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Wondering how to start making money today without risk? Then read the Oberlo review below – maybe, this Shopify dropshipping app is what you've been looking for.
What's this all about?
In the age of such rapid technology development, I'd hazard a guess that once in your life you’ve thought of launching an online store or you’re already a store owner. If you need any more motivation then check out how Ronnie did $732,701.35USD with Print On Demand Jewelry, he even takes you through how to do it yourself.
Even, if you are not a manufacturer, you can always start conquering the e-commerce market with the dropshipping business model.
It is, after all, the highest trending business model for starting online. E-commerce opens many doors to you. Today customers all over the world are much more reachable than ever, so why don't you get started?
You can find that help here on Storehacks, everything from apps we use, to the products we sell and the strategies we use to do it.
Sit tight, you're about to find out:
- how easily you can start selling hundreds of products with Oberlo.
- Oberlo main features. How does Oberlo work?
- the pros and cons of using Oberlo for Aliexpress dropshipping.
So, if you’re still interested in how to build an online business with minimum costs and no worries about packaging and shipping. Then… let’s start.
Oberlo review: What is Oberlo?
Oberlo is a dropshipping app that allows you to export products from Aliexpress and import directly to your Shopify store. It enables you to have your orders shipped straight to customers in a few clicks of the mouse.
The Oberlo app was founded in 2015 by a few close friends. Thanks to high optimization, user-friendliness and powerful features, it quickly became popular.
Doesn’t it sound exciting?
Oberlo is available worldwide, but it works exclusively on Shopify stores. It means you have no chance to use it on your standalone website. This is not bad news, believe me.
Shopify is one of the most popular, feature-packed and easy-to-use platform nowadays. It’s far ahead of the main Shopify competitors. The choice is always yours. But you can’t neglect the fact that Shopify is a top e-commerce solution, robust enough to build a successful and profitable online business.
It takes a only few minutes to launch a store with Shopify and add Oberlo.
If you still haven’t given a try to this popular e-commerce solution, don’t waste your time and check how your store could look like with Shopify 14-day trial.
Oberlo is the easiest way to start your dropshipping business with Shopify. You never worry about shipping or packaging or paying for the product up front.
You should however pay particular attention to the suppliers you use as shipping times, quality and reliability greatly differ from merchant to merchant.
Now, you must be wondering what is dropshipping and how can you apply it to your particular case. Let’s figure it out…
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#What is a dropshipping business?
A dropshipping business is kind of supply-chain management system, where online store owners do not physically store the products they are selling. The manufacturer is responsible for inventory and ships products to the end customer.
To make things clear, I must say that in dropshipping there are 3 key players: manufacturer – you (store owner/retailer) – customer.
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The manufacturer
is in charge of making goods, carrying inventory and shipping products to consumers.
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The retailer
buys products from a manufacturer at wholesale prices and sells them on his own website under the personal brand name. That means as a retailer, you’ll be accountable for choosing goods you like and marketing them. And, of course, you will have to manage customer’s inquiries or complaints.
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The customer
buys products directly from your website and contacts you in case of any issues.
That it is Dropshipping. Simple as 1, 2, 3.
It is a great starting point for any entrepreneur. You will be able to sell products worldwide, promote your brand to the international audience, and set up your own prices to manufacturer’s goods.
This means you can build your own dropshipping empire with a low budget and make your dreams of success your reality.
E-commerce is booming and there are no reasons you should neglect it. Willing to launch an e-commerce store and try dropshipping? – then Shopify and Oberlo are what you truly need.
Oberlo is considered to be among best dropshipping companies for e-commerce. With Oberlo you don’t need to search for thousands of manufacturers on your own.
You can import products from Aliexpress directly to your Shopify store or use the wide list of proven Oberlo dropshipping Suppliers. Check out How to choose dropshipping suppliers.
If everything is clear to you, it’s high time to review Oberlo main features and find out how it works.
Oberlo Main Features
Usually when you want to review an app or extension there 2 main categories that really matter: those that help you to make more sales and those that enable you to manage your store and track sales with ease. Let’s take a look at what Oberlo offers to its users.
Let’s dig deeper into details and figure out what are the most prominent features.
#Immediate and easy import from Aliexpress
Dropshipping from Aliexpress is the main feature you get right after you start using Oberlo. Experienced dropshippers know that it’s not that difficult to find a product on Aliexpress, and with the Oberlo app it makes it incredibly easy to import it to your store.
After you’ve found the product you like, you simply click the Oberlo button to automatically import it to your Shopify store.
3 simple actions:
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- Find the product you want to sell and add it to your import list
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- Publish the product to your Shopify store
- Start selling
#Carefully designed interface to manage products
Oberlo provides users with a clean and uncomplicated menu on the left corner, like in WordPress. You can search for products, import product lists, track orders and so on.
All the items in the menu are thoughtfully organized, so there will be no difficulties in tracking your sales and profit.
#Product customization
Editing of the existing products can be done in 1 click. If you want to change something – go to “My Products” and click the “Open in Shopify” button. You’ll be redirected to your Shopify store, where you can customize your images or product description.
For example, you can change product images and add your own photos of products. And also edit product titles and product description using SEO keywords.
# Automated Fulfillment of Orders
This feature facilitates the drop shipping process as much as possible. When a new order comes to your store, all you need is to put the product in the inventory and click on the “Order Product” button.
Right after you click, everything is automatically handled by the Oberlo app. And you don’t need to worry about picking, packing or shipping.
# Auto-Updates of Prices and Inventory
Thanks to automated updates of inventory, you will never sell a product that is out of stock. Prices also update automatically. This means you will be notified in case the price rises or drops from the manufacturer’s side.
You can also adjust prices on your Shopify store.
# Sales and Shipment tracking
Oberlo has integrated order tracking which allows you to know where your orders are at any time. And in order to check on your profit, you can use the sales and costs dashboard, which automatically counts how much you are earning and spending.
#One-step Integration with Shopify
After you launch Shopify store, you can add Oberlo. Simply click on the “Apps” on the left corner of the Shopify menu and you’ll see the Oberlo app among the top recommended.
These are already 2 steps of 4 you need to accomplish to start dropshipping with Oberlo. Now find the products you want and start selling.
What's really awesome is that both Oberlo and Shopify have free trials and you have a chance to test how your store will be looking.
# Product supplier change
If you are familiar with Aliexpress, you may already know that it offers numerous suppliers for the same products. All of them can have different prices and delivery times.
Oberlo allows you to change supplier for your products in 1 click, if for example, you’ve found one that offers superior quality and shorter delivery times. In this way, you can create better buying conditions for your customers, than your competitors.
#ePacket filter
Oberlo allows you to use ePacket filter. This tool is designed to locate products with the fastest delivery times. It’s another great chance to find products with the lowest prices and shortest shipping times.
#Pricing Markups
If you are selling a couple of different products setting the price is not difficult. But if you have a lot of them it can bring many headaches. Thus, Oberlo allows you to set up your own markups for products storewide i.e. a 60% markup on all products.
#Oberlo Supply
Oberlo supply is another marketplace, different from Oberlo integration with Aliexpress. It offers to you fully-automated fulfillment of customer orders. Its main advantage is that suppliers are chosen beforehand by the team.
This is a much more trustworthy experience than chosing them yourself on Aliexpress. All manufacturers on Oberlo marketplace are aware that you’re dropshipping, unlike those on Aliexpress.
These are the most prominent features of the Oberlo app. I must admit that some of them are awesome and, if properly used can help to build a successful business. Now, you must be interested to know how Oberlo works and how much you’ll need to fork out to start building a dropshipping empire.
How does Oberlo work?
As mentioned above, Oberlo only works with Shopify. Thus, you need to sign up for a an account to start using it. Or if you already have an online store, find the app in the Shopify app store.
Using Oberlo simplifies your life. There's no need to complete orders yourself. All your sales on Shopify immediately sync with Oberlo. After you find the product you want to sell and publish it to your store, all you will have to do is to check orders on the Oberlo dashboard with the “Order button”.
When you click the “Order button”, Oberlo will:
- open Aliexpress
- display customer's purchase history
- add the product to your cart
- fill in the shipping details
- create a single page, where you only have to click the “Buy button”.
Now the order gets shipped and Oberlo automatically updates its status on your Shopify store and notifies the buyer. The customer will be able to track the order with their shipping number.
In general, Oberlo allows you to:
- quickly import lots of products from Aliexpress to your Shopify store
- have your orders shipped to customers in a few clicks without touching the products
- always have updated inventory and product prices.
Oberlo Pricing
Oberlo offers to its users a 30-day free trial(that's actually the Pro Plan). So, you get the full use of advanced features at no charge.
After the first month of using Oberlo, you will have to choose one of 3 pricing plans: Starter, Basic or Pro. You can however stay on a free Starter account forever, if you are selling no more than 500 products and do not exceed 50 orders per month.
With the Oberlo app, everything looks pretty simple and clear. It's easy to choose a pricing plan, depending on you business-size. All of them have the basic set of features and differ mostly regarding the number of products that you are selling and the amount of orders you receive.
So what is actually offered by the Oberlo pricing plans?
-
Starter
– Free of charge. Within the Starter plan, you are able to sell up to 500 products and receive up to 50 orders per month. You get a daily product sync, auto-fulfillment of customer orders, pricing automation, sales reports, the free Oberlo Chrome extension and access to the Oberlo Supply marketplace.
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Basic
– the fixed price is $29.90 per month. The basic plan allows you to setup 10 000 products and up to 500 orders for the month. You will receive all of the Starter plan features plus shipment tracking and fulfillment monitoring.
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Pro
– within the Pro plan, for $79.90 per month, you will be able to sell 30 000 products with an unlimited number of orders. Pro plan includes everything from the Basic plan. And additionally, you get to have multiple users (different stores) within one pricing plan.
As mentioned above, all of the Oberlo pricing plans are great, the choice should only depend on the size of your business. Even within a free Starter plan, you are able to sell 500 products. This is really cool.
Pros and Cons of using the Oberlo app
# Oberlo Pros
- Simultaneous integration with your Shopify store
- Quick and secure product imports from Aliexpress with a single click
- Modern dashboard with a user-friendly interface
- Huge time and effort-savings by using the app
- Automated product order fulfillment
- Daily product sync
- Pricing and inventory automation
- Extra scalability
- Video tutorials and the Oberlo blog
- Free Chrome extension
- Customizable products
- Sales and Shipment tracking
- ePacket filter
- Oberlo supply marketplace
- Pricing markups
- Ability to change product suppliers
#Oberlo Cons
- No possibility to work on standalone sites or other platforms (only on Shopify stores)
- None of the products are actually edited within Oberlo, you are redirected to your Shopify product description page.
- Only Aliexpress is supported (but you can integrate your store with Amazon)
Oberlo has a lot to offer those who are willing to start dropshipping. You do however, need to understand that it’s not easy. Oberlo is offering you a wide range of suppliers and the ability to streamline the procedure of product delivery to end-customer. It's on you to drive your sales.
Oberlo Alternatives
Spocket
One of the best Oberlo alternative's is Spocket because they offer predominantly US and EU products as opposed to AliExpress.
You will get access to their vast marketplace that features ample products handmade on Etsy and since the suppliers are from the US or EU, your customers can receive their order fast.
Shipping times are becoming increasingly important as dropshipper's have to compete with retail giants like Amazon.
Check them out here.
Drophippo
Drophippo is an application that was created by former dropshippers for entrepreneurs interested in dropshipping. It brings a solution to the issues they encountered using the services of other suppliers.
Consequently, when you, as an entrepreneur, use it, you only deal with one supplier who understands your needs and pain points. The suppliers care about your business and its success.
Here are some of the reasons Drophippo is better than the competition:
First of all, Drophippo doesn’t order from Aliexpress. They source directly from suppliers and checks their item's quality in accordance with its standards to ensure your customers’ satisfaction.
Moreover, its collaborators are available 7 days a week in the chat you can find within the app (fully free to use).
Click HERE to learn more about Drophippo.
Oberlo review: Wrap up
There is absolutely no need to spend hours manually filling order forms to get products from Aliexpress. Oberlo offers you the ease of automation, so why not to use it?
To sum up, it’s worth saying that any store owner who is willing to start a dropshipping business should consider the Oberlo app as an option. It is easy to setup and easy to manage even for nontech-savvy users.
Oberlo really saves your time spent on searching for suitable products and suppliers. It gives you the opportunity to easily find trustworthy manufacturers with reasonable prices fast. For me, it is just how the dropshipping business model should work.
Oberlo aims to help people succeed in e-commerce no matter whether you’re just starting your business or you’re already an experienced seller.
Try it out with the Oberlo 30-day free trial and enjoy the high scalability of this Shopify dropshipping app.
I really hope this Oberlo review was somehow useful to you. What are your thoughts? Do you love the app?
If you have any questions or just want to tell about your user-experience, feel free to share it in the comment section below.
Is shipment tracking and epacket facility available for the free starter account with oberlo?
Hi Neeraja,
ePacket is something a lot of vendors offer, it is a matter of choosing one that provides that service for you. And as far as I’m aware Oberlo is free to use. 😀
Ronnie