Dropshipping: Types and Platforms
Types of Dropshipping
- Product Reselling
You find popular products from suppliers and resell them on your store. Very common. Example:
Selling trending phone cases from AliExpress.
- Business Extensions
Bigger brands use dropshipping to add extra products without having to stock them. Example: A
shoe store offering socks via dropshipping partners.
- Print on Demand (POD)
You create custom designs (like T-shirts, mugs, bags) and the supplier prints and ships them after a
customer orders. Example: Selling T-shirts with your artwork using Printful.
- Custom Products / Private Label Dropshipping
You work with suppliers to create custom-branded products (your logo, your brand name). Example:
A skincare brand dropshipping creams with its own branding.
Popular Dropshipping Platforms
- Shopify
Main platform to build your own store. Works well with dropshipping apps.
- Oberlo
Used to be the most popular app to import products from AliExpress to Shopify (now closed, but
DSers replaced it).
- Spocket
Sells products from US and EU suppliers (faster shipping).
- Printful
Best for Print-on-Demand (T-shirts, posters, mugs).
- Printify
Another strong Print-on-Demand platform.
- DSers
Replaced Oberlo for Shopify-AliExpress integration.
- AliExpress
Big marketplace where dropshippers find cheap products to sell.
- Zendrop
Dropshipping automation and faster shipping options.
- Modalyst
High-end products and name brands available for dropshipping.
- Etsy
Some freelancers use Etsy + Printify/Printful combo for POD.