How does dropshipping automation benefit your online store?
Dropshipping offers several advantages for merchants seeking to expand their business as it allows them to outsource a significant part of the initial work required to establish a business to a third party.
- Low overhead costs. When you dropship products, you’re only paying for the products after you’ve sold them, meaning you’ll never have to worry about sinking funds into over-stocking your product.
- Less startup capital required. Startup costs can be kept much lower, since you don’t need to pay to have your products manufactured or stored. The added savings means more can be spent on paid ads to help jumpstart your growth.
- Location flexibility. Since stock is managed from your dropshipper’s location, there are fewer reasons to stay fixed to any one spot. You could work from home, your favorite café, or a secluded cabin deep in the woods (preferably one with decent Wi-Fi).
- Fewer risks when testing new products. Most dropshipping companies highlight their bestsellers, meaning you already know which products are in high demand.
- Saves a ton of time. Securing stock, managing logistics, and shipping products takes a lot of time. With these tasks delegated to a third party, you can focus on marketing your products and building your brand.
Let us examine in detail the operation of dropshipping and discuss various methods to automate your online business.
Best dropshipping companies
To begin, let’s start:
1. DSers-aliExpress dropshipping
When it comes to a wide range of products, very few dropshipping companies can rival AliExpress. Having been launched in 2010, this online retail service offers over 100 million products, ensuring that regardless of your industry, you will find something to sell.
If you are considering dropshipping with AliExpress, the most suitable choice for your Shopify store is the DSers app. The DSers-AliExpress Dropshipping plug-in, available under its free plan, enables you to effortlessly browse AliExpress’s extensive range of products and easily incorporate them into your store.
Will the Advanced plan, which is cheaper than other options, give you access to automation features that handle order processing, shipping, and order fulfillment without any effort on your part?
- Price: Plans start at $0 for 3,000 products, but we recommend the Advanced plan ($19.90/month), which includes automation features.
- Advantages: Large product variety, low cost, and easy to sync with your Shopify store.
- Disadvantages: AliExpress is one of the most commonly used dropshippers, so your products will be available at other retailers.
- Recommended for: New merchants with a lower budget whose strengths lie in building a brand through the curation of products.
- Shopify App: Yes.
2. Spocket
Spocket is a service for order fulfillment that has a vast array of wholesale merchants primarily situated in the United States and Europe. However, it does not exclude merchants from other countries including Canada, Asia, Australia, Brazil, and more.
With just one click, you can browse merchants’ products and add them to your Shopify store using the Spocket plug-in. Furthermore, Spocket streamlines the entire order process by automatically shipping products to your customers when they make a purchase.
The branded invoice feature of Spocket stands out as one of its most prominent features. It enables you to generate a personalized invoice for your brand that is included with the shipment of your products. The use of branded packaging can greatly contribute to the development of brand recognition and the acquisition of loyal customers.
- Price: Plans start at $24.99/month for 25 products, after a 14-day trial period.
- Advantages: Spocket includes branded invoices that keep your business at the forefront of your customer’s minds, which is great for customer retention.
- Disadvantages: Spocket can be quite pricey. It’s brand invoices are only available on the Pro plan, which offers fewer products at a higher price than alternative dropshipping apps.
- Recommended for: Merchants with a bit of startup funding, who place high value on the ability to brand their own products.
- Shopify App: Yes.
3. SaleHoo
The SaleHoo database consists of over 8,000 wholesale distributors and dropship suppliers, providing access to over 1.6 million wholesale products. SaleHoo functions as a research tool and supplier directory specifically designed for dropshippers, wholesalers, and ecommerce stores.
With SaleHoo, merchants gain access to the SaleHoo Market Research Lab, which provides in-depth data and sales insights on each product available. This means that merchants can see how well products have done in other stores, and on online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon, before adding them to their own.
SaleHoo provides the opportunity to observe the number of other retailers selling each product, allowing you to consider its availability while establishing your brand. This is an ideal option for merchants who wish to customize a highly sought-after product or aim to offer exclusivity for a more elusive product.
- Price: SaleHoo’s dropshipping features start at $27/month. You can also gain access to its database (without the dropshipping features) for $67/year, or a one-time payment of $127.
- Advantages: SaleHoo gives in-depth information about each product available, making it easier to find products that are in high demand.
- Disadvantages: SaleHoo’s dropshipping features do not integrate with Shopify or any other ecommerce platforms, so you will be required to manually import products and orders between Salehoo and Shopify.
- Recommended for: Though it doesn’t have an app, SaleHoo does have a lot of free API resources. Merchants that are more data focused, with experience in custom development, are likely the best equipped to take advantage of SaleHoo’s unique features.
- Shopify App: No.
4. Printify
Printify is the best choice for print-on-demand dropshipping if you want your products to stand out from the competition. It is a print-on-demand platform that offers over 800 unique and customizable products.
You have the ability to dropship a wide range of products, including but not limited to men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, as well as fashionable accessories and home decor items.
- Printify’s catalog offers 800+ high-quality items that you can customize with your unique designs.
- The free and easy-to-use Mockup Generator lets you create a product in a matter of minutes.
- With more than 80 print providers and 100+ fulfillment centers worldwide, store owners can use local suppliers or find suppliers nearest to their customers.
- There are no dropshipping order limits with Printify – you can sell a single item or hundreds of products in one go.
- There are some limitations in available customization and branding features.
- Printify is free to use, but there’s also Printify Premium for $24.99 a month, with up to 20% discounts on all products. Custom pricing is available for enterprise-tier users.
Printify is compatible with Shopify, Etsy, Walmart, eBay, PrestaShop, BigCommerce, Wix, WooCommerce, and Squarespace. Additionally, users have the option to utilize custom API solutions, and the list is frequently updated with new additions.
This applies to individuals who are either new to starting an online business or experienced merchants who wish to dropship personalized products and have the ability to choose from various suppliers.
5. Wholesale2b
Wholesale2b provides over one million dropshipping products from reliable suppliers primarily located in North America, which presents a wonderful opportunity for minimizing shipping expenses if your target market primarily consists of customers in the US and Canada.
Wholesale2b offers a diverse range of integrations for eCommerce stores and marketplaces. Their automated dropshipping app efficiently handles order management by extracting orders from your store, forwarding them to wholesale suppliers, and attaching tracking details to every shipment.
- Low shipping prices if you’re planning to sell to customers in the USA and Canada.
- You can browse the Wholesale2b product catalog for free, before paying for any plan.
- The products on offer tend to be priced higher than on other dropshipping platforms, potentially leaving you with lower profit margins.
- Some suppliers charge a restocking fee for returned items.
- Dropshipping stores that want to sell products outside North America won’t have a large selection of local suppliers.
- The price differs depending on which sales channel you plan to use, with monthly subscriptions starting at $29.99. You can also access a 7-day free trial.
If dropshipping businesses selling in the US or Canada are ready to pay extra for quicker shipping and products sourced locally.
6. Modalyst
If you are in search of a dropshipping platform specifically for luxury and high-end fashion items, you should give Modalyst a try. They have a meticulously screened network of suppliers who deliver millions of high-quality wholesale products to over 80 countries across the globe.
Their suppliers offer branding possibilities, allowing you to sell a wide range of products such as apparel, accessories, and jewelry.
- Modalyst offers a wide range of premium products from high-end brands, letting you build a unique dropshipping store.
- The free plan offers the same product and pricing automation features as the paid plans.
- Some products sell out fast and can get short in supply.
- Only the most expensive subscription plan gives you access to Modalyst’s premium suppliers.
- There is a 5% transaction fee on every order you place.
- You can access a free Hobby plan with a 25-product limit. The Start Up plan costs $35 per month, and the Pro plan is $90 per month.
