How to use DHgate dropshipping in Shopify

Finding affordable suppliers can be a real headache when you're starting a dropshipping business on Shopify. This article explores how to use DHgate dropshipping in Shopify to source a wide variety of products at competitive prices. 

Let's find out how you can leverage DHgate to build a successful dropshipping store on Shopify!

What is DHgate?

Founded in 2004 by Diane Wang, DHgate is one of the first-to-market companies that focused on cross border trading and transactional eCommerce business with China products. This makes DHgate a famous name all around the world.

The company is located in China and functions as a business to business (B2B) site that specializes in bringing different suppliers of various product categories together and introducing them to buyers.

When you commit a wholesale transaction through DHgate, you are purchasing from one of these registered manufacturers, although DHgate would handle the transactions for you. More than 5.5 million buyers and enterprises from more than 200 countries source goods through the DHgate platform.

On the site, you can find products of all categories such as health and beauty, consumer electronics, cell phones accessories, fashion, or bridal, and more. And the founder is no stranger to eCommerce as well. Diane Wang previously sold joyo.com to Amazon in 2004, which is known as Amazon China nowadays.

At the first glance, here are what you can expect from DHgate when doing business with them:

• They do offer refunds to protect buyers.
• In overall, they have really good customer ratings
• There is a flash deals section that shows how much time is left for each daily deal and showcase products here.

Those may not be enough for you to decide whether to choose DHgate or not, so below you have some of the must-know details about DHgate for resellers.

DHgate information that you must know

As an online business owner, these are the must-know information for you to get a good overview of DHgate’s services and potentials.

The site’s market

With over 30 million registered buyers and 2.3 million sellers, DHgate is a large online marketplace that can be a source for dropshipping products. The platform offers access to a wide range of products at competitive prices, potentially allowing for profitable reselling. However, it's important to note that not all DHgate sellers support dropshipping.  Entrepreneurs need to carefully research and contact suppliers to find those who are willing to work with dropshipping businesses.

There seems to be no limit in terms of what buyers can be offered as well. You will find various product categories such as Health & Beauty, Cell Phones & Accessories, Sports & Outdoors, Shoes & Accessories, Electronics and Cameras, Home & Gardening, Hair & Styling, Computer & Games, Jewelry & Watches, Wedding Items, Automobiles & Motorcycles, Bags & Fashion Accessories, and that is not all.

Payment methods

DHgate has proven to be very flexible about the payment methods as it ensures that their users are offered various payment options. As a retailer, you have many different ways to make payments once you pay goods. The methods include bank transfer, DHpay (a third party payment platform powered by DHgate), credit cards, Skrill, and others.

The best part about this is that customers are fully protected no matter which method they choose to make payments for products. For example, if a customer uses DHpay to buy goods, it is ensured that the customer must receive the goods before the sellers on DHgate can collect their money.

This is what makes DHgate dropshipping so effective. You won’t have to bother about the safety of your customers’ orders, because the way transactions work already protect them from not receiving their orders at all.

Shipping

DHgate is a flexible site that offers various dropshipping options so that your products can be shipped. When browsing the site, you will discover that most of the products have the option of “Free Shipping” and others may require you to use paid shipping services such as FedEx, Ems, DHL, or others.

The best option for you as a dropshipping business is using the paid courier option if you aim to ensure that the products get to your customers as early as possible. The free shipping is tempting to save budget, but it has a higher risk of mistake or delay. And you can always add the shipping cost into your pricing and still call it free shipping.

Consider what your customers should expect from your store and try to specify the time frame for the arrival of every order.

Minimum Order

Well, this depends majorly on the supplier that you do business with. For example, there are some suppliers that would like to bulk sell while others can agree on selling products in small quantities. Not to worry since most of the manufacturers on the site do sell products on a per-unit basis.

It is very important that you make clear of the minimum order number before doing any dropshipping order. If done well, you can even get some discounts from this. The minimum order on DHgate is a great advantage if you can use it.

Is DHgate Dropship safe?

If you are thinking of doing dropshipping and considering DHgate as a platform, then the answer to the above question is yes! The site is 100% legit and safe for you to start your dropshipping business. The process of working with DHgate is quite similar to eBay since you as buyers are connected to sellers with different types of products to offer.

However, there is still a chance of scam or shady sellers on the site disguised as normal suppliers displaying their products. Below are some of the ways that you can make sure that your suppliers are safe to work with.

• Paid attention to details in the handling and shipping contract.
• Avoid branded products from famous brands because most of them can be counterfeit. Look out for OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) products as well since it is hard to find support with this type of product.
• Never agree to any other option of paying money than the site’s official accepted methods. These payment options will offer you better protection.

And before deciding to dropship a specific product, try scrolling through all of the feedback that other buyers have given about it. There is fake feedback too but you can often easily identify them. If the feedback is proor, there is a high chance that such a product isn’t really as advertised.
If you stick to all of these tips, you should have no trouble using DHgate as a platform to do dropshipping.

How does DHgate dropshipping work?

DHgate dropshipping is quite a straightforward and simple process. There are many ways that you can try out, but since you are probably just checking out, it is much better to stick to the traditional way. Which is creating your own store and then start listing any products that you realize that people are interested in.

Here are four steps that you can take to dropship with DHgate:

1. Register an account here! And locate your desired products on DHgate.
2. Contact with the sellers and let them know your intentions of dropshipping their products.
3. Create your own store (using Shopify) and list the DHgate products there. Keep the price higher than the price offered on Dhgate so you can have your profit margin.
4. Promote your store on the preferred channels. Then when someone places an order in your store, you will forward that order to your DHgate suppliers and they will ship it to your customers for you.

There are two ways for you to locate your products. You can browse the “All category” on the homepage or search the product keywords in the search bar. Then if you find an interesting product, do some research on the seller’s reliability and check the customer’s reviews.

After that, you should contact your suppliers and choose the products to upload on your store. With Shopify, it shouldn’t be a problem to create your own store in just under one hour. For uploading your product listing, you can publish and edit manually or by online tools.

We will go through what you can use with DHgate for your Shopify dropshipping store later, but for now, you should know that you have many online tools to help your online dropshipping business.

When you receive your first order, the supplier will ship the product to your given address accordingly. And that is it. See, DHgate dropshipping is an easy process and low risk as well, you don’t have to keep your inventory, pack, or ship the products.

With that in mind, let’s see the pros and cons of dropshipping with DHgate.

Is DHgate dropshipping worth it? Pros and Cons

DHgate is not perfect though. Like every other platform, it has its pros and cons that you need to consider when doing dropshipping on the site. Here are some of them that you should take a look at:

Pros

• Cheap prices for a wide range of products
• Access to a massive collection from China’s top suppliers
• Highly innovative products that can be trending in the future
• Multiple payment methods to process transactions
• Supplier’s page with feedback to prevent fraud

Some links you need to visit:

• Up to $50 coupon ,16th Anniversary Sale Of Dhgate!
• Up to 90% OFF for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Cons

• Hard to control product quality
• There may be a delay in deliveries of products due to weather or shipping condition
• You still need to worry about dubious sellers and suppliers

Many people chose AliExpress as the first place to come when doing dropshipping, but due to the site’s popularity, products tend to be out of stock pretty fast or have higher prices. In this case, DHgate is great to find products that you like at affordable rates.

Thankfully, you have tools and apps that can help semi-automate the dropshipping process so not all cons affect you that much when running your business. That is what we are going to talk about in the next section.

How can you use DHgate on your Shopify store

Here is the detailed guide to help you use DH for dropshipping activities on your Shopify store:

1. Set Up Your Shopify Store

• If you haven't already, create a Shopify account and set up your online store.
• Choose a theme, customize your store's design, and configure essential settings like payment gateways and shipping options.  

2. Find a Dropshipping Supplier on DHgate

• Go to DHgate.com and create an account.

• Browse or search for products that align with your store's niche.
• Pay close attention to product quality, supplier ratings, and shipping times.
• Contact potential suppliers to confirm they offer dropshipping services. Inquire about:

1. Minimum order quantities (ideally, they should be low or non-existent for dropshipping)
2. Shipping methods and costs
3. Product quality and return policies
4. Their experience with dropshipping

3. Import Products to Your Shopify Store

Manual Method: If you have a small number of products, you can manually add them to your Shopify store.

1. Take clear product images and write compelling descriptions.
2. Set competitive prices while considering your profit margins and shipping costs.

Dropshipping Apps: For larger catalogs or automation, consider using a dropshipping app like Importify or DSers. These apps can:

1. Import products from DHgate to your store with a few clicks.
2. Automate order fulfillment and inventory updates.
3. Help you manage pricing and track shipments.

4. Fulfill Orders

• When a customer places an order on your Shopify store, purchase the product from your DHgate supplier.
• Provide the customer's shipping address to the supplier for direct delivery.
• Keep your customer informed about the order status and provide tracking information.

5. Provide Excellent Customer Service

• Respond promptly to customer inquiries and address any concerns.
• Handle returns and refunds professionally.
• Strive to build a positive reputation and foster customer loyalty.

By following these steps and remaining mindful of the considerations, you can effectively leverage DHgate dropshipping to source products for your Shopify store and build a successful e-commerce business.

3 Shopify apps to integrate DHgate products into your Shopify store

For now, DHgate does not have an official app available on the Shopify App Store. However, you can integrate DHgate products into your Shopify store using third-party applications like Importify or ShopMaster. These apps facilitate the import of products from DHgate and automate order fulfillment, streamlining your dropshipping operations.

Based on my previous experience utilizing these 3rd-party apps, here are the choices that I would like to introduce for their best quality:

Importify
Importify allows you to import products from various suppliers, including DHgate, directly into your Shopify store. Its features include one-click product import, automated order fulfillment, and the ability to edit product details before adding them to your store. By using Importify, you can streamline your dropshipping process and expand your product offerings efficiently.

Rating: ⭐4.7/5

Pricing:

• Basic Plan: $14.95/ month
• Premium Plan: $27.95/ month
• Gold Plan: $37.95/ month
  

DSers

DSers is a dropshipping app that supports multiple suppliers, including DHgate, and offers features like bulk product import, automated order processing, and inventory management. This app helps you manage your dropshipping business more effectively by keeping your product listings up-to-date and automating routine tasks.

Rating: ⭐5/5

Pricing:

• Basic: Free
• Advanced: $19.90/ month
• Pro: $49.90/ month
  

Editorify
Editorify enables you to import product reviews, images, and videos from suppliers like DHgate to your Shopify store. Its main features include importing reviews with photos, customizing review widgets, and integrating with various themes. By using Editorify, you can enhance your product pages with social proof, which can lead to increased customer trust and higher conversion rates.

Rating: ⭐4.8/5

Pricing:

• Free Plan
• Premium Plan: $9.95/ month
• Gold Plan: $14.95/ month

Diamond Plan: $24.95/ month

FAQs

Does Shopify work with DHgate?

Yes, you can integrate DHgate with your Shopify store using third-party apps like ShopMaster or Importify. These tools help you import products from DHgate and manage orders seamlessly.

Can you dropship off DHgate?

Absolutely, DHgate supports dropshipping, allowing you to sell products without holding inventory. You can source items directly from suppliers and have them shipped to your customers.

How do I add dropshipping to Shopify?

To add dropshipping to your Shopify store, install a dropshipping app like Oberlo or Spocket from the Shopify App Store. These apps let you find products, add them to your store, and automate order fulfillment.

Can I dropship branded products on Shopify?

Yes, you can dropship branded products on Shopify, but it's crucial to have authorization from the brand to avoid legal issues. Always ensure you have the proper permissions before selling branded items.

Final words

This article explains how to integrate DHgate with Shopify for seamless dropshipping, covering key steps from setting up apps to managing orders effectively. To maximize your store’s potential, focus on selecting reliable suppliers and optimizing your product listings for a smooth customer experience.

Related Posts:

Most Successful Shopify Dropshipping Stores

How to COMPLETELY Automate Dropshipping in Shopify

What Is Dropshipping? Is Dropshipping Profitable?