Are you an aspiring or experienced dropshipper who wants to know how to dropship through Alibaba? Wondering how to find quality and dependable suppliers for your dropshipping business? Or do you want to take your dropshipping venture to the next level?
If you answer an enthusiastic “yes” to all these questions, then you are in the right place. Read this article to understand how dropshipping from Alibaba works.
To understand how dropshipping works on Alibaba:
- Familiarize Yourself with the Alibaba Platform
- Create a Plan
- Perform Keyword Research
- Check Product Listing Pages
- Arrange for Supplier Payment
- Find Suppliers
- Create an Online Store
- Get Quotes from Suppliers
- Vet Suppliers
- Compare Your Options
- Examine the Pros and Cons of Dropshipping on Alibaba
1. Familiarize Yourself with the Alibaba Platform
To dropship through Alibaba, understand how the platform works. Buy in bulk from thousands of suppliers and negotiate directly with manufacturers to create custom products for your store.
Utilize direct communication with manufacturers to get private-label products for yourself. Alibaba.com belongs to the Alibaba group along with other two marketplaces (Taobao and T-Mall formerly Taobao Mall a B2C online retail marketplace).
The collaboration among these companies gives you access to hundreds of thousands of suppliers and huge hundreds of millions of products to buy from. Excited, right?
2. Create a Plan
To begin dropshipping through Alibaba, think of a problem your dropshipping business can potentially solve for people. Plan on what product to sell and figure out who your target audience is.
Also, map out the country or region you want to serve.
Calculate your budget and determine your starting capital.
3. Perform Keyword Research
To embark on dropshipping from Alibaba, do some keyword research to make sure your products are searchable and potentially profitable.
Create a list of topics for keywords research and write down topics you can guess. Examine your competitors to know the specific keywords they use.
Use keywords research tools such as Zutrix, SEMrush, and KWFinder to find possible keywords for your product. Also, use the research tools (E.g., Export data, Sort & Filter) to check the performance of your keywords and potential problems that they may cause in future.
4. Check Product Listing Pages
To begin a dropshipping business on Alibaba, examine product listing pages to see how vendors list their products. Check the minimum order quantity a manufacturer can accept as this gives you clues for negotiation.
Look for items to sell from product listing pages. Search for products by category or do a direct search if you already have a product to sell in your mind. Use the product description to do your searching, for example, “vintage dress.”
Consider only the products from wholesalers who use Alibaba’s trade assurance policy to protect yourself.
5. Arrange for Supplier Payment
To start dropshipping through Alibaba, examine the payment options and evaluate their possible risks. Here are the common payment methods and the associated risks.
Telegraphic Transfer T/T (Bank transfer) has an elevated level of risk. Pay the manufacturer the full payment before production begins. Don’t use this method if you are not familiar with the supplier.
Letter of credit has a bearable risk level, but the procedure is rigorous. Use it only when you are buying larger purchases from $20,000 upward.
Western union is too risky for you, don’t use it to pay the manufacturers who are strange to you. You may not get back your money if things go south.
PayPal is the common method buyers use to buy online. The risk level is low. It has an easy interface and promises buyer protection.
Escrow uses a third party to hold your money until there is an uninterrupted transaction between you and your vendors. Enjoy buyer protection with a low level of risk. Use this method especially if you are a beginner in the dropshipping business
6. Find Suppliers
To commence dropshipping business on Alibaba, contact your wholesalers. Reach out to foreign manufacturers via Gmail, social media, or WeChat. In case of a language or communication barrier, use ‘Google Translate’ to translate your message to the supplier’s target language.
Expect some mistakes or misunderstandings between you and your vendors because a computer translator is not yet a perfect means to translate.
To promote effective communication with suppliers, keep your email short, and avoid spelling errors. Format your email and number your questions to organize your message and make your communication free.
Contact suppliers on Alibaba via the platform’s messaging service. Nevertheless, most suppliers prefer email, WeChat, or social media, Telegram, and WhatsApp.
7. Create an Online Store
To dropship via Alibaba, create an online store where your customers can place orders. Set up “About” page and “Contact” page, including FAQs that answer possible questions your potential customers may ask.
Add testimonies and the reviews of past buyers to your store to build your shoppers’ confidence in your brand.
Host your store on your website, but to generate fast traffic, host your store on popular eCommerce websites such as Amazon, AliExpress, and Etsy.
8. Get Quotes from Suppliers
To start a dropshipping business via Alibaba, request product quotations from your suppliers.
Negotiate the minimum order quantities (MOQs) with your manufacturers, even if your manufacturers already have MOQs on their listing, double check for accuracy.
Request price samples to assess the quality of the product. Some suppliers who receive many sample requests may charge you for the sample. However, wholesalers may offer you free samples if they feel you are a serious buyer. Use the sample and check thoroughly if it meets your requirements.
Ask for the prices of each product. Inquire about the unit cost for the product you want to buy. Find out the exact price per unit, as most sellers on Alibaba only provide a price range for each unit.
Inquire about the duration of the production of your orders.
9. Vet Suppliers
To have a safe dropshipping business on Alibaba, vet your suppliers.
- Choose verified suppliers who grant Trade Assurance (Alibaba built-in payment protection that protects your orders).
- Demand for legal documents such as business license, and compliance. certificate, and company pictures or warehouse photos.
- Use Google Earth, Good Maps or any other means of verification to confirm the business address and call the number to check if it is genuine.
- Examine the supplier’s reviews and references from previous users or buyers.
- Avoid sugar-quoted deals and walk away if you think the deal is too good to be true.
10. Compare Your Options
To run a dropshipping business through Alibaba, narrow down your choice of suppliers.
Write down the lists of your potential wholesalers and their offers, and then sort them by what they offer.
Separate the wheat from the chaff by narrowing down your selection to a few suppliers who meet your needs.
To shortlist potential suppliers for dropshipping, consider the unit cost and the payment term. Also, pay attention to their communication skill and the duration they promise to fulfil an order.
After this, request samples from the selected suppliers. Compare each sample and evaluate them very well.
Now you are there. You can now choose Alibaba dropshipping suppliers for yourself!
But wait a moment.
11. Examine the Pros and Cons of Dropshipping from Alibaba
To begin a dropshipping business on Alibaba, consider the upside and the downside of the platform.
- Pros
- Enjoy a lower manufacturing rate.
- Buy in smaller quantities if your business is small
- Choose from a high number of suppliers.
- Cons
- Prepare to deal with language barriers and communication errors.
- Struggle to protect your intellectual property.
- Endure a long time for shipping.
Conclusion
To dropship from Alibaba, familiarize yourself with the Alibaba platform and create a plan. Perform keyword research, check product listing pages, and arrange for supplier payment. After this, find vendors, create an online store, and get quotes from manufacturers.
In addition, vet suppliers and compare your options. And lastly, examine the Pros and Cons of dropshipping from Alibaba.
