We’re quite sure you’ve heard of AliExpress already, even if you are new to dropshipping or just starting to do your research about this business model.
The Chinese marketplace has become the go-to place for finding suppliers and cheap products. And yes, products at low prices are among the main reasons AliExpress has become so popular for dropshippers. But, as you can imagine, this also can mean low-quality products and large shipping fees.
So, this article is for the ones who want to know what else is out there, why you should be looking for a better alternative than AliExpress, how to know when you found the right one and some of the best alternatives for better suppliers than AliExpress.
Now, let’s start with the beginning.
Table of Contents
A few words about AliExpress
If you already know the ins and outs of AliExpress, then feel free to skip this part and move on to the next one.
AliExpress is a supplier platform that has become so popular among dropshippers due to its great deals. How can they offer such low prices?
Well, AliExpress is an online marketplace based in China, that’s why you can find almost every type of product you can imagine on their marketplace. And because all these products are manufactured in the same country, China, they can sell them at a very low price.
AliExpress was founded in 2010 with the sole purpose of helping retailers find all sorts of products at low prices. And that’s true, you can find products at low prices with a two-week delivery time worldwide. But, and this is a huge one, you have also a good chance to find fake suppliers with low-quality products. And you only find out about their products being low quality when they get to your customers and that’s already too late. Also, many suppliers on AliExpress have long shipping times and that can drive away many of your customers.
That’s why we think you need better alternatives to AliExpress, other marketplaces that can offer products of higher quality from reliable suppliers that can ship much faster. But before giving you some real alternatives to AliExpress suppliers, let’s go through a few more reasons to switch from AliExpress and how to know when you found a reliable alternative.
Why do you need to look for an alternative to AliExpress?
As said above, the most important reasons to look for alternatives are low-quality products and unreliable suppliers.
Even though AliExpress has a wide range of products at very low prices, all of those products are coming from China and as a result, shipping will take a long time, in most cases. Waiting a long time for their product to arrive will make many of your customers impatient and that can result in them looking to buy their next products from another retailer with better shipping options.
More than that, you need to keep in mind that during Chinese holidays you can be sure there is nobody to offer support. That means if you have customers who are looking for answers you may not be able to help them.
Returns are also a big problem when dropshipping from AliExpress. The returning process is very long and requires many steps. Your customers have to send images to justify their return, in most cases, and when the return is approved by the supplier the same customers need to pay for the return. Of course, as you can imagine, this will make your customers angry and you can be sure they won’t come back for more.
How to know if you found a reliable alternative to AliExpress?
Now that you know why you need to find an alternative to AliExpress, let’s go through some of the things you have to keep in mind before choosing your next dropshipping platform.
Who are their suppliers and what kind of products do they sell?
In light of what we’ve been writing here, this is the most important thing you need to keep in mind when choosing a better option than AliExpress. So, check what type of suppliers are on your next platform. Are they reliable and can ship fast to the country of your choice? How are the products on this new Marketplace? Are they premium, unique, and of high quality? All of these are important if you want to have a better chance of succeeding as an ecommerce store owner.
Can you connect your dropshipping store to their platform?
Most dropshipping platforms have an App that can be integrated with most online stores out there, like Shopify or WooCommerce. So, if you have a Shopify store then check if you can connect it to this new dropshipping platform. If they don’t have an App that can work with your store, then you can’t actually use their marketplace and their products.
Do they offer a secured payment method?
Again, this is also essential when switching from AliExpress, so find out if they provide a third-party payment service, like PayPal. These payment gateways are extremely safe and it also means that the dropshipping platform is serious and trustworthy.
What does the subscription cost?
If additional costs are a problem for you or if you want a free subscription as you had on AliExpress, it may be difficult to find a better dropshipping platform. Most reliable and successful marketplaces ask for a monthly fee, but you can choose one that offers both free and paid plans so you can test it out first. If you are serious about dropshipping at a different level than you did on AliExpress, then you will probably need to upgrade to a paid subscription at some point.
Which countries do you want them to ship to the most?
It’s also important that before choosing your alternate solution for AliExpress to know which countries are you targeting, and where do you want to ship the most? Where are your customers located? Some dropshipping platforms ship mostly in the EU or USA, some in Canada or Australia. So, find out before you decide where their suppliers are located, that way you can know for sure if they can ship fast or not.
A few alternatives to AliExpress
Keeping all this from above in mind, here are a few alternatives you can opt for instead of AliExpress.
Amazon
If you want to ship only in the USA, then what better choice for your dropshipping business than the fastest domestic supplier in the USA?
The largest online retailer in the United States, Amazon has one of the largest ranges of products in the world with millions of products from various suppliers. They own warehouses and fulfillment centers everywhere in the USA, meaning that they can ship fast and provide free and fast returns on many products.
Walmart
Walmart, another US-based supplier, started as a hypermarket chain for American consumers looking to purchase products at low prices. And today it has grown to be a very popular marketplace for dropshippers interested to sell products at competitive prices from suppliers that can even offer free two-day delivery.
As you know, most customers are willing to pay a bit more if they can get their products faster, without paying for the delivery. So, yes, Walmart can offer you better shipping options, products with higher quality and a ninety-day return window. All of these mean that Walmart can be a better alternative to AliExpress.
Home Depot
Home Depot, a USA retailer specializing in products for home, can offer a huge variety of home improvement products in their online store. This makes it a great dropshipping source if you are interested in this niche.
All their products are being shipped from USA warehouses, meaning they can get delivered fast to your USA customers. On top of that, Home Depot has a free delivery policy that can be extended to your customers.
Wayfair
Another supplier of home products, Wayfair offers a wide range of furniture, decorations, kitchen products, and almost anything your customers may need for their home.
Due to being a domestic supplier, Wayfair has home products at low prices and can ship significantly faster than AliExpress. More than that, Wayfair provides free shipping on any order above $35. And as you may know, AliExpress charges huge shipping fees on furniture products. That makes it way better than AliExpress.
Wish
Wish can be a great AliExpress dropshipping alternative too. Not your traditional dropshipping platform, Wish offers a different shopping system, which gives you access to a product research tool that will help you find products faster and better suited for your audiences.
Want a dropshipping platform that has it all?
All the above alternatives for AliExpress are great, but if you are looking for a platform that has it all, then AppScenic can be the choice for you.
With AppScenic you can do everything – manage your team, handle orders and, most importantly, get access to over 500,000 high-quality scalable products from trusted and top-rated suppliers.
All the suppliers on AppScenic can ship products directly from the USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, etc. That means you won’t have to wait up to 40 days for an order to arrive like it happens when you choose AliExpress.
And on top of everything, once you are connected to the AppScenic App, you get to automate everything, from importing and syncing products to orders, payments, tracking numbers and so much more.
Now, you only need to start dropshipping!
