There was a time when the dropshipping business was successful regardless of where your products come from. At that time, most of the products were sourced from AliExpress or China, and consumers were eager to wait for these products for weeks and even months.
The reason being was that the products were affordable, so waiting was fine for consumers.
But, the landscape has changed. A lot of products in the US now come from China, and they are sold in big box stores. These products are stored in warehouses on US soil, and shipping them takes an average of three days.
Competing against them is a horrible idea. The solution to this problem is to find dropshippers in the United States, so you can sell high-quality products that can be shipped immediately to your US customer.
You can do this easily, with a tool called Spocket. You can also use this platform to find suppliers in the UK.
Ecommerce is growing at a rapid rate according to these stats, you want to get a piece of the action!
Introduction to Spocket
Spocket is an online platform that was designed for dropshipping. The most common problem that someone dropshipping faces is product sourcing.
While there are many websites where you can source products, They either don't have a way to filter products that are physically in the United States, or they do not have an automated process to help the seller get the job done in one click.
Spocket solves all these problems. Here are the main features you can expect from this tool:
- Integration with Shopify and WooCommerce
- Import list functionality
- Seamless product search
- Inventory management
- Order management
- Global pricing rules
I'll discuss the different features and also provide you with a tutorial on how you can use each of them.
Integration with Shopify and WooCommerce
Spocket is best used by people who already have a Shopify or WooCommerce online store. If you integrate it with your store, the systems will merge, and you can manage your product inventory and orders in one place.
To complete the integration, simply login to your Spocket account. On the dashboard, click on My Shop at the bottom left, and the system will ask if you want to merge it with Shopify or WooCommerce.
Choose one, and then enter your credentials, then you are done.
What happens after your store integration? You choose products from Spocket, they will go on display on your Shopify or WooCommerce store. Your customer can now browse these products and make a purchase.
Seamless Product Search Function
This is the winner of all the features. You can search for products and use several filtering systems to make your product hunt faster and more efficient.
Instead of you browsing each picture, just use the Search Products link at the top left of the control panel. Or you can type the keyword of the product you are looking for in the search box.
If you want to show only products that are physically in the United States, go to the SELECT BY LOCATION filter. Once you click that, you will see a drop-down where you need to choose SHIPS FROM and SHIPS TO.
Here, we will type coffee mug for the product we are searching for, and then type or select the United States for the SHIPS FROM and SHIPS to.
After changing these settings, click on the search button, the purple one with the magnifying glass, and then wait for the products to load.
Now, only coffee mugs that are in the United States will show on the product list. You know this because of the little flags on each product thumbnail.
The next thing to do now is for you to check each one, and see what you like to sell. Each thumbnail also has a price that you have to pay, plus the suggested retail price. If you do the math, you can find out how much profit you can possibly make.
If you want a product, just hover your mouse on it, and then click on ADD TO IMPORT LIST.
If you want to know more about it, click on the product and you will see the details like the one below. This is better because you can see the shipping cost and the shipping time. You will also see the processing time, which is the time it takes the supplier to manufacture or get the product from his warehouse.
Import list Functionality and Inventory Management
Now that the product is in your import list, it is time to edit the name, details, price, and pictures. To do this, go to your IMPORT LIST by clicking it at the left side of your panel.
Once you get there, you will see the coffee mug. There are four things you need to edit. Or maybe not. It is completely up to you.
These things are:
- Product
- Description
- Variants
- Images
For the product, you can change the name, the tags, and the collection where they should belong. In here, the default product name is I Love the Smell of Coffee in the Morning Mug. We can change it to ABC Company Polka Dots I Love the Smell of Coffee in the Morning Mug.
Anybody who searches on Google looking for a polka dot coffee mug will have a chance to see this from our store.
Next, click on the description, and then change it if you want to. You can edit the text, font colors, sizes, and so much more.
In the variant section, you can choose which variants you want to sell. This is also the place where you can change the selling price, and the compare at price.
A Compare price is a price that a customer will see on your website, but this price is slashed. The Compare price is the “before price”, and the Sales Price is the actual price the customer will pay.
If you put $100 in the Compare price, and then $20 in the Sale Price, the customer will see that it used to be sold at $100, but now it is only $20.
Add more images if you want, or you can edit the images and upload new ones.
If you are not yet done and you want to continue editing tomorrow, click on Save and it will still be there in your import list with all the changes you made. If you click Push to Store, the product will go live in your online store for sale to your customers.
Order Management
If an order is placed in your Shopify or WooCommerce store, you will get notified. All you need to do is to go to your Spocket dashboard and then click on MY ORDERS.
Here, a list will show on all pending orders. Just click one and then click on View Customer Info. This will show you the shipping address, price and shipping cost.
If you are satisfied, click on the CHECKOUT button, and a pop-up window will appear. All you need to do is to click on the Place Order button.
After this, the supplier will receive a notification. You do not have to contact the supplier, as everything is automated. The supplier will wrap the product and then ship the item to your customer’s shipping address.
Global Pricing Rules
One thing that will make your business earn a profit is the Global Pricing Rules feature. The problem with dropshipping is that you do have control over your own product prices.
So, without automation, you choose a product, copy and paste the product description to your website manually, and then put $20 as your selling price because the product is selling for $10.
What you do not know is that two weeks from now, the manufacturer may increase the price to $18, and you never knew until you were about to order.
Now you only have $2 for profit, and then you have to pay for shipping costs. In short, you just lost money.
This will not happen to you in Spocket because of the Global Pricing Rules. To go to this section, click on SETTINGS at the bottom left, then click in Global Pricing Rules.
Here, you can adjust how the prices change as the manufacturers and suppliers change them.
Your options are:
- Percent – the system will add a markup according to a percentage you chose
- Multiplier – the system will multiply the product cost to your multiplier value, and that will be the selling price.
- Fixed – there is a fixed dollar amount that the system will add to the product cost, and this will be your selling price.
After you have selected one, put the value in the Markup box.
Here are some examples for the three if the product cost in Spocket is $100.
- Percent – if you type 50%, then 50% of $100 is $50. If you do this, your products will sell at $150. If the supplier changed the price from $100 to $80, 50% of $80 is $40, so your product will automatically sell for $120.
- Multiplier – if you type 5, the system will sell your product for $500 because $100 X 5 = $500.
- Fixed – if you types $20, your product will sell for $120 because you chose a fixed $20 markup value.
All product prices for all products you uploaded to your ecommerce store will change if the supplier changed his price. It is automatic, and Spocket will apply your percentage, multiplier, or fixed price markups.
There is a little box there that says Assign Cents. This is great if you want to charge cents from your customers as part of your pricing strategy. $39.99 sounds better than $42, right?
If you put $0.99, Spocket will add that to the cost of all products. So for one that sells for $150, it will not sell for $150.99.
Summary
There are a lot of tools you can use to find dropshipping suppliers in the United States. It is only a matter of choosing the right platform with the right price.
Before selecting one, you must try the services for free first, so you get to see how the service or product works in action. Choose the one that you find easiest to use with the most features.
With Spocket, you can get a free subscription, and you will never be sorry for making it your partner in your dropshipping business.
