronics
  • Pets
  • Baby Products
  • Bath
  • Bedding
  • Collectibles
  • Exercise and Fitness
  • Gifts
  • Groceries
  • Health and beauty

Wholesale2B makes ordering and inventory control very simple through their dashboard. With just a click of a button, you can automate both. They’ll also handle returns and exchanges on your behalf. However, they charge a whopping 3% + $2.50 transaction fee for every sale you make.

DHGate

Aliexpress Dropshipping

DHGate is a very similar marketplace to AliExpress, a lot of their products overlap so you can compare prices on both of these platforms to ensure you’re making the most profit. They also use ePacket shipping.

With over ten million products for you to choose from, sold by merchants located in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other Asian countries, you’re bound to find something that interests your audience.

DHGate has products in all the following categories:

You can pay for items on DHGate via PayPal.

Banggood

bangood - what is aliexpress dropshipping

Last but not least, we have Banggood. This is another ecommerce marketplace boasting low-price products. With over four million products listed from China, Hong Kong, and the US — you’ll be spoiled for choice. Best of all, not as many people know about this site, which makes it great for trying to find something fresh to sell your audience.

You’ll find products listed in the following niches:

  • Drones and Robots
  • Smartphones and Computers
  • Home and Beauty
  • Outdoor and Sports
  • Garden and Outdoor
  • Clothing

Just like AliExpress, Banggood also offers ePacket and Air Parcel shipping. This can take anywhere between seven and 30 days to reach your customers.

You can pay for your goods via Visa card or PayPal.

Are You Ready to Start Aliexpress Dropshipping?

We hope that having read this comprehensive guide, you now feel ready to start AliExpress dropshipping!

Have you ever tried AliExpress dropshipping before? If so, we’d love to hear about it in the comments box below, as well as any other handy hints and tips you think our readers could benefit from. Speak soon!

Rosie Greaves

Rosie Greaves is a professional content strategist who specializes in all things digital marketing, B2B, and lifestyle. She has over three years of experience crafting high-quality content. Check out her website Blog with Rosie for more information.

Comments 12 Responses

  1. Marius says:

    Hello! If there are several products on the site, from different suppliers, when the customer enters and places an order, will all products from Aliexpress arrive at the same time? What customs fees are payable for trade from Aliexpress to USA?

    1. Bogdan Rancea says:

      Hello Marius,

      You will pay VAT and customs duties, depending on the country. As for the shipping, if you order from different suppliers, you might get separate shipments that will not arrive at the same time.

  2. Yuly says:

    Hola, quiero hacer droshippong con aliexpress, pero no he podido ingresar, porfavor ayuda

    1. Bogdan Rancea says:

      Hello Yuly, I’m not sure I understand your question…

  3. Hl says:

    Hello thank you for your clarification,we in Middle East and especially in Lebanon have a problem in fast shipping how can i garantee a shipping of max two weeks as clients after my personal experience arenโ€™t tolerant about timing
    Thank you

  4. Susan says:

    Hi
    Thanks for a great page ! Is it possible to have more dropship suppliers on the same shopify shop ?

    Regards Susan

  5. omar says:

    merci pk pr ts les information

    1. Bogdan Rancea says:

      You’re welcome Brian! ๐Ÿ˜Š

  6. Akrem saeed says:

    Hello , is there any options to ship to middle east fast by ali express integrated with shopify with low cost , cuz most of ali express suppliers shippment is quite expensive, any recommendations

    1. Bogdan Rancea says:

      Unfortunatley shipping is still a problem with Aliexpress.

  7. riyad says:

    I need dropshipping customer service email for comments I would like to clarify

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