How To Dropship From AliExpress - Easy Guide & Best Tips

Dropshipping is a business model gradually becoming popular in the e-commerce industry. Entrepreneurs choose Dropshipping largely because it is an online store format that gives them less hassle in managing inventory or handling shipping logistics. AliExpress is a top choice for sourcing products because it has a huge selection and low prices.

In this blog, we will provide detailed yet straightforward instructions on how to Dropship from AliExpress. Enjoy this blog and join us in conquering the Dropshipping model!

What Benefits Does AliExpress Dropshipping Bring?

Dropshipping on AliExpress comes with a bundle of benefits that can make your journey into eCommerce smooth and rewarding. Here’s why it’s a great choice for entrepreneurs:

• Wide Product Selection: AliExpress is like a giant online mall, offering numerous products from numerous sellers. Your online store can easily stock various items to suit a variety of customer needs.
• Low Initial Investment: One of the best things about dropshipping is that you don’t have to buy inventory ahead of time. You only order products from suppliers when you make a sale. This greatly reduces the financial risk compared to traditional retail models, where you must invest heavily in stock.
• Global Reach: AliExpress connects you with suppliers from all over the world. You can easily connect with global customers without worrying about international warehousing or shipping logistics.
• Competitive Prices: Many products on AliExpress are available at wholesale prices. This allows you to keep your prices competitive and enjoy higher profit margins. You can offer your customers good deals while making a decent profit.
• Easy to Start: Starting a dropshipping business with AliExpress is pretty straightforward. You can quickly create an online store, choose the products you want to sell, and start your business without the headaches of managing physical inventory.
• No Storage Hassles: Since products are shipped directly from the supplier to the customer, you don’t have to worry about storing, packing, or shipping items yourself. As a result, your business model becomes more convenient and easily scalable, helping you grow without logistical obstacles.
• Testing New Products: Dropshipping is perfect for testing the market with new products. Adding new items to your store is simple—you don't have to purchase large quantities simultaneously. This lets you adjust fast to what customers want.
• Focus on Marketing and Sales: With suppliers handling operational tasks like storage and shipping, you can focus on what matters: marketing your store, providing excellent customer service, and expanding your business.

With these benefits, AliExpress dropshipping can be a great way to start and grow your online store with minimal risk and maximum flexibility.

Tips To Keep In Mind When Dropshipping On AliExpress

When you’re dropshipping on AliExpress, there are a few key tips to keep in mind to ensure a smooth and successful experience:

Be Aware of Counterfeit Products

AliExpress is a huge international marketplace, attracting sellers from all over the world. Unfortunately, some sellers might pretend to be famous brands offering counterfeit products. This can lead to trouble if you resell these items. To avoid this, always check user reviews and pay close attention to the supplier's reputation. Fellow dropshippers often leave reviews that can help you spot fake brands and unreliable sellers.

Brand-Aligned Packaging 

Packaging is a big part of the customer experience. You might want your packaging to reflect your brand, but it must also comply with your selling platform’s policies. Custom packaging can help you achieve both goals. However, finding a supplier who offers custom packaging for single orders can be challenging and time-consuming. Be prepared to search around to find the right supplier who can meet your needs.

Verify Payment Options

Before ordering items, check the supplier's payment methods. Flexibility is essential when buying products. You need to find a provider that allows payment in many different forms (preferably by PayPal), can process payments instantly, and offers high security for your transactions.

How To Dropship From Aliexpress - 5 Steps

Step 1: Choose a niche and research products

When you start dropshipping, the first thing to do is choose what kinds of products you want to sell. This involves choosing a niche—a specific category or type of product you’re interested in or know about. Here’s how to make that decision and effectively research products on AliExpress:

Start by browsing through various categories on AliExpress. Look for products that catch your eye or that you think could be popular. Consider your interests and expertise, as it’s easier to market and sell products you’re passionate about or understand well.

Given the many products available, it’s important to filter your choices using specific criteria. Here’s what to consider:

• Avoid Branded Items: Stick to unbranded products. This helps you avoid counterfeit goods and keeps your store within legal boundaries. Selling unbranded items also allows you to create your own brand identity.
• Assess Previous Orders: Look for products that have a high number of previous orders. A substantial order history suggests that the product is in steady demand and that the supplier is reliable.
• Check the Ratings: Choose products with high ratings, preferably over 4.5 stars. High ratings often indicate good quality and customer satisfaction, crucial for repeat business and positive reviews.
• Consider Pricing and Profit Margin: Focus on products with a wholesale price between $1 to $20. This price range allows for a significant markup, covering your marketing costs and generating a healthy profit.

Read more: Best AliExpress Product Research Tools

Step 2: Find reliable suppliers on AliExpress

After you've picked your area of focus and checked out possible products, the next thing is to find trustworthy suppliers on AliExpress. Here’s how to ensure you’re partnering with suppliers who will provide a positive experience for your customers:

• Review Their Feedback: AliExpress displays a feedback rating next to each seller’s name. Look for suppliers with a satisfaction rate of at least 95%. This rating reflects previous customers' satisfaction with their products and services.
• Examine Their Track Record: Click on the seller’s name for a detailed look at their feedback. Check how long they’ve been active on AliExpress and their shipping reliability. Established suppliers with years of experience are generally more trustworthy and reliable.
• Inspect Product Photos: Verify that the product photos are original and belong to the manufacturer. Original photos indicate that the supplier is legitimate and does not copy images from other retailers. You can quickly use Google to search for images and see if they're original.
• Evaluate Their Responsiveness: Don’t hesitate to contact potential suppliers with any questions before placing an order. A responsive seller should answer your inquiries promptly and clearly. If a seller is unresponsive, a red flag could indicate poor communication or customer service.
• Place a Test Order: Consider placing a test order with the supplier to evaluate the customer experience personally. This allows you to assess factors such as shipping time and product quality firsthand, which is invaluable in ensuring that you’re partnering with suppliers who meet your standards.

Step 3: Set up your online store

Once you have chosen the product and supplier, you need an online store so customers can easily select products and make purchases. Currently, there are many platforms to help you build an online store, such as Shopify, WordPress, Etsy, etc., with many special promotion programs.

For example, Shopify has a program: Shopify 1 dollar for 1 month for first-time customers using Shopify. You only need to spend a month to experience Shopify. 

Remember, you are at this early stage, sparingly emphasizing branding and design details. You need room to refine your store's look and feel and introduce more complex features later.

Read more: 

• Shopify Website Builder Tutorial: Step-by-Step guide for Beginners 
• Best Shopify Page Builder Apps for custom page design

Step 4: List and price your products

Now that you've found reliable suppliers and chosen the products you want to sell, it's time to create product listings that will attract potential buyers. Here's what you need to know about listing and pricing your products effectively:

Create High-Quality Listings

When listing items, focus on creating product pages that stand out. Include high-quality photos and detailed descriptions to entice potential buyers to click your “Checkout” button. Compelling product pages is crucial to converting visitors into customers.

Choose Your Listing Strategy

You have two main options when it comes to listing your products:

• Join an Existing Listing: If you sell on third-party marketplaces like Amazon, you can join an existing listing for the product you want to sell. However, remember that you'll compete with other sellers selling the same product. This is a common approach for dropshippers on platforms like Amazon.
• Create a New Listing: You'll likely create new product listings on website-building platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce. This gives you more control over how your products are presented to customers. There may also be instances where you must create a listing if you have yet to do so, especially if the product is unique or not widely available to other dropshippers.

Set Competitive Prices

Pricing your products competitively is crucial for attracting customers. Check the prices of similar products on AliExpress and other websites to figure out how to price your items. You want to make sure you can make a good profit while still having prices that attract customers.

Step 5: Process orders and manage fulfillment 

Congratulations, your products are live and ready for sale! But your work doesn’t end there. It’s time to ensure that orders are processed smoothly and products reach your customers on time. Here’s what you need to know about order processing and fulfillment in dropshipping:

• Order Fulfillment Process: As a drop shipper, order fulfillment is mostly hands-off. You outsource packaging and shipping to third-party services, with AliExpress being a common service provider. Your main role is to track orders and ensure they reach their destination.
• Take Responsibility: Even though AliExpress handles the fulfillment process, customers will hold you accountable for any issues. This means you need to stay on top of order tracking and address any problems that arise promptly. Neglecting to do so could harm your storefront’s reputation and lead to unhappy customers.
• Become an Order Fulfillment Specialist: You become an “order fulfillment specialist,” ensuring incoming sales are processed smoothly and products are delivered as promised. Regularly checking your orders' status and promptly addressing any issues is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction.
• Automate Where Possible: To streamline the order fulfillment process, consider automating tasks where possible. Many selling platforms offer integrations with AliExpress, allowing for automatic order processing and tracking. Automating as much as possible will help make your order fulfillment process even more hands-off, freeing up your time to focus on growing your business.

Top 3 Popular Products To Dropship From AliExpress

When it comes to dropshipping from AliExpress, specific product categories perform exceptionally well. According to our research, we have found the top 3 products that can help you build a successful dropshipping business:

Beauty

Beauty products are relatively easy to find on the market and come in wide varieties. When starting a dropshipping business, you can focus your entire catalog on beauty items, like skincare, makeup, or hair care products. This niche is growing in popularity on major marketplaces like Amazon, making it a promising option for your online store.

According to Google Trends, in 2023, customers were always interested in beauty products. Specifically, the popularity of this industry fluctuates between 79% and 100%.

The country with the most customers interested in the Beauty industry is Ireland.

Toys & Games

Toys and games are in solid demand all year round, with a significant boost during the holiday season. This makes them ideal products for dropshipping. Many toy suppliers on AliExpress offer everything from educational toys to the latest trending gadgets. Parents and gift-givers always look for new and exciting toys, ensuring a steady stream of potential customers.

In 2023, the Toys and Games industry will consistently achieve a stable popularity level of over 50%. At the end of the year, the demand for toy products increased dramatically to 100%.

The United Kingdom has the most customers interested in the Toys and Games industry.

Home & Kitchen

Home and kitchen products are among the most profitable categories on platforms like Amazon. You can find great household and kitchen goods sources without paying for storage and fulfillment fees. You can start a business with typical household and kitchen items such as home decorations, cooking utensils, pots, or cleaning products.

Home and Kitchen are always popular, between 72% and 100%. Customers will always need to look for homecare products because they are essential in life.

Zimbabwe is the country with the highest number of searches for Homecare products.

• Best Dropshipping Product Research Tools for Winning

FAQs

1. How much does it cost to dropship on AliExpress?

You can dropship on AliExpress for free. Unlike competing marketplaces like Worldwide Brands and Doba, AliExpress doesn’t charge a monthly fee to access its suppliers. AliExpress is an ideal starting point if you want to start your own dropshipping business but don’t have a lot of initial funds. You only pay for the products you sell so that you can keep your startup costs low.

2. Does AliExpress offer refunds and returns?

AliExpress suppliers typically don’t offer returns for orders, so it’s essential to have your plan and a clear returns policy. Here are two common scenarios and how to handle them:

• Customer Never Received Their Order: If a customer doesn’t receive their order, you must address this directly with your AliExpress supplier. Frequent issues can hurt your business, so choose a different delivery option. Discuss with your customers whether they would prefer a refund or a replacement.
• Product Damaged in Transit: If a product arrives damaged, ask your customer for photos of the damaged item and then issue a refund. If you notice insufficient packaging, you should speak with your AliExpress supplier to prevent future issues.

In short, while AliExpress suppliers generally don’t handle returns, you can manage refunds and returns effectively by having a solid plan and clear communication with your customers and suppliers.

3. Is it possible to dropship products from AliExpress to Amazon?

Yes, it is possible to dropship products from AliExpress to Amazon using your Shopify store as a bridge. Here’s a simple way to do it:

• Step 1 - Install a Dropshipping App: Add a dropshipping app to your Shopify store to help you import products from AliExpress.
• Step 2 - Import Products: The dropshipping app imports AliExpress products into your Shopify store.
• Step 3 - Connect Shopify with Amazon: Set up an Amazon integration in your Shopify store to link your Shopify account with your Amazon seller account.
• Step 4 - Manage Amazon Listings: The integration allows you to create and manage your Amazon listings directly from your Shopify admin panel.

Once everything is set up, you can use dropshipping apps to create Amazon listings for products already in your Shopify store or offer products already being sold on Amazon. Shopify will keep your Amazon listings updated to match your store’s inventory. This way, you can seamlessly dropship AliExpress products on Amazon.

4. Can I add and import products from Aliexpress to Shopify?

Yes, you can easily add and import products from AliExpress to Shopify using three methods:

• Third-Party Apps (e.g., Oberlo): Use apps like Oberlo to import products from AliExpress to your Shopify store seamlessly. Oberlo connects you directly with AliExpress suppliers and is often free to use.
• CSV Files for Mass Importing: Download product details from AliExpress in CSV format. You can then upload these CSV files to Shopify to efficiently import multiple products at once.
• Manual Importing: If you prefer, you can manually add products by copying the details from AliExpress and creating listings in your Shopify store.

These methods make it easy to fill your Shopify store with AliExpress products.

5. Are there alternatives to dropshipping from AliExpress?

Yes, there are several alternatives to dropshipping from AliExpress. Some popular options include:

• Banggood: Offers a wide range of products and competitive prices, similar to AliExpress.
• eBay: A well-known marketplace where you can find various products for dropshipping.
• Walmart: Provides a vast selection of items, often at lower prices, making it a good source for dropshipping products.
• CJDropshipping: Specializes in dropshipping services with a focus on fast shipping and quality control.

These alternatives give you plenty of options to find the best products for your dropshipping business.

Final Thoughts

Starting your own online business with minimal upfront investment is easy with dropshipping from AliExpress. We hope this easy guide and the best tips help you on your dropshipping journey. Happy dropshipping!