I have a question regarding suppliers from Ali Baba or Ali Express

[bogdy23]

Hello,

Say I have a product that I want to sell, I find it at a good price, and I can have a decent profit margin. But the seller says he will give it to me for 1.59£, but they will give it to me at that price only if I buy 20 of them or 100. The problem is I might have 1 sale today, 2-3 sales tomorrow, and after 1 week, 10 sales all at different addresses? (Also, I can`t do any kind of storage.)

How do I handle that so that I can order 1 product, but each one of the products is being shipped out in different colors, to a different address, and on different dates?

Thank you very much

 

[fisicx]

Simple answer: you can’t.

If you want to buy products at that price you need to find somewhere to store, pack and dispatch.

You then need to manage the orders yourself or pay someone to do it for you.

 

[bogdy23]

Simple answer: you can’t.

If you want to buy products at that price you need to find somewhere to store, pack and dispatch.

You then need to manage the orders yourself or pay someone to do it for you.

Hello, thanks for taking the time to answer me. Do you know any decent fulfillment centers in the UK? You know where you can store your products and have them shipped?
Also, can you ask your Alibaba supplier to hold the products? Can you talk to them and tell them that you don`t have a place to store them, and you can give them an address every time you have a sale?

Say I buy 1 piece of red earphones today and 2 blue earphones tomorrow, and have them ship the 1 red earphone and so on, each one of them to a different address for every sale that you make?

Thank you so much

 

[fisicx]

There are any number of fulfilment centres in the UK. You just need to do your research and find one that will deal with low volume sales. I suspect the cost will make fulfilment unsustainable.

It would be the same if you use a dropshipper in China.

TBH this is unlikely to be a viable business idea.

 

[bogdy23]

There are any number of fulfilment centres in the UK. You just need to do your research and find one that will deal with low volume sales. I suspect the cost will make fulfilment unsustainable.

It would be the same if you use a dropshipper in China.

TBH this is unlikely to be a viable business idea.

Ok, so using a low-volume sales fulfillment center is unlikely because it would cost too much. And you don`t think suppliers (whosale suppliers from china) won`t do the shipping in the way i need them to do it?


1 red color earphones sent here today.
2 blue color earphones tomorrow 1 sent in location x; 1 sent in location y
5 green color earphones on the 3-day :1 sent in location A; 1 sent in location B; 1 sent in location C; 1 sent in location D, and 1 sent in location E.

 

[fisicx]

It’s called dropshipping. There are loads of dropshippers in China. I think you can use Alibaba. But again, the costs involved and delivery timescales are likely to make this a viable business idea.

Why can’t you run the business from home? Earphones don’t take up a lot of space.

 

[bogdy23]

It’s called dropshipping. There are loads of dropshippers in China. I think you can use Alibaba. But again, the costs involved and delivery timescales are likely to make this a viable business idea.

Why can’t you run the business from home? Earphones don’t take up a lot of space.

I`m not from the UK. I know it`s called dropshipping, do I just work in this case with suppliers that allow me to buy and sell from them 1 product.

Is that the only workaround? I need a low-cost business idea. I`m just selling in the UK, but my residence is in Eastern Europe.

 

[fisicx]

Suppliers won’t be interested in such low volumes. Buy in bulk and find someone in the uk to pack and dispatch. It’s ideal work for someone to do from home.

All you then need to do is the marketing.

 

[MOIC]

Dropshipping via an Alibaba supplier you've sourced, based on your product and quantity is a non starter.

Sorry to be blunt, but find an alternative business model, sourcing specialists in your product category, that have experience in dropshipping.

A word of warning . . . . . a China supplier will 'steal' your customers.

Always.

 

[John Martin]

For many years I ran a business buying products in China and selling them in the UK, so I have quite a bit of experience with this. I wasn't drop-shipping though, they were my own branded products.

If you search around on Alibaba you may find a supplier that will be willing to sell one product at a time and ship it out to different addresses for a reasonable price. However, be warned. Finding a good supplier in China is a nightmare.

It's always a good idea to order the product yourself first to make sure it's ok. However, this doesn't guarantee that subsequent orders will be of the same quality. It's quite common for Chinese suppliers to sent poor quality goods after the initial order. Even if you find a 'good' supplier, you generally have to be constantly vigilant as they will often try something to increase the cost or lower the quality.

China has a different culture to us and what we would consider to be unethical, they would consider it as normal business practice.

If you've never dealt with China before, it's a steep learning curve and you will likely get burnt at some point, it happened to me. I'm not saying it's impossible, as I did eventually make a success out of it, but there are probably easier ways to make money.

 

[bogdy23]

Dropshipping via an Alibaba supplier you've sourced, based on your product and quantity is a non starter.

Sorry to be blunt, but find an alternative business model, sourcing specialists in your product category, that have experience in dropshipping.

A word of warning . . . . . a China supplier will 'steal' your customers.

Always.

Hello they might Steal them but im still Gonna make Some money. This seems for me personally the best way to make money. It’s something personal. So in order to dropship I just ignore the products that don’t sell 1 item and look at others.

 

[bogdy23]

For many years I ran a business buying products in China and selling them in the UK, so I have quite a bit of experience with this. I wasn't drop-shipping though, they were my own branded products.

If you search around on Alibaba you may find a supplier that will be willing to sell one product at a time and ship it out to different addresses for a reasonable price. However, be warned. Finding a good supplier in China is a nightmare.

It's always a good idea to order the product yourself first to make sure it's ok. However, this doesn't guarantee that subsequent orders will be of the same quality. It's quite common for Chinese suppliers to sent poor quality goods after the initial order. Even if you find a 'good' supplier, you generally have to be constantly vigilant as they will often try something to increase the cost or lower the quality.

China has a different culture to us and what we would consider to be unethical, they would consider it as normal business practice.

If you've never dealt with China before, it's a steep learning curve and you will likely get burnt at some point, it happened to me. I'm not saying it's impossible, as I did eventually make a success out of it, but there are probably easier ways to make money.

I don’t know if you know about terapeak which has been bought by eBay and Zik Analytics they show you best selling products and where to source them from AliBaba I also have a criteria on how to choose my supplier I work only with verified suppliers that would be another step to guarantee my success there are also other criteria but that’s besides the post.

So the best solution for me is to only sell and buy from suppliers who sell 1 product and that’s it?

If anybody knows a logistical company from the Uk which is good please let me know here

Thank you all for your help you have all been great and I’ve learned a lot of good things

 

[John Martin]

I work only with verified suppliers that would be another step to guarantee my success there are also other criteria but that’s besides the post.

You always can't trust Alibaba 'verified' suppliers. Yes, they will generally be better than the others but it's no guarantee.

Alibaba gets paid by it's suppliers and they will do certain things to look after them. I wouldn't be at all surprised that if a supplier offered them enough money, Alibaba won't give them certain privileges, even if they don't qualify.

I once had an issue where a supplier had broken the terms of our agreement and shipped me some very poor quality goods. No problem I thought, fortunately I'd bought the goods using Alibaba's 'Trade Assurance' scheme where they guarantee to protect buyers in certain situations.

I met the criteria for the trade assurance scheme and filed a claim. The supplier had a certain time period in which to reply but they didn't bother to do that, so I expected the case to be closed in my favour.

Not so, Alibaba allowed the supplier to reply much later than the deadline, and when they did, the supplier wrote a pack of lies. Then Alibaba quickly closed the case in favour of the supplier.

In short, their 'Trade Assurance' scheme is garbage, and their verified and gold suppliers may be ok, but maybe not.

You have been warned. It's the wild west out there... or maybe I should say, the wild east...

 

[bogdy23]

You always can't trust Alibaba 'verified' suppliers. Yes, they will generally be better than the others but it's no guarantee.

Alibaba gets paid by it's suppliers and they will do certain things to look after them. I wouldn't be at all surprised that if a supplier offered them enough money, Alibaba won't give them certain privileges, even if they don't qualify.

I once had an issue where a supplier had broken the terms of our agreement and shipped me some very poor quality goods. No problem I thought, fortunately I'd bought the goods using Alibaba's 'Trade Assurance' scheme where they agree to protect buyers in certain situations.

I met the criteria for the trade assurance scheme and filed a claim. The supplier had a certain time period in which to reply but they didn't bother to do that, so I expected the case to be closed in my favour.

Not so, Alibaba allowed the supplier to reply much later than the deadline, and when they did, the supplier wrote a pack of lies. Then Alibaba quickly closed the case in favour of the supplier.

In short, their 'Trade Assurance' scheme is garbage, and their verified and gold suppliers may be ok, but maybe not.

You have been warned. It's the wild west out there... or maybe I should say, the wild east...

I have a shitty job which I can’t wait to get out of. Even if I may fail I have to try. After all Amazon is the largest corporation in the world and 90% of its products are from China so there also are some honest people out there in China.

 

[bogdy23]

Hello so my only option from dropshippping is to buy from suppliers that have a good reputation and sell 1 item at a time and since I don’t live in the Uk and have no place to store the items , I just go and buy products from suppliers that offer you the possibility to buy just 1 item at a time and ignore the suppliers that offer to sell in Bulk .

 

[John Martin]

I have a shitty job which I can’t wait to get out of. Even if I may fail I have to try. After all Amazon is the largest corporation in the world and 90% of its products are from China so there also are some honest people out there in China.

Yes there are some good honest suppliers out there but finding them is difficult. In general it's better to go to China and actually meet suppliers face to face.

Having been an Amazon seller for well over a decade, I can tell you that Amazon is just as unethical as many of the Chinese suppliers. They make good bed fellows.

Most of the products on Amazon are from China but most of them are poor quality. Amazon want to be the cheapest place to buy, so inevitably quality has to suffer because it's a race to the bottom.

Don't believe all those glowing reviews because they don't mean a thing. I've seen how the suppliers from China manipulate them and Amazon couldn't care less.

 

[bogdy23]

Yes there are some good honest suppliers out there but finding them is difficult. In general it's better to go to China and actually meet suppliers face to face.

Having been an Amazon seller for well over a decade, I can tell you that Amazon is just as unethical as many of the Chinese suppliers. They make good bed fellows.

Most of the products on Amazon are from China but most of them are poor quality. Amazon want to be the cheapest place to buy, so inevitably quality has to suffer because it's a race to the bottom.

Don't believe all those glowing reviews because they don't mean a thing. I've seen how the suppliers from China manipulate them and Amazon couldn't care less.

And regarding my shipping problem my only solution is to only deal with suppliers that will ship 1 product ? And ignore the ones that only ship in bulk 10 items 20 items 100 items I just ignore those suppliers ?

 

[fisicx]

You won’t find suppliers selling just one item. In fact most of those people on Alibaba and other souks are just agents. Which means you aren’t even talking to a supplier.

 

[bogdy23]

You won’t find suppliers selling just one item. In fact most of those people on Alibaba and other souks are just agents. Which means you aren’t even talking to a supplier.

I’ve looked at some watches and earphones and bluethooth speakers and they sell 1 item at a time. So there are some I used zik analytics the problem with zik analytics is that they only show me stuff form alibaba and not other suppliers.

It doesn’t matter that much if I’m dealing with a middleman If I can make money and they can it’s a win win I’m only looking for 1-2$ profit per sales if I have 2-4 sales a day and 1000 products on my eBay store I can make a decent money.

 

[Mister B]

I have to ask, why the UK? Would you not be better off establishing yourself in your own country first? Thereby ironing out any teething problems in your domestic market first.

 

[Mister B]

It doesn’t matter that much if I’m dealing with a middleman If I can make money and they can it’s a win win I’m only looking for 1-2$ profit per sales if I have 2-4 sales a day and 1000 products on my eBay store I can make a decent money.

And have you factored in both the cost of returns and money that you will lose when the customer doesn't receive the goods? A dollar profit per sale doesn't really make it a viable model. IMHO.

 

[bogdy23]

I have to ask, why the UK? Would you not be better off establishing yourself in your own country first? Thereby ironing out any teething problems in your domestic market first.

There is no eBay in my country. Uk is my best option. That’s why I also talked to an accountant it’s a lot cheaper. Here in my country and Eastern Europe there is only selling in bulk and the course alone is 7000$ while for eBay Uk Dropshpping I can get away with 200-500$ . My country is poorer than the Uk but there are so many scams that the real course that are not scammed are 10x more expensive. I’ve looked at some YouTube videos I think I can handle it. I just didn’t know if I have some solutions for buying in bulk and store them somehow in the Uk really cheap and also ship the products to the Uk address of the person who ordered from my eBay store. This is why I started this thread and this is all I wanted to know from it.

Again thank you all for trying to help

 

[bogdy23]

And have you factored in both the cost of returns and money that you will lose when the customer doesn't receive the goods? A dollar profit per sale doesn't really make it a viable model. IMHO.

I could go bankrupt yes but thats the cost of doing business ,thinking this is a scarce attitude not an abundance one . Every business has problems but somehow people overcome them and have success.

 

[fisicx]

In the UK people tend to buy from local suppliers. This means they are less likely to buy something shipped from China sold by a seller in East Europe.

You really need to find another way to make money. You would probably get richer working in a bar in the evenings.

 

[MOIC]

Alibaba has changed dramatically to what it was 10+ years ago.

They are sharks, to both suppliers and customers.

Any supplier accepting small orders, <300pcs, is NOT a factory, and should not be relied on for order/product consistency. These suppliers will change their supply chain, change component quality, and will not be consistent.

Yes, there are always exceptions to this rule, but I wouldn't rely on it.

Any reputable factory will not be on Alibaba, they are leaving in droves.

 

[bogdy23]

In the UK people tend to buy from local suppliers. This means they are less likely to buy something shipped from China sold by a seller in East Europe.

You really need to find another way to make money. You would probably get richer working in a bar in the evenings.

I may be from Eastern Europe but I’m selling on eBay. eBay hold my money until I make some sales and get some reviews good neutral or bad. Also I’ll be selling small products 20-30$ max in value so they will go with the cheapest option. It’s the only business model I can aford I make 500$ a month and I’m investing all my money into this. I have to succeed because I have no choice I can’t keep doing what I’m doing eBay Dropshipping has the lowest cost.

 

[fisicx]

On eBay buyers check the box for suppliers in the UK. Your products won’t even be seen.

This is not a viable business idea. You will lose all your money.

And don’t forget you will need a business bank account and an address in the UK for returns.

 

[John Martin]

The other problem selling on ebay is that unless you are upfront about the length of the shipping times, you are likely to get a lot of negative feedback. Even if you are clear about shipping times in your listings, a lot of buyers don't read the descriptions properly, so you'll still get negative feedback.

If you get too much negative feedback that will affect sales, and it doesn't take an awful lot of bad feedback before that happens.

If you're going to use a drop-shipping model sourcing from China, you'd probably be best having your own website rather than using a platform like ebay, but then you'll have the added problem of getting traffic to your site.

 

[bogdy23]

The other problem selling on ebay is that unless you are upfront about the length of the shipping times, you are likely to get a lot of negative feedback. Even if you are clear about shipping times in your listings, a lot of buyers don't read the descriptions properly, so you'll still get negative feedback.

If you get too much negative feedback that will affect sales, and it doesn't take an awful lot of bad feedback before that happens.

If you're going to use a drop-shipping model sourcing from China, you'd probably be best having your own website rather than using a platform like ebay, but then you'll have the added problem of getting traffic to your site.

I`ll also do some retail arbitrage not just Chinese it`s in combination but from what i`ve seen from TeraPeak and ZIK ANALYTICS is that they only show AliBaba suppliers

 

[fisicx]

Makes no difference. Most People in the UK buy from sellers in the UK when they use eBay

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

For the love of God, stop pursuing this idea and don't waste a single penny. Don't sign up to any courses, guides, YouTube instructions, anything. Just. Stop.

As said above, anyone selling one item on AliBaba is not a factory. You have no idea who you are dealing with, no idea what quality will be sent. What happens when somebody wants to make a return because they change their mind? What happens when the Alibaba supplier ships faulty goods? What happens when the shipment goes missing? What happens when the Alibaba seller includes an invoice with their details and the price you paid them?

This isn't a business idea. It's a hopeful, childish attempt at thinking you can create something from nothing and it's blissfully naive.

After all Amazon is the largest corporation in the world and 90% of its products are from China so there also are some honest people out there in China.

And you think Amazon are sourcing through Alibaba and dropshipping, do you? You are absolutely right, there are reliable factories out in China. And unless you work with a reputable sourcing partner (not alibaba) or get on a plane and get over there and get your feet on the ground, you'll struggle.

I assure you, Your idea has no legs whatsoever. Please stop wasting your time.

 

[MOIC]

For the love of God, stop pursuing this idea and don't waste a single penny. Don't sign up to any courses, guides, YouTube instructions, anything. Just. Stop.

As said above, anyone selling one item on AliBaba is not a factory. You have no idea who you are dealing with, no idea what quality will be sent. What happens when somebody wants to make a return because they change their mind? What happens when the Alibaba supplier ships faulty goods? What happens when the shipment goes missing? What happens when the Alibaba seller includes an invoice with their details and the price you paid them?

This isn't a business idea. It's a hopeful, childish attempt at thinking you can create something from nothing and it's blissfully naive.


And you think Amazon are sourcing through Alibaba and dropshipping, do you? You are absolutely right, there are reliable factories out in China. And unless you work with a reputable sourcing partner (not alibaba) or get on a plane and get over there and get your feet on the ground, you'll struggle.

I assure you, Your idea has no legs whatsoever. Please stop wasting your time.

Wot he said!

 

[bogdy23]

Everyrhing from data entry to customer service to social media Managment is a dream. If I were to listen to all the people on forum telling me it’s saturated and it’s saturated I won’t be doing anything. I wanted to start eBay Dropshpping in 2014 but even then it was to saturate while some people made millions.

If you don’t want to help then don’t but I need to do what I think I can do to make money. It’s not really something for nothing it’s buying cheaper and selling higher.

Again if you don’t want to help then don’t but I have to try.

 

[MOIC]

@bogdy23

Listen to what people are telling you, who have the experience which you haven't.

Otherwise what's the point on posting on a business forum?

Surely it's to get advice?!

And hopefully listen to.

It's your money, time . . . . and ego.

 

[fisicx]

@bogdy23 - there are loads of ways to make money. Dropshipping in the way you describe isn’t one of them.

Go get an evening job working in a bar or cleaning offices and you will do ok.

 

[AlanJ1]

Everyrhing from data entry to customer service to social media Managment is a dream. If I were to listen to all the people on forum telling me it’s saturated and it’s saturated I won’t be doing anything. I wanted to start eBay Dropshpping in 2014 but even then it was to saturate while some people made millions.

If you don’t want to help then don’t but I need to do what I think I can do to make money. It’s not really something for nothing it’s buying cheaper and selling higher.

Again if you don’t want to help then don’t but I have to try.

Experienced e-commerce seller here. I have sold on websites/eBay/Amazon/Third party over £100 million worth of goods for myself and other companies I have worked for.

Your idea has no legs, you will lose money quicker than you can think. Making a few bucks profit doesn't work. You will get refunds for not recieved, you will get chargebacks because customers just want to do this. You will get supply chain problems when items take too long to come.

eBay will hold your money for 30-90 days so if you need your cash flow, good luck.

The two analytics tool you are using, guess what. So is everyone else who has the same dream. You will find the product you want will be at rock bottom price in no time.

I really could go on and on here but I shouldn't need too with what others and I have said.

There are plenty of ways to make money online, dropshipping from China to a different country you are in in my opinion is not the way to go.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

If you don’t want to help then don’t

Believe me, we ARE helping.

 

[AlanJ1]

Believe me, we ARE helping.

Can't echo this anymore.

Please don't disregard feedback just because you don't like what is being said.

 

[bogdy23]

Experienced e-commerce seller here. I have sold on websites/eBay/Amazon/Third party over £100 million worth of goods for myself and other companies I have worked for.

Your idea has no legs, you will lose money quicker than you can think. Making a few bucks profit doesn't work. You will get refunds for not recieved, you will get chargebacks because customers just want to do this. You will get supply chain problems when items take too long to come.

eBay will hold your money for 30-90 days so if you need your cash flow, good luck.

The two analytics tool you are using, guess what. So is everyone else who has the same dream. You will find the product you want will be at rock bottom price in no time.

I really could go on and on here but I shouldn't need too with what others and I have said.

There are plenty of ways to make money online, dropshipping from China to a different country you are in in my opinion is not the way to go.

Hello can you give me 3 other ways that don’t require more than 5000$ ?

I’m listening thank you

 

[AlanJ1]

Hello can you give me 3 other ways that don’t require more than 5000$ ?

I’m listening thank you

I'm sorry but I am not going to hand hold you into business, also what may work for me may not work for you.
If you want to earn a living straight away and you only have < $5000 I would highly suggest you find another job that works for you and save more money.
Almost all businesses that start if you start taking money from the beginning are going to struggle.

Dropshipping is done. Unless you have a unique niche or something that makes you completely stand out it's almost impossible to make any real money. Don't look at all these guys trying to sell courses or talking about retail arbitrage. The question you should be asking is if they were making so much money why would they be selling there secrets?