In recent years, “dropshipping” has earned significant popularity among merchants who want to minimise their outgoing costs, improve their opportunities for profit, and reduce the effort involved in running an eCommerce business.

In the world of dropshipping, merchants work directly with wholesalers and manufacturers when it comes to buying, selling, and shipping goods that are purchased by customers. Basically, the system is a form of order fulfillment service wherein the merchandise is shipped straight to the customer from the supplier or warehouse, rather than from the retailer. This means that the merchant can offer his or her clients a wider selection of products, without the risk of inventory and storage costs.

Unfortunately, effective and profitable dropshipping isn’t always as simple as it seems. Although there are many advantages to dropshipping, one of the biggest challenges you’ll face involves finding companies that can give you access to the quality products and customer service solutions you need. Additionally, you’ll need to think about automation solutions too, to help ensure that you’re not stuck with a huge amount of administrative work. Fortunately, we’ve put together a list of the top 5 online resources that could help you to start your dropshipping business.

1. AliExpress

AliExpress is an off-shoot business from the people behind Alibaba. It’s designed to give dropshipping entrepreneurs the freedom they need to place orders for one product at a time, which is perfect when you don’t need wholesale items.
AliExpress is one of the most popular dropship resources on the internet today because it simplifies the process of running your own eCommerce business. Additionally, this website can be particularly inexpensive for people who are just getting started with their dropshipping organisation, as many of the sellers involved with this website offer free shipping and unit savings.

The important thing to remember with AliExpress is that not all of the wholesale sellers that are signed up with the resource are willing to provide dropshipping services. However, you can search the site to help you find people who do offer this service. Additionally, there have been some problems in the past with consumers who haven’t received their products, so make sure that you investigate the reviews for any manufacturer you do business with.

2. Doba

If you want to avoid as much dropshipping micromanagement as possible, then Doba could be the perfect place for you. Like AliExpress, Doba offers a vast inventory of manufacturers and wholesalers for you to choose from when you’re starting your dropshipping business. At the same time, you can access a unique interface system that will allow you to grab products and place them directly on your website without the need to check out any dropshipper solutions.

Doba simplifies the process of dropshipping by taking the management requirements out of your hands. The website contacts the best possible suppliers and manufacturers on your behalf, before sending the sold products to your customers directly.

3. Oberlo

Oberlo is a form of free dropshipping application that works alongside some of the biggest eCommerce giants in the world to facilitate a better experience for entrepreneurs and customers. Thanks to partnerships with people like Shopify, Oberlo can simplify product migration and discover, as well as content creation for your product descriptions, and delivery tracking.

With the Oberlo system, you’ll be able to import products directly from the AliExpress list, then price and launch your items according to your preferences within a matter of minutes or sooner. Oberlo gives you access to thousands of different suppliers and manufacturers at once, and all the prices, details, and pictures that you need are situated perfectly for you to use.

4. Inventory Source

Another great solution for individuals who are just getting started with dropshipping, inventory source provides a range of tools and resources for business owners who want to make sure that they can find the right manufacturers and suppliers for their customers at a moment’s notice. You can even upload wholesale catalogues for products into a range of website platforms and marketplaces, to ensure simpler selling.

With inventory source, managing your dropshipping product listings is simpler than ever. You can browse through a range of websites, check out and change your prices and sell products easily regardless of what you want to distribute and where you choose to do business.

5. World Wide Brands

Finally, one of the biggest concerns for any dropshipper, is the threat of doing business with someone who might be less-than-reputable. If you end up collaborating with a manufacturer who ships shoddy goods, or a supplier who never sends the products that your consumer orders to their door, then you could end up with a damaged reputation and difficulty selling in the future. World Wide Brands can help with that issue.

World Wide Brands requires all suppliers that sign up with the website to be certified for service quality and responsiveness. You’ll also get the contact information for the people you work with through the site, so you can contact them yourself if necessary.

Why Consider Dropshipping?

Before you explore the best dropshipping resources on the market today, you may be wondering why you’d consider this business model in the first place. In traditional eCommerce solutions, merchants would need to work with a distributor to procure goods, then store those items in physical unit. However, with dropshipping, the middle man is removed, allowing merchants to price their goods more competitively.

The biggest advantage of dropshipping is that it makes it possible for entrepreneurs to launch their eCommerce stores without having to invest in thousands of pounds worth of inventory straight away. With the dropshipping model, you don’t have to access a lot of capital for inventory because you only buy a product when you’ve already made a sale. Additionally, running an eCommerce business can be much simpler when you don’t have to manage physical products.

Thanks to dropshipping, you won’t have to worry about shipping or packing orders, tracking inventory, paying for a warehouse, and more. Dropshipping could be the ideal retail option for people who want to minimise their overhead and simplify the process of running their own company.