What is a Dropshipping Agent? (Shipping from China)
What is the best way is to ship your products from China to your customers, and what is a dropshipping agent?
A dropshipping agent is someone that sources physical products you sell on your ecommerce store, and ships them directly to your customers from their warehouse in China.
I’ve worked both with and as a dropshipping agent, and during that time I’ve noticed that not everybody defines a dropshipping agent in exactly the same way.
The confusion stems from the term “dropshipping”, which implies that you:
never touch the product
order product after your own customers have placed an order
However when you start working with a dropshipping agent in practice, it is actually best to bulk order product in advance to their warehouse so that they can fulfill orders within 24 hours.
The only problem is… that kinda breaks the 2nd rule.
The truth is it’s more of a useful tool for new dropshippers who just want to dip their toes in and test the market, than a sacred rule to be followed. Just one of many contradictory pieces of knowledge you’ll come across during your journey, no doubt.
In an effort to dispel some of that confusion, we’ll start by understanding exactly what a dropshipping agent is and what they do.
What is a Dropshipping Agent?
A dropshipping agent is a person or business who sources products for you, stores them in their warehouse, and ships them out to your customers. Essentially, they act as a middleman for your dropshipping business.
A dropshipping agent’s tasks include but are not limited to:
Sourcing Products & Manufacturers
Procurement
Inventory Storage & Management
Quality Control
Order Fulfillment
Partnering with shipping couriers
Partnering with freight forwarders
Aftersales Support
Through a dropshipping agent you gain unrestricted access to China’s production and global logistics.
In other words, you can buy any Chinese product at a lower price than you would on platforms like AliExpress, while gaining access to fast and cost effective shipping lines that are not available on those platforms either.
But that’s not all…
A good dropshipping agent will make things easy for you by taking care of your entire supply chain. They act as a one-stop shop for your business, allowing you to focus on other critical aspects, such as advertising, marketing and customer service.
That means everything from sourcing to delivery is managed by them.
So what is a dropshipping agent when you break it down to its core? It’s a sourcing and order fulfillment service performed by a person or business, which frees up time for your business to grow.
Is a Dropshipping Agent the Same as a Sourcing Agent?
The question often arises, is a dropshipping agent the same as a sourcing agent?
And the short answer is, no.
While a sourcing agent’s services are limited to sourcing, quality control and organizing bulk shipments, a dropshipping agent will offer those as only part of a wider array of services.
The main service that distinguishes a dropshipping agent from a sourcing agent is direct to consumer order fulfillment, which a sourcing agent would not usually offer.
That is to say, sourcing agents do not send single order packages on behalf of their ecommerce clients, yet that would be considered a dropshipping agent’s flagship service.
On the other hand if you’re looking for a dropshipping agent that does sourcing, then you’ll find that most of them offer that service.
Is a Dropshipping Agent the Same as a Dropshipping Supplier?
So what about dropshipping suppliers, are they the same as dropshipping agents then? The short answer is, not exactly but they are similar.
While a dropshipping supplier specializes in certain products that they offer to dropshippers, a dropshipping agent goes out and sources the product specifically for you the client.
More specifically, a dropshipping supplier specializes in one product or a range of similar products within the same niche or industry, and offers you a list or catalog of those products to choose from.
While this makes dropshipping suppliers experts on those particular products, it also means they are less versatile than a dropshipping agent.
Some examples of a dropshipping supplier include:
a manufacturer or wholesale distributor that sends goods one at a time directly to your customers
an AliExpress supplier who procures the goods from the manufacturer and sends them to your customers
Pro tip: If you start out dropshipping on a platform such as AliExpress, make sure to learn all possibilities regarding potential branding or component upgrades that your supplier knows about.
Then, if you eventually make the move over to working with a dropshipping agent you can take that knowledge with you and confidently communicate your requirements to your dropshipping agent.
What Does a Dropshipping Agent Do?
A dropshipping agent has a list of duties they generally perform, including: sourcing your product, checking its quality, storing it in their warehouse, packing orders, handing orders over to shipping couriers, and aftersales support.
Below is a more in depth list of activities and explanations of what a dropshipping agent does for their clients in chronological order. That is to say, everything they do from when they first start working with ecommerce businesses, until after each order has been successfully delivered.
Sourcing
A dropshipping agent finds the manufacturer of your product and establishes a relationship with them. They also order samples to verify the quality of the product before ordering it in bulk.
Procurement
After having established a relationship with the manufacturer and determined that the product is of high quality, a dropshipping agent will continue to order more product on your behalf based on the inventory you have in stock.
Inventory & Storage Management
Once the goods are at your dropshipping agent’s warehouse, they will store them and also keep track of inventory so that you don’t run out of stock.
Quality Control
Not only will the dropshipping agent initially check the quality of the product when first sourcing it, but they’ll also continually perform quality checks as they order new batches to ensure that high standards of quality are being maintained.
Order Fulfillment
Order fulfillment involves:
picking & packing the product
preparing and attaching a shipping label
handing the package over to the courier
electronically fulfilling the order via software that is connected to your store so that your customer receives the tracking information automatically
Partners up with Shipping Couriers
A dropshipping agent will try to work with the fastest, most cost-efficient shipping couriers to keep both shipping times and shipping costs as low as possible.
Aftersales Support
Once the package has been sent to your customer, there may sometimes be issues that need to be resolved along the way.
These issues include but are not limited to:
reshipping lost orders
reshipping damaged or broken orders
communicating with couriers regarding unexpected shipping delays
What Are the Advantages of Working with a Dropshipping Agent?
The Features of Working with a Dropshipping Agent:
Quality & Branding
Your dropshipping agent will make sure to source the highest quality version of the product they can find, at the best cost possible.
Working with an agent may open possibilities that were unavailable to you before, such as branding your product and packaging.
Inventory Management
Another great feature is that your dropshipping agent will keep track of your inventory, and will let you know when they need to order more product well before you ever run out.
And the best part is that in many cases they won’t charge you a cent for storing your inventory in their warehouse.
Shipping & Processing times
Depending on where your agent is located, they will often have access to fast shipping lines that are not available to suppliers on platforms such as AliExpress.
Also, as your agent orders your product in bulk to their warehouse, processing times shouldn’t be longer than 24 hours as long as they have your product in stock.
Responsive Communication
You’re going to get a very responsive and communicative service when working directly with a dropshipping agent, as their entire business relies on you the client being content with it.
If there are any outstanding issues, expect your agent to work quickly and diligently to resolve them.
The Benefits of Working with a Dropshipping Agent:
Happier customers, less chargebacks & more organic sales
Your customers are going to receive a higher quality, well branded, well packaged product that is delivered relatively quickly.
Not only will it greatly improve customer experience, but it’ll also mean less unhappy customers who demand refunds.
Happy customers will come back to do business with you in the future, and they’ll be sure to tell their friends about how amazing your product is!
Less stress & more time for growth
Not only will your dropshipping agent be taking the weight of organising your entire supply chain off your shoulders, but you’re also going to have a lot less customer support issues to deal with.
Less work and less dissatisfied customers will give you more freedom and peace of mind to do what you do best, which is grow the business through sales and marketing!
What Are the Disadvantages of Working with a Dropshipping Agent?
The disadvantages of working with a dropshipping agent may vary from agent to agent, but I’ll try to summarize the standard disadvantages.
A dropshipping agent may not be an expert regarding your particular product because they deal with such a wide variety of products. This is a disadvantage because they may not know certain things about a product, for example how to improve it.
However, although this could limit options presented to you regarding product improvements and beyond, there is no reason the agent should not be able to work with the manufacturer in order to fully understand the extent to which your product can be customized, branded or upgraded.
Another disadvantage is that dropshipping agents charge you money for their services (Shocker!). The way they charge you can vary from agent to agent, but there will usually be a fixed packing fee per order, and sometimes extra charges for any additional SKUs packed. Some agents also take a sourcing commission % based on the product price.
On another note, most dropshipping agents are not native English speakers, so there may be some issues with communication, depending on who you work with.
Another drawback is that it can be difficult to find and determine who is a high quality dropshipping agent that treats you like a business person, and not a consumer. Luckily, you’ve stumbled onto the right website if you’re looking for one!
How Can I Find a Dropshipping Agent?
That’s pretty much it for my answer to the question: What is a Dropshipping Agent?
But you may be wondering, how does one go about finding and choosing one?
Finding a trustworthy dropshipping agent can be a little tricky when you go down the usual avenues. I’d always recommend being introduced by friends and colleagues if that’s a possibility for you.
If not, then you’ll want to read this article on How to Find and Select a Private Dropshipping Agent where you’ll learn how to find one, and the exact selection criteria I would use to determine whether they are a high quality dropshipping agent or not.
Alternatively, if you want to know more about how a dropshipping agent works, you can read this article: Dropshipping Agents or watch the video below.
