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It’s no secret that the ecommerce industry has been booming. As those trends continue to climb, the dropshipping market is following the same trajectory.
Dropshipping makes it possible for anyone to run an ecommerce shop without having to purchase, store, or ship inventory. Essentially, you can operate an ecommerce site from your couch without ever touching the products you’re selling.
But in order to do this successfully, you’ll need to find a dropshipping company to handle the logistics of fulfilling orders.
Whether you have an existing ecommerce business or you’re new to selling online, this guide will help you find the best dropshipping company for your unique needs. Continue below to learn more about my top recommendations and strategy for evaluating different options.
The Top 7 Options For Dropshipping Companies
How to Choose the Best Dropshipping Company For You
There are hundreds, if not thousands of different dropshipping companies on the market today. Without a buying guide to follow, narrowing down your options can seem like an insurmountable task. To make your life easier, follow the methodology that I’ve outlined below.
These are the factors that you should take into consideration as you’re researching and evaluating different dropshipping solutions:
Type of Dropshipping Company
Dropshipping companies come in all different shapes and sizes. So the first thing you need to do is determine what type of company will meet the requirements for your business.
Do you need a manufacturer? Wholesale supplier? Supplier directory? In some instances, you might just be looking for dropshipping software to facilitate your existing supplier relationship.
We’ll cover the types of dropshipping companies in greater detail shortly. This will give you a more detailed explanation of your options.
Ecommerce Platform
Next, you need to make sure that the company you’re considering supports your sales platform. It’s worth noting that not all dropshipping solutions are compatible with every ecommerce website.
For example, online stores using Shopify won’t necessarily be using the same dropshipping company as a business selling via eBay or Amazon. A brick-and-mortar retailer that wants to add an online sales channel won’t have the same needs as new business selling via Wix or WooCommerce.
So verifying the compatibility between your online sales channel and the dropshipping company’s logistics will be a great way to narrow down your choices.
Wholesale Pricing
In addition to the logistical benefits of dropshipping, you’ll also have access to wholesale rates. But like any type of inventory, those prices will vary from supplier to supplier.
Some dropshipping companies force you to pay a monthly or annual membership for access to wholesale pricing. In many cases, these membership fees are well-worth the discounts you’ll get as a result. But usually, the manufacturers will offer the best rates if you buy directly through them.
You’ll have to walk the line between what makes sense for your convenience vs. profit margins.
Industry and Products
What products are you selling? What are you planning to sell online?
The answer to these questions will definitely impact the dropshipping company you choose. If you’re selling shirts and hats, you probably won’t have the same dropshipping needs as an online store that sells computers, headphones, and other electronics.
Are you selling brand name products? Or will you be putting your own logo on inventory?
These are other questions to consider as you’re evaluating prospective solutions.
Process Automation
The best dropshipping companies leverage automation, which allows you to be as hands-off as possible.
You need to understand the logistics between how orders get processed from company to company. What happens after a customer buys something online? How does that order ultimately end up at their doorstep? The answer varies depending on the solution you choose.
In some cases, you’ll have to manually enter those order details from your own website to the dropshipping platform. But with an automated process, you won’t have to do anything. An online order will automatically be sent to the supplier without any extra steps on your end.
For those of you who already have relationships with suppliers, you can leverage dropshipping software to automate your fulfillment process.
Quality and Speed
Even though you’re not touching the products with dropshipping, your company is still responsible for the product itself.
The customer doesn’t care where the product came from or who shipped it. They expect high-quality products delivered quickly. If the dropshipping company you’re using takes weeks to ship and delivers defective products, it’s going to be a poor reflection of your company—not theirs.
So choose a company with an established reputation in this space. You might have to pay a little extra for the inventory, but it’s worth it to keep your customers satisfied.
The Different Types of Dropshipping Companies
As previously mentioned, there are different categories within the dropshipping space. Here’s a quick overview that explains each type of dropshipping company. This will make it easier for you to determine which type addresses what your business is looking for.
Dropshipping Marketplaces
A dropshipping marketplace is an online platform with a network of different dropshipping companies. You’ll be able to facilitate your entire operation and manage the relationships between different dropshippers from a single place.
This is a great option for ecommerce shops that plan to sell products in different categories sourced from multiple suppliers. It’s also a great way to shop around and evaluate different companies from a single source of truth.
Manufacturers
Going straight to the manufacturer is one of the best ways to get the lowest possible whole inventory prices—you won’t be going through a third-party.
However, not every manufacturer will be set up to facilitate dropshipping out of the gate. So you might need to use dropshipping software to manage this relationship. Another downside of using a manufacturer is that you’ll be limited to what that manufacturer produces. If you want to sell products that they don’t make, you’ll need to source them from a different manufacturer. At scale, this can be tough to manage.
Wholesale Suppliers
A wholesale supplier doesn’t necessarily manufacture products. But they operate warehouses with inventory from various manufacturers.
The prices from a wholesale supplier will still be low, but definitely not as low compared to coming directly from the manufacturer (the wholesaler has to take a cut). These dropshipping companies are great for businesses that want to sell a wide range of different products in various categories.
Supplier Directories
Supplier directories don’t actually handle dropshipping. Similar to an online marketplace, it’s a single location for you to find various suppliers.
But to access information about these suppliers and prices, you usually have to pay a membership fee to the directory.
Dropshipping Software
Dropshipping software is a great way for online stores to automate order fulfillment with their suppliers and manufacturers. These tools eliminate the need for ecommerce shops to manually enter order details after something is purchased through their online sales channels.
With dropshipping software, the order information gets sent directly to the supplier for fulfillment. This is faster, more efficient, reduces human error, and allows the site operators to stay more hands-off.
#1 – Doba Review — The Most Versatile Dropshipping Company
Doba is one of the most popular dropshipping services on the market today. Its popularity is largely due to the fact that it can accommodate such a wide range of ecommerce shops with varying needs.
With Doba, you’ll have access to millions of products from hundreds of suppliers in a single online catalog. Here’s how it works:
Other noteworthy highlights of Doba include:
- Compatible with 100+ ecommerce platforms including Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, Volusion, eBay, Amazon, etc.
- Information on each supplier (average processing time, fulfillment rates, cost, etc.)
- Manage product lists and discover trending products
- Advanced search and filtering
- Data exports in a wide range of formats
- Inventory management tools
- Proactive inventory and price change alerts
Plans start at $29 per month. If you sign up for an annual subscription, you’ll get two months for free. Try it free for 30 days.
#2 – Wholesale2b Review — Best Free and Simple Dropshipping Company
More than one million products are available on Wholesale2b. The platform makes it easy for anyone to integrate dropshippers to their online store.
Wholesale2b is compatible with multiple sales channels and online marketplaces like Amazon, WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, Ecwid, eBay, Magento, and more.
Here are some of the top reasons why Wholesale2b ranks so high on my list:
- Free to sign up; no credit card required
- Easy to get started
- Extensive product catalog with options from multiple categories and industries
- 100+ dropshippers in the Wholesale2b network
- Automatic order imports and inventory tracking
- Ability to create a new turnkey ecommerce site from scratch
Whether you have an existing online store you’re planning to start a new ecommerce business, Wholesale2b has you covered. Sign up and try it today—it’s free.
#3 – Oberlo Review — The Best For Shopify Stores
If you’re using Shopify to sell online, look no farther than Oberlo. The platform integrates seamlessly with your Shopify store, so you can start dropshipping with ease.
More than 100 million products have been sold online with Oberlo.
Oberlo is free for basic use, but you’ll definitely want to upgrade to a paid plan, or you’ll be limited with what you can accomplish. Some of the top features include:
- Unlimited monthly orders
- Free Oberlo Chrome extension
- Bulk orders
- Real-time order tracking
- Variant mapping
- CAPTCHA solver
- Ebooks, guides, and free learning tools
- 24/7 customer support
- Customizable listing information
- Powerful product data
Paid plans start at $29.90 per month. This entry-level plan supports up to 10,000 products. You can join Oberlo for free to get started.
#4 – Megagoods Review — The Best For Consumer Electronics
Megagoods is my top recommendation for online retailers in the consumer electronics space.
They provide fast shipping, efficient processing, and have a great selection of brand name electronics products.
Here are some of the most popular product categories offered through the Megagoods platform:
- Headphones
- Alarm clocks
- Car audio
- Televisions
- Speakers
- Home theaters
- DVD players
- DJ products
- Bluetooth products
- PA systems
- Portable electronics
- Gaming products
In addition to the extensive electronics options, Megagoods also supplies items like watches, kitchen appliances, cutlery, cookware sets, and more.
The interface is a little outdated, but a Megagoods subscription costs just $14.99 per month. This membership fee gives you access to exclusive pricing. Try it free for 30 days.
#5 – SaleHoo Review — The Best Wholesale Directory
SaleHoo is one of the most popular wholesaler directory platforms on the market today. A membership grants you access to 2.5+ million products from 8,000+ suppliers.
With SaleHoo, you can find products and start selling them online in a matter of minutes.
For 15+ years, more than 137,000 people have used SaleHoo to sell online with dropshipping services. Here are some other reasons why they come so highly recommended:
- All suppliers have been pre-vetted
- Unlimited dropshipping training
- Award-winning customer support
- Plans are backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee
- Market research tools for hot products and high profit margins
- Easy to navigate with a modern interface
- Ability to automate your online store
Annual pricing for the SaleHoo supplier directory costs $67. Alternatively, you can pay a one-time fee of $127 for lifetime access. Try it risk-free.
#6 – Dropified Review — The Best For eBay Sourcing
Dropified is another popular dropshipping solution. It seamlessly integrates with ecommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and more.
Unlike other dropshipping tools, Dropfied is also compatible with eBay and AliExpress.
If you’re using eBay or AliExpress for inventory, Dropfied eliminates the need to copy and paste customer order details. These orders can automatically be shipped to your customers directly from the supplier.
Other top features and perks of using Dropfied include:
- Automatic order fulfillment
- Automatic price change updates
- Dynamic Facebook feeds
- Automatic product availability updates
- Simple product variant setups
- Easy product filtering
- Product and inventory sync
- Add to your ecommerce store with a single click
- Product customization
- Automatically import product reviews from vendors
- Easy to change vendors for different products
This list of features and benefits goes on and on. It’s quite extensive, to say the least. Dropified plans start at $47 per month. The entry-level plan supports 15,000 products and unlimited monthly orders. Try it free for 14 days.
#7 – Inventory Source — Best Dropshipping Automation Software
Inventory Source is a bit unique compared to other dropshipping companies on our list. They provide software to facilitate dropshipping automation.
To improve the logistics with your existing suppliers, Inventory Source will be a great option for you to consider.
Here’s why I like Inventory Source so much:
- Integrates with 25+ ecommerce platforms (Shopify, eBay, Amazon, Walmart, Magento, WooCommerce, 3dcart, etc.)
- Full product data integration
- Dropship order automation
- Automatic inventory sync
- Free directory of 230+ suppliers
- Ability to add your own suppliers outside of the Inventory Source directory
- Bulk feed management tools
Overall, the software is really easy to set up. It will benefit you and your suppliers alike. Plans start at $99 per month. You can create an account for free to browse supplier product feeds, automation tools, and integrations.
Summary
The concept of dropshipping is extremely appealing for anyone interested in selling online. But it only works well if you’re using the right dropshipping company.
Which dropshipping company is the best? It depends on your needs.
Just use the recommendations and buying guide explained in this post to find the best dropshipping services for your online store.
The post Best Dropshipping Companies appeared first on Neil Patel.
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