Dropshipping is now a great way to start an online store. With this retail fulfillment method, you don’t have to store the inventory. It’s as easy as putting a product you want to sell on your website and asking your supplier to ship it for you when you get an order.
DHgate and Aliexpress are two of the most well-known dropshipping suppliers. AliExpress is a business-to-consumer (B2C) site with more than a million items from more than 40,000 sellers. DHgate is a mix of business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) models, and it offers 30 million products. This makes it a great choice for small and medium-sized retailers.
So, which one do you think is better? Here is a comparison between DHgate and AliExpress to help you decide which one to use. It tells what each platform is and what its pros and cons are. Let’s start with DHgate to get things going.
What does DHgate do?
DHgate is a Chinese business-to-business platform where small to medium-sized retailers or companies can buy goods in bulk directly from Chinese manufacturers and suppliers. It is one of the most popular places to do business online in China, especially for finding wholesale items.
This website lets more than 15 million buyers and 1.7 million sellers do business with each other. It works in more than 220 countries and territories. It’s easy to set up and use. Sign up on DHgate’s website and fill out the information to get started with dropshipping.
How do you use DHGATE?
DHgate is a website that works like eBay or Alibaba. DHgate sells items from many different sellers.
As a marketplace, DHgate lets you read reviews and ratings of sellers to help you find the best one. Most of the time, it’s best to order in bulk through DHgate. You can also agree with the seller to have your end customer order single items directly from the seller.
When you make a purchase on DHgate, you’ll be asked for a shipping address. Here is where you can put the address of your customer. So, the seller will ship the item directly to you.
If you decide to do this, let the seller know right away. If you’re dropshipping from DHgate, you’ll need to make some changes on the seller’s end so that your customers don’t know where the item is coming from. Still, using DHgate store to dropship items is a great way to make your business run more smoothly as a whole.
Why would you want to use DHgate?
Providing a coupon for new buyers:
If you just joined DHgate, be sure to use the New Buyer’s Coupon. You can save $11 on your first purchase with this coupon. This is just one of the many benefits that come with joining DHgate. It only works for new accounts, as the name suggests. You can save money this way.
A wide range of products:
Since DHgate has millions of products, it won’t be hard for you to find the right ones to sell in your online store.
Prices that are on par:
DHgate acts as a middleman between buyers and sellers so that they can work out lower prices for their customers. This could help your business make more money.
Making sure of quality:
DHgate has a strict process for vetting its suppliers, and if a product is broken, you can get your money back. For example, it offers a free inspection service to cut down on the number of low-quality products.
It requires a manual check by an inspector, who may unwrap the package and look at its size, color, number, damage, etc. Also, the products are checked against the information you asked for about your order.
If there are any mistakes, DHgate will tell the seller right away to fix them and will also let you know. If there are no problems, the package will be put back together and sent out to be delivered. This makes sure that the products are good.
Convenience:
With DHgate’s dropshipping service, you don’t have to worry about keeping track of inventory or shipping orders to customers. Everything is taken care of by the supplier.
Known and Dependable:
DHgate has been in business for more than 15 years and has customers all over the world. You can count on them to take care of your dropshipping needs in a professional and efficient way.
The Buyer Protection program is one of its most interesting features. When you buy something, DHgate holds the money in escrow. Once the item has been sent to you, DHgate sends the payment to the seller.
It takes care of all the transactions on its own, which means that all the money changes hands through the platform and not directly between the seller and buyer.
Help for customers:
When you use DHgate, you can be sure of getting great customer service. You can call them at their toll-free number, send them an email, or use DHgate’s live chat to talk to them.
What are the bad things about DHgate?
Even though DHgate can be a great resource, there are some problems with it that you should know about before you buy anything.
Replica Items:
This is one of the most important problems you might run into with DHgate. If you want to buy original items, you might do better on DHgate.
Because there are so many fake or copy products sold over there. But it’s important to know the difference between replicas and fakes:
Replicas are imitations of the original product. As the name suggests, something that is fake is not real. You will also find a lot of sellers on DHgate who sell fake goods. Because of this, you should be careful.
It is better to use DHgate for non-name-brand products.
DHgate has seller feedback, DHgate Managed Services, and Dispute Resolution in place to protect buyers from getting fake goods or items.
Only a Few Items:
Even though DHgate has a lot of products, some niche categories have few options.
Longer Shipping Time:
Since everything on DHgate is stocked or made in China, dropshipping to a customer in the US or Europe could take several days to weeks. It depends on the shipping method and the country where the package is going.
For example, it could take 10 to 20 days to ship something from China to Germany, and 12 to 30 days to ship something from China to the United States.
Expensive Prices:
If you have to choose between DHgate and AliExpress, the prices on DHgate might be one of the things that makes you decide against DHgate. On AliExpress, an ABC brand watch will cost you 10 USD, but on DHgate, the same watch can cost about $14 per piece. This could make it harder for some people to use DHgate’s dropshipping services.
How does AliExpress work?
AliExpress is a popular online marketplace that connects suppliers and manufacturers in China with buyers all over the world. It was started by Jack Ma, the owner of Alibaba Group, and is based in China.
DHgate, on the other hand, is more focused on wholesale customers, while eBay is more focused on retail customers.
The main selling point is that it has great prices on the products it lists, which makes it a good choice for dropshipping and selling off wholesale stock.
How do things work on AliExpress?
AliExpress has become one of the most popular places for dropshippers to buy and sell goods online over the past few years. On the surface, it seems like the perfect platform. It has a wide range of low-cost products and no monthly fees.
But there are some problems with AliExpress that you should know about before you start selling there. In this blog post, we’ll look at both the pros and cons of dropshipping through AliExpress. (This blog is about DHgate vs. Aliexpress, after all!)
Let’s start with what’s good about it:
What are the benefits of using AliExpress?
A Lot of Products to Choose From:
AliExpress is a part of Alibaba Group and sells a wide range of dropshipping items, such as cheap electronics, clothes, accessories, and more. This means you can find things to sell that fit your niche. It sells products made in China to small retailers all over the world.
Safety:
It is completely safe to buy from AliExpress. Even though there are some bad things about using the platform, like getting fake items, it’s the same as using eBay or Amazon. Just make sure to do your research well and confirm what the suppliers offer before you buy. Look at the reviews, and only buy from sellers who can prove they are who they say they are.
Coupons:
Like DHgate, AliExpress sometimes has coupons that you can use to get a discount on your order. Individual sellers can get coupons for some of the items, and new AliExpress users can get a coupon when they sign up.
Help for customers:
AliExpress also has a perk in that it has customer service available 24 hours a day.
If you need help with any of their features or have questions, go to the customer service self-help section and start a chat with a representative.
This takes you to AliExpress’s online chat room, where you can ask as many questions as you want and get quick, helpful answers.
And AliExpress will give you a full or partial refund if your order doesn’t come out right or isn’t good enough.
Price cuts:
When you use AliExpress, one of the best things is that you can find products at very low prices. This makes it easy to set prices that are competitive and still make money.
For instance, the price of a set of headphones may be different on AliExpress and DHgate. And because of the price difference, many businesses choose AliExpress. Many experts say that in the next few years, AliExpress prices will be more flexible and attractive.
No Fees Every Month:
AliExpress doesn’t charge any monthly fees, which is different from platforms like Shopify and Amazon. This means that you can keep more of the money you make.
The Bad Things About Dropshipping with AliExpress
Long Shipping Times:
One of the most common things people don’t like about AliExpress is that shipping can take a long time, sometimes up to two months. This can be a big problem for customers who are used to getting their orders quickly from sites like Amazon.
Bad Control of Quality:
AliExpress has another problem in that the products sold on the site need to be checked for quality. So, you could end up selling things that are broken or not what you said they were.
Advertising that misleads:
You may not always get the things that are shown on AliExpress.
AliExpress has put in place a protocol to deal with this problem. Because of this, you should be very careful when you order from this website.
A Quick Look at DHgate and AliExpress
You’ve probably already looked at the pros and cons of both DHgate and AliExpress. This would help you figure out what AliExpress and DHgate are good at and what they are bad at. Above all, it makes it easier to compare DHgate to AliExpress or AliExpress to DHgate.
All of this leads to this quick look at how DHgate and AliExpress compare.
Let’s start the DHgate vs. AliExpress dropshipping war and find out who wins.
Costs and discounts on DHgate vs. AliExpress:
In this comparison between DHgate and AliExpress, AliExpress wins hands down when it comes to prices. But both sites have items for sale that aren’t too expensive. AliExpress sells items at lower prices, but DHgate makes up for this by giving its users coupons and discounts. AliExpress also offers coupons and discounts.
But it’s clear that this section belongs to AliExpress.
DHgate Vs AliExpress: User Experience:
Both platforms have interesting features that make shopping easier and less stressful. With a DH membership, DHgate gives its users a lot of benefits and perks. And these rewards keep getting better the more you shop there.
But AliExpress seems to win this section because it has more features that make it easy for people to use.
For example, if you are looking for bags, you can easily set a certain type of bag, and your search queries will only show you bags of that type. But DHgate doesn’t have this important thing. But both are easy to use when it comes to online shopping.
AliExpress vs. DHgate: How to Pay
Now, this is one area where DHgate beats AliExpress. DHgate accepts all ways to pay, including Visa, American Express, Diners, Maestro, Discover, UnionPay, MasterCard, and other common ways.
AliExpress, on the other hand, doesn’t have as many payment options because they want to make sure that all transactions on their platform are safe. So, they came up with their own way, called Alipay, to protect money and make online transactions safer.
AliExpress does accept other forms of payment, and Alipay doesn’t always work. When it comes to payment methods, some professional businesses think of AliExpress as a safe platform.
Shipping Options for DHgate and AliExpress
DHgate and AliExpress both offer both free and paid delivery options, depending on the item and the buyer’s location.
If you pay for both services, you can use any courier service you want. Also, shipping costs change based on where the customer lives. AliExpress Standard Shipping, which is also owned by Alibaba Group, offers free and cheap shipping.
When it comes to delivery time, their shipping methods are different.
AliExpress will give you an exact date for delivery, while DHgate will give you a more general time frame. Sometimes these dates aren’t very clear. The supplier or shipping company may not be able to send the item to your country.
Protection for Buyers on DHgate vs. AliExpress
Protection for the buyer is an important part of dropshipping services. So it’s no surprise that DHgate and AliExpress both have this feature.
The DHgate program to protect buyers is called the “seller guarantee,” and it focuses on making sure items are delivered on time and having a good return policy. It lets the seller decide how long the buyer has to return the item, which could be anywhere from 3 to 7 days.
For on-time delivery, the vendor sets a window of time during which the order can be canceled.
If the order is canceled after that, you might not get your money back.
AliExpress also has a money-back guarantee to protect buyers.
But there is a catch: the seller has to start the process, and they can stop it at any time. The buyer protection policy on AliExpress seems to have only this one flaw.
Products on DHgate vs. AliExpress
There are more items on AliExpress than on DHgate. AliExpress has been in business longer than its rival DHgate, which is a lot younger. But both platforms are better for selling certain types of niche products.
AliExpress is known for selling things for the home, like electronics, hair, and jewelry. People often buy replica products on DHgate, especially fashion items like bags, shoes, clothes, etc.
AliExpress vs. DHgate: Minimum Order Quantity
Minimum Order Quantities, or MOQs, are the smallest orders that a supplier will accept. The good thing is that neither DHgate nor AliExpress has a minimum number of items you have to buy.
DHgate vs. AliExpress: Paid or Free Shipping Options:
When choosing a marketplace, shipping costs are an important factor. AliExpress and DHgate both offer both free and paid shipping options, depending on how quickly and how the item needs to be sent.
AliExpress vs. DHgate: Refunds and Returns
With AliExpress, you can be sure that you can get a full refund or send back items that are broken or don’t meet your standards. Even though DHgate’s service works well, it can be hard to get answers from customer service. It always seems to only give a partial refund.
The Bottom Line: DHgate vs. AliExpress: Which is Better?
Well, this comparison between DHgate and AliExpress feels like a tug of war. But who comes out on top? Both are popular online markets that make it easier for manufacturers to sell their goods to small or medium-sized retailers.
If you compare AliExpress to DHgate and vice versa, there are pros and cons that make you prefer one over the other.
To understand the differences between DHgate and AliExpress, you have to look at their pros and cons. If you do that, you’ll see that they have different customer service, prices, and customer service. So this battle between DHgate and AliExpress doesn’t have a single winner.
DHgate has more expensive items than AliExpress. But DHgate makes up for it with services that check the quality of the goods. There are fake products on both platforms, but only some vendors are real.
When it comes to customer service, both platforms do well. The only problem with DHgate is that the price you get back depends on how much you pay to be a member. A member with a higher order, for example, will get a response faster than a member with a lower order.
AliExpress treats all customers the same in this way. Also, shipping is faster on AliExpress than it is on DHgate. So AliExpress has better shipping options and better customer service than DHgate.
AliExpress has more good points than eBay because it has a higher rating, more products, has been in business longer, and is known all over the world. But DHgate might be a good choice if you want a service that guarantees quality and has good wholesale deals.
Overall, it is still hard to say which dropshipping platform is better. When comparing DHgate and AliExpress, both have good and bad points. All of this comes down to one main point: think about what you need.
For example, DHgate is a good choice if you want quality and great customer service. But if you want cheaper prices, a bigger selection, and faster shipping (and quality isn’t the most important thing to you), you should use AliExpress. Shipping costs are added to orders with both options.
But DHgate is often said to be the best alternative to AliExpress.
They are still two popular places to shop online, and each has pros and cons that depend on your budget and needs. Both have good points that make them appealing to the e-commerce world, but both also have annoying flaws that make many good sellers look for other options.
It all depends on your requirements. One more thing: before you choose a dropshipping service, make sure to talk about all the details and read the terms and conditions. Find out about things like quality, shipping options, delivery time, shipping cost, and prices that can affect your business.
And this is how you can get off to a good start with your dropshipping business.
How do you feel? In this battle between DHgate and AliExpress, which one should you choose for your dropshipping business? Tell us by leaving a comment below!
