The 10 Best Dropshipping Suppliers for 2022
Did you know that 84% of eCommerce merchants say that finding a dropshipping supplier for their eCommerce website is the most significant roadblock to starting their dropshipping business?
84% of tens of millions of online sellers is a lot of people. Specifically, online entrepreneurs who traditionally are super resourceful and embrace a good challenge.
All of that is to say that finding dropship suppliers for your business is not easy.
First, many well-established dropshipping companies don’t have a strong marketing presence on the internet. If they have a presence at all, it is sometimes buried in the backpages of Google Search results, making it almost impossible to find. Secondly, some dropshipping companies pose as reputable suppliers, when, in fact, they are not professionally managed - or even scams.
The good news is that there are technology-based solutions to this problem. In the interest of chipping away at that 84% figure, here are 10 of the best dropshipping websites and dropshipping suppliers to get your business started.
Best dropshipping supplier directories
Online dropship and wholesale supplier directories can make it easier and quicker to find suppliers for your business. These research tools are encyclopedic, listing and categorizing thousands of suppliers and their product offerings. Some of these directories are free, but the paid ones tend to vet and research their suppliers thoroughly before publishing them to their sites.
Vetting suppliers takes quite a bit of time. For those with limited resources, I believe this is a premium worth paying for.
01. SaleHoo
New Zealand-based Salehoo was founded in 2005 and has served over 137,000 merchants since then. Salehoo is a search directory that features more than 8,000 suppliers and gives you access to more than 2.5 million different types of products.
Pros: It is difficult to find legitimate suppliers offering brand name companies. SaleHoo verifies every supplier and guarantees that its products are legal and authentic. They also have exceptional customer service and a robust resources center.
Cons: SaleHoo is a directory, not an integrated technology solution for your store. You cannot sync products directly from suppliers on their database. Furthermore, while the database has 1000s of pre-vetted suppliers, it needs to be refreshed and updated with newer vendors.
Pricing: Starts at $67/year.
02. Worldwide Brands
Worldwide Brands is a U.S.-based company that was founded in 1999 by power eBay seller Chris Malta. Worldwide Brands is one of the oldest incumbents in this space, with over 20 years of experience since its founding. Like SaleHoo, Worldwide Brands helps you find and learn about wholesalers and distributors from around the globe. Worldwide Brands boast of more than 16+ million certified products.
Pros: One of the advantages of being a veteran in the industry is that you can build up an impressive menu of options. That is precisely what Worldwide Brands has done well.
Cons: Suppliers on their platform will require that you have a tax I.D. before they do business with you. This can add friction when starting new relationships through the platform. Beyond this, their customer service is limited. They do not offer live chat, and their email support takes almost two business days to get back to you.
Pricing: Starts at $299/year.
Best dropshipping automation platforms
When you launch your eCommerce website, you usually have to do everything yourself, from managing inventory to customer management to accounting. All the while, the success of your new business rests on the timely and accurate execution of your business plan. As a solo entrepreneur, you can face a great deal of pressure trying to manage your business's growth and operations over time.
This pressure is why dropshipping automation platforms exist. Such platforms aim to minimize the amount of manual effort needed by you to perform repetitive, operational tasks. When these tasks become automated, you will then become free to spend your time on other aspects of the business that move the needle.
Automating your dropshipping business buys you more time. It enables you to invest in things that grow and scale your business.
03. Modalyst
Modalyst is dropshipping automation software for online businesses. It offers automation tools to streamline starting a dropshipping business and a large marketplace of high-quality suppliers and products.
Modalyst also has an official partnership with AliExpress. Through this partnership, eCommerce store owners get access to the AliExpress Dropshipping Center, analytics on trending products, and a suite of tools to import and sell AliExpress products directly on their storefronts.
The site also offers integrations with the Wix eCommerce platform.
Through AliExpress, Modalyst connects you directly to:
100+ million dropshipping products
4,000+ product categories
Analytics on best selling AliExpress products
Chrome Extension to import products and sync customer orders in a single click
Pros: Modalyst has a curated Marketplace of its own with US and EU-based suppliers and they thoroughly vet them to ensure that they’re willing to meet their high standards. Further, all suppliers on its Marketplace must meet strict return, shipping, and pricing requirements, all of which are pre-negotiated by Modalyst. This means that, as a merchant, there is no need to hammer out separate deals with each supplier you work with.
Cons: You must upgrade to the Pro plan to add premium, brand name products to your store.
Pricing: A free plan with limited features is available, while the paid plans start at $35/month.
04. Inventory Source
Inventory Source is a US-based dropshipping provider that has been in business since 2002. Inventory Source is both an inventory management tool and catalog of suppliers, with integrations to eCommerce platforms and online marketplaces.
Their inventory management module manages price markup, low stock limits, custom categories, and product filters. Merchants can integrate their own existing suppliers as well as use the supplier directory.
Their supplier directory includes product details, images, pricing, and current stock levels and gives you access to 200+ suppliers across the USA and China. Their suppliers have extensive catalogs, with some containing tens of thousands of products. Overall, these products span 30 different categories, including clothing, electronics, books, outdoor items, and pet supplies.
Pros: Inventory Source updates your product inventory and virtual storefront with the latest data from your suppliers. They also route orders to your suppliers and sync the shipment details with customers automatically.
Cons: Their starter plan only lets you connect with one supplier. If you intend to source from multiple suppliers, you'll need to pay additional monthly fees.
Pricing: Inventory Automation starts at $99/month and Full Automation at $150/month.
05. DSM Tool
DSM Tool is an automation solution designed to streamline your dropshipping business on eBay. Their tools allow you to add products to your eBay store from various vendors, including Walmart, Sears, Aliexpress and Amazon U.S., UK, France, Germany, and Canada.
Pros: DSM Tool allows over 50 listings for free subscribers and up to 150,000 listings for paid subscribers. Furthermore, beyond AliExpress, DSM tool connects you to other catalogs such as Walmart and Amazon. You can choose any of the suppliers and start selling immediately.
Cons: DSM Tool only has 50 dropshipping suppliers in its database, which is relatively limited when compared to the competition.
Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans ranging from $24.97/month to $499.97/month
Best print on demand providers
The print on demand market is exploding. It should come then as no surprise that the global market is expected to balloon to $10 billion by 2025.
For entrepreneurs who have ever dreamed about selling products with their own designs, logos or taglines, print on demand companies now make that possible without the headaches of fulfillment, shipping, and printing. Tons of eCommerce merchants are making money by selling custom products and designs.
06. Printful
Printful is an on-demand order fulfillment platform that fulfills and ships products, including clothing, accessories and lifestyle items for eCommerce entrepreneurs.
Printful offers a variety of features, including direct integrations, design and photo services, and fulfillment arms in both North America and Europe. If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner who wants to start selling online, Printful can help you jumpstart your online business.
To get started, link your store with Printful. Once you are connected, you can design products and see how they’ll look in real life with their online mockup generator. You can add as many products as you want to your storefront, and no inventory will be printed until an order is placed. That means you do not have to store any inventory.
You can then promote your dropshipping store to start making sales. When you make a sale, Printful will print it, pack the item and ship it directly to your customer for you.
Printful was founded in 2013 and is the industry leader in print-on-demand dropshipping.
Pros: Printful is located in both the United States and Europe, meaning delivery to customers is fast and localized. You will face no problems selling to a global audience. Printful's ship times, on average, takes three to four business days.
Further, with Printful, you can add your brand logo to a shipping label and also create a packing slip.
Plus it’s easy to integrate Printful with eCommerce platforms like Wix.
Cons: Their product catalog focuses mostly on clothing. Likewise, shipping fees can add up so you'll need to make sure to incorporate the costs into how much you charge.
Pricing: No setup fees or ongoing membership costs.
07. Printify
Printify is a dropshipping and print on demand service for small businesses. They provide custom printing solutions on a wide range of items including clothing, gift and novelty items and accessories.
Pros: Printify has a strategic partnership with multiple print providers around the world. These providers are located in major regions, including the U.K., the USA, Canada, China, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Printify has integrations with various eCommerce solutions, including Etsy, eBay, and Wix. Beyond this, they offer a merchant protection policy that covers image quality control, reprints, and refunds.
Cons: Printify, compared to Printful, has fewer customization and branding options and integrations with fewer sales channels and third-party marketplaces.
Pricing: For those who are just starting, they offer a free plan. Printify also has paid membership options, starting at $29/month.
Other dropshipping suppliers to consider
08. AliExpress
AliExpress, a subsidiary of Alibaba, is a global eCommerce catalog headquartered in China. While their DNA is direct-to-consumer, they have an enormous market of online businesses sourcing products directly from the vendors listed on their platform. One of its most compelling features is the high profit potential of their products.
09. ChinaBrands.com
If you're interested in dropshipping products made in China, you will find a vast assortment of items on Chinabrands, ranging from toys and electronics to apparel and small accessories. Chinabrands offers direct access to hundreds of thousands of products. Plus, they regularly add new and exciting arrivals at the very lowest prices.
10. BigBuy
BigBuy is one of the leading dropshipping providers in Europe. Headquartered in Spain, it’s a B2B eCommerce company that sells thousands of items to businesses of all kinds. It specializes in merchants who resell their products through the online channel.
The list above is not exhaustive, but it is meant to highlight the solutions that deliver the most value for online merchants. This list will likely evolve as new trends emerge, and companies enter the b2b eCommerce arena. Nonetheless, I hope you find it useful to get your online business started.
Ready to start selling? Create your dropshipping business today.
Alain Miguel Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer of Modalyst
Alain is a Forbes 30 u 30 in eCommerce and co-founder of Modalyst. Alain co-founded Modalyst in 2012 as a graduate student at MIT. Over the last eight years, Alain has worked with over 300,000 eCommerce merchants and entrepreneurs. He’s dedicated to educating and inspiring entrepreneurs everywhere on how to build successful dropshipping businesses. You can find him on Linkedin.
