General
What Is Dropshipping & How Do You Get Started?
Understanding dropshipping and steps to launch your own online business
May 2, 2024
16 min read
Launched in 2010, AliExpress sought to revolutionize online trade by offering a comprehensive product catalog at competitive prices. The retailer platform played a vital role in the e-commerce ecosystem by linking suppliers, mostly from China, with consumers worldwide. Today, AliExpress continues to enable global trade and dropshipping.
Knowing how to find winning products on AliExpress is crucial if you intend to start a dropshipping store. Remember, counterfeit merchandise may give your store a bad reputation and cause its deregistration from platforms like Amazon and Shopify. Similarly, buying a product with low demand limits your store’s success.
Generally, your online store requires a trendy product to succeed. Trendy items are in demand but aren’t popular in other dropshipping stores. The low competition from other online shops translates to low marketing costs and high profitability.
A winning product is one that meets the needs and desires of your target audience while also providing a good profit margin for your business. These products are in high demand, competitively priced, and of high quality. Winning products are often trending items that capture the interest of consumers, making them ideal for your dropshipping store. Utilizing various product research tools and techniques can help you pinpoint these lucrative items.
When searching for winning products on AliExpress, there are several key characteristics to look out for:
By focusing on these characteristics, you can identify winning products that will drive sales and growth for your dropshipping business.
Since your dropshipping will thrive on the back of trendy products, understanding what is currently happening in the market is paramount. There are two major ways to get a hint about where a product is heading. You may:
AliExpress understands the pivotal role it plays in e-commerce. The platform has several features to help you find popular products and actualize your dropshipping strategies. Start by creating an account on AliExpress and searching for a product.
As a real-world example, say you want to start a dropshipping business focused on the consumer electronics niche. If you were to source electric toothbrushes from AliExpress, simply search for the product on the platform. Here’s what you might see after sorting the products by orders made:
Note that the first product features over 10,000 units sold. After a similar search for portable vacuum cleaners, the numbers change a tad:
In this case, the leading product has sales surpassing 100,000 units. As a dropshipper, these numbers indicate a higher demand for portable vacuum cleaners than electric toothbrushes, despite their insignificant price difference.
You can also get a gist of current market trends by checking specific product categories. Click on the hamburger menu near the search bar, select a category, and scroll down to “Trending Items.”
Alternatively, you can visit the AliExpress Dropshipping Center and browse the merchandise displayed on the first page of results.
Rather than showing what products to buy and at what prices, Google Trends shows whether a product is relevant in the market. Search for “Google Trends” on your browser to access the platform. Here are my results for the “electric toothbrush” example product:
The graph shows that electric toothbrushes have remained fairly relevant over the last five years, with occasional spikes every November. You may also note that the demand is nearly constant, which shows market saturation and limited success opportunities for new sellers. The rule of thumb is to dropship a product with rising consumer interest.
Once you identify profitable product niches, there are several ways to get winning products on AliExpress. Many methods require manually scrutinizing merchandise. However, you can save time by using automated tools like Tradelle to identify and source winning products easier and faster. Utilizing AliExpress product research tools is essential for discovering trending products, analyzing market demand, and optimizing product listings to enhance sales performance. Possible e-commerce tactics for examining dropshipping products include:
AliExpress provides a refined search engine that shows great products to buy. Simply search for merchandise on the platform. By default, AliExpress will show the “Best Match” for your search. If you aren’t content with the algorithm’s results, you can sort products by price or the number of orders made.
A product research tool can significantly aid in analyzing bestsellers by offering advanced features, analytics, and sorting capabilities.
Ideally, the popular products you seek should have numerous sales (which indicate high demand) and at least 4.5 stars (which show high quality). You can refine your search by applying the filters on the left to customize preferable prices and shipping options.
Of course, high sales and star ratings are not the only considerations when analyzing a possible product to dropship. You need to dig deeper and see what customers say about a product and how it compares to their expectations.
Even if a product has excellent demand and price, poor ratings and negative reviews may take it off your dropshipping list. When examining reviews, beware of fake comments made to promote unworthy merchandise. Going back to the electric toothbrush example, which had over 4,000 units sold, here are some ratings and five-star reviews:
The toothbrush has 616 reviews and an average rating of 4.6 stars. Some comments feature a picture taken by a phone camera, making them appear authentic. Before approving the product, scrutinize the “Additional Review” tab, which excludes local reviews. Remember, dropshipping mainly targets customers all over the world. Additionally, it is a good idea to give the one-star reviews special attention.
Utilizing keyword research tools, such as Google Keyword Planner, is an alternative way to identify trending products. Here are the results of the previously used example of an electric toothbrush:
The electric toothbrush enjoys a massive search volume of between 100,000 and a million per month. However, the keyword experienced a 90% drop in search over the last three months, which disqualifies it from the trendy products list. Further, the high competition for the keyword means you may need a significant advertising budget.
Search suggestions are an easier but less accurate way to learn about popular products. Check out the suggestions after typing “electric” in the AliExpress search bar:
While the focus was on electric toothbrushes, new products like electric screwdrivers, water guns, and guitar strings now come into play. Of course, you have to research these suggestions individually to determine whether they are possible winning products.
Tradelle makes it easier to find winning products on AliExpress. As you may be thinking, the manual process of selecting dropshipping items is tedious and inefficient. With them, you can access AliExpress bestsellers for your niche and determine their suitability.
Rather than the two or three factors the manual process considers, Tradelle aggregates six elements to determine whether a product will help your online store achieve sustainable growth. These include:
The products on their dashboard solve a specific problem your target market is facing. Growing your dropshipping business on “nice-to-have” products may hinder your success.
Tradelle ensures that the handpicked products feature a unique selling point, making marketing and selling such merchandise easier and cheaper.
The e-commerce landscape is constantly changing, and so should your dropshipping venture. Tradelle’s research team conducts comprehensive market trend analysis to discover products that reflect consumer desires.
Tradelle collects, analyzes, validates, and interprets data before presenting winning products. You can be sure to access reliable product information on the platform.
Quality items mean your online store builds a solid reputation and encounters few returns. Partnering with reliable suppliers is crucial to ensure product quality and long-term business success. Tradelle recommends products that undergo multiple checks to ensure they meet high quality standards.
Your dropshipping business’s end goal is to generate revenues sustainably. Using tools like Tradelle, you can enjoy profitability even after deducting shipping expenses.
In dropshipping, the source of your products may mean the difference between success and failure. Remember, you will not physically hold your stock. The supplier is responsible for ensuring item availability and shipping.
Given the important role the supplier will play in your business, consider conducting an extensive supplier evaluation on AliExpress. Once you select the product you want to buy, scroll down to the store section and check out the given statistics.
The seller of the electric toothbrush examined earlier has 94.4% positive feedback, which is a fair rating. They also have over eighty followers. You can click on the store name to see more data. The elements you need to check include the supplier’s communication, shipping rates and standards, product quality, and return policies.
Your dropshipping store’s reputation is only as good as your supplier’s word. For example, you might promise to deliver a product in 10 days, but your supplier fails to ship the item promptly. In such a case, you risk attracting negative reviews and a diminishing number of returning customers. On the other hand, prompt communication leads to strong business relations, which benefits you, your customers, and the supplier.
In addition to communication ratings, check the supplier’s shipment score on AliExpress. While free shipping may be tempting, understand that getting the product to your customers may take too long. Generally, it is a good idea to work with suppliers who offer e-Packet shipping at affordable rates.
Finding a winning product is just the start of your dropshipping venture. You must also negotiate with potential suppliers to enjoy favorable terms that contribute to business success. Before you start selling, be sure that you and your supplier agree on:
Remember to keep the negotiations respectable and legal. As such, ensure the documents pertaining to your business are in order before getting to the negotiation table.
Tradelle simplifies the supplier evaluation process by doing the heavy lifting for entrepreneurs. A sourcing team in China contacts manufacturers and negotiates low prices and favorable terms. Once you sell a product via your dropshipping store, Tradelle handles the logistics to ensure your customers get their purchases in time.
The pillars that make Tradelle an ideal supplier for dropshippers are:
Whether you are in the initial or later stages of establishing a successful dropshipping business, analytical and automation tools are a must-have. Vetting products and suppliers manually could make your business unscalable. Utilizing these tools can help you identify a winning dropshipping product, which is crucial for success and profitability. Further, handling logistics for deliveries and returns to customers all over the world may become a thorn in your side as your business grows.
Tradelle is an all-in-one product research and order fulfillment solution for dropshippers. On the platform, you can:
Tradelle employs sophisticated analysis methods to handpick dropshipping products that you can dropship at a profit. You can import the selected items to your Shopify store in one click.
As a dropshipper, you can make Tradelle your supplier. Tradelle undertakes the daunting task of approaching manufacturers, negotiating contractual terms, and making products available to you. As a supplier, Tradelle will also ensure the merchandise reaches your customers on time.
Once you find a product you need to dropship, send the link to Tradelle through an online form. The Tradelle team knows useful product sourcing tips, so it will look for the product, contact the manufacturer, and make the item available to dropshippers.
On Tradelle, you can import winning products to your store with a single click. Tradelle’s team ships products automatically once there is an order in your online shop. Your customers can enjoy live updates about their purchases, from when they leave the manufacturer’s warehouse to when they reach their destinations.
Retail businesses, including dropshipping ventures, benefit from knowing how their competitors are faring. On Tradelle, you can examine the strategies employed by other stores and start working towards online sales optimization.
For example, you can use Tradelle to check out the ads placed by a competitor. The business intelligence collected will help you:
Implementing product testing methods is essential before investing in a dropshipping venture. Of course, getting winning products, a reliable supplier, and an automation tool like Tradelle precedes validation. Testing helps you establish the presence of consumer interest, which translates to a lower risk on your investment.
Landing pages are a simple, cost-effective way to validate a product. The page demonstrates your product’s value proposition to ensure customers understand how the product will solve a problem.
Referring to the earlier example of an electric toothbrush, you may start by mentioning the top advantages of the item. Merits such as better plaque removal, customizable settings, and cleaning hard-to-reach areas should appear prominently on the landing page.
For refined results, you can engage in split testing. The process involves subtly tweaking the landing page. For example, you can use different colors, headings, and wording to gauge how potential customers respond to the product.
You can further test by including a pre-order function on the landing page. Pre-ordering allows you to collect actionable data that shapes your dropshipping strategies. The easiest way to make landing pages is with storefronts like Shopify. You can choose from a variety of themes, and the store is highly customizable
Facebook and Instagram have billions of monthly active users, providing an excellent population for dropshippers to conduct experiments. You can test various ad formats, including user-generated content (UGC), pictures, quotes, and videos, and direct potential customers to your landing page. Remember to keep your videos under thirty seconds to avoid losing user attention.
Facebook and Instagram ads aim to check whether there is demand for a product. Thus, be sure to use Meta Pixel to monitor how users of the social media sites interact with your ad. Keep refining your ads, as different formats can produce different results.
Numerous opportunities in e-commerce are ripe for the taking. Recent studies indicate that dropshipping sales will cross the $2.24 trillion mark by 2033, up from $285 billion in 2023. You can capitalize on the projected growth by identifying winning products and getting into the action as a dropshipper.
Dropshipping presents a scalable, low-risk e-commerce business model. You do not have to make huge investments in inventory to start selling. However, there are important elements that can contribute to a dropshipper’s profitability.
A successful dropshipper should understand how to find winning products on AliExpress. Further, choosing a reliable supplier and automating a store are vital steps to building a scalable dropshipping venture. As an all-in-one dropshipping platform, Tradelle offers winning products, supplier services, product sourcing, and store automation in a few clicks.
Once you have products, suppliers, and an automated store, vigorously test your products to understand what to tweak. Set aside a budget for Facebook and Instagram ads, which drive traffic to a well-designed landing page. Be sure to use Meta Pixel to see who engages with your ads.
Some successful dropshippers choose to stick to product research tools such as Tradelle only for product research and source their products solely from AliExpress. As Tradelle is a supplier on its own and sources the products directly from the manufacturer not AliExpress, its automation cannot be used in this case.
DSers is a an automation tool for e-commerce that is specifically built for AliExpress dropshipping. They have helped over 4.5M dropshipping users start and scale e-commerce stores and are a great choice when sticking to AliExpress for product supply.
The market is not a static medium. Rather, it comprises people whose needs and interests change over time. While change means disruption, you can turn it into an opportunity by gaining valuable insights from Tradelle.
Tradelle’s analytics tools consider current market trends to recommend products that conform to those trends. The platform uses real-world, verifiable data to show what items should be in your dropshipping store.
Sign up for a free 7-day trial at Tradelle to see how the platform’s features can make your dropshipping business successful.
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