Dropshipping is an e-commerce business model where middlemen act as the link between manufacturers and customers without having to maintain an inventory or take care of shipping. It is a new-age business model that can majorly benefit upcoming entrepreneurs. Its ease and effectiveness have made it quite popular among online e-commerce businesses.
Dropshipping platforms like Amazon, eBay, AliExpress have become quite popular lately. Choosing the best out of these options can be difficult since each has its benefits.
Amazon dropshipping has its advantages and disadvantages, and so does AliExpress. Here are a few comparisons of the two dropshipping moguls:
Warehouse Charges
Both dropshipping platforms allow sellers to store their goods free of cost, which cuts down on their expenses. All the seller needs to do is purchase the products, without the hassle of having to keep an inventory of the same. This enables the business to be less risky for the seller while allowing for more profits. The order, once forwarded to the manufacturer with the required details (such as addresses and phone numbers), will be directly delivered to the customer.
Seller Agreements
Amazon’s dropshipping policy specifies that a seller needs to purchase the products from the manufacturer and deliver the products themselves to the customers, while AliExpress allows for the direct delivery of products. This is one advantage of AliExpress. This helps AliExpress dropshippers cut down on their shipping costs.
Amazon has an FBA or ‘Fulfillment By Amazon’ agreement, which requires the seller to only ship the items to Amazon, which will be taken care of by them afterward. This means that once the item is shipped to the Amazon facility, they will pick, pack, and ship the items to the customers and provide them with the tracking details. They will also provide customer service henceforth. This provides a certain sense of authenticity to the product. However, this will cost the seller extra bucks, and one is usually trying to save money when the business is new.
Products sold by AliExpress dropshippers are directly delivered by the manufacturers, and their sellers do not need to be involved in the hassle of handling products or shipping, which is an added benefit.
License Costs
While an Amazon dropshipping license costs $59 for a single site, an AliExpress license costs $89 in total, which is a one-time payment. AliExpress allows the seller to import products from different websites in that one license, while Amazon requires the seller to pay an extra $30 only for a single website, which makes it much less pocket-friendly. While running your own business, taking care of the costs and trying to cut costs as much as possible at the beginning of the business can be quite helpful.
Cost of Marketing
Amazon dropshipping tends to have a much larger audience, with a revenue of up to $88,000 per minute, while AliExpress has a much smaller platform. The products on an Amazon dropshipping page will be viewed more times than the ones on AliExpress because of this reason.
An Amazon dropshipping seller cuts down majorly on their marketing cost because of the site’s greater reach. Having a knack in marketing, being a good administrator, and providing swift customer service are the main necessities in this business. The seller needs to make his products visible to a larger audience to gain more customers.
Rules for the Sale of Products
AliExpress plugin, which needs to be downloaded to initiate the process of dropshipping on their website, help the sellers in setting the prices of the products themselves. AliExpress also allows sellers to sell from other sellers, which is prohibited by Amazon. Amazon sellers are also prevented from providing links to other websites to their customers.
Branding
Amazon dropshipping makes the product seem like an Amazon product, while Ali Express allows for quite a lot of advertisements of outside brands, which allows your business’ name to be part and parcel of the products you are selling.
Final Verdict
If you have a brand-new dropshipping business, AliExpress seems like a good platform to start on. A smaller audience will help you get used to the competition and rush, that online dropshipping ensues while learning about the nitty-gritties of e-commerce. AliExpress dropshipping will require less capital for a new seller and provides all the opportunities to flourish in this field. Advanced sellers can move on to Amazon dropshipping that requires a higher capital, but ultimately gives better results in terms of the turnover that a seller has in the long run.
