Dropshipping is one of the great ways of getting into the ecommerce game and making legit cash.
And if you’ve been into it for quite a long time, then you must probably know that private dropshipping agents can offer a lot of benefits compared to dropshipping suppliers.
However, to make use of such benefits, you must first identify a dropshipping agent.
In this resource, I will show you the 3 major, yet easy ways of identifying serious private dropshipping agents.
Who Is A Dropshipping Agent?
Just before we talk about how to identify dropshipping agents, lets quickly discuss who dropshipping agents are and what they can do.
Well, if you assume that you already know who dropshipping agents are, then you should feel free to skip.
Dopshipping agents are alternative to a dropshipping suppliers. They’re persons that will source, store, pack, and ship products for your dropshipping store.
Initially, a dropshipping agent’s tasks look identical to those of a dropshipping supplier.
However, there are some major differences. Of which, one of those is that dropshipping agents are middlemen.
When Working With A Dropshipping Agent:
You get in touch with him or her with a product that you are looking for.
Afterwards, your dropshipping agent will look for suppliers for that product and negotiates the best prices.
Next, he or she proceeds to sell those products back to you and ships them to your customers.
Whilevworking with a dropshipping agent, you are not limited to one supplier’s product catalog. Your dropshipping agent can also get in touch with various suppliers to discover the exact product you’re looking for.
A dropshipping agent can be self-employed or work for a fulfillment warehouse company.
3 Ways To Identify Serious Private Dropshipping Agents
Now that you know who dropshipping agents are and their functions, lets then look at the 3 ways of finding serious dropshipping agents.
Lets get started!
Join A Facebook Dropshipping Group:
The first and easiest way to find a dropshipping agent is to join a Facebook dropshipping group.
You can see these dropshipping groups by searching for any dropshipping related terms on the Facebook group search feature:
If you’re struggling to find enough Facebook dropshipping groups, then try to find dropshipping groups by searching for terms related to popular dropshipping services, Youtubers, or blogs.
Once you’re in a Facebook dropshipping group, you have two methods of finding a dropshipping agent.
Firstly, you can create a post yourself and ask if the other members can recommend a good private agent.
Below is a sample of how such a message could appear:
Hello,
I’m a dropshipper with an average of 10 orders per day in the pet niche. Most of my orders are from the US, but I get orders from Canada as well.
I’m looking to scale my online store. Therefore, I need a dropshipping agent.
I would appreciate it if anyone would be willing to recommend a dropshipping agent to me. If so, send me a message!
By so doing, you won’t only get approached by other dropshippers who have had great experiences with their dropshipping agents but by dropshipping agents themselves as well.
This is because dropshipping agents like to also join these Facebook groups too to find new clients.
All of this sounds great, but always be conscious to keep your guard up if you’re looking for a dropshipping agent, as anyone can parade himself or herself as a dropshipping agent in these Facebook groups, so watch out for people that are looking to scam you.
Find Dropshipping Agents On Upwork:
The second way is to search for dropshipping agents on the Upwork platform. A lot of dropshipping agents love listing themselves on Upwork. By so doing, they make it simpler for clients to identify them.
You will be able to identify various dropshipping agents on Upwork simply by typing “dropshipping agent” in the search bar:
One big merit on this method compared to discovering dropshipping agents on Facebook groups is that you will be able to see some social proof on Upwork.
For each agent, you will be able to see:
- Their hourly rate
- How much they’ve earned from all their jobs on Upwork
- Their job success rate
- And how many jobs they have completed.
- Also, you will see a list of the description of each job they are working on and have completed in the past.
Therefore, if you’re looking for a Chinese dropshipping agent, you can simply filter on China. However if you’re searching for someone from a different country, then you will be able to search for it as well.
Another option is to post a job on Upwork. By doing that, you can describe who you’re looking for and what your needs are.
In this case, any dropshipping agents who think they are the right fit for the task can apply to your job!
Make A Post On Reddit:
This last strategy is quite similar to the first one. However, instead of looking for dropshipping agents on Facebook groups, you will look for them on Reddit!
Most importantly, Reddit is a huge collection of different communities that are based on people’s interests. In those communities, people can share news, ask questions, and more.
Just like on Facebook, you will find a few communities on Reddit (also known as subreddits) about dropshipping.
The biggest one is the subreddit “dropship”. If you’re looking for a dropshipping agent, you can make a post there and ask others if someone can recommend you a good agent.
Alternatively, you can try to see other posts that have already asked the same question. Sometimes, you will find great suggestions for dropshipping agents in those posts as well!
What Should You Consider Before Working With A Dropshipping Agent?
Yes, those were the 3 major ways of finding the best dropshipping agents .
Well, suppose that you’ve followed the first method and posted about you needing a dropshipping agent in a Facebook group.
As a result, you got over 20 different recommendations for dropshipping agents!
How do you select the best out of all?
Sincerely, selecting the best dropshipping agent isn’t that simple. And if you must take it so seriously, then you will have to consider quite a few factors that will affect your final decision.
And to assist you in making your decision, we will give you a list of things to consider.
Before that, please have in mind that the process of selecting a dropshipping agent shouldn’t be rushed. Your dropshipping agent will become an important aspect of your business, so it’s crucial to take your time for this.
Below are the things you must consider:
Location —Is your agent located in an area where they will be able to get new stock delivered quickly and from where they will be able to ship fast to other countries?
Shipping costs & time —What does it cost to ship to your target country? How long does it take? Can they take advantage of the most cost-efficient shipping methods?
Processing time —After receiving the order list, how long does it take to pack the products and ship them out?
Communication —Do they respond quickly? Is their English good and understandable?
Stock procedure —Will they pay for a certain amount of products from the factory themselves, or do you have to pay for the stock?
Flexibility —Do they require a minimum amount of orders per day? Is it okay if you would like to pause advertising your store for a few weeks?
Their network —Make sure your dropshipping agent actually has relationships with factories. Some dropshipping agents use DROPAZZ to source products, but ideally, you would want them to work directly with factories.
Package customization —Can your agent customize your product’s packaging and add extra labels if needed?
Aftersale services —Make sure your agent can resolve any issues after shipping. Will he or she send a new item free of charge if it goes missing or arrives broken?
How Do You Contact A Dropshipping Agent?
To make the process of finding a dropshipping agent even easier, I have created a template that you can use for your first outreach to a dropshipping agent.
This template will be based on some of the most important things to consider from the list above. All in all, it will hopefully help you to get a good first impression of that dropshipping agent.
Here it is:
Hello,
This is [NAME] from [STORE NAME]. We, as [STORE NAME], sell products in the [NICHE] niche and are getting around [NUMBER] orders per day.
We are interested in working with a dropshipping agent like you and have a few questions:
Do you have connections with factories that produce products in the [NICHE] niche?
What is the total shipping time from your fulfillment location to [TARGET COUNTRY]?
Do you require a minimum order quantity per day?
How do you handle order fulfillment?
What is your policy for missing or damaged goods?
We are looking forward to your answer.
Kind regards,
[NAME] from [STORE NAME]
When using this template, please know that some of the answers you will get may not be valid. Therefore, be prepared to ask further questions, and don’t be shy to ask for proof such as a list of past tracking numbers.
Summary:
We so believe that this resource provided you with a helpful guideline on where to start looking for a dropshipping agent.
For a start, we advise that you begin looking for dropshipping agents through Facebook groups or Upwork. Once you search at the right places on those platforms, I’m pretty sure that you won’t have any problems with finding dropshipping agents.
Feel free to contact us if you’ve got any doubts on picking a dropshipping agent.