What is Zendrop? A Complete Introduction to Zendrop
Zendrop, formerly known as Silk Road, is a dropshipping platform that offers various eCommerce services. It is specifically designed for dropshippers, eliminating many of the issues merchants encounter when dropshipping from China.
For many eCommerce entrepreneurs, Zendrop is simply a vast marketplace where they can find inexpensive products to sell in their online stores for profit. Therefore, it is considered a good alternative to AliExpress when they cannot find suitable suppliers on AliExpress.
How Does Zendrop Work?
Zendrop works directly with Chinese suppliers and manufacturers to find quality products at affordable prices. Their services include product sourcing, inventory tracking, packaging, and branding. Once an order is placed, the product can be sent directly to the customer.
Typically, when you buy products through AliExpress, they have passed through several middlemen, each taking a portion of your profit. If you've ever dropshipped from AliExpress, you may know that these suppliers are not always reliable. They can discontinue products while you are still generating sales, change the quality without informing you, and provide poor customer service.
The emergence of dropshipping platforms like Zendrop aims to solve these problems. Zendrop carefully selects all its suppliers so that you can get the most reputable ones without having to sift through unreliable suppliers. It is essentially an additional middleman you have to pay, but in the long run, he or she may save you money. A bad supplier can cost you thousands of dollars, and it's impossible to avoid encountering them on AliExpress.
Is Zendrop Legitimate?
Is Zendrop a scam? This is a question many people ask. After delving into Zendrop and trying it out in one of my own dropshipping stores, you’ll know it is legitimate. Zendrop does have some aspects that need improvement, but there’s no doubt that the platform overall offers reliable services.
Zendrop was created by dropshippers to solve many of the issues entrepreneurs face when dropshipping. The need was for a more reliable, automated, and sustainable fulfillment system. If you are concerned about Zendrop's credibility, you can also check the ratings and reviews on review sites.
Zendrop Features
Automated Fulfillment
This feature is one of Zendrop’s main selling points. In the past, fulfilling orders could be a long and tedious process, especially when handling large volumes of sales. Most dropshippers had to pay virtual assistants hundreds of dollars each week to fulfill orders.
However, over time, more eCommerce platforms began offering automated fulfillment services, making it easier for dropshippers to scale their businesses. As a result, automated fulfillment services have become an essential component of any dropshipping platform.
If needed, you can automate the entire process on Zendrop, and all you have to do is collect profits and pay the budget.
Tracking
The process of tracking packages is automated. Once Zendrop receives tracking information from their Chinese shipping providers, it automatically reflects in your registered account. Through channels like Shopify's API, your customers will also receive their tracking numbers.
Product Sourcing
Product sourcing is a fundamental feature that most dropshippers are familiar with. You can start by checking the list of hot products on Zendrop to find your ideal winning product. If Zendrop doesn’t have the product you want to sell, you can also enter the product details into Zendrop, and their staff will source the same product in the Chinese market.
Once product sourcing is successful, you can start selling immediately, and Zendrop will provide you with a quote after each sale, which is usually close to the price listed on AliExpress.
However, sometimes Zendrop may fail to complete the sourcing process due to discontinued or out-of-stock products.
Custom Packaging and Labels
Branding is crucial when selling products, especially those from China. If you want to avoid the original supplier's logo appearing on the packaging, you should ask your fulfillment partner to remove them.
Moreover, custom packaging and labels are very helpful for establishing your brand. Since Zendrop offers custom packaging and labeling services, you can request their staff to send all your products in custom packaging. But one thing you should be aware of is that most packaging comes with a minimum order quantity (MOQ). This means you have to buy a large number of packages to use this service.
After receiving your packaging request and information, Zendrop will confirm with the supplier and show you the cost of custom packaging and labeling services.
Service Pricing
Zendrop offers a free option suitable for testing the platform's features in the early stages. If you want to make full use of the platform, you need to subscribe to the Pro plan, which costs $49 per month.
The free plan includes several great features but lacks some of the most important ones. With the free plan, you can only place 50 orders per month or less than two per day. So, if you want to take your business seriously and scale your Shopify store, you’ll need to upgrade right away.
With the Pro plan, you’ll have access to automated fulfillment, thank you notes, expedited delivery, the US product library, and Zendrop Academy. There is a 7-day free trial, and if you find it’s not for you, you can cancel.
Zendrop Shipping Services
Where Do Zendrop Products Ship From?
Most Zendrop products are sourced from China, so shipping time depends on the efficiency of their Chinese shipping courier. For example, with shipping between China and the US, these shipping channels usually take about two weeks to deliver the supplier's order to the customer.
However, Zendrop also offers expedited shipping services for US suppliers. So some products can reach US customers within a week. But such products are limited to a few.
Fast Shipping
Most Zendrop products are sourced from China, and most products on Zendrop can be delivered within 15 days. But the shipping time for some sensitive products may be extended. Additionally, Zendrop offers expedited shipping services for some US suppliers, so orders can sometimes arrive within a week.
Refund Policy
Returns are one of the worst aspects of the dropshipping business model because you are responsible for the returns, and returns can cost you money when it’s out of your control.
When a customer requests a refund for a product, dealing with Chinese suppliers is usually very difficult. Most of the time, you will bear the cost of the item.
Therefore, Zendrop's shipping terms stipulate that if the product is damaged or defective, Zendrop will provide you with a full refund or replacement as long as you can provide photo or video evidence of the damage. If the product is lost or stolen during shipping, Zendrop will work with you to determine the best course of action.
Should Beginners Use Zendrop for Dropshipping?
Zendrop is very suitable for dropshipping on AliExpress, especially for beginners. It can be difficult, and it’s easy to fall victim to some common mistakes and dubious sales practices adopted by AliExpress sellers. Zendrop significantly simplifies the process.
Even suppliers with reasonable volumes will benefit from Zendrop. If you are just starting to grow your business and a product generates 5-10 sales per day, being messed up by a supplier could cost you thousands of dollars. So Zendrop is ideal for entrepreneurs just starting out who have a reasonable budget to use.
However, if your orders are increasing, and you want to take your business to the next level, Zendrop may not be an ideal choice. If possible, transition from Zendrop to bulk purchases and direct warehousing suppliers in your own country once your daily sales exceed 50 units. Zendrop is great for testing the scalability of products in the early stages, but bulk ordering will bring higher profits if the sales volume is high.
If you are on a tight budget and want to exclusively use platforms like AliExpress, then platforms like CJ Dropshipping might be a better choice. Zendrop is useful but definitely not essential. If you are new to the dropshipping industry and you don’t use Zendrop, it’s in your best interest to do supplier research before doing business with them.
