How to Choose a Dropshipping Supplier
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2025 3:18 am
This is one of the main solutions for a business built on dropshipping. The main suppliers for online stores are European and Chinese companies, and the choice is determined by the product you need. The most popular areas of trade using the dropshipping scheme are selling shoes, clothes, accessories, children's goods, car parts, etc.
Choosing a supplier for your dropshipping online store is also important because the intermediary is fully responsible to its customers for both the quality of the product itself and its delivery.
How to behave with a business gmx email list partner
Source: unsplash.com
To avoid making mistakes, pay attention to the following points:
Additional payments: are there any regular (monthly, etc.) fees charged to intermediaries? Reputable suppliers do not require any payments other than the cost of the goods themselves - the company already receives income from your sales.
Who is the actual manufacturer of the product - the company you cooperate with, or its counterparty (in relation to which it is also an intermediary). The more intermediaries in the chain, the higher the markup.
Information on parcels: does the company leave any of its contacts on the product packaging or does it only indicate information about the seller. In the first case, the buyer will be able to contact the supplier directly, bypassing you.
Speed of response from managers: if they don’t respond to your email or call for a long time, this is an alarming sign.
Existing delivery options, cooperation with courier services. Buyers prefer to have a choice between several delivery methods.
Updating information in the catalog: reputable companies promptly update information about stock balances in warehouses and pass it on to sellers.
Dropshipping in Action
Once the roles and functions of the main players are clear, we can take a closer look at how the dropshipping system works. Let's say you sell mobile phone accessories directly from the manufacturer.
Accessories for smartphones
Source: unsplash.com
The buyer leaves you an order on the website
When a user wants to buy something via dropshipping, they go to your store's website, choose the product they like, place an order via the email form or by phone. After that, they should receive an automatic notification by email that the order has been accepted for processing.
When he transfers money for the goods, it goes to your account.
The order for the selected case is transferred to the manufacturer
Here, too, everything is simple: the notification is sent not only to the client, but also to the manufacturer. If the store is set up correctly, this is done automatically.
Payment for the order
If everything goes well - the required product is in the supplier's warehouse, and the money has arrived in the account - then the manufacturer collects the order and sends it to the client, and you receive a corresponding invoice by email. The product packaging contains the name and logo of the seller, although it comes directly from the manufacturer.
Such orders are completed faster than it might seem at first glance, sometimes in just a few hours. Fast delivery is a significant advantage for a store (especially if it sells via dropshipping, for example, roses and other perishable goods).
Notification to the client
When the product arrives, the customer receives a message with the order number and the location where it can be picked up. The dropshipper gets a commission — the difference between the price the customer paid and the manufacturer’s purchase price.
The manufacturer, playing the main role in this sales scheme, remains completely invisible to the buyer: it does not leave its corporate symbols anywhere on the product, and does not serve the client directly (there is an intermediary for this).
This is fraught with certain problems: if the buyer does not like his purchase or if the employees of the manufacturing company make a mistake and put something wrong in the order, the seller will be responsible for this.
Everything related to the sale of goods: marketing and advertising activities, finding buyers, etc. is handled by an intermediary.
Choosing a supplier for your dropshipping online store is also important because the intermediary is fully responsible to its customers for both the quality of the product itself and its delivery.
How to behave with a business gmx email list partner
Source: unsplash.com
To avoid making mistakes, pay attention to the following points:
Additional payments: are there any regular (monthly, etc.) fees charged to intermediaries? Reputable suppliers do not require any payments other than the cost of the goods themselves - the company already receives income from your sales.
Who is the actual manufacturer of the product - the company you cooperate with, or its counterparty (in relation to which it is also an intermediary). The more intermediaries in the chain, the higher the markup.
Information on parcels: does the company leave any of its contacts on the product packaging or does it only indicate information about the seller. In the first case, the buyer will be able to contact the supplier directly, bypassing you.
Speed of response from managers: if they don’t respond to your email or call for a long time, this is an alarming sign.
Existing delivery options, cooperation with courier services. Buyers prefer to have a choice between several delivery methods.
Updating information in the catalog: reputable companies promptly update information about stock balances in warehouses and pass it on to sellers.
Dropshipping in Action
Once the roles and functions of the main players are clear, we can take a closer look at how the dropshipping system works. Let's say you sell mobile phone accessories directly from the manufacturer.
Accessories for smartphones
Source: unsplash.com
The buyer leaves you an order on the website
When a user wants to buy something via dropshipping, they go to your store's website, choose the product they like, place an order via the email form or by phone. After that, they should receive an automatic notification by email that the order has been accepted for processing.
When he transfers money for the goods, it goes to your account.
The order for the selected case is transferred to the manufacturer
Here, too, everything is simple: the notification is sent not only to the client, but also to the manufacturer. If the store is set up correctly, this is done automatically.
Payment for the order
If everything goes well - the required product is in the supplier's warehouse, and the money has arrived in the account - then the manufacturer collects the order and sends it to the client, and you receive a corresponding invoice by email. The product packaging contains the name and logo of the seller, although it comes directly from the manufacturer.
Such orders are completed faster than it might seem at first glance, sometimes in just a few hours. Fast delivery is a significant advantage for a store (especially if it sells via dropshipping, for example, roses and other perishable goods).
Notification to the client
When the product arrives, the customer receives a message with the order number and the location where it can be picked up. The dropshipper gets a commission — the difference between the price the customer paid and the manufacturer’s purchase price.
The manufacturer, playing the main role in this sales scheme, remains completely invisible to the buyer: it does not leave its corporate symbols anywhere on the product, and does not serve the client directly (there is an intermediary for this).
This is fraught with certain problems: if the buyer does not like his purchase or if the employees of the manufacturing company make a mistake and put something wrong in the order, the seller will be responsible for this.
Everything related to the sale of goods: marketing and advertising activities, finding buyers, etc. is handled by an intermediary.