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Dropshipping
Skip this step if you're managing your own inventory.
Why This Matters
Dropshipping lets you sell products without holding any inventory. When a customer orders, your supplier ships directly to them. You never touch the product.
This massively reduces upfront cost and risk — no warehouse, no bulk purchasing, no unsold inventory. It's how many first-time entrepreneurs start.
The tradeoff: lower margins, less control over shipping speed, and potential quality issues. But for validating a product idea with minimal investment, dropshipping is hard to beat.
What You'll Do
If dropshipping is your model, connect your store to a dropshipping supplier platform. Import products and set your prices.
How To Do It
How to Vet a Dropshipping Supplier: Order Samples, Check Shipping, Test Support
Budget 1-2 weeks for proper vetting (most of that is waiting for sample deliveries). A bad supplier will destroy your reputation with slow shipping and poor quality.
1. Find 3-5 potential suppliers for each product (20 min)
- Rating of 4.7+ stars with 100+ orders
- Listed processing time of 1-3 days
- Product photos that look professional (not stolen from another brand)
- Price that allows you at least a 2.5x markup after all costs
Search on DSers (AliExpress), Spocket (US/EU suppliers), or Printful (print-on-demand). For each product, shortlist suppliers based on:
2. Order samples from your top 2-3 suppliers (cost: $20-60)
- Product quality: Does it match the listing photos? How does it feel in hand? Would you be proud to sell this?
- Packaging: Is it clean and professional, or flimsy and covered in Chinese characters your customers won't understand?
- Shipping time: How many days from order to delivery? If it takes 3+ weeks, your customers will be furious regardless of what your listing says.
- Accuracy: Did they send the right item, size, and color?
This is non-negotiable. Order the actual product you plan to sell, paying full price including shipping. Time the entire experience from order to delivery. Evaluate:
3. Test their customer support (15 min)
Before you have a real problem, test how responsive the supplier is. Send a message asking a specific question about the product (material, weight, available customization). Note how long they take to respond and whether the answer is helpful. A supplier that takes 3+ days to reply to a pre-sale question will be even slower when you have an urgent issue.
4. Set up your store connection (30 min)
- Rewrite all product titles and descriptions in your brand voice (never use the supplier's copy)
- Replace supplier photos with your own mockups or sample photos
- Set your prices with a 2.5-3x markup to cover product cost, shipping, ads, and returns
Once you have chosen your supplier, connect them to your store via DSers (for AliExpress), Spocket, or your chosen platform's integration. Import your products, then:
5. Set up a test order flow
Place 2-3 orders through your store to verify the automation works: order placed on your store, automatically forwarded to supplier, tracking number sent to customer. Monitor each step and fix any breaks in the chain before you start driving real traffic.
By the end of this step, you should have:
- Samples ordered and evaluated from at least 2 suppliers per product
- A supplier scorecard comparing quality, shipping time, support responsiveness, and pricing
- Products imported to your store with rewritten descriptions and custom photos
- Test orders placed to verify the automated fulfillment flow works end-to-end
Recommended Tools
DSers
Official AliExpress dropshipping partner. Import products, auto-fulfill orders, track shipments. The Oberlo replacement.
Free for 3 stores
Try DSersSpocket
US and EU dropshipping suppliers for faster shipping times. Higher-quality products than typical AliExpress.
From $39/mo
Try SpocketPrintful
Print-on-demand for custom products — t-shirts, mugs, posters, and more. No minimums, integrates with everything.
Try PrintfulPro Tips
- 1Always order samples before selling. Test product quality, packaging, and shipping speed yourself.
- 2Set realistic shipping expectations — if your supplier ships from China, be transparent about 2–3 week delivery.
- 3Build your brand around curation, not the products themselves. Anyone can dropship the same products — your brand is the differentiator.