Dropshipping Noob – supplier/shipping questions help

Hi all,

I just recently started getting into dropshipping, learning what I can and building a store on Shopify. Essentially I've installed and used Oberlo to help me import products and to automate dealing with the AliExpress supplier when (and if) I get a sale. I do have some noob questions though, if someone with experience could help out?

So firstly, I am focusing on a single product with a some variants and this particular product doesn't seem to have ePacket from any of its supplier (this is a widely used female product btw). Is ePacket necessary? Reason I'm asking is because it seems that a lot of guides and courses share this sentiment that you must use ePacket, as opposed to standard supplier shipping.

Secondly, it seems that the shipments from China, from all this type of product's suppliers, have the delivery of up to 60 days (or get a refund if it arrives after the specific date).. Does anyone have experience with this length of time - has anyone ordered or dropshipped products that give these 60 days but actually takes lesser time? Could it be due to the current pandemic situation that the shipping takes this long? I looked at different products and some suppliers have estimated delivery to around mid April, which is significantly less time, but are not the products I want to focus on.

There are a couple of US supplier options but they have no reviews, no sales, and shipping rates are way too high, so I am very skeptical in even trying them out.

Any help would be truly appreciated!

MeegDeega said:

Is ePacket necessary?

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It is usually the most reliable and fastest shipping option but not mandatory.

MeegDeega said:

has anyone ordered or dropshipped products that give these 60 days but actually takes lesser time?

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Just make sure to include in your deliver policies the expected time for the shipment as well as your refund policies in case the item arrives later than expected.

MeegDeega said:

There are a couple of US supplier options but they have no reviews

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Matter of testing, order one single product as sample and see how it goes.

perrymason said:

It is usually the most reliable and fastest shipping option but not mandatory.



Just make sure to include in your deliver policies the expected time for the shipment as well as your refund policies in case the item arrives later than expected.



Matter of testing, order one single product as sample and see how it goes.

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I appreciate your replies. Thanks, man!

ePacket is the cheapest and that is why a lot of dropshippers stick to items that are eligible for ePacket shipping. Not all countries offer ePacket rates though. I know from China to eastern EU it normally takes about 60 days. To the US items normally arrive within 30 days.

The pandemic has definitely impacted those shipping times because ePacket cargo travels on passenger planes. You'll have to choose another option like China Post or HK Post if you want better shipping time.

This is not the time to start dropshipping from AliExpress, huge delays in delivery times ATM plus over the recent years IMO dropshipping from AE is not worth the effort anymore. Keep in mind, dropshipping doesn't mean you have to get stuff from AE, you can also dropship from local wholesale companies.

dennisyu said:

ePacket is the cheapest and that is why a lot of dropshippers stick to items that are eligible for ePacket shipping. Not all countries offer ePacket rates though. I know from China to eastern EU it normally takes about 60 days. To the US items normally arrive within 30 days.

The pandemic has definitely impacted those shipping times because ePacket cargo travels on passenger planes. You'll have to choose another option like China Post or HK Post if you want better shipping time.

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I'm sure the pandemic situation has affected shipments, but I'm wondering if they updated shipping times on the website based on that or if it always showed those 60 days shipping to the US. I read that the AE suppliers have something like a 60 day protection. So I presume the supplier listed that time frame for that reason. They had another option like DHL or something, but it was around $30 - way too high!

Billy Batts said:

This is not the time to start dropshipping from AliExpress, huge delays in delivery times ATM plus over the recent years IMO dropshipping from AE is not worth the effort anymore. Keep in mind, dropshipping doesn't mean you have to get stuff from AE, you can also dropship from local wholesale companies.

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I kind of started noticing that it would be pretty hard to compete against the bigger stores with such long shipping times. Like you mention that AE isn't the only path, I did see an app called Spocket for Shopify that only deals with US suppliers (however, it's pay to use). The main reason why I am focusing on AE is because of the Oberlo app which automates the purchase and I think sends the suppliers some sort of note regarding it being dropshipped.

Since I'm very new to this whole thing, I guess I need to figure out how a sale would operate. As in, if a sale occurs, do I manually make the order to the local wholesale company or is there some way to automate it? I appreciate all your replies!

MeegDeega said:

I'm sure the pandemic situation has affected shipments, but I'm wondering if they updated shipping times on the website based on that or if it always showed those 60 days shipping to the US. I read that the AE suppliers have something like a 60 day protection. So I presume the supplier listed that time frame for that reason. They had another option like DHL or something, but it was around $30 - way too high!

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At first they didn't update those shipping times to the US. But eventually they did. It did not always show 60 days shipping time to the US. DHL will always be out of the question. It's just too expensive.

I use Woocommerce, but I know there are other apps that work with Shopify. Alidropship, Importify, ShopMaster...there is quite a few. Most are semi-automatic ordering, but ShopMaster can use the Aliexpress API and offers a full automatic ordering process. I never tested it though.

MeegDeega said:

I'm sure the pandemic situation has affected shipments, but I'm wondering if they updated shipping times on the website based on that or if it always showed those 60 days shipping to the US. I read that the AE suppliers have something like a 60 day protection. So I presume the supplier listed that time frame for that reason. They had another option like DHL or something, but it was around $30 - way too high!



I kind of started noticing that it would be pretty hard to compete against the bigger stores with such long shipping times. Like you mention that AE isn't the only path, I did see an app called Spocket for Shopify that only deals with US suppliers (however, it's pay to use). The main reason why I am focusing on AE is because of the Oberlo app which automates the purchase and I think sends the suppliers some sort of note regarding it being dropshipped.

Since I'm very new to this whole thing, I guess I need to figure out how a sale would operate. As in, if a sale occurs, do I manually make the order to the local wholesale company or is there some way to automate it? I appreciate all your replies!

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Did you read my dropship guide? Cuz plugins costing money will be the least of your problems

dennisyu said:

At first they didn't update those shipping times to the US. But eventually they did. It did not always show 60 days shipping time to the US. DHL will always be out of the question. It's just too expensive.

I use Woocommerce, but I know there are other apps that work with Shopify. Alidropship, Importify, ShopMaster...there is quite a few. Most are semi-automatic ordering, but ShopMaster can use the Aliexpress API and offers a full automatic ordering process. I never tested it though.

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That's what I was hoping for regarding delivery times being updated.
Awesome, I'll look into those apps. Thank you!!

Billy Batts said:

Did you read my dropship guide? Cuz plugins costing money will be the least of your problems

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Lol haven't came across it, but I think I found it. I'll give it a read!

Billy Batts said:

Did you read my dropship guide? Cuz plugins costing money will be the least of your problems

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plz send me the link