What supplier searching strategies do you use?

Hi all! I'm new to this forum and really intend to create a good relationship with you all!

I have been dropshipping for the last two years and am now opening a skincare niche store. I figured I would start by talking with you guys about my current issue which is HUGE for a dropshipping store.

So I already know what products I want but what I was wondering is: How do you guys regularly find your suppliers? Are there any special directories you guys use?
Thanks guys

 

Since it's a fast-growing market and there are many manufacturers out there, You could hire someone who actually does some imports from specific areas to check manufacturers (how legit they are, etc). You can get your business closed so easily if you deal with "pro". So make your analysis first with someone who actually knows the market and lives there.

 

I'm in the same situation, looking for new suppliers, so I define two main for now it's a bornprettystore and fragrance.net, still have to make an evaluation of their credibility.

 

Kind of depends on what you are planning to sell and where you are planning to sell it. Off the top, I would suggest looking at relevant trade conferences for your industry that are located in your geographic market, because it is very likely that many suppliers to the industry will be exhibiting there and will serve that geographic area.

 

Umm...I am adding another question to the above. Since, he is talking about dropshipping. Can we directly sell products on ebay by buying them from another e-commerce? Like without the thing being available with us, is it workable?

 

Yes, we used to drop ship from multiple other suppliers while selling on eBay and Amazon. Ebay and Amazon don't care where the sale is shipped from as long as you meet their shipping standards.

 

Can you please tell me a bit more about the Ebay shipping standards? Also, can you tell me how to setup an account on Ebay for selling? Thank you!

 

It is Amazon that has the toughest shipping standards in terms of timing, etc., because of their Prime shipping feature. Ebay simply wants you to please the customer and get positive feedbacks and not charge "outrageous" shipping fees to mask the true cost of your product. My point is that neither of these vendors care as to how you get a sold product to their customers as long as you do it well and the customer is satisfied. As long as your drop shipper does a good job of shipping product and keeping customers happy, neither Amazon nor eBay will care where the shipment is coming from. How would they know, in fact, as long as the customer is happy?

Just go to eBay and down at the bottom you will see a list of links, including "Start Selling".

 

sourcing on the local leading ecommerce platforms in China, like 1688 (Alibaba Chinese version),taobao, Tmall. Or sourcing by hiring agent.

 

“Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.”

neutron star mass

 

Covid has made it a crappy time to do dropshipping. While online sales are up with more people at home, the shipping end of it is a nightmare with prices forced up quite frequently.