Sourcing products is one of the most fundamental aspects of running a dropshipping business. Failing to get this step right makes it almost impossible to find success in the $5 trillion eCommerce market.
Today’s post focuses on and compares two popular platforms for dropshipping products: Spocket and AliExpress.
Let’s start with a features comparison:
目录
Spocket vs. AliExpress: Features Comparison
| Feature | Spocket | AliExpress |
| Supported Payments | Spocket supports 3 payment systems: PayPal, Credit cards, and Shopify | Supported payment systems include PayPal, bank transfers, Qiwi Wallet Alipay, Western Union, and country-specific payment systems like Webmoney and Giropay |
| Product Range | The Starter plan gives you access to 25 unique products but no premium products, while the pro sales plan gives you 250 unique products and 25 premium products. The empire plan gives you access to 10,000 unique products and 10,000 premium products. 60% of these products are from US and EU suppliers | AliExpress has over 100 million products from Asian suppliers and manufacturers |
| Suppliers | There’s no reliable information on the number of US and EU suppliers on Spocket, but we can assume there’re “many” because signing up as a dropshipping supplier is 100% free | AliExpress has over 200,000 supppliers |
| Integration | There’s no reliable information on the number of US and EU suppliers on Spocket, but we can assume there’re “many” because signing up as a dropshipping supplier is 100% free | AliExpress has over 200,000 supppliers |
| Integration | Spocket supports seamless integration with Shopify, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Wix, WooCommerce, AliScraper, Felex, Ecwld, Alibaba, and Square | According to Sourceforge, AliExpress has seamless integration (API) with over 35 services, including Shopify, Woocommerce, BigCommerce, Clickfunnels, and many others |
| Shipping | Supports most major couriers, | Supports most major couriers, including DHL, FedEx, USPS, etc., and Standard shipping is available in over 200 countries; |
| Order fulfillment | Spocket offers a simple order processing and fulfillment process | AliExpress’s dropshipping app, AliDropShip, allows you to fulfill orders in a few clicks |
| Customer Support | You can reach Spocket’s customer support 24/4 via live chat or email: [email protected] | You can communicate directly with AliExpress suppliers and reach the in-house customer support team via email: [email protected] |
| Returns and refunds | Spocket supplies set individualized returns and refunds policies | AliExpress offers a 15-days, no-explanation-needed returns and refunds policy |
| Buyer Protection | Spocket is very diligent about vetting suppliers to protect their retailers | AliExpress has several buyer protection policies, including a genuineness guarantee policy |
Let’s now focus on each platform individually
What is Spocket?
Spocket is a Canadian-based dropshipping-based tool or platform founded in 2017 by Saba Mohebpour to connect dropshipping suppliers in the US, EU, Australia, and Newzealand to global retailers and merchants. 60K dropshipping business owners currently use it:
The platform offers API or one-click integrations with most major eCommerce platforms, including Shopify and WooCommerce.
The platform has four plans: free, starter, pro, and empire. The free plan is, well, free; the starter plan has a monthly subscription cost of $24.99, while the pro and empire plans cost $49.99 and $99.99, respectively, with each of the paid options offering a 14-day free trials period.
The Pros of Spocket
Some remarkable things about Spocket are:
a. Easy integration
As mentioned in the features comparison section, Spocket offers one-click, seamless integration with most of the leading eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and even AliExpress through their AliScraper chrome extension.
This ease of integration makes it dummy-easy to launch and grow a dropshipping business on platforms like Shopify, thanks in part to the integrated automatic inventory updates.
b. Seamless product integration
As a dropshipping business owner —or potential business owner— you know that writing product descriptions can take up a lot of time, which can be costly—productivity-wise. Spocket makes this process easy with a one-click product importation option.
Thanks to this option, you don’t have to manually populate your store with product images or descriptions. Once you hit the import button, the option pulls product descriptions and pictures from the supplier’s listing and allows you to edit and tweak things where you see fit—perhaps to enhance SEO—thereby saving a ton of time.
c. A simple order sampling process
Ordering samples is something every dropshipping business owner should do. After all, dropshipping inferior quality products to customers can leave your business on its deathbed.
Thanks to Spocket’s easy-to-use interface, ordering products samples from your dashboard is as easy as clicking a “button” to have the product delivered to you directly. You can also attach a note to the supplier.
d. Seamless order fulfillment and tracking
Once a consumer purchases a product from your store, Spocket automatically notifies you, plugs in the client’s order data —for example, name, address, and other key data metrics—and forwards it to the supplier, then automatically sends you an email notification once the vendor processes and ships the product.
Once an order moves to the fulfillment process, it is also easy to use the user-friendly interface to track orders in real-time, including seeing the products’ current status or location.
e. US and EU suppliers
Product quality can make or break your dropshipping business. If you dropship low-quality products, you’ll lose customers left, right, and center; on the other hand, when you only drop ship superior quality products, customers will keep coming back for more and with their friends in tow.
One of the best things about Spocket is that more than half —60% to be precise— of their dropshipping suppliers are from the US and EU, with some from Australia and New Zealand. These jurisdictions have very robust quality measures meant to protect consumers.
Additionally, Spocket is diligent about vetting these vendors to ensure that only high-quality products make it onto their platform. This quality assurance can give you the peace of mind you need to grow your dropshipping business.
The Cons of Spocket
Like most things, Spocket also has some downsides:
a. Limited suppliers
While Spocket does not lack in the suppliers’ department, most of its suppliers are US and EU-based, which means there are some limitations to which suppliers you can work with, especially when you factor in shipping and duty costs to some locations.
b. Limited integrations
Although Spocket supports 11 seamless integrations, compared to, for example, AliExpress, this breadth is lacking. For example, Spocket does not seamlessly integrate with marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy; this can be limiting, especially for dropshipping business owners who have an established customer base on these platforms.
What is AliExpress?
AliExpress is an Alibaba-owned B2C and B2B marketplace featuring millions of products in different categories. Because it’s B2B and B2B, AliExpress is a lot like Amazon in the sense that it’s a multi-seller platform that connects suppliers, manufacturers, business owners, and customers.
Additionally, even though you can contact AliExpress suppliers directly, AliExpress has a dedicated dropshipping App/platform, Alidropship, that offers seamless dropshipping integration with the main eCommerce platforms.
The Pros of AliExpress
Some benefits of using AliExpress are:
a. Seamless integration
AliExpress supports over 35 seamless/API integration, including major platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. This integration makes it easy to start, manage, and grow a dropshipping business.
For example, you can use the AliDropship WordPress plugin to customize your store or integrate it with WooCommerce, with one-click product importation from AliExpress.
b. Suppliers galore
With over 200,000 suppliers, AliExpress has one of the largest supplier bases in the dropshipping market. This breadth of suppliers means you’ll never lack a product supplier—you may even find multiple suppliers for the same product.
Moreover, because you can contact suppliers directly, you can negotiate better deals and deal with multiple suppliers offering products in different categories, thereby diversifying your eCommerce business.
c. Product variety
AliExpress has over 100 million products in different categories. This variety can make all the difference because a dollar of profit from numerous products can make all the difference and pile up into a massive pot of business profits.
d. Easy to get started
Besides having zero startup costs, getting started with AliExpress dropshipping is easy.
All you have to do is find a product you think will be profitable, reach out to the supplier for a sample and ask if they offer drop shipping services—most do. If the samples meet your quality standards, you can start marketing the products and forwarding the orders to the suppliers for fulfillment.
Additionally, AliDropship offers done-for-you turnkey stores that can help you get your dropshipping business off the ground fast:
The Cons of AliExpress
Some key AliExpress cons are:
a. Quality control issues
Unlike Spocket, which has a robust quality control system that vets suppliers, AliExpress does not have an in-house quality control system. Instead, it allows suppliers and sellers to manage the quality control process.
The complication here is that if you’re not keen on ordering samples, there is the slight possibility of working with a supplier who dropships low-quality products to your customers, thereby jeopardizing your business’s success.
Fortunately, you can avoid such issues by always working with trusted suppliers —you can check reviews. Also, always ask for product samples before deciding to work with a supplier —get into the habit of ordering samples periodically to ensure the supplier maintains high-quality standards over time.
b. Shipping issues and complications
Shipping issues and complications are the banes of AliExpress’s existence. For example, if you go to Trustpilot and filter AliExpress’s reviews by shipping, you’ll find tons of disgruntled customers complaining about slow shipping or shipping related complications:
Let’s now focus on the key differences between Spocket and AliExpress
The Differences Between Spocket and AliExpress:
The main differences are:
a. Marketing tools
While Spocket is great, it cannot match AliExpress’s breadth of marketing tools. For example, AliExpress has marketing tools like cart abandonment, which allows you to send follow-up emails to customers who abandoned items in their carts, and email marketing tools. It also offers Google Merchant and Facebook Business addons, countdown timers, promo banners, and tons more.
Unfortunately, Spocket does not have these integrated features. It does have an academy of paid courses covering topics like social media marketing and copywriting.
b. Branded invoices
Spocket’s pro and empire plans offer customizable invoices:
This means you can send customers branded invoices that feature your brand name and logo. This can add a personal touch, promote your brand, and foster business trust.
Unfortunately, this feature is not innately available with AliExpress —unless a supplier explicitly states they will do so.
c. WordPress plugin
Spocket does not have a dedicated WordPress plugin. However, it can integrate with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Wix.
On the other hand, AliExpress—AliDropship—has a dedicated WordPress plugin that costs $89 and comes with pre-built, highly optimized, responsive themes. While you could create a WordPress store using a free WordPress theme, they can’t match the themes offered by the AliDropship plugin.
d. B2B and B2C differences
Spocket is a B2B business platform connecting suppliers and wholesalers to retailers and merchants. The platform does not sell to the end customer.
AliExpress, on the other hand, is a B2B and B2C platform. Therefore, you will find suppliers and individual sellers intermixed. For example, while you can use the platform to find suppliers for your dropshipping business, customers can also purchase products for personal use.
e. Suppliers
If you want to work with US/EU suppliers, Spocket is your best choice because it brands itself as a platform that connects merchants and retailers to US and EU suppliers:
On the other hand, although AliExpress is open to suppliers from around the globe, most of its suppliers are Asian, thanks to its strategic location.
This difference also means that, because Spocket vets its suppliers more than AliExpress does, it’ll have better quality control
The Verdict: Which One Should You Choose?
After comparing Spocket to AliExpress, then discussing both platforms individually, you can see that both platforms have pros and cons. Therefore, the choice of which platform to use is personal.
That said:
Is quality paramount to you? Would you like to use a platform that pays hawkeyed attention to quality? If that’s the case, Spocket is the best choice because they vet all suppliers, going as far as periodically interviewing them. AliExpress doesn’t have an in-house quality control system, and in some instances, low-quality products may end up in your customers’ hands, which can doom your business.
Additionally:
Compared to AliExpress’s over 100 million products in a broad range of categories, Spocket does not have as many products. Therefore, if you want to start a multi-niche store, you may be better off with AliExpress.
Conclusion
Fundamentally, remember that both platforms have advantages and disadvantages you should consider before settling on one platform. Moreover, you can use both platforms; there’s no need to restrict yourself to one.
For example, you can personally handle Spocket while relying on a professional dropshipping agent like BESTFULFILL for all your AliExpress needs, including product inspections, warehousing, package branding, and order fulfillment.