At SalSource they often get clients asking them these two questions: "Is dropshipping legal?" and "Is dropshipping dead?". I think these questions are looming on everyone's mind, the answer is – yes, dropshipping is absolutely legal and no, it is not dead in 2020. Ecommerce continues to grow, with consumers spending $453.46 billion in online purchases last year. Online retailers have to keep up with that demand, by improving their fulfilment process, and to achieve that they turn to third-party logistics companies and dropshipping suppliers to streamline the process. Many companies are looking to China to keep up with the increasing demand for faster shipping. So, what's the attraction to Chinese suppliers?

Normally in eCommerce, business owners use three options for order fulfilment: Self-fulfilment, Third-party logistics and Dropshipping.

Self-fulfilment
Self-fulfilment is self-explanatory. You handle everything by yourself including warehousing, picking, packaging, shipping, and communicating with your customers. It's not efficient for managing cash flow or time as most companies need to rent out warehouse space.

Third-party logistics
When you use Third-party logistics (“3PL”), you partner with an order fulfilment company. They handle the filling, packaging, and shipping elements while you focus on sales and customer service. The biggest benefit of 3PL is that you save time. The biggest disadvantage is that it can get expensive and also you have to buy products in advance.

Dropshipping
Dropshipping saves you time and money and most shopify stores are using this mode of product fulfilment. The supplier handles the warehousing and shipping so you never buy inventory. Aside from costing very little money upfront, dropshipping allows you to have versatility. Bountii says you can check out coupons for shopify discounts on their site. Another thing worth noting is that you're not tied to X amount of inventory that you've already paid for with no promise of it getting moved, so you can test as many products as you want and sell only the ones that are more profitable. All you have to do it find a reliable wholesale supplier and drive customers to your online shop.

Even when you choose an overseas supplier, you could still cut down on the time it takes to get to your customer as you're not waiting on backorders. You've likely heard that a lot of your competitors are using Chinese suppliers and you want to know why. There are four main reasons for China's impact on dropshipping: Materials are easy to get, China is an expert at mass production, they have refined, organized, and fast production lines and their shipping services are unmatched.

Sounds pretty good, right? That's why China is now the world's leading exporter at $2.27 trillion a year. Knowing how to find the right Chinese dropshipping suppliers is the most important information you need. For starters, visit trade shows, speak to suppliers directly and start to form a relationship.

Online research is also a great option for finding info on a company's reputation and legitimacy or you can use a dropshipping app that connects your store with a Chinese marketplace like AliExpress. But the best option right now on the market is to choose a Soucing-tech app like SaleSource. SaleSource is the only dropshipping platform that helps you build an online business and make a profit in just a few clicks.

Our software will provide you the products to sell by sourcing them directly from Chinese supplier at b2b prices and will manage the entire order fulfillment process. China's impact on the world of dropshipping is pretty astounding, even for smaller companies.