Finding the right dropship suppliers can be a difficult task. You need to know in advance that finding dropshipping suppliers for your business could take a while. Another thing that you should take into consideration during your search is that you’re selecting suppliers which are likely based in Asia – the language barrier could take a little getting used to.

Nevertheless, you can find the right drop shipping supplier for your business. Here are a few steps that you can take to ensure that you find the right one:

1. Surfing for good Suppliers

Once you’ve decided on the products that you would like to sell, research which dropshipping suppliers are out there, and which ones suit your needs best. You might need to choose between a domestic or overseas supplier depending on whether you’re dropshipping outside the India or catering to local customers.

2. One Point Contact

Talk to the dropshipping supplier that suits your needs and start a relationship with them. Talking to them allows you to ask questions about the service that they provide. They may even provide you with contact information from some of their current customers so you can get first-hand experience of working with the supplier before committing to them.

Maintaining a good relationship with your dropshipping suppliers from the very start means that when you start doing business together you’ll have trust. This will make it easier to get questions answered quickly, and disputes resolved straight away. After all, you’re on the same team.

3. Free flowing Dropship Tech

Although dropshipping suppliers tend to have outdated websites, many good suppliers invest in technology to help streamline client operations. Features such as searchable order history, customizable data feeds, and a detailed product catalog make things convenient for online merchants. Some suppliers have systems that allow you to place orders via email. This might sound like a minor benefit, but it’s actually a luxury for store owners – you won’t have to call every order in or manually place it on the supplier’s website. Just send an email.

4. Create Sample Order

Once you’ve chosen your top two or three suppliers to do business with, order samples from them yourself. Test their quality of service, delivery times, packaging, and other supplier-related questions that you may have so you are entirely happy with the choice you make. Ordering product samples from a dropship supplier is an essential part of selecting suppliers as it will allow you to witness first-hand how your customers will experience your store.

5. Check the price & Quality

If one of your competitors is using the same supplier as you, then you can find out how the supplier packages their products and offers them services, like custom labeling. If your competitor uses other suppliers, you can order from them to get an idea of the level of service you need to provide to rank in line with the competition.

6. Analysis of Right Supplier

When you’re selecting suppliers, many can seem great when you look at their reviews and the products that they offer, but once you dig into the business they may not suit your audience. This could be because of the raw materials they use, the way they do business, or how they deal with returns. Be sure to talk to suppliers and get to know how they do business before you commit to working with them. Although you can choose not to use a supplier after issues arise, the damage might have already been done and your brand could have been harmed.

7. Find right Dropshipping Suppliers for your business

It is hard to know which dropship suppliers to choose but there are some tell-tale signs that a supplier is to be avoided at all costs. Apart from bad reviews, negative feedback, and cheap quantity products, there are other factors that can reveal a bad dropshipping supplier.

• If a dropship supplier insists on monthly or ongoing fees to do business with them, this is a bad sign. Ongoing fees could mean a supplier is part of a directory as opposed to a single supplier.
• It is normal to have pre-order fees that increase slightly depending on size or complexity of an order, or decrease with bulk ordering. The research will highlight suppliers that charge higher than normal pre-order fees, which you want to stay away from.
• Minimum order size is another thing to keep in mind when choosing a dropship supplier.  Most of the time a supplier is willing to charge the minimum order fee and fulfill orders as they come in. This means that if a supplier’s minimum order size is 200, you must pay for the 200 units upfront, but the supplier will fulfill the orders as they come from your online store. Suppliers that refuse to do this should be avoided as they are more suited for dropshipping wholesale.