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Aliexpress Dropshipping Review: Is AliExpress Good For Dropshipping?

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Aleksandra -
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Chief of Content Marketing
Aleksandra teaches marketing and management at various levels in High School. She writes about marketing, the economics and logistics of the dropshipping business and ecommerce in general.
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Chief of Content Marketing
13 minutes

Do you want to make more money and increase the revenue of your dropshipping business? At the moment, AliExpress dropshipping is one of the best options. Because of its popularity, people consider AliExpress with a “hugely profitable place” to increase their income.

But Is AliExpress legit for Dropshipping? YES, entirely! The first reason is that, compared to eBay and Amazon, AliExpress is one of the largest eCommerce sites for buying and sourcing products for dropshippers.

They offer a wide range of products, from electrical equipment to housewares, and have a significant number of customers shopping for them every day. 

According to latest data on SimilarWeb, AliExpress has over 1.403B visitors, its Global traffic rank is #62, and its Industry rank is #9.

While there are several benefits to utilizing AliExpress for eCommerce, there are specific considerations to make before you begin.

Therefore, this article will guide you through our full Aliexpress Dropshipping Review.

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What is AliExpress Dropshipping?

AliExpress is a large marketplace that offers a diverse variety of goods from all over the world. You can buy products in bulk quantities or a single product. Because AliExpress sellers are typically international suppliers, the prices are frequently quite competitive. 

Although many AliExpress suppliers are merchants, the great majority of AliExpress consumers are resellers, which is a well-known truth. As a result, AliExpress dropshipping is quite easy since suppliers have already dealt with dropshippers and are happy to work to your requirements.

There is no upfront cost or charge for dropshipping with AliExpress. With a few clicks, you can search, import, and sell AliExpress goods on your dropshipping store.

Furthermore, you don’t pay for anything your customers don’t buy which makes it much simpler to develop a profitable business quickly.

Also, when a consumer makes a purchase, the suppliers you connect with will handle the shipping and packing for you. However, dealing with matters like customer support is still your responsibility.

So, let’s find out how AliExpress Dropshipping works.

💡 Tip: Discover the 9 Reasons About Why Is AliExpress So Cheap [Truth Revealed]

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How Does AliExpress Dropshipping Work?

For dropshipping, everyone can use AliExpress. Entering this market is low-cost and has a low barrier to entry. You can sign up via email address, or log in using one of your social accounts.

However, you must have your dropshipping store hosted to work with AliExpress for dropshipping.

Moreover, you should consider that AliExpress is no all-in-one solution. If you don’t use third-party dropshipping software to connect your client orders and suppliers, you’ll have to manually input the purchase date on AliExpress each time someone buys from your dropshipping store. 

Here’s what you need to do to start dropshipping with AliExpress:

Choose Your AliExpress Dropshipping Niche

aliexpress dropshipping

You must decide what you will sell at your dropshipping store. AliExpress has millions of goods to pick from. Ideally, choose something you are highly familiar with, such as things linked to your interests. You may also look at what is hot and trending.

Use the internet for information. Search through social media, online stores, trending products, etc.

There are various dropshipping agents, that will guide you through the most profitable dropshipping niche, and best–selling items.

Once you’ve decided on your items, look them up on AliExpress. We advise you to only consider goods with a rating of more than 4.5 stars, and the ones with significant profit margins.

Moreover, remember to avoid products that have a logo or a catchphrase, and also avoid branded, counterfeit, and imitation products. 

Choose a Trustworthy Supplier

Finding a reliable dropshipping supplier for your business can be difficult at the beginning. Thus, there are a few things you should consider if you want to make it easier for yourself.

First, ask the supplier, What’s the final price of the products? How much costs the product shipping? How long does it take to receive the order? Can you offer samples? What’s the MOQ? 

Here are a few tips from the dropshipping experts:

  • Check the price of the desired products. You have to be aware that once you land on AliExpress there will be tons of suppliers offering the same product but at different prices. So, is not always the price you have to choose, but also very important is the product quality. So, research and compare suppliers.
  • Check supplier ratings and customer reviews. You may review the supplier based on their customer’s review comments. This way you can collect information about product quality, service quality, and trustworthiness. Checking the supplier feedback assists you in narrowing your alternatives.
  • Check the supplier’s responsiveness. How will the supplier deal with a problem? Put them to the test. Pose an urgent problem and observe how they respond. Pay attention to their reaction speed, communication skills, and capacity to comprehend the problem and find the most effective solutions in a short period.
  • Look for suppliers offering AliExpress Premium Shipping. ePacket, AliExpress Premium Shipping, provides the ideal balance of low shipping cost and speed. Therefore, you should search for suppliers who offer ePacket.

Set Up a Dropshipping Store

Set up a dropshipping store

After you’ve decided on your goods and suppliers, it’s time to create your dropshipping store. Building a website is vital in the dropshipping business since you cannot sell your items without one.

When creating a website, there are three alternatives to consider:

Furthermore, once you have your dropshipping store set up, the content quality inside it is equally important as the layout or navigation. Thus, you must write product descriptions to set up your store.

Make them stand out by using high-quality photos, retouching services if necessary, and being upfront about the product delivery policy, including price, availability, and shipping. You may employ tracking plugins to keep track of your orders and keep your customers updated.

Use Automation Tools For Your AliExpress Dropshipping Business

AliExpress dropshipping tools

There are several automation tools available to assist you to automate dropshipping on AliExpress. When you use such tools, you will save a significant amount of time and energy.

You may use the automated order tracking tool to automatically track and update the customer’s order information. If you integrate the software with your dropshipping store, you will also get order information in the system.

You may also modify the content to your company’s needs and send emails to your subscribers automatically. 

You may use the inventory management tool to keep track of stock levels.

Furthermore, some solutions will automatically transfer the order to the supplier and favor the supplier.

Choose a Payment Method on AliExpress

payment method on AliExpress

You must be capable of paying your supplier, and AliExpress provides a global service as well as numerous eCommerce payment options for suppliers.

The most common method is to use a credit card, and  Visa, Maestro, MasterCard, and American Express are all accepted.

Credit card payments provide some security in the event of returns, or refunds. Moreover, you may submit a complaint to the credit card provider, which is a significant benefit.

Other payment options available on AliExpress include

  • Wire Transfer,
  • TEF,
  • Webmoney,
  • iDeal,
  • West Union,
  • Sofort Banking,
  • DOKI,
  • QIWI,
  • Mercado,
  • SMA payment in Russia,
  • Boleto,
  • Cash Payment,
  • Bancontact,
  • AliExpress Pocket

Furthermore, when you initially sign up, AliExpress will typically take 2 to 5 days to validate your card details, so keep in mind that you will be unable to place purchases during this time.

Choose the Shipment Method

AliExpress shipping

To increase customer satisfaction, AliExpress shipping times are a very important matter. Thus, AliExpress offers two shipping methods, and as a good dropshippier, you should choose the faster one.

The AliExpress standard shipping method is much slower. The shipping time can range from 12 days to 2 months, and in the USA from 19-39 days. But this method is free, or costs are very low.

On the other hand, AliExpress Premium Shipping offers a much better service. First of all, it has faster shipping, usually taking from 15-30 days. This increases customer satisfaction. However, it costs higher. 

💡 Tip: Learn about AliExpress Premium Shipping: The Key to Get Your Orders on Time.

Educate yourself about the return and refund policy of AliExpress

AliExpress Dropshipping has AliExpress Buyer Protection, which ensures your orders, and your legal rights. So, the question is how to deal with customers’ complaints, and situations when they ask for returns or refunds.

As you already know, if your consumers do not receive what they requested, they are likely to request a refund.

So, the first thing you need to do is contact the supplier to fix the problem and find a solution to satisfy the consumer. Then, provide the customer with a refund or a replacement.

If a product is damaged during shipment, request that the customer take pictures of the damage.

Determine the potential cause of the problem, communicate with the supplier, and send them the photos. You must compensate the consumer or provide an alternative for the customer.

Find the best strategy that will work for you, but never leave the customer without pleasing them! 

So, there are numerous ways to get started with dropshipping on AliExpress. Fortunately, several of the most popular e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify, or BigCommerce, offer complete integration with AliExpress product import tools. Also, the order fulfillment process is automated by these applications.

DSers is the most popular AliExpress import application for products. It allows you to search for and import AliExpress goods into your Shopify store.

Yes, there are numerous additional apps for this purpose, such as SaleHoo, Sell The Trend, Importify, and Dropified. All of them provide you access to AliExpress’s suppliers and items.

All you have to do is select the best e-commerce platform for your needs, create a store, and then select and install an AliExpress product import app.

AliExpress Dropshipping Review: Pricing

Dropshipping with AliExpress is FREE. So, if you are planning to start dropshipping with no money, or a low budget, AliExpress Dropshipping is a great option for you.

However, each product at AliExpress has a different price depending on the supplier, but you can find suppliers who offer very affordable prices.  The rest is up to you depending on how you price your dropshipping products.

Tip: You should consider choosing supplier prices running from $1-10, or $20-50, depending on the product niche. This way you will have higher profit margins.

AliExpress Dropshipping Review: Pros & Cons

Just like anything in this world has its Pros and Cons, so does AliExpress. AliExpress Dropshipping has its ups and downs too.

It has a lot of positive, but also negative reviews to consider. So, let’s see their pros and cons.

PROSCONS
– Low startup costs 
– No inventory risks
– Large base of suppliers and versatile products
– Simple to select the best shipping method
– Low risk 
– Free shop setup
– Unique features like bulk orders
– Minimal overheads
– A large number of competitors
– Inventory, shipping method,
product quality, and so on, lack of control
– It is difficult to establish your brand
– Profit margins are low
– Customers find it difficult to return
purchases and get a refund

While there are several pros to choosing AliExpress, such as inexpensive costs, free delivery, and no membership fees, there are alternative dropshipping companies that just perform a better job altogether.

The main disadvantages of AliExpress are poor quality, long shipping periods, and lack of customer support. While selecting another service may require you to spend a bit more money, the experience you will get is often worth the extra price.

AliExpress Dropshipping Review: Pros & Cons

Just like anything in this world has its Pros and Cons, so does AliExpress. AliExpress Dropshipping has its ups and downs too.

It has a lot of positive, but also negative reviews to consider. So, let’s see their pros and cons.

While there are several pros to choosing AliExpress, such as inexpensive costs, free delivery, and no membership fees, there are alternative dropshipping companies that just perform a better job altogether.

The main disadvantages of AliExpress are poor quality, long shipping periods, and lack of customer support.

While selecting another service may require you to spend a bit more money, the experience you will get is often worth the extra price.

AliExpress Dropshipping Review: Customer Reviews

Unfortunately, AliExpress doesn’t have the best customer review results. A lot of them are negative.

Most of the negative customer comments are about the lack of customer support and the quality of the products.

On Trustpilot, AliExpress’s rating is also low, which is 2.6/5 stars. Take a look. However, this is I bit confusing for me since the platform has millions of users and satisfied customers.

Also, as you can see 76% of the customer reviews rated the app 5 stars. However, what lowers its overall rating is that the reviews are even 1-star or 5-star.

So, based on my review, I can say that AliExpess is legit. However, you must pay attention to the suppliers you work with, and check on customer reviews of the products you want to dropship.

Is AliExpress Dropshipping Good For You?

There are several positives and negatives of using AliExpress. On one side, you obtain a large variety of products in quantity at a reasonable price. On the other side, long shipping periods might make it challenging to obtain customers for your dropshipping store. 

AliExpress may be a great platform for small businesses with low shipping costs, but only if you know how to avoid low-quality goods. However, it is your responsibility to verify that you select the correct supplier.

When buying for the first time, look for items like RoHS, CE trademark data, and REACH certifications to provide you with greater protection.

AliExpress may also be a difficult marketplace to use for businesses and customers. Before proceeding, make certain that you know what expects you.

However, there are a few tips that you can consider if you want to build a successful AliExpress dropshipping business.

Conclusion

So, is AliExpress dropshipping good for you? Well, the answer to this question is totally up to you!

It depends on what you are looking for. What we can say is that everyone can use AliExpress. Entering this market is low-cost and has a low barrier to entry. Also, it’s free!

Moreover, on the one hand, you obtain a large variety of products in quantity at a reasonable price.

But, on the other hand, shipping times are exhausting, and this decreases customer satisfaction. Not only that, but a lot of product order mistakes or damages occur too.

In this article, we provided you with a complete sincere AliExpress Dropshipping review. We shared our opinions, pros & cons & an ultimate guide.

It’s your turn to decide and make the most of Dropshipping with AliExpress.

About the Author

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Aleksandra Miteva
Aleksandra teaches marketing and management at various levels in High School. She writes about marketing, the economics and logistics of the dropshipping business and ecommerce in general.
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