How important is to find Source Suppliers online? When it comes to launching an online dropshipping business, product sourcing is arguably one of its most difficult parts, given the slew of factors that need to be taken into consideration.

For instance, there’s a good chance that the supplier is located overseas, so ease of communication and accessibility are incredibly important. To add to that, they’ll be the ones responsible for packaging your orders and shipping them off to customers, which is why finding the right supplier is extremely crucial. so now question here is where to find suppliers for online store? how many of them are genuine suppliers? what are there charges?

Legitimate Suppliers vs. Fake Suppliers

Now, before you start going through a directory of suppliers, it’s important to learn how to distinguish between legitimate wholesale suppliers and retail outlets posing as one. There’s a good chance that you’ll encounter a lot of the latter, so bear in mind the following:

Fake suppliers charge ongoing fees

The minute that they ask you to pay a monthly fee or a flat membership rate, then it’s likely that you’re talking with a fake supplier. A real wholesale supplier will never charge their clients for working with them.

Fake suppliers sell to the public

Real wholesale suppliers are infamously picky about their clients – most of them ask for documentation to verify that you’re a legitimate business while others prefer not to work with those who have no proven track record. Because of this, those who claim to offer wholesale prices to the public are most likely retailers selling items at grossly inflated prices.

How to Find Legitimate Wholesale Suppliers

Finding legitimate wholesale suppliers can be complicated, but there are a few strategies that you can use to make the search easier and much more fruitful. Here are just some of them:

Reach Out to the Manufacturer

Since manufacturers have a list of distributors whom they’ve entered into partnerships with, reaching out to them is easily the best way to land a legitimate wholesale supplier. Not only will you have a wealth of trustworthy options to choose from, but you can also be assured that the items your customers receive are genuine.

Wholesalers tend to work with products from a wide range of manufacturers, which means that you’ll also have instant access to a selection of items within the niche that looking to get into. This will then allow you to identify the leading wholesalers in that market, helping you grow your online dropshipping business faster.

Attend a Trade Show

This may not be feasible for everyone; however, it can’t be denied that attending a trade show is a great way to figure out which wholesalers are working in your niche market. In addition to making contacts and expanding your network, it will also give you the opportunity to research what other relevant items can be added to your online store.

It can’t be denied that the majority of dropshippers prefer working with suppliers from China, due to their low rates and wide range of products available. If you’re looking to kick-start your business by meeting with Chinese suppliers, then be sure to drop by the Canton Fair – also known as the China Import and Export Fair. This is the country’s biggest trade fair and takes place twice a year in Guangzhou.

Make Use of Wholesaler Directories

Arguably the biggest and the most comprehensive resource available to online sellers are wholesale supplier directories, which contain profiles for thousands of different manufacturers, encompassing a slew of industries, markets and niches. Since it includes all pertinent information regarding their line of work, you can quickly evaluate whether they’ll be a good fit for your business.

The great thing about supplier directories is that a lot of them are available online, which means that you don’t have to cough up hefty fees for the privilege of accessing them. Some of the most popular ones include Sourcify and Kompass, although feel free to shop around if neither of them meet your needs.

Where to Source Wholesale Suppliers

Now that we’ve gone through the nitty-gritty of the sourcing process, it’s time to actually look for suppliers that you’re interested in working with. Here are five of the best platforms that you can use to check which wholesalers are within your intended industry or market niche.

Oberlo

Perhaps one of the most well-known sources out there, Oberlo makes dropshipping extremely easy, due to its many features. Besides giving you access to a wealth of different suppliers, it also integrates with your Shopify digital storefront, which means that administrative tasks like tracking and fulfilling orders, as well as inventory management are all done automatically.

Alibaba

If you’re looking to maximize the profits that you’ll earn, then Alibaba is definitely the way to go. There are over a million products available on its marketplace, as well as a flexible pricing scheme that allows online sellers to negotiate directly with the manufacturer. Moreover, all suppliers on their platform are rated between one and five stars, helping you to easily evaluate which ones you’re willing to work with.

AliExpress

Similar to AliBaba, AliExpress is also a massive e-commerce platform that offers a ton of suppliers to choose from. What makes them distinct, however, is the fact that they support multiple payment options, including Mastercard, Western Union, Web Money, and many more. Additionally, they several plugins available in the market, which you can use to automate and simplify the dropshipping process.

Modalyst

The biggest advantage to using Modalyst is that they integrate directly with Shopify and BigCommerce, both of which are the world’s most popular e-commerce platforms today. Aside from that, though, they offer a curated selection of suppliers from the United States and the European Union, which means that wholesalers in their directory are nothing but legitimate and trustworthy.

Worldwide Brands

With millions of products and suppliers available on their website, Worldwide Brands is undoubtedly well worth the price tag. If you’re after budget-friendly deals that will still allow you to keep up with the competition on Amazon and eBay, then this platform is your best bet. They also pride themselves on their stellar customer service – a dealbreaker for a lot of online sellers.

Take Your Online Dropshipping Business to the Next Level with SellerChamp™

Most dropshippers are active on multiple e-commerce platforms – a strategy that has allowed them to increase sales and expand their customer base. However, this has also proven to be extremely time-consuming and stressful, given the fact that the backend of all these digital storefronts have to be managed simultaneously.

If you’ve found yourself spending upwards of six hours a day manually listing products and updating inventory across all your online shops, then SellerChamp™ is the perfect tool for you.

With SellerChamp™, these processes will take only minutes, freeing up your time for more important things, like sourcing more products or marketing your site. Thanks to the services that they provide, you can simply sit back and relax as you let it do all the work for you.

More importantly, SellerChamp™ is constantly innovating to ensure that their program is able to meet the needs of every online seller out there. One of the things that they’re currently working on is a supplier directory that will allow you to easily source manufacturers and wholesalers that are a great fit for your dropshipping business.

Without a doubt, SellerChamp™ is what you need, if you’re looking to boost your online sales without adding undue stress to your life.

Final Thoughts

The role that suppliers play in dropshipping is extremely crucial, and they can actually end up making or breaking your store. So, when checking out possible manufacturers and wholesalers, keep in mind that the choices you make today will have a huge impact on the future of your online business.