Finding a good supplier can make or break your dropshipping business. Like what I have shared in the beginners dropshipping guide, we act as the middleman between the supplier and customer. They are the one that picks up our order, pack it and ship out directly to our customer on our behalf. Before we start with our dropship supplier Singapore reviews, let’s check out what are the top 3 factors we look for in best drop shipping companies
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Top 3 Factors for Best Drop Shipping Companies
For us to find the best drop shipping companies for our business, they would have to fulfil the following requirements. It is better to give these companies a miss if they do not have fulfil all the criterias mentioned. The main reason is that how a customer views your business brand will depend on the service provided and the quality of the product received. Without good support from your supplier, you may struggle to keep your dropshipping business afloat.
Customer Service
When we look at customer service, we have to look at what are the communication channels available to us sellers. Normally they should have one of these(email, ticketing system or online chat) or multiple ways to communicate. Honestly, the one I like most is online chat because I would like to get my problems solved fast.
The main reason is that as you grow your dropshipping business, you may be processing a few hundred orders a month. If there are any issues with the delivery, returns request or questions inquiries about the products, you need answers from the supplier fast.
Dropshipping is a fast pace and low barrier entry type of business. You get the order if you provide the fastest and best service to your customer. And let’s say you plan to dropship on a marketplace like qoo10, they will expect you to reply within 24 hours.
I have a friend that did not process his orders on qoo10 for 2-3 days and got his account suspended immediately. That is how strict marketplace can be.
You also have to familiarise with their returns and refunds policy. This is very important for your dropshipping business as it is normal to encounter faulty or misfit inquiries from your customers. You will need to ensure that the supplier has a transparent policy on either sending a new one or provide you with a full refund.
Processing and Shipping time
Another big factor and challenges I have always faced as a drop shipper. Most of the dropshipping companies will indicate on their website how long will they take to process and ship out your order. The next thing to look at will be the shipping options they provide.
Honestly, you will never know how good is the processing and shipping time of the dropshipping company until you have tested it first hand.
The rating system and quality of products
The best rating system contributed by real buyers will look something like Amazon. Even though it will be tough for dropshipping companies to replicate exactly the same, they should have something similar in their platform. The question you may have will be whether the rating and feedbacks are authentic. Well, they are no way you will know but it is better than nothing.
Aliexpress
This should be one of the most heard and commonly used platform for dropshippers for the past few years. They are one of the multiple websites owned by Alibaba Group and is designed for international online sellers like us.
I have used them for many years and they offer millions of products for you to sell on your website or marketplace store. Aliexpress is a Business to consumer(B2c(/Consumer to Consumer(C2C) marketplace. It is possible for businesses to sell their goods there or it can be individual sellers.
If you plan to setup an aliexpress dropshipping store from scratch, you can consider using a plugin or turnkey store specially made for aliexpress. Trust me, it will save you alot of time from listing items one by one and you can focus more on marketing and drive more sales to your business instead. This video shows how to do it in seconds with the help of AliDropship Plugin.
Customer service
You can reach out to them either through email or online chat. Their online chat on default is replied by AI bots. Most of the time it cannot resolve your problem so it is better to speak to a physical human.
For any issues in regards to shipping delays or products inquiries, most of them the time you will be required to speak to the individual supplier you buy from. Aliexpress will only intercept if the problem cannot be resolved.
Processing and Shipping time
There is a wide range of processing and shipping time I have experienced with Aliexpress. It really depends on the supplier you get from. Sometimes they can process and ship out within a few days while some can take one week and beyond.
The shipping they choose can be frustrating also. For example, you paid and request for aliexpress standard or china post air mail shipping which is faster and provide a tracking number. However, the supplier may choose to use cheaper shipping option like sun you economical air with no tracking and your package may just disappear or take more than 2 months to reach your customer.
Please do not expect fast few days shipping from aliexpress unless you are paying for it which is not possible as that will eat into your margins. Based on my experience of using them to ship to Singapore, your customer should receive the goods within 2 weeks to 6 weeks. Anything beyond that may mean you have to resend the product or refund it completely.
Do note that it will be easy to process 1 or 2 orders a day manually. However, when your business grows and you hit a home run for your marketing ads, you may like to consider software to fasten the process of orders. This video shows what exactly you should do after receiving an order in your dropshipping store.
The rating system and quality of products
Aliexpress do have rating systems and feedbacks of users. You can also check the number of orders for that particular product you may want to sell. It is better to just go for products or sellers with more than 4 stars rating. In terms of quality, you will be quite surprised that if you know how to find the right supplier, your returns and refund rate is not that high.
Chinabrands
Chinabrands is a B2C drop ship supplier which have global warehouses around the globe which means you can deliver fast if you happen to dropship at that country. Based on what is seen on their website, they cover countries, like France, US, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Russia and Japan. They also claim to have over 500000 SKUs to choose from and all products checked by their QC team.
Customer service
There are 3 ways you can contact them either through online, email or their facebook page. Their online is only available during working hours on weekdays and certain timing on weekends.
We have tested their online chat and supposed to have 3 person before us.
After 20 mins, they only managed to serve one person. Really bad service and a red flag.
Another red flag from real buyers from trustpilot.com who mentioned they never receive the products at all or item is faulty. And also a few cases of the wrong item shipped to them. The main problem is the customer service is bad and they didn’t get any refunds back even when the claim is valid.
Processing and shipping time
It seems like they have a wide choice when it comes to shipping from their china warehouse to Singapore. Some of the lead time given is quite impressive and promise to reach your customer within a week. However, doing a quick search on their review, they are scoring only ⅖ in trust pilot. (Source)
The rating system and quality of products
There is no rating system provided by real users. And some buyers found on trustpilot.com actually feedback they have problems with the quality of the product. Even though they mentioned on their website that their QC team have checked all the products.
Banggood
Banggood is a B2C dropship supplier I have tested them personally. They have a wide range of products in various categories similar to Aliexpress.
Customer service
I have tried to dropship from them to Singapore customers. However, when there are any issues relating to product defects. They do not respond to your email at all. Which is really a bad experience for me.
Processing and shipping time
Even though they promise shipping time of 3-7 days to Singapore Customers, in the end, I realised the shipping time is just as long as Aliexpress between 2 to 6 weeks.
Rating system and quality of products
They do have rating systems and feedbacks from real users. Even though I have tried to choose products with the best ratings and feedbacks, but the products bought from Banggood have higher refund rate than Aliexpress.
Spocket
Due to the Covid situaton, many dropshippers are also looking to diversify their products from just relying on china suppliers. Spocket is one platform that allows you to choose from thousands of dropshipping suppliers with original US/EU products
You can easily order samples to test the products yourself. If your customer base are based in the US or EU, this will also ensure faster delivery experiene for your customers. You are also able to automise the backend processing of all your orders which saves you alot of time and headache
Conclusion on Dropship Supplier Singapore
First of all, I am grateful and appreciative of all the dropshipping companies that help to ensure the products are packed nicely and shipped out to the correct address.
It allows our dropshipping business to continue to thrive and exist. Even though Aliexpress have long delivery issues, they are still our top pick when it comes to providing quality products and customer services. Our alternative choice will be Spocket as it allows diversification of suppliers to US and EU.