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A popular way to find the best dropshipping suppliers for your online store is to use a supplier directory.
Supplier directories let you browse a large number of dropshipping wholesalers in one place, making them a great resource for comparing suppliers and finding trending products.
Here’s a list of some popular dropshipping supplier directories and apps. Check them out to find the right partner for your dropshipping business.
What is dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a retail model where online stores don’t keep products in stock. Instead, when an order is placed, the store sends the details and payment to a dropshipping supplier, who delivers the product directly to the customer.
Many business owners favor this approach because it outsources inventory management and order fulfillment to the supplier. However, choosing a dependable dropshipping supplier is essential, as their performance directly impacts the customer experience.
What are the best dropshipping suppliers?
- AliExpress
- DSers
- Worldwide Brands
- Doba
- SaleHoo
- Wholesale2b
- Zendrop
- Megagoods
- Wholesale Central
- Modalyst
- Spocket
- CJDropshipping
- CROV
- Alibaba
1. AliExpress
AliExpress is an international supplier directory that connects dropshippers to thousands of suppliers. Most AliExpress suppliers are based in China and source products from the region.
Locations and shipping information: AliExpress suppliers ship to 220 countries, including the US. Packages sent with standard shipping can take between 15 and 45 business days to arrive. Premium shipping options have an estimated delivery time of seven to 15 business days.
Product types: There are more than 100 million products on AliExpress, in categories such as fashion, toys, consumer electronics, skin care, jewelry, furniture, and automotive parts.
Recommended for: Beginners and veteran ecommerce entrepreneurs who dropship with AliExpress. Use the platform for market research and to build relationships with suppliers.
2. DSers
DSers is a dropshipping app that connects online stores with AliExpress suppliers. Its Supplier Optimizer helps you compare suppliers by factors like wholesale prices and performance history, while automated features make it easy to add products to your store and quickly place multiple orders.
Locations and shipping information: Shipping locations and times are consistent with those offered by AliExpress. This includes delivery to hundreds of countries with varying shipping durations.
Product types: Through DSers, users can access AliExpress’s extensive product catalog with enhanced supplier information.
Recommended for: Ecommerce store owners looking for an enhanced way to compare AliExpress dropshipping suppliers and efficiently process orders.
3. Worldwide Brands
Established in 1999, Worldwide Brands is one of the best-known supplier directories. It lists only suppliers that meet strict guidelines, ensuring legitimate, quality wholesalers. Use Worldwide Brands to find new suppliers or brainstorm niche product ideas for your store.
Location and shipping options: Worldwide Brands serves retailers around the world. Shipping costs and locations depend on individual dropshipping suppliers and wholesalers.
Product types: More than 16 million certified wholesale products in niches including pet supplies, jewelry and watches, consumer electronics, home décor, apparel, and more.
Recommended for: Lifetime access to a quality wholesale supplier directory (requires a one-time payment).
4. Doba
Doba integrates with more than 160 dropshipping suppliers, allowing sellers to place multiple orders on its centralized interface. Membership includes a Push-to-Marketplace tool that automates the process of listing items on eBay.
Doba’s centralized system is more convenient than some other dropshipping websites, and its $24.99 per month fee makes it an affordable option.
Upgrade to a Business plan for $49.99 per month or an Enterprise plan for $299.99 per month.
Locations and shipping information: Ships globally; rates depend on individual dropshipping wholesalers.
Product types: More than two million products across all categories.
Recommended for: Those who place a high value on convenience and can find relevant products to sell from Doba suppliers.
5. SaleHoo
The SaleHoo supplier directory lists more than 8,000 dropshipping suppliers and wholesalers, catering to sellers who use eBay and Amazon dropshipping. Its $27 monthly price offers good value and includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Access the premium plan for $97 per month to run multiple accounts and stores.
Locations and shipping information: SaleHoo serves the US, UK, Australian, and New Zealand markets.
Product types: Like DSers, SaleHoo’s inventory source is AliExpress. Find pre-vetted dropshipping suppliers in a variety of niches, then import products directly into your Shopify store.
Recommended for: Those comfortable paying an annual membership who need a directory and research tool for AliExpress, which integrates seamlessly with Shopify.
6. Wholesale2b
Wholesale2b offers real-time inventory automation, with orders and tracking updates sent directly to your store. With more than a million dropship-ready products in multiple niches, it’s easy to curate an impressive product line.
Location and shipping options: Wholesale2b ships products throughout Canada and the US. Shipping times vary based on the product and supplier, but Wholesale2b provides a shipping time report, letting you see the average number of days taken by each supplier to ship products.
Product types: Apparel, kitchenware, toys, accessories, and more.
Recommended for: Dropshippers who plan to sell in North America and want predictable shipping.
7. Zendrop
Zendrop is a dropshipping app for Shopify stores, offering access to more than a million products. It features an auto-fulfillment tool and the option to bulk order inventory to its US warehouses, slashing shipping times to under five days.
Use Zendrop to customize your store’s offerings. Add branded packaging and inserts, or compile products into bundles and subscription boxes to increase your average order value.
The free plan includes product access and support, while paid plans start at $49 per month for unlimited orders, express shipping, and customization features.
Locations and shipping information: Products stored in the US and China, with global shipping.
Product types: Automotive, baby products, clothing, electronics, beauty items, home goods, garden essentials, pet products, and more popular categories.
Recommended for: Shopify users aiming to dropship branded or customized products quickly from the US.
8. Megagoods
Megagoods is a supplier focused on consumer electronics. It charges a $1.50 fee per order and has no minimum purchase requirement, for efficient dropshipping to your customers.
Locations and shipping information: Megagoods is based in California and ships domestically.
Product types: Megagoods has a wide variety of consumer electronics, including Bluetooth accessories, audio equipment, televisions, kitchen appliances, office tools, and more.
Recommended for: Businesses with a focus on electronic equipment that want to ship within the US.
9. Wholesale Central
Unlike some supplier directories, there’s no charge to search Wholesale Central for dropshipping options (because it charges suppliers a listing fee, instead). The website reviews and screens all suppliers to ensure they’re legitimate.
Locations and shipping information: US-based dropshipping suppliers; shipping times vary by supplier.
Product types: Browse products across popular categories, including apparel, beauty, and electronics, from more than 60 dropshipping suppliers.
Recommended for: Discovering dropshipping suppliers as well as wholesale distributors and manufacturers.
10. Modalyst
Modalyst is an automated dropshipping app for online stores. Among millions of products from global suppliers are name brands like Calvin Klein and Dolce & Gabbana. Modalyst also offers a curated list of independent brands.
The app has an official API partnership with AliExpress, giving you access to millions of new products. Add them to your store with one click through the Google Chrome extension.
Location and shipping options: US suppliers ship domestic orders in five to eight days under the free plan. UK dropshipping suppliers and Australian dropshippers are also available. Businesses can ship to more than 80 countries worldwide, excluding those in South America and Africa.
Product types: General product categories with a focus on luxury and trendy brands (available on the Pro plan). Modalyst is also a part of the AliExpress Booster Program, which gives dropshippers access to an endless catalog of products.
Recommended for: Stores listing unique or high-ticket products; stores selling branded products using the Modalyst Private Label Program.
11. Spocket
Spocket lets sellers browse products from US and EU dropshipping suppliers. Use the Spocket app to quickly add those products to your store and forward customer orders for smooth processing. The app automatically adjusts inventory levels, removing the risk of accepting orders for out-of-stock products.
Locations and shipping information: Spocket works with suppliers based in the US, Europe, Australia, and Brazil.
Product types: Spocket offers a wide range of product categories, including clothing, jewelry, beauty products, tech accessories, and pet products.
Recommended for: Dropshippers looking to sell products from domestic suppliers to reduce delivery times.
12. CJDropshipping
CJDropshipping is a supplier directory where products are often available at lower prices than via AliExpress, thanks to direct sourcing from 1688 and Taobao marketplaces.
Location and shipping options: CJDropshipping uses US-based warehouses with same-day order processing. Shipping options include USPS, UPS, DHL, and FedEx—as well as its own carrier service, CJPacket, for expedited shipments from China.
Product types: The 1668 and Taobao marketplaces are home to independent designers and small-business owners in China. Millions of product listings include hard-to-find items and even virtual products.
Recommended for: Dropshippers in search of a single solution for shipping products to the US.
13. CROV
CROV connects retailers to a wide range of products from a vetted list of US dropshipping wholesalers. A unique feature of CROV is its product request feature, where merchants can reach out to CROV’s professional sourcing team for supplier recommendations.
Location and shipping options: Shipping is available in 42 countries. Costs vary by supplier and shipping method, as shown in the directory. CROV has a US warehouse to ship domestic orders.
Product types: More than 35,000 products in more than 20 trending categories from select suppliers.
Recommended for: Ecommerce sellers who want to sell unique products on Shopify, Amazon, and eBay.
14. Alibaba
Alibaba is a B2B marketplace that connects buyers and sellers. The platform is designed for buying in bulk from manufacturers and wholesale suppliers, but some suppliers also fulfill dropshipping orders.
Locations and shipping information: Alibaba dropshipping can take time, depending on where you live. You can expect to wait as much as six weeks for deliveries. To cut back on costs, you can choose to ship by freight or air. However, you should do your research and plan accordingly.
Product types: Alibaba has more than 2.8 million suppliers and over 5,900 product categories.
Recommended for: Retailers who use dropshipping alongside other product sourcing methods such as private label manufacturing.
How to spot unreliable dropshipping suppliers
As you search for dropshipping suppliers, you’ll likely encounter companies with unusually low wholesale prices or delivery promises that seem too good to be true.
Here’s a tip: Unbelievable offers shouldn’t be believed! Look for these red flags to help you determine whether a supplier is legitimate:
Supplier subscription fees
Supplier directories and apps often charge a subscription fee for access to their vetted lists of suppliers, enhanced supplier information, and automated dropshipping features.
While these fees are normal, your suppliers themselves shouldn’t charge you an ongoing fee to work with them.
At most, a supplier may charge a small per-order processing fee ($1 to $5 per order). If they ask for a monthly membership or service fee, they likely are not legitimate.
“Wholesale prices” offered to consumers
Vendors that sell products to both retailers and the public at so-called “wholesale prices” likely are not offering the best value for dropshippers.
Look for suppliers that work exclusively with retailers, sourcing products at lower prices that allow you to create a profit margin.
Minimum order sizes
Be cautious when dealing with suppliers who insist on minimum order quantities. This requirement can conflict with the dropshipping model, which is designed to avoid holding inventory.
If you decide to work with a supplier that has minimum order requirements, one possible solution is to negotiate pre-paying credit toward future dropshipping orders. This way, you satisfy the supplier’s minimum requirement by committing to buy an amount of products over time, without the need for bulk buying upfront.
Tips for finding dropshipping suppliers
Sellers use various strategies for finding dropshipping suppliers. Try these methods to expand your store’s supplier network:
Contact the manufacturer
If you know which products you want to dropship, call their manufacturer and ask for a list of wholesalers. Contact these wholesalers to see if they are able to accommodate dropshipping fulfillment.
Most dropshipping suppliers carry products from a variety of manufacturers, so this strategy can help you quickly source a selection of products within your niche. After making a couple of calls, you’ll be able to identify your market’s leading dropshipping suppliers.
Search using Google
Using Google to find high-quality dropshipping wholesalers may seem obvious, but there are a few rules to keep in mind:
- Search extensively. Wholesalers don’t generally invest in marketing, which means you’ll likely have to dig through lots of search results to find wholesaler websites.
- Don’t judge wholesalers by their websites. Similarly, wholesalers have little incentive to create high-quality customer-facing websites. Many legitimate wholesalers have basic sites, so don’t discount a company due to a poor browsing experience.
- Use keyword modifiers. Beyond basic searches like “[product] wholesaler,” try using modifiers such as “distributor,” “reseller,” “bulk,” “warehouse,” and “supplier.”
Order from the competition
Find a competitor you suspect is also using a dropshipping business model and place a small order with them. When you receive the package, Google the return address to try to find out who the original shipper was.
Attend a trade show
Trade show events exist to connect retailers with manufacturers and wholesalers in a niche. They’re a great way to make contacts, research products, and find suppliers.
The costs of attending a show or conference may not be feasible for everyone. But if you have the time and money to attend, it’s an opportunity to make face-to-face connections and learn more about the suppliers in your market.
Start dropshipping today
Whether you’re a new ecommerce business owner or a professional dropshipper, sourcing reliable dropshipping suppliers is the key to profitability.
Once you’ve found the right supplier, set up your store for efficient dropshipping with Shopify.
Dropshipping suppliers FAQ
How do I find dropshipping suppliers?
What are the best dropshipping companies in 2024?
Is dropshipping legal in the US?
Is dropshipping still profitable in 2024?
Which platform is best for dropshipping?
What are the best dropshipping wholesalers?
- AliExpress
- DSers
- Worldwide Brands
- Doba
- SaleHoo
- Wholesale2b
- Megagoods
- Wholesale Central
- Modalyst
- Spocket
- CJDropshipping
- CROV
- Alibaba
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Credit: Original article published here.