Jul
02 2009
Look for stuff to sell on eBay? Need wholesale products? Looking for the best dropshippers? Real wholesale drop ship merchandise is out there, but it’s very hard to find.
As a long time ecommerce business owner, I’ve tried many of the most popular wholesale directories & suppliers and can provide a review of my experiences with them. These drop shipping reviews are my own opinion, and result from several years of eCommerce experience and research. Always use caution when sourcing products for your own drop shipping business.
· Price: Currently $299 dollars
· Good selection – over 8,000 wholesalers and drop shippers
· Video lessons
· A members forum
· Live support
WorldWide Brands is the most popular wholesale directory out there because its eBay Certified. In fact it’s the only eBay Certified source there is. The listing is comprehensive and the suppliers have all been reviewed and confirmed safe by professionals. It’s by far the most well known wholesale listing out there. It does lack in some areas though. For instance, it’s not the best directory for electronics products, and it doesn’t cater to drop shippers. There are some drop shipping sources in this directory, but not as many as you’d expect with over 8,000 suppliers. You also will run into another major problem. Since so many eBay sellers use this to source products, you will have a ton of competition. This means lots of other sellers with the same products at the same price. The biggest upside is that this is the most reliable wholesale directory out there, and you can be sure you’re dealing with legitimate wholesale and dropship companies.
Doba Review
· Price: Currently $49.95 - $59.95 per month
· Around 250 suppliers
· All drop shipments
· eCommerce training for beginners
Doba isn’t a wholesale directory but rather a middleman between you and about 250 drop shippers. It’s very popular because itt makes drop shipping really simple. They handle all the hard stuff for you. However, the ‘wholesale’ prices are known to be high. It’s a popular choice for new sellers, but it’s very hard to make good money with the high ‘wholesale’ pricing they give you. It’s also a very popular source for eBay sellers which means a lot of competition. Products also go out of stock frequently without notice, so it’s not good for use on auctions or for selling on Amazon. If you are serious at all about making money selling products online, I would avoid Doba. For recreational use, then it may be a good choice just because it’s easy.
DHGate Review
· Free access
· Suppliers come from China – BEWARE OF SCAMMERS
· Many products are counterfeit
DHGate is a community of Chinese suppliers that advertise their products on the website. DHGate itself is the moderator of these suppliers. It’s somewhat like an eBay of Chinese wholesalers. They attempt to deter scam artists, but they don’t do it very well. Also, most of the products are counterfeit, which is why the pricing seems too good to be true. You may never receive your product either, so be careful with this one. If you plan to sell on eBay or Amazon, don’t source from here. Selling counterfeit products is illegal and you will be banned. I’d advise against using DHGate except for personal purchases.
Alibaba Review
· Free access
· Suppliers from all over the world
· LOTS of scammers
· Suppliers do not drop ship and often require large bulk orders
Alibaba is a good source if you want to buy large pallets of product. However, there are TONS of Chinese scammers populating the site. They will say and do anything to get your money from you and you will never get your product. You have to be extremely careful dealing with anyone on Alibaba or you could get ripped off big time. It’s happened to me before so be advised. If you decide to use it, do your research, and don’t send payment via Western Union if possible. Also note that if you receive a pallet of product and there are damages, that’s your own problem. Almost none of these suppliers drop ship either. This is not a good option for drop shippers.
· Price: Currently $67 dollars
· 8,000+ wholesalers and drop shippers
· A large community of members
· Members can rate experiences with suppliers, negative or positive
· Support from eCommerce professionals
· Free training
· All types of brand name products
Salehoo is my favorite wholesale and drop shipping directory. I am currently running two eCommerce stores using sources that I found in Salehoo and I make good money off of them. The directory offers a similar number of suppliers as WorldWide Brands, but at a fraction of the cost. It also caters more to the drop shipping community, which is nice. The one downside to Salehoo is that there are some less than reputable sources in the directory. It’s a very large listing and sometimes scammers will get through. Fortunately, they usually get spotted quickly since members are allowed to review the suppliers and leave public feedback, but you still need to be a little cautious. Despite this, I still have found it to be the best drop shipping source for the price. Overall, its the best value for product sourcing.
September 4th, 2009 at 5:43 am
I agree with the dhgate review. It’s good for buying knockoffs for yourself but you’ll get banned from ebay if you try to sell that stuff. You can tell its fake.