Your Guide to AliExpress Dropshipping From Scratch in 2024 - No Money Needed. (2024)

So you’re here because you’ve heard about the AliExpress dropshipping buzz. Businesses have been spilling the beans on how it’s been their secret sauce for growth. It’s like this magic eCommerce wonderland where you can start dropshipping without spending a dime.

Want to know how easy dropshipping really is? We’ve got the lowdown on getting started in just five simple steps.

But wait, it's not all rainbows and sunshine in the AliExpress dropshipping universe. There are pros and cons, and we're here to spill the tea on navigating this massive supplier platform.

In this post, we’re taking you on a journey to demystify AliExpress dropshipping, breaking it down step by step, and the best part? You don’t need a big budget. We’ll also spill the beans on the upsides and downsides of the dropship game so you're in the loop.

Ready to become the expert? Let’s roll!

What is AliExpress?

By now you’ve probably heard of Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, or at least his $307 billion-dollar company Alibaba. He’s considered the Asian version of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

Started in 1999, the company was a result of Ma not being able to find Chinese products online easily. The resulting platform enables Western buyers to connect with Chinese and Asian sellers and has revolutionized eCommerce around the globe.

Alibaba, the original site, is built for wholesale purchases. Sellers usually have minimum bulk order requirements. You can directly connect with Chinese manufacturers to place orders, and payment is usually via bank transfer.

AliExpress is its sister site and is made for smaller retailers who don't stock the products they're selling, and it accepts credit card payments. Think of it as Amazon, but cheaper and with a two-week delivery time.

So the main difference between AliExpress and Alibaba is that Alibaba is used for buying directly from the manufacturer, whereas on AliExpress the sellers are actually third-party individuals or companies who are reselling to you. You won’t get the best price, but the buyer protection and ability to make single orders makes it perfect for dropshippers.

AliExpress vs. Alibaba - Which one is better for beginners?

AliExpress is set up more for dropshippers who are after single items as there are no minimum order requirements. Whereas Alibaba is focused on the purchase of bulk items. The payment methods reflect this too. The methods in AliExpress are a lot more desirable for beginners. Whereas, Alibaba focuses on payment methods for wholesale markets and buying in bulk.

However, Alibaba does provide cheaper product prices and can customize products as they work directly with manufacturers. But there is more admin involved with time spent organizing what you can get and figuring out licenses.

So the answer is it really depends. Some dropshippers start out on AliExpress and move to Alibaba when they increase their sales volume. Perhaps this is the best option!

Why do I not need any start up money or capital?

Sounds too good to be true, right?

Well, in this case, it actually is true. Let me explain:

Because these manufacturers mass produce goods, they can sell them for pennies on the dollar.

We’re talking fancy jewelry for under $0.30 a piece, nice shirts for $1, and even electronics for a few bucks that you can resell for $50 or more.

“But I still have to buy products, so I need some money!”

Actually, you don’t. That’s where the drop shipping comes in.

You don’t have to buy a thing until you get an order on your website. So you pay for your products with the money your customers pay you.

Now, you might be thinking…

“What about shipping costs? It’s coming from China - it must cost a ton!”

Nope. With the invention of ePacket shipping, you can get these items from China for free. (Or at the most, a dollar or two.)

The only startup money you need is enough to buy a domain and hosting. So less than $20.

Now, let’s talk about what you actually need to do.

How dropshipping with AliExpress works

Dropshipping simply means when your customer makes a purchase from your site, you order the item from your Chinese supplier and they ship the item to your customer. You don’t need to hold any inventory or worry about packaging and shipping.

Dropshipping from AliExpress requires you to first set up a store or have a place to sell your goods, like Amazon or eBay.

When a customer makes a purchase, you place the order with the seller on AliExpress. The seller ships the items and you keep the difference in prices as profit.

Once the item is sent to your customer, they believe it’s from you. There’s no reason to know it’s a dropshipping process.

As you get bigger and scale your store, you can send in bulk orders to these suppliers for better rates and terms. That’s why it’s so important to choose the right suppliers from the start and build a relationship with them.

But what about returns?

We’ll discuss those later in this guide. For now, let’s talk pros and cons.

AliExpress dropshipping: Pros and Cons

There are good and bad things to using AliExpress for dropshipping. Here they are:

PROS

• AliExpress has a database of hundreds of millions of products. You’ll be hard-pressed to not find the item you’re looking for.
• Starting a dropshipping business with AliExpress is 100 percent free. Other services like Worldwide Brands and Doba charge hundreds of dollars in startup and monthly fees. This can be a huge burden for someone who is trying to get their eCommerce business off the ground with minimal funds.
• You control your own profit margins. AliExpress prices are extremely low and allow you plenty of profit.
• Product trends appear on AliExpress overnight. When products like Jade Rollers,show up, you can bet that you’ll be able to find them on AliExpress.
• No minimum orderrequirements. Unlike other dropshipping suppliers that have MOQ, AliExpress allows dropshippers to purchase 1 item and have it shipped directly to their customers.

CONS

• Shipping can take more than a month in some cases. However, ePacket shipping to the United States and a few other select countries takes 12-15 days. Packages no longer have to be transported by boat, so transport time is faster now.
• You cannot bundle items. If a customer orders three items from three different suppliers, there is no way for them to arrive at the same time.
• It takes a few days for your credit card to be verified at first. If you set up a shop, make sure you build enough time into your first sale so you don’t have angry waiting customers.
• Suppliers on AliExpress may not speak the best English, which may result in communication issues.

Is AliExpress safe and reliable?

Yes!

The great benefit of working with AliExpress is that it offers a lot of protection for buyers during ordering, shipping, and in case of returns. The site’s functions have been designed to keep the buyer in mind through every phase of the sale.

It’s in the best interest of AliExpress to make sure that its sellers are legitimate and deliver the goods as advertised.

However, it’s important when you’re choosing a seller on AliExpress that you take into account the company's ratings and number of products sold.

There will be a lot of merchants selling the same item, so read what people are writing and only purchase from those sellers who have the best ratings.

One thing you should always do as a dropshipper is reach out and contact the sellers directly. Start a conversation with them, talk to them about the product, and make sure you’re working with someone reliable.

Also Read: AliExpress Alternatives: SaleHoo vs. AliExpress

What is AliExpress’ standard shipping?

There are multiple shipping options on AliExpress, but ePacket delivery offers the best balance of price and shipping time.

Previously, items shipped from China were sent by sea, requiring up to 2+ months for delivery in some cases. As a dropshipper, you can’t keep your customers waiting that long.

If you do, your customers will either cancel their order or leave bad reviews, neither of which is good for your online business.

Thankfully, ePacket shipping has been introduced for Hong Kong and China, allowing for your customers to get their drop shipped goods in 12-14 days. ePacket delivery is available for goods up to 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) in weight and with a value less than $400.

Other than the shipping time reduction, the other benefits of ePacket shipment are that you can provide your customers with end-to-end tracking. Customs duties are already paid for, allowing for quicker delivery direct to your customers.

ePacket delivery was once only available to U.S. customers, but has now been expanded to a growing list of more than 30 countries.

Meeting your customer's shipping needs will be one of your customer’s biggest priorities as a dropshipper. That’s why it’s especially important that you spend the time to find a good supplier and change suppliers if they aren’t using ePacket delivery.

Your customers are used to Amazon and other services where they can get their goods overnight. This is one of the biggest reasons they’re so successful.

The more you can lower your shipping time, the greater your customer satisfaction will be. So make sure you spend the extra fees for ePacket delivery and ensure your customers get what they want in a timely manner.

How to find and choose products (niche) in AliExpress?

Firstly, let’s discover how to find a niche.

Choosing a niche and selling online should be a relatively simple process and can be broken down into easy steps. However, implementing them in real life can be a lot of work.

The easiest way to narrow down your niche and start selling products is to find a hot market. You need to find a market where people are spending money and which they are passionate about. As well as solve problems for your customers.

The next thing to think about is to figure out what your customers are having trouble with.

Then. Offer your customers what they want!

Simple right?

Well, maybe not in practice. When you first start an online business, the hard part is finding a product, or coming up with an offer that meets customers' needs and creates a strong impulse to click that buy button.

People want more than a product in their shopping cart. A product is a commodity that can be easily replaced with something similar or cheaper.

When entering a niche, try to stand out.

In any business model, it's important to offer something of value other than just the product. For example, if you are selling coconut oil, give people a recipe book with different ways they can use your product.

If you can create long-lasting value for your customers, they will buy from your eCommerce store over and over again.

To recap, in order to determine what kind of niche you should be in:

1. Find a hot market.
2. Ask your customers what they want.
3. Give your customers what they said they wanted.

So how exactly do you find products for your niche?

The great thing about AliExpress is that you can complete Steps 1 & 2 on its site.

You can find hot markets and come up with product ideas by going to AliExpress’ bestselling page. Here you can see all of the top AliExpress products in different categories and look for an item or similar items that you might want to bundle together.

In the product listings you can delve further into customer reviews, view pictures they took, and discover any differences there may be between the product listing and the actual product upon delivery.

This last point is extremely important; many pictures or descriptions can be deceiving, so it's absolutely important that you verify through reviews or by buying the product yourself.

A few otherways to find products for your niche:

• Use Google Trends to see what the search volume is for your potential product. Perhaps your niche could be home decor. Some items you could look at selling include doormats, wall art and pot plants.
• For more information onhow to find trending products check out our article here.
• Take advantage of social media to reach out and ask your customers what they’re having trouble with, then think of how you can help them using products from AliExpress.
• Think about a problem you are having. Do you need a swimsuit for the upcoming summer season? Or are you struggling to find the perfect gift for your significant other? These are all real struggles that you and many other people go through every single day. If you listen to people, they will tell you what they need, even indirectly.
• SaleHoo has a Market Research Lab, a dropshipping tool similar to search engines that displays AliExpress’s best sellers, along with Amazon’s and eBay’s best sellers, to show you the hottest products on the market.
• You can also use it to see how often the dropshipped products are selling, and find the best suppliers for those products.

Related: Take a look at our article on 50 dropshipping business ideas in 2024!

Lastly, let’s take a quick look at finding products in AliExpress.

A couple of ways to find high quality products is to check the order number and product rating. Look for products that have over 300 orders. This tells you that the product is in demand and the seller is reliable. Also, the star rating is a good indicator of the quality of the product. This is a good time to check the seller rating too. Ideally, you want this to be well over 90%.

For example, take a look at the women's puffer jacket below. As you can see the item has a 4.7 star rating, 548 orders and the supplier has a 95.3% positive feedback rating.

How to choose the right AliExpress dropshipping suppliers

1. Avoid fake or knockoff products- This means staying clear of branded products. The headache that can be caused by selling a product with someone else's logo on it just isn’t worth it!
2. Stay away from branded products
3. Don't just dropship low priced products
4. Contact the supplier- Don’t be afraid to reach out and build a relationship! If they are a good seller they will reply to your questions quickly.
5. Test how responsive the supplier is
6. Make sure ePacket delivery is available
7. Check out the supplier and product reviews
8. Only work with suppliers that have at least a 95% positive feedback score
9. Lastly, remember the best way to make sure you are getting a quality product is to order it for yourself.

How to add products to your store

Once you have set up your online store the next step is adding products.

The easiest way to do this is through third party applications. Such as SaleHoo Dropship, Oberlo or BigCommerce. Although, you can manually upload products to your store but this will take significant time and good record keeping.

A few eCommerce tips and things to think about when adding products to your store:

• Take time to write your own copy for titles, product descriptions, and other content. You’ll want the product descriptions to be quality clearly outlining the benefits and features of the product. Your marketing is what will sell the product, so make sure it’s awesome.
• Clearly identify the shipping times- In some cases products can take 30 days to arrive to a customer from AliExpress. This needs to be outlined on your website and especially on your products.
• Choose high-resolution pictures that don’t have any branding and are shot against a white background.
• Make sure you mark the price up enough for you to be profitable (at least a 100-150 percent markup).

Bonus: Scaling and Growing your AliExpress Dropshipping store:

Once you have set up and added products to your store you will want to get people to it right?!

Below are a few tips you might like to try to promote scale and grow your store:

• Develop a good relationship with your supplier. This will help in many ways but in particular you will be able to get better pricing and priority order processing. Lots of suppliers use WeChat or WhatsApp. So it is a good idea to communicate with them on there!
• Use Facebook and Google ads.
• Use email marketing campaigns and create an opt-in incentive when people visit your store (such as 10% off their first purchase) - Many sellers on AliExpress offer free or very cheap shipping so offering free shipping to your customers is a great marketing tactic without costing you much in return!
• Boost your social presence and digital engagement.
• Optimize your site for SEO - Work with a web designer and learn search engine optimization (including Google AdWords) so your product pages will be ranked higher on search results and be seen by your target market. Additionally, avoid duplicate content risks by creating original copy for each product.
• Add a blog to your store. If you sell gardening products go one step further and add a gardening tips section to your website!

Check out this guide for more in-depth tips on how to drive traffic to your eCommerce store!

How to use AliExpress to dropship

Here is a quick step by step to smooth out the process:

Bear in mind when ordering products through AliExpress, it usually takes 24 hours for the order to be processed. During this time, your order will remain unfulfilled. Once the item is paid for and shipped by the seller you have to update your customer’s order information by adding the tracking info and sending them a receipt email with this info.

However, SaleHoo Dropship makes this process easy. It just takes a few clicks to process your order on AliExpress, track the shipping, and monitor delivery as well as populate tracking information.

Types of payments with AliExpress

Because AliExpress is a worldwide service, it offers a wide variety of payment methods.

Credit cards are the most common payment method. AliExpress accepts Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, and American Express.

The biggest benefit of using a credit card is that in case returns and refunds are not given or you receive a poor product on AliExpress, you can always file a dispute with the credit card company and request a chargeback. This protection is not available on some of the other types of payment and should be a must for any dropshipper.

Alternatively, AliExpress offers these additional payment methods:

When you first sign up it takes two to five days for AliExpress to verify your card details. During this time you won’t be able to process any orders.

AliExpress’ refund and return policies

AliExpress’ Buyer Protection Program has been designed to favor buyers over sellers. The company wants to ensure that you get exactly what you order and protect you at every stage of ordering through delivery.

However, be aware that many suppliers will not offer refunds.

You will have to factor that in as a cost of your business. When there is an issue, it will probably be because an order doesn't arrive or it doesn’t match the description.

If the order never arrives, AliExpress will refund the entire purchase. You’ll have to wait for the end of the delivery period, which is around 45 days, to receive your money back.

If the order is not as described, you can return it to the seller to get a full refund, or you can let the customer keep the item and offer them a partial refund.

In this case, you’ll have to work with both the AliExpress supplier and the customer to make sure the latter remains happy. The customer will have to provide photos of the damaged or non-matching item in order for you to be able to make the dispute.

In any case, there are many options for you as a dropshipper. Just be aware that your business needs to have some liquid cash reserves to continue making orders in case there are a lot of return requests.

5 Tips to help you succeed in AliExpress dropshipping

Hang in there - we’re almost done!

Before I leave you guys to start your own dropshipping business, here are three final tips to help you succeed in your new dropshipping venture.

Tip #1: Ask the supplier to NOT include a packing slip, invoice, pricing or samples.

While some of your more savvy customers will probably work out that you’re dropshipping your products, you should do what you can to make this less obvious.

One way of doing this?

When you place your order, add a note and request for your supplier to not include any promotional or packing slip materials in the package.However, if you're interested in using invoice templates, you could create your own invoice and email it to the supplier. This way, the customer still has a way to show proof of purchase (like for their taxes).

Tip #2: Avoid selling items that infringe on copyrights.

AliExpress is chock-full of designer knock-offs…

...but I’d recommend avoiding these like the plague.

If you don’t state (explicitly!) that these are copycat products, you could get gullible consumers who purchase them, thinking that they’re buying discounted branded items.

When they eventually get their item, and realize it’s not the real deal, be prepared to have your inbox flooded.

On the other hand, you could state that these aren’t genuine designer goods on your website…

...but this just feels like you’re asking for trouble.

I mean, famous designers rarely sue small-time eCommerce stores, but you never know.

At the end of the day, it’s much easier to just sell non-branded items!

Tip #3: Spice up your product presentation.

As we have mentioned in this post AliExpress product photos and descriptions can sometimes be very subpar. To make your products stand out, be sure to take the time to craft great product descriptions and copy. As well as taking or choosing as high quality photos as possible.

Tip #4: Keep your customers happy.

This means clearly identifying shipping times and providing them with tracking numbers as soon as possible. Also, remember to use ePacket and if you can offer free shipping!

It also helps to provide great customer support. Be quick to reply to customer's queries and provide a refund policy. This means you have to have great communication with your supplier too so you can resolve any issues quickly!

To smooth out the process make sure you have ordered the product you are selling and have gone through the entire customer experience. This way you will know exactly what it is like to order from your supplier and have put yourself in the customer's shoes.

Tip #5: Use the AliExpress affiliate program.

Still not sure whether you want to take the plunge into the world of dropshipping?

If you’re still hesitating, here’s an easier option which you might be interested in:

The AliExpress affiliate program!

In a nutshell, here’s how it works:

You set up a website and promote various AliExpress products on this website.

When your readers are interested in buying the product, they click on the links on your website, and they’re redirected to AliExpress.

When they make their purchase, the AliExpress merchant pays you an affiliate fee.

Your job is simply to get customers intrigued about the product…

...you don’t need to place orders, deal with inquiries, or handle returns.

And you’ll get a minimum of 8.5% commission!

In comparison, Amazon affiliates get 4% commission on average - so AliExpress certainly isn’t scrimping when it comes to rewarding their affiliates!

A final word on dropshipping from AliExpress

No inventory needed.

No shipping costs.

Minimal capital.

What more could you ask for?

It doesn’t matter if you’re living in a 1-bedroom apartment and have no space to keep your stocks.

Hell, it doesn’t even matter if you’re living in your mom’s basem*nt.

All you need to do is to cough up $20 or so for your domain name and your Shopify account…

...and you can get your dropshipping business set up.

Plus: 22-33% of online retailers have adopted dropshipping as their primary method of order fulfillment.

This means that dropshipping is a tried-and-tested model, and one that’s definitely profitable.

Time to stop being a salaried employee, and start building a business you can call your own.

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