Can I Find Dropshipping Suppliers in Alibaba?

Can I Find Dropshipping Suppliers in Alibaba?

Dropshipping suppliers in Alibaba are an ideal venue for e-commerce business startups. Companies need suppliers to fulfill orders reliably.

This article will guide you through how to get quality dropshipping suppliers in Alibaba for your store.

How does Alibaba work?

If you’ve done research on dropshipping, you may have heard of AliExpress, so what is Alibaba? Alibaba is the company behind AliExpress. It operates a little differently. Alibaba focuses on business-to-business (B2B) commerce, while AliExpress specializes in consumer commerce. It means that Alibaba suppliers are higher up the supply chain and offer better prices.

Is dropshipping possible with Alibaba?

Alibaba suppliers used to apply minimum order quantities (MOQ), meaning you would have to buy a minimum amount of products before they would do business with you. In recent years, Alibaba has become more pro-dropshipping by removing the MOQ on many products and even creating a dropshipping center to help dropshippers find better suppliers. If you’re interested in learning more about the question of if you can do Dropshipping with Alibaba, check out our other article here!

Alibaba Dropshipping Pros and Cons

Pros: With Alibaba, you are buying further up the supply chain, eliminating unnecessary middlemen. It will give you more flexibility in your profit margins. As there are thousands of sellers, there are a lot of options to choose from in comparing products. Most suppliers have a very flexible MOQ, and you will find a great deal of flexibility with most of them.

Cons: Dropshipping with Alibaba offers many benefits, but there are also some drawbacks. Most of the suppliers will be in China, which means your customers may have to wait for a long time for their orders to be shipped. China has a poor reputation for delivering products of excellent quality, so it’s vital to ask for samples before using the products.

Is dropshipping on Alibaba safe?

Alibaba verifies all retailers before allowing them to trade on their platform, and they display the information on the seller’s profile page. Alibaba also provides a variety of payment methods, so you can choose the one that’s most convenient for you. Payment via PayPal is the most popular method since it provides a greater level of buyer confidence.

Tips for finding best dropshipping suppliers in Alibaba

1. Dropshipping center at Alibaba: All products within the dropshipping center have a MOQ of one. This platform breaks down many barriers by helping you search for your product and shortlist the suppliers selling them. One further point to consider is the shipping fee, which sometimes is more than the product itself.
2. Sellers with positive feedback ratings: A good way to find sellers is by looking at their store’s reviews. This reveals a great deal of useful information on the supplier’s profile page. It is important to consider the feedback received by past customers. There are three criteria by which we will review the supplier – supplier service, on-time shipment, and product quality.
3. Ensures timely delivery of goods: Ask the supplier for tracking numbers of previously completed deliveries to the countries you want to dropship to. This will show well the supplier sticks to their promised delivery time. It could well be that they are experiencing issues with delivery to a selected few countries, hampering their otherwise good on-time delivery record. 
4. Comparison of suppliers’ prices: The price listed on the product page will not be the ultimate price. Shipping, packaging, and branding are all added costs you must consider, not just the product. If you are buying a MOQ, it may prepare the supplier to drop the price a little in the hope of business continuity, however, you will have to ask for this.
5. Effective communication: Communication barriers can be a real headache if your supplier doesn’t understand English. Almost all Alibaba’s suppliers were based in China, and not all of them speak English well. Clarity and conciseness are important when asking questions. In addition, rephrase your questions if you need to exercise patience.
6. The branding and packaging of products: Most Alibaba suppliers will offer branded products, and they do not list their costs on the product page. There is usually an upfront fee and even an added charge for branded products and packaging. You will probably need to commit to a MOQ as well. The supplier doesn’t want to have to hold on to a product that has your company’s logo on it if you can’t resell it.

Are you ready to dropship with Alibaba?

The benefits of dropshipping with Alibaba include great prices and supplier flexibility. Some suppliers even have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) upon looking on the platform. A good on-time delivery record and customer feedback are always a good sign that a supplier knows what they are doing. Alibaba’s dropshipping center was the perfect solution for people looking for suppliers.