Are you already decided on getting into dropshipping? In that case you’ll need the best tools to succeed including the best dropshipping platforms.
An ecommerce platform will help you sell things online as well as manage your websites, marketing, sales, and operations.
Wanna know more? Put your glasses on and start reading! 👓
What is a Dropshipping Platform?
There are three categories of dropshipping companies that you’ll be working with. This includes marketplaces where you can find suppliers, ecommerce systems to build a website and platforms to market from.
You can sell things online with the help of an ecommerce platform. It will enable you to manage your websites, marketing, sales, and operations.
A well-designed online store on an ecommerce platform will allow you to reach a larger audience. And, with the assistance of SEO tools, your site can perform even better. It also allows you to create trust with customers by providing a one-of-a-kind online experience.
Planning to get into dropshipping?
Best Dropshipping Platforms in 2022
You need to discover how to distinguish between different dropshipping companies. This will help you choose the best one for your online store.
For someone interested in dropshipping, you should make sure your chosen eCommerce platforms have the features you need. Here’s a checklist of features to look for:
✅Does it have access to dropshipping companies?
It's possible that your platform's developers have developed their own unique apps or integrations. They usually work with specific dropshipping providers or marketplaces.
Always check if the app or feature can integrate product listings onto your website before using it.
✅Does it have real-time shipping rates?
A great way to gain your buyer's trust as well as reduce cart abandonment is to show shipping rates real time.
Shipping rates are calculated according to the following:
- package weight
- package dimensions
- shipping point and origin
- expected delivery times
It could help big time if you choose a platform that offers a real-time shipping rates calculator. This way. Buyers would know how much the shipping costs add to the order, even as they are going through the order. No surprises.
✅Does it have automation rules and software?
A software that can autofill personalized information like name in a confirmation email, or the order status can be pretty convenient. Otherwise, these activities can be time-consuming and will only get more complicated when your site grows.
This allows you to devote your time to the more creative and stimulating part of your business. A lot of eCommerce platforms provide built-in automation services or provide clients with access to outsourced software.
✅Does it have great customer service?
Imagine how great it would be if your platform has a software that allows you to categorize customers. This will help you create and categorize people on your email lists. You may use this to provide special deals to new visitors.
Some software can even be automated based on how much money a buyer has spent on your site. It’s going to be easy to reward loyal customers with coupons and other perks.
Features like a help-desk platform will enable clients to contact you directly from your website via live chat, email, etc. Many customers on the internet will appreciate being able to ask for assistance quickly. And they’ll definitely appreciate a quick response too.
✅Does it have ePacket Shipping?
There are numerous manufacturers and wholesalers in China and Hong Kong who can supply your store with high-quality merchandise at reasonable prices. However, orders from retailers based in China can take quite long.
Good thing merchants in China and Hong Kong provide ePacket as a shipping alternative. ePacket packages are typically delivered in less than 30 days for free or at a modest fee.
ePacket enables faster delivery of products from China and Hong Kong to a variety of countries. It began as a collaboration between the US Postal Service (USPS) and Hong Kong Post and has now grown to include dozens of countries.
✅Does it have good inventory management?
Remember, whatever happens to your buyers orders is your fault. Well maybe not if they damaged it upon arrival —but the moment Barbara opens that package and finds moldy leggings, it’s on YOU!
This is the same with late delivery, it’s going to really suck if Barbara doesn’t get that dress in time for the wedding next week. And it’s all because the item was already sold out and your site didn’t update. 😬
Don’t work with an eCommerce platform that can’t give you some form of control over your catalog. There should be features like creating a waiting list or accepting backorders.
Best dropshipping platforms for finding suppliers
Dropshipping can be an interesting route for your company. If you want to get the most out of the experience, create your online store on a platform that offers a wide range of capabilities for that company model.
Check our list of recommended dropshipping platforms:
1. CJ Dropshipping
CJ Dropshipping handles your shipping, lets you find products to sell and order them and sometimes give all this for free. Their product prices are frequently lower than those found on eBay or AliExpress. This is probably why CJ is becoming a crowd favorite.
When you sign up with CJ for the first time, you’ll receive 30 days of free storage in US and/or German warehouses. You’ll also get 90 days of free storage in Thailand, Indonesia, and China. Aside from this, there are no set up fees or monthly fees.
Don’t be too excited though, because I did some digging and found some negative reviews about them.
Pros:
👍no set up fees or monthly fees
👍fast shipping
👍cheap (est) prices
Cons:
👎terrible inventory management
👎unsatisfactory customer service
👎request for refunds can get gnarly
2. Printful
Printful promises to handle billing, design, and fulfillment for you. This might be your best option if you sell custom products online. It is the leading dropshipping supplier of accessories, clothes, and household items.
Being the leader in the print-on-demand garment industry doesn’t mean you can’t order other stuff. There are over 200 Printful products, and the list is growing on a daily basis. Leggings, dresses, swimwear, backpacks, phone cases, pillows, coffee mugs, and other items have been added.
You can see on Trustpilot how many customers are satisfied with them. Well, I guess the good thing is that the majority of users say they’re okay.
One of the common negative reviews I am seeing about Printful is the quality of the print. Well, that’s going to suck especially since white-labeling is one of their selling points.
Pros:
👍User-friendly interface
👍No monthly fees
👍White-label options
Cons:
👎quality is not consistent
👎pricey compared to others
👎unsatisfactory customer service
3. Spocket
As a dropshipping platform, Spocket empowers small businesses to launch and grow their online businesses. In the United States and Europe, Spocket connects merchants with thousands of suppliers.
You might find that Spocket has faster delivery times. This is probably because their suppliers are based in the US and Europe. It takes about 2-7 days for the product to reach the customer plus they are known to have great customer support.
Now let’s check some actual reviews from users. One common red flag I’m seeing on reddit is how a lot of the customers are seeing the same products sold on AliExpress. One comment even went as far as calling it “...a beautified version of AliExpress.”
Pros:
👍based in US and Europe
👍easy to use app
👍great customer service
Cons:
👎overpriced
👎unauthorized charges (from free trial)
👎same products with AliExpress
4. SaleHoo
Salehoo is a great platform for those just getting started in eCommerce. They also provide training which is an added benefit.
With SaleHoo, dropshippers can find a range of wholesalers, including those who specialize in a certain market segment. In addition to Alibaba, it is a well-known dropshipping marketplace. They have over 7000 wholesalers, manufacturers, and drop shippers in its database.
SaleHoo gives comprehensive information on retailers and wholesalers for obtaining amazing things to start a business.
91% of their reviews are actually positive. The common negative reviews you’ll find will be about low profit margins and limited product options.
Pros:
👍great for beginners
👍good customer service
👍training provided
Cons:
👎low margins
👎limited product availability
👎limited choice of suppliers
5. Doba
Manufacturers and suppliers can find each other in Doba's marketplace. With Doba, you may look up wholesale products relevant to your business and create personalized lists from them.
In Doba’s platform, you’ll most likely start by finding products and suppliers. The idea here is you should be able to build your own inventory lists and export product data. Also, you can keep track of the orders you’ve received and add more products to sell when you’re ready.
According to Sitejabber, Doba has a consumer rating of 1.2 stars based on 56 reviews, showing that the majority of customers are disappointed with their purchases.
Their Trustpilot and BBB ratings aren’t that good either.
Customers that complain about Doba most typically highlight issues with customer support, credit cards, and free trials. Doba is ranked 18th in the Sourcing category.
Pros:
👍training provided
👍user-friendly website
👍easy to customize your inventory
Cons:
👎unauthorized charges (from free trial)
👎expensive membership
👎low margins
6. Wholesale2B
Using Wholesale2B, you may sell more than a million products on BigCommerce, Amazon, and eBay thanks to the system's supplier connectivity. It’s kind of a one-stop-shop for dropshippers.
You can consider Wholesale2B’s all inclusive plan. They promise that dropshippers will always have the lowest prices and that you may save up to 40%. You could either process the orders yourself by working directly with numerous suppliers, or you could spare yourself the trouble and let Wholesale2b do everything for you.
It not only assists ecommerce you in setting up your own dropshipping operations on the platform, but can also facilitate you on third-party platforms. Unfortunately, like other businesses, they are getting their fair share of dissatisfied customers.
Here's another one:
Pros:
👍user-friendly website
👍one-stop-shop
👍DFY option (done-for-you)
Cons:
👎limited product availability
👎you need the paid plan
👎customer support is not 24/7
7. Worldwide Brands
If you're looking for dropshippers or bulk distributors, Worldwide Brands is your best bet. They're always adding new vendors to their list and verifying that each one is legitimate and trustworthy.
Worldwide Brands is based in Maitland, Florida that was started in 1999 by Chris Malta and incorporated in 2001. It is a product sourcing research firm whose principal goal is to find and qualify factory-authorized wholesale suppliers and wholesale manufacturers.
Worldwide Brands publish their findings in an online wholesale directory. Their target markets are small to medium-sized retailers, home businesses, and online merchants. If you plan to sell on large ecommerce platforms such as eBay and Amazon they might be the best choice for you.
Unfortunately, it might be a bit outdated and pricey. Here’s one complaint I found:
Pros:
👍extensive directory
👍great customer service
👍reliable refund policy
Cons:
👎system is outdated
👎pricey
👎not for beginners
8. Sunrise Wholesale
Sunrise Wholesale is a general wholesaler that offers more than 15,000 items, ranging from home decor to jewelry. Sunrise Wholesale has been in the dropshipping business since 1999 with headquarters in Los Angeles, California.
To maximize your dropshipping business’ profit, Sunrise Wholesale provides market automation and brand-name products. Sunrise Wholesale charges a monthly fee of $29.95. A yearly membership is also available for $99.00, which lets you save more.
Sunrise Wholesale has apps for both Shopify and BigCommerce stores. You can upload numerous goods with a single click. The app will also automatically synchronize any price or quantity adjustments.
If any item is out-of-stock or discontinued, they will also be instantly removed from the app. Orders can be placed via the app or through your Sunrise Wholesale account.
As for personal experiences, we can only find a few reviews on Trustpilot. Here are some of them:
Uh-oh, I went ahead and fact-checked this review if they’re really not doing well on BBB either.
Pros:
👍free 7-day trial
👍$20 credit upon sign up
👍can be integrated with most platforms
Cons:
👎limited product options
👎does not ship internationally
👎no money-back guarantee
9. AliExpress Dropshipping
AliExpress is a wholesale and dropshipping platform that connects dropshippers to suppliers and products, including consumer electronics and apparel. Because of their buyer protection scheme, AliExpress might be safer than shopping on eBay. If your order does not arrive on time or as described in the ad, AliExpress offers a full refund.
AliExpress is one of the world's largest ecommerce marketplaces. It has become immensely popular with both businesses and consumers. AliExpress dropshipping has become a low-cost and simple solution for small business owners to begin selling online.
Nonetheless, despite its popularity, many AliExpress reviews are two stars or below. In fact, AliExpress has a horrible reputation for selling useless stuff over the years.
Let’s take a look at some actual reviews:
Pros:
👍lots of product options
👍low-cost
👍buyer-protection scheme
Cons:
👎low-quality products
👎long delivery wait time
👎terrible customer service
10. Modalyst
Modalyst is an approved partner of AliExpress Dropshipping and is full of popular brand names. You can also install it to your Shopify storefront.
Modalyst's dropship automation software eliminates the most significant drawback for online retailers: inventory management. According to them, this allows internet retailers like you to concentrate on your core business.
For your Shopify platform, Modalyst has the best products from top US suppliers and is one of the greatest free dropshipping apps there.
Modalyst is a great place to start if you want to establish your own internet business. Because there is little to no initial investment, almost anyone can create a store, and there are hundreds of products to pick from.
One of the complaints they get is about customer service and needing to upgrade to the paid plan to have access to their entire list ofsuppliers. They're also not too popular on Trustpilot.
Here are a few of the negative reviews:
Pros:
👍lots of popular brand names
👍great for inventory management
👍great with Shopify
Cons:
👎you need a paid plan to have access to more suppliers
👎not entirely automated
👎not good for private-labeling
11. MegaGoods
MegaGoods is a dropshipper and wholesale distributor of a wide range of goods, including clocks, kitchenware, and televisions.
Megagoods has a 30-day free trial that lets you look around the site and check out everything it has to offer. After this, if you want to stay a member, you will have to pay $14.99 per month.
You should also know that they charge $1.50 for each order and shipping costs if the item is not part of the limited free shipping. If a customer wants to return an item, they must also pay a 20 percent restocking fee. The membership terms and fees for Megagoods are pretty clear, except for that.
So, what are people saying about them? Well, they only have one review on Trustpilot and it turned out to be negative. Yikes!
But I don’t see this as something too discouraging about the MegaGoods though. Aside from being an old comment, it doesn’t really specify why it should be a 1 star except that they’re having trouble logging in.
Pros:
👍low-cost
👍user-friendly interface
👍high-quality products
Cons:
👎too many extra charges
👎no automation
👎limited product options
12. Inventory Source
More than 180 vendors are available through Inventory Source's dropship network, which allows you to sync your inventory and automatically submit product data. It is a Dropship Automation Software that helps you manage your dropship inventory. It also sends orders to your dropship suppliers and 3PL warehouses more efficiently.
Inventory Source is based in Jacksonville, Florida, but it has customers all over the world. It serves thousands of customers in many different countries.
They have a few pre-tty ugly reviews though.
Pros:
👍US-based
👍allows automation
👍simple set-up
Cons:
👎lots of pricing errors
👎terrible customer service
👎unauthorized charges (from free trial)
It's important to find great suppliers for your business to prosper. For example, if you've decided to sell coffee then you need to connect with suppliers who can give you good quality coffee products at a reasonable price.
Wait! I’m not done with my list! Now let’s take a look at the best ecommerce platforms to build your dropshipping store.
Best Ecommerce Platforms to Build Your Dropshipping Store
13. Shopify
Tobias Lütke, a German-born entrepreneur, started Shopify in Canada in 2006. He realized that the ecommerce solution he had made to sell snowboards could be used by other businesses and sold to them.
Shopify has a huge app ecosystem. It’s user-friendly, has an intuitive interface, and has great customer service. Unfortunately, it’s not as perfect as we’d hope. It can’t optimize for SEO and the blogging platform is —meh.
Shopify also has a list of products that they don’t allow you to sell. If you’re thinking of selling some 420 friendly stuff on Shopify, well, just don’t.
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Pros:
👍user-friendly
👍intuitive interface
👍great customer service
Cons:
👎expensive
👎charges a transaction fee
👎bans selling of a lot of products
14. Big Commerce
BigCommerce is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for building and hosting online stores. It is a publicly traded e-commerce platform. BigCommerce has hosted more than 145,000 websites over the years, and there are currently 52,198 stores running on the platform.
The free themes only come with a small number of typefaces. At the moment, you can't use custom fonts with the page builder. Changes could be made to the free templates a little more easily.
Unlike some competing products, none of the plans offer discounts on shipping. There’s also a limit to the amount of annual online sales you can make.
Pros:
👍lots of freebies
👍no transaction fee
👍multi -channel selling (you can sell on Amazon, eBay, etc)
Cons:
👎not user-friendly
👎no-shipping discounts
👎finding dropshipping apps is difficult
15. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the most popular plugin for selling things online on WordPress, Because WooCommerce is based on WordPress, SEO and blogging becomes easy.
Since it has a steep learning curve and no dedicated support, it might not be the best choice for people who don't know much about technology. Other options might start to look better. It only works with WordPress. WooCommerce is still a plugin, so it can't be used on sites that aren't hosted by WordPress.
It costs a lot of money too. Even though you can download and install WooCommerce for free, some extensions may cost money so that your site can work at its best.
Pros:
👍based on WordPress
👍easy setup
👍no transaction fee
Cons:
👎you need to do some tech stuff
👎no customer support
👎not great for beginners
16. Shift4Shop
Shift4Shop, formerly 3dcart, is an eCommerce platform that has everything a business needs. The platform gives you everything you need to build, run, and grow an online store. You don't have to buy extra apps or themes or pay transaction fees like you do with most eCommerce platforms.
There are more than 200 built-in features, such as the ability to send newsletters, chat with customers, run an affiliate program, offer a gift registry, use a powerful product review system, and many more.
The Shift4Shop offers a variety of different themes and handles all the tech for you. This can be really convenient if you’re not too tech savvy. It also offers 24/7 support and offers lots of features for free including email marketing!
You don’t have to pay for any transaction fees. But it does come with a price such as inconsistent quality of their customer service and being quite technical for some.
Pros:
👍all-in-one solution
👍24/7 support
👍lots of features
Cons:
👎very technical
👎inconsistent quality of customer service
👎not for beginners
17. Magento
Magento has been the leader in e-commerce even though there are a lot of big names. It is a platform that is open source. In other words, we could change the source code to fit our needs and wants.
This lets you change templates and get the functionality you want. Magento has a lot of features that make it easy to run multiple stores and support different locations, languages, prices, and currencies.
When you compare Magento to other e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Woocommerce, Volusion, or any other, it stands out because it has so many features.
However, like everything else, it has its downsides like having few developers and terrible customer service.
Pros:
👍has flexibility
👍lots of features
👍scalable
Cons:
👎expensive
👎slow
👎terrible customer service
Now, those are the 17 best dropshipping platforms in 2022 that I can recommend. But, let’s look at some honorable mentions for our best dropshipping platforms.
Honorable mentions
If you know how to code a little bit, OpenCart is a great choice. If you don't, you might not be able to use the platform to its full potential. Shopify is a good choice because it has a lot of themes and an easy-to-use interface. Through their marketplace, you can also add more features.
- Best for those with coding skills
- intuitive user interface
- Free and open-source
Wix is a public company that has well-established legal, privacy, payment, and product standards and works all over the world. Although, its templates are not interchangeable and its free plan forces you to use Wix branding.
- Best for small businesses
- Affordable website builder
- Good site speed
Squarespace is a platform that has everything you need to build a beautiful online presence quickly. Whether you are just starting out or have been in business for a while. It can get expensive though and there are complaints that it's kinda slow.
- Best for small businesses
- Beautiful themes
- expensive
PrestaShop is a great choice for merchants who want both the flexibility of open-source software and the ease of use when it comes to store management, SEO, inventory, and other things.
- Best for small businesses
- Free and open-source
- Limited scalability
Best Marketing Platforms For Driving Traffic to Your Dropshipping Store
Whether you just opened your online store or you've had it for a while, you'll need to do some work to get people to visit your dropshipping store.
If you don't get good traffic to your dropshipping store, you won't be able to sell anything, no matter how nice and cheap your products are.
TikTok
A new trend is to sell things on TikTok. And it's even clearer now that Shopify and TikTok accounts work together. TikTok is a tool for advertising on Shopify that gets people excited about increasing dropshipping sales.
So, how can you use the platform to your advantage? Take a look at Linden’s video below ⬇️
Ads are the best way to make sales go through the roof, especially on social media. TikTok stands out because it is one of the most used social networks. TikTok influencers have a 17.96% engagement rate, while Instagram influencers have a 3.86% engagement rate and YouTube influencers have a 1.63 % engagement rate.
It means that TikTok is a better place for influencer marketing than Instagram or YouTube.
Just like on other e-commerce platforms that can be used for dropshipping, all you have to do on Facebook Marketplace is list your products with pictures and descriptions. Set the price at which you want to sell your product.
Facebook can send more traffic to you than Pinterest, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined.
Here are 7 ways that you can use Facebook to promote your newest product:
➡️Optimize your Facebook page to get people to visit your website
➡️Keep putting up new blog posts on your website
➡️Make sure your content is easy to share.
➡️Use big images
➡️Write text that is compelling
➡️Make people who like you into people who follow you
➡️Make changes to your site
Display ads are a great choice for niche products sold by new dropshipping stores. You can reach people on Google who aren't yet looking for your products. But they might be interested in your well-written offer and find out more about you that way.
So, how do you get the word out about dropshipping on Google?
➡️Create relevant product-targeted ad groups
➡️Write amazing copy
➡️Announce your sales, deals, and discounts
➡️Use high-quality videos and images
➡️Be a keywords expert
➡️test multiple ad variations
➡️Be smart with your bids
➡️Use negative keywords
If you plan to turn to Google, know that the future of Google ads for dropshipping is bright. With the right strategy
FAQ 🙋
Still in in the dark? Take a look at responses for the frequently asked question below.
Can you dropship without a platform?
A platform is the most basic thing in dropshipping. Of course you need somewhere to set up your store.
Can I dropship without Shopify?
Shopify might be the most popular right now, but as you can see from our research above, it’s not the only platform out there.
Can you dropship with no money?
Although there is free enrollment and such across different plantforms, it won’t be possible to start dropshipping without money. This is the same with most business models.
Best Dropshipping Platforms in 2022
The choice on which dropshipping platforms to choose for yourself depends on what kind of dropshipper you are. You have to take note of your capacity. Are you great with tech? Do you value customer service? Do you want everything done for you?
I hope this post helped you get ideas about the best dropshipping platforms for you.
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