Have you ever heard of AliExpress dropshipping? Maybe you’ve heard about people making money by being the middleman for AliExpress sellers as a side job, or even becoming rich with it! Read on in our AliExpress dropshipping guide to know all the ins and outs about this lucrative side income method.
AliExpress Dropshipping Guide: Intro
So what is AliExpress dropshipping? Dropshipping is a term used for the process where the manufacturer or wholesaler delivers the product directly to the consumer. So there is no middleman in the form of a retail, brick-and-mortar store. The webstore that sells the product doesn’t need to have an inventory, and also does not need to organize the logistics. The package goes directly from the wholesaler to the customer.
This way you’ll never have any left-over stock, products can’t expire, and you don’t need to invest large sums of money in your stock. And you’ll can automate this entire process in the AliExpress dropshipping center. The orders are still being delivered, even if you take a week-long vacation. Everything is organized by the AliExpress dropshipping seller.
AliExpress Dropshipping Plugin
The entire logistics for AliExpress dropshipping is done through the AliExpress dropshipping center. The things that you will need however is a platform, an AliExpress dropshipping plugin or software to allow you to start your AliExpress dropshipping. If you don’t, you’ll have to do everything manually!
AliExpress dropshipping plugins are widely available: Lightspeed, AliDrop, WooCommerce or Afosto. Each AliExpress dropshipping plugin has its own features, benefits and disadvantages. WooCommerce might have different costs associated with it than Lightspeed, and the various features are also different. We recommend checking out the AliExpress dropshipping plugins and choosing the one that fits your needs the best.
Disadvantages of AliExpress Dropshipping
Every business model has their own disadvantages, and that’s no different with AliExpress dropshipping. For example, the delivery time is much longer than we’re used to from say Amazon or Etsy. So you’ll need to communicate this to the person buying products from you. Secondly, the wholesaler on AliExpress does not have an exclusive contract with you for AliExpress dropshipping, so that means that if your dropshipping business becomes popular, other competitors can also contract with your wholesaler. Competition can be heavy with AliExpress dropshipping!
You’ll also need to be good at marketing your website, with good content so consumers want to buy through your site. So in short, there are benefits and disadvantages to AliExpress dropshipping, so you’ll need to decide what your preference is. There are success stories floating around about AliExpress dropshipping websites that earn a decent salary, and they don’t need to do a thing! But on the other hand, there are also stories of dropshippers who barely make any money.
The thing is however that it’s fairly easy to get started, and the initial investment needed is quite low. So you’ll never really lose a lot of money with AliExpress dropshipping, and you could try it out for a year or 2. If you don’t make any money, you can always close down your webstore and stop your AliExpress dropshipping.
AliExpress Dropshipping: Yay or Nay?
When it comes to AliExpress dropshipping, we’ve got to say yay! The products are so cheap that you can still add a margin on top. Even with this margin, the products will still be considerably cheaper than the brands in your own country. The quality may be a bit lower but compared to the price the consumers pay for the products, this is to be expected. Final tip from us: it’s good practice to order the products yourself first, to see if the quality is acceptable.
After reading this AliExpress dropshipping guide you know everything about the process of AliExpress dropshipping, but if you still have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us info@chinesewebshopping.com.
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Lily Chen is a passionate and experienced online shopper with a deep love for exploring the world of Chinese e-commerce. She's been navigating the ins and outs of platforms like AliExpress for over a decade and has honed her skills in finding the best deals, hidden gems, and innovative shopping strategies.