If you're looking into starting an eCommerce business using the dropshipping model, you've probably done a bit of research. It’s possible for the research to have included exploring the best dropshipping websites.
Once the easy questions like "what is drop shipping?" are out of the way, you have to look at more complex issues. Things like how to make money dropshipping and mastering the dropshipping model using best practices for a dropshipping website.
That second issue is best answered by looking at the best websites already operating for some inspiration. To help, here are the top dropshipping websites and platforms on the market today.
Best Dropshipping Websites & Dropshipping Platforms
After learning how to start a dropshipping business you'll need to move on to learning how to create a dropshipping website. This will lead you to look at the best eCommerce websites for dropshipping and platforms on the market.
However, there are so many dropshipping websites that it can be hard to find the best ones. Making a decision without enough data is just one of many possible dropshipping beginner mistakes. Keep in mind that you can also find dropshipping websites that offer a free trial period.
Let's break them down into two categories: Dropshipping vendors and reseller websites and dropshipping platforms.
Best Dropshipping Websites
BlueCart
We're not just tooting our own horn here, we really do have the best website for finding dropshipping supplier directories, running a digital storefront, and more. For finding suppliers or selling B2B, have our own online marketplace that can connect you to a slew of different suppliers so you can sell online with ease.
Not to mention, we also have a robust library of dropshipping articles that show we know what we're talking about when it comes to running an eCommerce business. Whether you need a dropshipping for dummies guide, help finding the best business bank for eCommerce, or recommendations for the best dropshipping books and dropshipping courses, we've got you covered. Our team has a serious passion and comprehensive understanding of the challenges you face as you work to grow your business.
AliExpress
The biggest player in this field is AliExpress, an online marketplace used by a majority of dropshipping businesses. Often called the Amazon of China, AliExpress offers a very wide range of products for sale from a variety of suppliers. This means that you can find products that fit your particular business industry fairly easily.
The site is so popular that some dropshipping jobs and automated dropshipping tools are built entirely around surfing it for the best deals. You can also run your own store on AliExpress, though that isn't very common unless you're using drop surfing.
One caveat when using AliExpress is to make sure you buy only good-quality products. Many dropshippers have chosen to purchase low-quality goods in bulk and flooded the market with eCommerce PPC and dropshipping ads marketing these goods. This eroded customer trust and even led many to ask "is dropshipping dead" and "is dropshipping legal?"
Buy a few samples of the products you're interested into test out yourself before committing to a larger order. This makes AliExpress not the ideal choice for reverse dropshipping businesses.
Amazon
The other major dropshipping supplier is one of the largest online marketplaces in the world. Amazon offers millions of products in nearly every category possible and their order fulfillment speed is second-to-none. To better understand, look into the order fulfillment meaning.
The main drawback of using Amazon to find suppliers is that the prices tend to be higher than if you were to use a supplier from overseas or find vendors that offer bulk order discounts. Keep in mind that Amazon also sells their Amazon private label brands. This is similar to Target private label brands. Be sure to look into private label dropshipping options. Also, check our post on what is private label.
Amazon is also commonly used as a tool to sell the best dropshipping products. This is so commonly used that many entrepreneurs are learning how to dropship on the platform. However, there are many restrictions when using Amazon FBA vs dropshipping.
For example, if you use the Fulfillment By Amazon program (FBA), you are not allowed to ship products with a packing slip or RMA in them with another company's information on them. This limits your ability to use Amazon as a 3PL shipping company (see 3PL meaning) and lowers your ability to increase eCommerce sales. Similar companies reduce shipping times and ensure proper delivery.
Best Dropshipping Platform: BlueCart eCommerce
For running a dropshipping storefront, we have BlueCart eCommerce. It has cutting-edge tools and resources for selling B2B wholesale food- understand what is wholesale- DTC food, or both. We take care of your store design and structure, menus, payment processing, and more, so you can focus on selling.
Payment processing companies tend to offer various contactless payment options and BlueCart is no different. These include ACH payment, recurring payments, and eCheck.
Our customer service for dropshipping businesses is second-to-none. Even better, all BlueCart customers also get listed in our marketplace where their products can reach 92,000+ buyers. You'll never again have to ask "is dropshipping worth it?" once you get connected to all these new customers and maximize your dropshipping profit margin.
Dropshipping Websites Examples
If you're looking for great dropship website examples to copy, we've compiled a list of our favorites. These dropshipping websites are all unique in some way and have a proven record of success.
Here are our top five favorite dropshipping website examples:
- Inspire Uplift. One of the few successful general category dropshipping stores that sell to a variety of dropshipping niches, Inspire Uplift has managed to stand out and achieve long-term success. Why? Because they put a lot of emphasis on growing traffic using eCommerce SEO,eCommerce content marketing, eCommerce marketing strategy, and increasing their social media ROI. They've built up a brand identity and a loyal customer base that has helped them continue to grow year after year. They also have a strong customer service program and their shipping policy page and order tracking features ensure customers are always in the know.
- Meowingtons. Unsurprisingly, Meowingtons is a cat-focused dropshipping website that offers a wide range of products within a themed category. We chose them for this list due to their impressive ability to stick to a single niche market. Rather than aim for the general pet category, a highly-congested market, they chose only to focus on cats and do it well. They're also great at branding and their eCommerce marketing shows this.
- HYGO. Like Inspire Uplift, HYGO is a general dropshipping store. What sets them apart is their ability to upsell and use cross selling. Using an on-page "frequently bought together" widget and sharing content on social media, they have driven a higher average order value than their competitors. This increased revenue, but also lets them play around with margins a bit (see markup vs margin) as they can try kitting products to sell even more. They've also got a pretty sleek storefront that helps push customers through the sales funnel.
- Trendy Goods. Trendy goods is a dropshipping website that is built around one thing; customer demand. That is, the entire product selection is curated based on the level of interest expressed online. This ensures they always have a market for the products they list. However, it also means they need to put a lot of time and effort into demand planning to make sure they choose the right products. This makes dropshipping a great model for the business as a sudden change in demand won't cause them to lose money in dead stock. These goods are based on current consumer trends. Some include food trends, restaurant industry trends, beverage trends, supply chain management trends, restaurant technology trends, and produce trends.
- Mooshe Socks. Another great niche dropshipper, Mooshe Socks, offers just a single type of product to their customers. They've managed to own their niche really well and set themselves apart from their competitors. The branding eliminates the concerns many dropshippers face when trying to sell products that they don't own. They also have a strong and engaging social media presence and have also expanded into selling the socks through a subscription box business model. This further increases their margins and lets them add recurring revenue each month.
Get Out of My Site
Dropshipping websites are some of the most successful and interesting eCommerce sites around. Look through the wholesale suppliers, a wholesale directory, platforms, and examples above to find the right eCommerce software, tools, and practices for your dropshipping business ideas. Then get to writing your drop shipping business plan and building your website and sell some products!
Frequently Asked Questions About Best Dropshipping Websites
With some dropshipping website basics under your belt, you may have more questions running through your head. Have no fear--we pulled together some of the most common questions and our answers:
What Are the Best Dropshipping Websites?
The best dropshipping website is BlueCart. Our SEO-optimized platform has built-in payment processing software and eCommerce marketing automation tools, giving you more time and energy to focus on your business. BlueCart also has an online marketplace with over 95,000 buyers who are looking for the products you want to sell.
Other good websites for dropshipping are Shopify, AliExpress, eBay, Amazon, and Walmart. Dropshipping can be done with any website that has an eCommerce storefront, high demand products, and excellent customer service.
Are There Free Dropshipping Websites?
Yes, there are free dropshipping websites. If you want to get your dropshipping brand launched on a small budget, check out these free dropshipping sites:
- AliExpress
- GoTen
- Worldwide Brands
- Thomasnet
- Wholesale Central
- BangGood
- ChinaBrands
- DHGate
These are the top dropshipping sites out there, but it’s not all. Business owners with a dropshipping company can create their own website specifically to import products from worldwide brands based on your target market.
Why Choose to Create a Dropshipping Website?
This business model has many benefits. The main one is that it has a significantly lower startup cost. This means you don't need as big of an investment as with a standard business. The biggest expenses to start a dropshipping website are related to research and building the website itself. The reduced risk is the reason why you might use the dropshipping website as a proof of concept. If it is successful, you can increase your profits by having the products you sell in your inventory.
The best dropshipping websites are very diverse. The reason behind this is that this model allows for easy scalability. You can add new products and categories every single day on your dropshipping website if you have the right suppliers for them
What Do I Need to Start a Dropshipping Website?
The most important thing is to find the right niche. It should be big enough in terms of market and possibilities, but also profitable in terms of margins. A lot of dropshipping websites offer good examples for niches. It's an additional benefit if you are knowledgeable in this field as well.
Create a marketing plan for your business. It should include the potential traffic channels, personas (your clients), and types of content in each level of the marketing funnel. After that, you need to create your dropshipping website using a suitable for dropshipping platform. Some of the most used ones are WooCommerce, Shopify, and BigCommerce.
Also don't forget to list your products on suitable selling platforms such as Amazon, eBay, and many niche-oriented dropshipping platforms.
Can You Buy a Dropshipping Website?
Yes. In recent years, online marketplaces for websites have become more popular. These marketplaces give people the opportunity to buy a fully established online business. People that wish to dropship and have good initial capital might consider buying an already developed business.
The main benefit of purchasing an established dropshipping website is the fact that it already has a proven record of sales and user engagement. That will save you time and money with paid ads as you can see what has worked well in the past.
The con of purchasing a dropshipping website is that profitable ones might have a high price. Naturally, a business that brings in good money will be more expensive than dropshipping websites that have only a few sales and low profitability.
How Dropshipping Websites Have Changed in Recent Years?
Shopify and other eCommerce platforms have given dropshippers a lot of easy solutions to start their business in just a few hours. Furthermore, there are more and more education materials online that help entrepreneurs establish their dropshipping website and help with their marketing efforts.
One of the trends in the field of dropshipping websites is that they utilize very well the marketing funnel. In the past, when there was less competition, the eCommerce funnel was much shorter. Nowadays, with attention economics becoming more important, dropshipping websites need to fight for customers with an increased number of competitors in ads and content.
How Can I Dropship Without a Store?
You can dropship without a store when you sell online. A business owner doesn’t need to have a brick and mortar store to sell products or take advantage of dropshipping.
Dropshipping is possible when selling through:
- Facebook marketplace
- Fulfillment by Amazon
- eBay