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(06-20-2016 05:22 AM)Hyaena84 Wrote: [ -> ]
(07-22-2015 09:22 PM)Yaros Wrote: [ -> ]After several months of hard work, I have finally launched my first AliExpress dropshipping store - WorldOfHarry.com.

The site was developed from scratch (including the theme and special ecommerce plugin that allows searching and importing products directly from AliExpress through your WP admin panel automatically).

Based on experience of other successful dropshipping projetcs I decided:
- take a narrow niche;
- select only most popular products in this niche;
- import products with wholesale price not more than $20;
- increase prices at about twice the standard cost;
- sell products with free worldwide shipping option only;

Another feature of this site is that the plugin imports only products that participate in AliExpress affiliate program. So, if I get any order I will be able to purchase necessary item on AliExpress using my affiliate link to get additional 5%-50% commission.

The site still needs some improvements but I am going to start marketing it very soon and I will be glad to share my experience with you here.

Do you have LICENSE to sell brands such as Harry Potter? If not, your treading in some dangerous water. You cant just develop a site around a brand anytime you want and start dropshipping Harry Potter items like that.

No I don't have a license and doing it on my own risk like those people who are selling such products on eBay, Etsy, etc. But now I create sites for other niches as well not connected with copyrighted products.
There are some questions that I am asked regularly, so I decided to create some kind of FAQ about dropshipping with AliExpress and post it here.

1. First, what exactly is drop shipping?
Drop ship, “pack and ship”, “direct fulfillment” – they all mean the same thing. A supplier will ship the item to your customer for you, and you never have to handle the product. Drop shipping allows the reseller to focus on marketing the business and eliminate the hassle, time, and cost of dealing with the actual products they are selling.

AliExpress dropshipping works the same way as the traditional dropshipping business model. You copy the product from AliExpress to your own store, set your own prices/markups, and after you sell a product, you purchase it from AliExpress and have it shipped directly to your customer.

2. How exactly does the buying and selling process work?
Once you have your website up and running and filled with products from your chosen suppliers, it is time for business. When a customer buys a product from you, you will accept payment for the product for your retail price and shipping costs. Once you have received the funds, you place the order directly with the seller from AliExpress.com. This is typically a usual online order at AliExpress.com. The seller will then charge you for the cost of the item and ship the item directly to your buyer. That’s it! You have just sold an item at your set retail price and processed the order for your customer.

3. Why should I decide to go with my own site instead of using eBay and Amazon?
When you have your own webstore you are not sticked to any rules and requirements of other marketplaces. Besides owing your site gives you more opportunities for promotion and marketing strategies. Furthermore, building your own site is a wise investment, because you can easily sell this business one day. Such established dropshipping websites are always a very marketable product.

Here is an example of a site that I sold on Flippa: https://flippa.com/5838845-goprostuffmarket-com

4. What kind of profit margins are there with dropshipping?
It much depends on what kind of products you are selling. It’s often a good idea to stick to low price with a high margin potential. Such products usually cost within a $1-$20 price range and these products generally can be priced at $20-$50 or more.

I recommend having a profit margin of 40%-70%. You can also try this formula that works well for my own Dropshipping projects:

$0<Supplier Price<$1=Your Price: $7.95

$2<Supplier Price<$5=Your Price: $9.95

$5<Supplier Price<$30=Your Price: Supplier Price x 2

$30<Supplier Price<$50=Your Price: Supplier Price x 1.75

$50<Supplier Price<$100=Your Price: Supplier Price x 1.5

Supplier Price>$100=Your Price: Supplier Price x 1.35

5. I am concerned about the long shipping times from AliExpress
There were complaints about AliExpress regarding its delivery time before. But it should be noted that AliExpress has improved delivery time for the last year seriously and continue working on this signing agreements with major local and international postal service companies, including in US. Besides you can always use the strategy of selling not very expensive products and with free shipping option only (there are loads of such products at AliExpress). In this case customers are more willing to wait longer.

ePacket delivery:

When possible, try to only resell products that offer ePacket shipping that’s free or very cheap. Because a majority of products on AliExpress come from China or Hong Kong, ePacket delivery is not only the most economical, but one of the quickest for small goods to get to the United States, as well as other countries.

[Image: y7WGCGQ.png]

6. When my customer receives the package, does it have any reciepts or AliExpress signs?
Sometimes sellers from AliExpress include their business cards in the package. Anyway you can always send a comment with your order asking your seller not to include anything. The sellers on AliExpress have a clear idea about a dropshipping business model and will be happy to assist you. As for other signs on packages like price, address, etc. I have never got any complaints from my customers. So, I think there is nothing to worry here.

7. How will I handle refunds?
AliExpress has a good protection system with full money back guarantee. So, if your customer is not satisfied with a product and asking for refund you should dispute the purchase with AliExpress seller. If you are selling not expensive products your AliExpress suppliers usually refund you quickly without having to return the items because they don’t want the headache of disputes and receiving returns for relatively low value items. This enables you to give a full or partial refund to your customer through PayPal without them having returns either. The reputation of the wholesaler is rather exposed and they are willing to do anything to maintain their feedback rating.
(06-23-2016 03:23 PM)Yaros Wrote: [ -> ]There are some questions that I am asked regularly, so I decided to create some kind of FAQ about dropshipping with AliExpress and post it here.

1. First, what exactly is drop shipping?
Drop ship, “pack and ship”, “direct fulfillment” – they all mean the same thing. A supplier will ship the item to your customer for you, and you never have to handle the product. Drop shipping allows the reseller to focus on marketing the business and eliminate the hassle, time, and cost of dealing with the actual products they are selling.

AliExpress dropshipping works the same way as the traditional dropshipping business model. You copy the product from AliExpress to your own store, set your own prices/markups, and after you sell a product, you purchase it from AliExpress and have it shipped directly to your customer.

2. How exactly does the buying and selling process work?
Once you have your website up and running and filled with products from your chosen suppliers, it is time for business. When a customer buys a product from you, you will accept payment for the product for your retail price and shipping costs. Once you have received the funds, you place the order directly with the seller from AliExpress.com. This is typically a usual online order at AliExpress.com. The seller will then charge you for the cost of the item and ship the item directly to your buyer. That’s it! You have just sold an item at your set retail price and processed the order for your customer.

3. Why should I decide to go with my own site instead of using eBay and Amazon?
When you have your own webstore you are not sticked to any rules and requirements of other marketplaces. Besides owing your site gives you more opportunities for promotion and marketing strategies. Furthermore, building your own site is a wise investment, because you can easily sell this business one day. Such established dropshipping websites are always a very marketable product.

Here is an example of a site that I sold on Flippa: https://flippa.com/5838845-goprostuffmarket-com

4. What kind of profit margins are there with dropshipping?
It much depends on what kind of products you are selling. It’s often a good idea to stick to low price with a high margin potential. Such products usually cost within a $1-$20 price range and these products generally can be priced at $20-$50 or more.

I recommend having a profit margin of 40%-70%. You can also try this formula that works well for my own Dropshipping projects:

$0<Supplier Price<$1=Your Price: $7.95

$2<Supplier Price<$5=Your Price: $9.95

$5<Supplier Price<$30=Your Price: Supplier Price x 2

$30<Supplier Price<$50=Your Price: Supplier Price x 1.75

$50<Supplier Price<$100=Your Price: Supplier Price x 1.5

Supplier Price>$100=Your Price: Supplier Price x 1.35

5. I am concerned about the long shipping times from AliExpress
There were complaints about AliExpress regarding its delivery time before. But it should be noted that AliExpress has improved delivery time for the last year seriously and continue working on this signing agreements with major local and international postal service companies, including in US. Besides you can always use the strategy of selling not very expensive products and with free shipping option only (there are loads of such products at AliExpress). In this case customers are more willing to wait longer.

ePacket delivery:

When possible, try to only resell products that offer ePacket shipping that’s free or very cheap. Because a majority of products on AliExpress come from China or Hong Kong, ePacket delivery is not only the most economical, but one of the quickest for small goods to get to the United States, as well as other countries.

[Image: y7WGCGQ.png]

6. When my customer receives the package, does it have any reciepts or AliExpress signs?
Sometimes sellers from AliExpress include their business cards in the package. Anyway you can always send a comment with your order asking your seller not to include anything. The sellers on AliExpress have a clear idea about a dropshipping business model and will be happy to assist you. As for other signs on packages like price, address, etc. I have never got any complaints from my customers. So, I think there is nothing to worry here.

7. How will I handle refunds?
AliExpress has a good protection system with full money back guarantee. So, if your customer is not satisfied with a product and asking for refund you should dispute the purchase with AliExpress seller. If you are selling not expensive products your AliExpress suppliers usually refund you quickly without having to return the items because they don’t want the headache of disputes and receiving returns for relatively low value items. This enables you to give a full or partial refund to your customer through PayPal without them having returns either. The reputation of the wholesaler is rather exposed and they are willing to do anything to maintain their feedback rating.

Thanks for putting this together. It reinforces my desire to get a dropshipping site going ASAP. May I know when your plugin will be ready?
Hey You Are providing a lot of things here.. Also so many peoples are waiting for your Plugin... and Your Next month is not coming.. My domain is waiting for your plugin... Faltugiri.com and Buyshoppingstore.com is waiting for your domain.
When are you releasing your dropshipping plugin???
Apart from dropshipping how much money people making with your aliexpress plugin ?
Now I am running beta-testing. As soon as it's done the Plugin will appear on the market.
(06-27-2016 02:18 PM)Yaros Wrote: [ -> ]Now I am running beta-testing. As soon as it's done the Plugin will appear on the market.


AWESOME NEWS

Would love to do a beta testing for you :)
(06-27-2016 02:18 PM)Yaros Wrote: [ -> ]Now I am running beta-testing. As soon as it's done the Plugin will appear on the market.

Glad to hear it!

Would you have the option of auto filling orders like the shopified app? That would be amazing, I believe that option alone was what made that app popular.
Hey buddy! First of all thanks a lot for keep on posting latest updates of your journey. It's hard to keep updating.
I've just started shopify store selling women apparels dropshipped from aliexpress.

I wanted to ask how do you handle international customers? I mean do you advice to use local language for different countries?
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