Are you thinking about starting an online business but concerned with the cost and risks? Are you one of the many people who have been flocking to dropshipping because of its low cost, convenience, and flexibility?
AliExpress DropShipping is a relatively new approach to business that combines e-commerce, crowdsourcing, and Internet marketing. AliExpress is quickly becoming the leader in online wholesale with over 8 million distributors.
In this guide, we will discuss what AliExpress DropShipping is and how it works. We’ll also explain how to start an ecommerce business with the help of AliExpress DropShipping.
What Is AliExpress?
AliExpress is an online marketplace with over 1 million sellers and over 200 million active customers. It has been in business since 2008, is owned by Alibaba, and has over 10 million products to choose from.
The site sells everything from clothing, accessories, electronics, and even food. With so many products available for purchase on AliExpress it can seem like a daunting task to figure out how to go about finding good quality items that are worth buying at wholesale prices so that you can sell them on Amazon or eBay at retail prices while also making a profit yourself!
How Does AliExpress Work?
AliExpress is an online marketplace with over 500 million products from China, making it one of the largest shopping platforms available on the internet.
Unlike many other eCommerce platforms, AliExpress doesn’t require any membership fees or subscription charges when you sell products through your store. It’s totally free to use and you don’t have to pay any additional fees!
You can find just about everything on AliExpress: cell phone cases, clothing, and shoes; beauty products like hair dye and makeup brushes; health supplements like multivitamins or protein powder (plus much more). You can even find electronics such as laptops or gaming consoles. There are literally millions of products available here – which means there are plenty of opportunities for you to make money if you start AliExpress dropshipping.
How to Start AliExpress Dropshipping
The first thing you need to do when dropshipping from AliExpress is to find products that are profitable and easy to sell. You should also make sure that the product will require minimal marketing efforts, as it’s best not to waste time on products that don’t sell well.
Once you have found a product that you want to dropship, the next step is pricing it so it sells quickly and for a profit (without scaring away potential buyers). The price should be high enough so there is room for discounting without losing too much money if things go wrong in some way, but low enough so customers won’t think twice about purchasing from your store instead of Amazon or eBay when they see similar products being sold at lower prices there.
Create Your Online Store
One of the first things you’ll need to do is create your online store. This includes choosing a domain name, hosting provider, template, CMS, payment processor, and shipping provider.
For starters, think about what kind of store you want to have. Will it be a simple one-page blog? Or will it be a full-blown ecommerce website?
If you’re going to sell physical products then things like shipping costs and returns policies should be considered early on in this process – especially if your customer base is international or domestic!
Import Product Listings
There are a few different ways to source product listings for your store. You can get them directly from the manufacturer or supplier, or you can import them into your store from other sources like AliExpress and Amazon.
If you’re starting out with an empty store, importing is probably the best way to go as it allows you to create a large number of products quickly while not having to worry about any sourcing issues such as language barriers or shipping costs.
Price Your Products
Once you’ve decided on a product, it’s time to price it. Pricing is important for two reasons:
- It helps with profitability and cash flow management.
- It helps with conversion rate and sales funnel optimization.
Here are some tips for setting your prices:
- Price items at the right level. Under-pricing can be disastrous, while over-pricing can turn customers away from your brand. The sweet spot is somewhere in between, but you may need to do some testing before finding exactly where that spot is for your particular business model and audience.
- Use price as a marketing tool by increasing the average order value of each order by offering discounts or free shipping on certain orders above a certain threshold (or both). This will help boost profit margins even more than simply increasing prices across the board would have done!
Find a Reliable Shipping Option
Once you get your product, it’s time to figure out how to get it delivered. While AliExpress Dropshipping doesn’t offer shipping and handling as part of their service, they do allow you to purchase the shipping yourself at wholesale prices. You can set up a separate account with a trusted shipping company and buy the items in bulk.
This is not just any old Amazon seller! This is an actual store owner who has been operating for years on AliExpress Dropshipping sites like Shopify and Magento. If you want someone who knows their stuff when it comes to selling products on these sites, this person is an excellent choice for your business needs!
Set Up Payment Methods in Your Online Store
Payment methods are the means of accepting money from customers. You can accept various payment methods in your store, including Stripe, PayPal, Skrill (formerly Moneybookers), Alipay, and Western Union. Additionally, you can also accept bank transfers and cryptocurrency payments such as Bitcoin or Litecoin through third-party services like Coinbase or Bitpay. You may even decide to use gift cards as a payment method if you have a physical retail location (e.g., Amazon gift cards).
Some merchants choose to offer cash on delivery as an option for their customers; this involves allowing them to pay when they receive their order instead of paying before it ships out of the warehouse or fulfillment center (which is what happens with all other forms of payment). Finally, some merchants let their customers pay via credit card—this is obviously not recommended but it’s an option nonetheless!
Related: 12 Best Stripe Alternatives and Competitors
Promote Your Store and Start Selling!
The key to success with dropshipping is to create a buzz around your store. You will have to promote your store and products on different channels. Here are some marketing strategies that you should consider:
- Use social media – Create an account for your brand on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Post about new products, sales, and promotions regularly so that you can stay top-of-mind with customers and build a loyal following.
- Use email marketing – Create an email list using MailChimp or ConvertKit (or any other email service provider) where you can send out newsletters about new arrivals or sales/promotions in your store.
- Use influencer marketing – Reach out to bloggers or YouTube stars who have similar target audiences as yourself, so they can share content regarding your products directly with their audiences by posting reviews/videos, etc., which will bring more traffic back into the store.
- Use paid advertising – Facebook Ads (targeted toward specific demographics), Google AdWords (targeted toward specific keywords), Bing Ads, etc., are great ways of getting targeted traffic quickly! Once people land on the site they’re already interested in what’s being offered so conversion rates tend to be higher than usual when compared to traditional advertising channels such as TV ads which tend not to be very targeted at all since everyone within range sees them regardless of whether they’re actually interested in them or not…
Conclusion
AliExpress dropshipping is a handy business model for those who are just looking to test the waters without making major investments. It enables you to make money and build your brand without any complications. If you have used this business model before, we would love to hear your opinion about it in the comments below.
