01-20-2026, 02:17 AM
Hey BBHW fam,
Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. I'm sharing this because I wish someone had told me this 2 years ago when I was grinding 80-hour weeks on my dropshipping store.
TLDR: Switched from AliExpress to Doba in June 2023. Revenue went from $12K/month to $38K/month. Refund rate dropped from 22% to 6%. I quit my job. Here's the full breakdown.
THE BACKSTORY (Skip if you just want the numbers)
Started dropshipping in January 2023. Classic setup:
Shopify store
Oberlo + AliExpress
Facebook ads
Health/wellness niche (posture correctors, LED masks, resistance bands)
First 3 months were fire. Hit $4K month 1, $8K month 2, $12K month 3.
Thought I cracked the code.
Then reality hit.
THE ALIEXPRESS NIGHTMARE
By month 6, my numbers looked like this:
Monthly Revenue: $12,400
Product Cost (AliExpress): $3,200
Ad Spend: $4,800
Gross Profit: $4,400
Sounds good, right?
WRONG.
Refund Rate: 22% = -$2,728
PayPal Fees: -$372
Shopify + Apps: -$150
Actual Profit: $1,150
That's $1,150 for 80 hours/week of work.
$3.59/hour.
I was making less than minimum wage.
Why? Because AliExpress was destroying my margins with:
25-35 day shipping times (customers filing disputes before products arrived)
Inconsistent quality (batch 1 = great, batch 3 = garbage)
Generic packaging (plastic bags with Chinese text = instant refund requests)
Zero supplier accountability (good luck getting responses)
Customer service hell (18 hours/week writing apology emails)
The breaking point: PayPal limited my account. $8,000 frozen. Six months of profit gone.
I had two options:
Quit and go back to my soul-crushing 9-to-5
Fix the root problem
THE DOBA SWITCH (June 2023)
I spent 2 weeks researching AliExpress alternatives:
Tested:
Spocket (decent, limited catalog)
CJ Dropshipping (better than AliExpress, still China-based)
Printful (great for POD, not general products)
Doba (the winner)
Why Doba won:
US-BASED WAREHOUSES
Products ship from California, Ohio, Texas - not Shenzhen.
Shipping time: 2-7 days (most arrive in 3-5 days)
This alone changed everything. I could advertise "Ships from USA - Arrives in 3-5 Days" and customers actually trusted me.
VETTED SUPPLIERS
No more quality lottery. Doba pre-screens suppliers. You're working with verified US wholesalers, not random factories.
Quality consistency = fewer returns = higher margins.
REAL AUTOMATION
Oberlo/DSers are clunky. Doba's Shopify integration is seamless:
One-click product import
Real-time inventory sync (no more selling out-of-stock items)
Bulk order processing (100 orders in 2 minutes)
Automatic tracking updates
As I scaled from 10 orders/day to 80, the system scaled with me. No VA needed.
BRAND CONTROL
Doba suppliers offer branded packaging options. My customers now receive professional packages with my logo.
This transformed my store from "one-time purchase" to "repeat customer brand."
Repeat purchase rate: 5% → 28%
THE NUMBERS (18 Months Later)
Here's my current breakdown (January 2026):
Monthly Revenue: $38,000
Product Cost (Doba): $14,200
Ad Spend: $12,000
Subscription (Doba Business Plan): $69.99
Gross Profit: $11,730
Refund Rate: 5% = -$1,900
PayPal Fees: -$1,140
Shopify + Apps: -$150
Actual Profit: $8,540
That's $8,540/month for 10-15 hours/week of work.
$142/hour.
40x increase in hourly rate.
THE REAL MATH: ALIEXPRESS VS DOBA
Let me break down the per-sale economics:
ALIEXPRESS:
Product cost: $3
Selling price: $19.99
Gross profit: $16.99
Refund rate (22%): -$3.74
Customer service time: High
Repeat customers: 5%
Real profit per sale: ~$13.25
DOBA:
Product cost: $8
Selling price: $29.99 (I can charge more because shipping is fast)
Gross profit: $21.99
Subscription: $69.99/month ÷ 200 orders = $0.35/sale
Refund rate (6%): -$1.32
Customer service time: Low
Repeat customers: 28%
Real profit per sale: ~$20.32 + LTV
Difference: $7.07 MORE per sale with Doba
Plus: 5.6x higher repeat purchase rate
Plus: 14 hours/week saved on customer service
The subscription paid for itself after 10 orders.
THE CONS (Because Nothing's Perfect)
Let me be real - Doba isn't perfect:
IT COSTS MONEY
Plans: $29.99/month (Starter) to $299.99/month (Enterprise)
AliExpress is free.
But "free" cost me $8,000 in frozen PayPal funds. Choose your poison.
HIGHER PRODUCT COSTS
AliExpress phone case: $2
Doba phone case: $6-8
But you can charge MORE because shipping is fast. Customers pay premium for speed.
SMALLER CATALOG
AliExpress: 100M+ products
Doba: 2M+ products
Honestly? Most AliExpress products are junk anyway. Doba's curated catalog saves time.
US-FOCUSED
Doba is optimized for US customers. If you're targeting Europe/Asia, shipping will be slower (7-14 days) and more expensive.
Best for: US-based stores targeting US customers.
WHO SHOULD USE DOBA?
Use Doba if:
✅ You're targeting US customers
✅ You're tired of AliExpress refunds
✅ You want to build a real brand (not flip random products)
✅ You're making $3K+/month (can afford subscription)
✅ You value your time (automation saves 5-10 hours/week)
Stick with AliExpress if:
❌ You're testing your first product with $100
❌ You're targeting international markets (non-US)
❌ You're okay with high refund rates and zero repeat customers
❌ You don't mind 15+ hours/week on customer service
THE 30-DAY TEST
Here's my challenge:
Sign up for Doba (I got a 10% discount link - see below)
Pick 3-5 products you're already selling on AliExpress
List them on Doba and fulfill orders through their platform
Track refund rate, repeat purchase rate, and time spent on support
Compare results after 30 days.
I'm willing to bet you'll see the difference in week one.
PROOF (Because This Is BHW)
I'm not posting screenshots publicly (don't want to dox my store), but happy to verify with mods if needed.
Key metrics I can share:
Shopify store: 18 months old
Monthly revenue: $35K-$42K (varies by season)
Refund rate: 5-7%
Repeat purchase rate: 28%
Time spent: 10-15 hours/week
Status: Quit my job March 2024
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT (Don't Pay Full Price)
I reached out to Doba and got a 10% discount link for the BHW community.
Link: https://www.doba.com?mtic=MT-GOGFMN
Saves you ~$3-30/month depending on plan.
Test it for 30 days. If it doesn't work, cancel. No hard feelings.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Look, I'm not saying Doba is a magic bullet. You still need:
Good products
Solid marketing
A real offer
But switching from AliExpress to Doba gave me the infrastructure to scale without drowning in refunds and support tickets.
In 2026, customers expect Amazon-level shipping. AliExpress can't deliver that. Doba can.
If you're serious about dropshipping, you need reliable fulfillment. Period.
QUESTIONS?
Drop them below. I'll answer everything.
If this helped you, hit the "Thanks" button. Took me 2 hours to write this.
Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. I'm sharing this because I wish someone had told me this 2 years ago when I was grinding 80-hour weeks on my dropshipping store.
TLDR: Switched from AliExpress to Doba in June 2023. Revenue went from $12K/month to $38K/month. Refund rate dropped from 22% to 6%. I quit my job. Here's the full breakdown.
THE BACKSTORY (Skip if you just want the numbers)
Started dropshipping in January 2023. Classic setup:
Shopify store
Oberlo + AliExpress
Facebook ads
Health/wellness niche (posture correctors, LED masks, resistance bands)
First 3 months were fire. Hit $4K month 1, $8K month 2, $12K month 3.
Thought I cracked the code.
Then reality hit.
THE ALIEXPRESS NIGHTMARE
By month 6, my numbers looked like this:
Monthly Revenue: $12,400
Product Cost (AliExpress): $3,200
Ad Spend: $4,800
Gross Profit: $4,400
Sounds good, right?
WRONG.
Refund Rate: 22% = -$2,728
PayPal Fees: -$372
Shopify + Apps: -$150
Actual Profit: $1,150
That's $1,150 for 80 hours/week of work.
$3.59/hour.
I was making less than minimum wage.
Why? Because AliExpress was destroying my margins with:
25-35 day shipping times (customers filing disputes before products arrived)
Inconsistent quality (batch 1 = great, batch 3 = garbage)
Generic packaging (plastic bags with Chinese text = instant refund requests)
Zero supplier accountability (good luck getting responses)
Customer service hell (18 hours/week writing apology emails)
The breaking point: PayPal limited my account. $8,000 frozen. Six months of profit gone.
I had two options:
Quit and go back to my soul-crushing 9-to-5
Fix the root problem
THE DOBA SWITCH (June 2023)
I spent 2 weeks researching AliExpress alternatives:
Tested:
Spocket (decent, limited catalog)
CJ Dropshipping (better than AliExpress, still China-based)
Printful (great for POD, not general products)
Doba (the winner)
Why Doba won:
US-BASED WAREHOUSES
Products ship from California, Ohio, Texas - not Shenzhen.
Shipping time: 2-7 days (most arrive in 3-5 days)
This alone changed everything. I could advertise "Ships from USA - Arrives in 3-5 Days" and customers actually trusted me.
VETTED SUPPLIERS
No more quality lottery. Doba pre-screens suppliers. You're working with verified US wholesalers, not random factories.
Quality consistency = fewer returns = higher margins.
REAL AUTOMATION
Oberlo/DSers are clunky. Doba's Shopify integration is seamless:
One-click product import
Real-time inventory sync (no more selling out-of-stock items)
Bulk order processing (100 orders in 2 minutes)
Automatic tracking updates
As I scaled from 10 orders/day to 80, the system scaled with me. No VA needed.
BRAND CONTROL
Doba suppliers offer branded packaging options. My customers now receive professional packages with my logo.
This transformed my store from "one-time purchase" to "repeat customer brand."
Repeat purchase rate: 5% → 28%
THE NUMBERS (18 Months Later)
Here's my current breakdown (January 2026):
Monthly Revenue: $38,000
Product Cost (Doba): $14,200
Ad Spend: $12,000
Subscription (Doba Business Plan): $69.99
Gross Profit: $11,730
Refund Rate: 5% = -$1,900
PayPal Fees: -$1,140
Shopify + Apps: -$150
Actual Profit: $8,540
That's $8,540/month for 10-15 hours/week of work.
$142/hour.
40x increase in hourly rate.
THE REAL MATH: ALIEXPRESS VS DOBA
Let me break down the per-sale economics:
ALIEXPRESS:
Product cost: $3
Selling price: $19.99
Gross profit: $16.99
Refund rate (22%): -$3.74
Customer service time: High
Repeat customers: 5%
Real profit per sale: ~$13.25
DOBA:
Product cost: $8
Selling price: $29.99 (I can charge more because shipping is fast)
Gross profit: $21.99
Subscription: $69.99/month ÷ 200 orders = $0.35/sale
Refund rate (6%): -$1.32
Customer service time: Low
Repeat customers: 28%
Real profit per sale: ~$20.32 + LTV
Difference: $7.07 MORE per sale with Doba
Plus: 5.6x higher repeat purchase rate
Plus: 14 hours/week saved on customer service
The subscription paid for itself after 10 orders.
THE CONS (Because Nothing's Perfect)
Let me be real - Doba isn't perfect:
IT COSTS MONEY
Plans: $29.99/month (Starter) to $299.99/month (Enterprise)
AliExpress is free.
But "free" cost me $8,000 in frozen PayPal funds. Choose your poison.
HIGHER PRODUCT COSTS
AliExpress phone case: $2
Doba phone case: $6-8
But you can charge MORE because shipping is fast. Customers pay premium for speed.
SMALLER CATALOG
AliExpress: 100M+ products
Doba: 2M+ products
Honestly? Most AliExpress products are junk anyway. Doba's curated catalog saves time.
US-FOCUSED
Doba is optimized for US customers. If you're targeting Europe/Asia, shipping will be slower (7-14 days) and more expensive.
Best for: US-based stores targeting US customers.
WHO SHOULD USE DOBA?
Use Doba if:
✅ You're targeting US customers
✅ You're tired of AliExpress refunds
✅ You want to build a real brand (not flip random products)
✅ You're making $3K+/month (can afford subscription)
✅ You value your time (automation saves 5-10 hours/week)
Stick with AliExpress if:
❌ You're testing your first product with $100
❌ You're targeting international markets (non-US)
❌ You're okay with high refund rates and zero repeat customers
❌ You don't mind 15+ hours/week on customer service
THE 30-DAY TEST
Here's my challenge:
Sign up for Doba (I got a 10% discount link - see below)
Pick 3-5 products you're already selling on AliExpress
List them on Doba and fulfill orders through their platform
Track refund rate, repeat purchase rate, and time spent on support
Compare results after 30 days.
I'm willing to bet you'll see the difference in week one.
PROOF (Because This Is BHW)
I'm not posting screenshots publicly (don't want to dox my store), but happy to verify with mods if needed.
Key metrics I can share:
Shopify store: 18 months old
Monthly revenue: $35K-$42K (varies by season)
Refund rate: 5-7%
Repeat purchase rate: 28%
Time spent: 10-15 hours/week
Status: Quit my job March 2024
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT (Don't Pay Full Price)
I reached out to Doba and got a 10% discount link for the BHW community.
Link: https://www.doba.com?mtic=MT-GOGFMN
Saves you ~$3-30/month depending on plan.
Test it for 30 days. If it doesn't work, cancel. No hard feelings.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Look, I'm not saying Doba is a magic bullet. You still need:
Good products
Solid marketing
A real offer
But switching from AliExpress to Doba gave me the infrastructure to scale without drowning in refunds and support tickets.
In 2026, customers expect Amazon-level shipping. AliExpress can't deliver that. Doba can.
If you're serious about dropshipping, you need reliable fulfillment. Period.
QUESTIONS?
Drop them below. I'll answer everything.
If this helped you, hit the "Thanks" button. Took me 2 hours to write this.