How to Find UK Dropshipping Suppliers (Local & AliExpress)

Today, we will discuss a topic essential for anyone hoping to conquer the UK dropshipping market – finding the perfect suppliers.

We all know that your supplier can be your ultimate ally, ensuring you deliver top-notch products to your customers every time.

Or, they can be your downfall if they’re not up to scratch.

That means finding the right supplier is a mission you want to accomplish correctly from the start!

6 Tips for finding UK dropshipping suppliers

If you’re struggling with finding a dropshipping supplier in the UK, here are six tips that might help you!

1. Check our list of the best UK dropshipping suppliers

Our first tip is for those who like to keep things simple.

You could spend several hours searching for UK dropshipping suppliers online, but what if we told you that that’s unnecessary?

That’s because we already did the hard work for you.

Simply use our list of the best dropshipping suppliers from the UK:

Tip: You can also find our list of the best free UK dropshipping suppliers here!

2. Use Google

Ever heard of the expression, ‘Google is your best friend’?

Well, it also applies to today’s topic!

You can find some of the best dropshipping suppliers from the UK using a simple Google search.

Keep it simple and search for a keyword like: ‘UK dropshipping supplier.’ In this case, you will find great general dropshipping suppliers like Avasam:

However, you can also try to find a UK dropshipping supplier specializing in your niche.

For example, if you are building a dropshipping business in the pet niche, you could search for a keyword like: ‘Pet UK dropshipping supplier.’

Now, you could find a UK dropshipping supplier specializing in pet products, like Not In The Dog House:

3. Search in supplier directories

The third tip is to use supplier directories to find UK dropshipping suppliers.

Supplier directories collect the contact details of many dropshipping suppliers and list them all within a single platform.

They are like a library you can use to find dropshipping suppliers.

Examples of great dropshipping supplier directories are Spocket, Syncee, and SaleHoo.

Here’s an example of how SaleHoo works:

First, you can create an account to access SaleHoo’s supplier directory.

Once you’re in, you can filter the suppliers on ‘Location: the UK,’ which will give you a list of various UK dropshipping suppliers:

Remember that when you plan to use a supplier directory, there is one thing you need to pay attention to:

Ensure that your supplier directory uses a vetting program for its suppliers. This will ensure that the suppliers in the supplier directory are legit and can be trusted.

4. Find UK suppliers on AliExpress

This tip may have come as a surprise to you.

Yes, you can use AliExpress to find dropshipping suppliers from the UK!

So, if you have been dropshipping with AliExpress and don’t want to switch platforms, this may be a great option.

Let’s go over it:

How do you find the best UK suppliers on AliExpress? (3 simple steps)

Did you know that finding local suppliers on AliExpress is very simple?

You need to perform three steps:

1. Know how to find winning products on AliExpress

Before finding a UK supplier, you must know how to find winning products on AliExpress.

Otherwise, you may find an AliExpress supplier selling terrible products.

That wouldn’t help your ecommerce store, right?

First, you should know what a ‘winning’ product is.

It’s a product that has the following characteristics:

• The product has a ‘Wow’ factor
• It solves a problem or a pain point
• It isn’t easy to find in regular retail stores
• It has good profit margins

If this is new to you, we recommend reading our article: What Is a Winning Product?

That article will explain the abovementioned characteristics and give you more winning product examples!

Now that you know what products to look for, you should read up on some tactics to help you find those winning products on AliExpress.

You will learn that in the article: How to Find Products on AliExpress? (5 Tips).

2. Use the ‘Ship From & To United Kingdom’ filter

You are now ready to find UK suppliers on AliExpress!

To do so, follow the simple steps below:

1. Go to AliExpress and use a keyword or category search to view products. In this example, we’ve searched for a ‘plush toy.’

2. Head to the top of the page, select ‘United Kingdom’ as the ‘Ship to’ option, and click Save.

3. Next, navigate to the ‘Ship from’ filter and select ‘United Kingdom.’ This will filter all products and only keep those shipped out of the UK:

Note: If you don’t see the ‘Ship from’ filter, then make sure you have selected ‘United Kingdom’ as your ‘Ship to’ option! This option was selected in the second step of the process.

4. Once the filter is applied, you will only see the products that can be shipped from the United Kingdom!

Here is an example of how it looks from the product page:

Tip: If you can’t find many AliExpress sellers that ship from the UK for the product you want to sell, you can also try to find products that ship from warehouses in countries near the UK, such as Belgium or Germany.

3. Be aware of fake UK suppliers on AliExpress

Now, you might think you’re ready to find a UK supplier on AliExpress.

But there’s one more critical step to take; some suppliers on AliExpress create a ‘Ship from UK’ option on their product page while their product ships from China.

They trick people into thinking they will get a short delivery time while the delivery time will be precisely the same.

So, let’s go over how to avoid being fooled by these suppliers:

How do you avoid fake UK suppliers on AliExpress? (4 tips)

Here are four tips you can apply to avoid ordering a ‘shipped from the UK’ product on AliExpress that, in reality, is shipped from China.

1. Ask the supplier for past tracking numbers

When a supplier genuinely ships products from the UK, you can see this in the tracking information of pasts orders:

Therefore, you can check if a supplier ships products from the UK by asking for a few of their past tracking numbers:

If the supplier refuses to give them or you see that the product wasn’t shipped from the United Kingdom, stay away from this supplier.

2. Look at the shipping times

Take your knowledge about shipping times from China to your advantage.

Packages from China can take a while to arrive, so you will often see a shipping time of 15+ days for products that ship from China.

AliExpress suppliers know that if they promise ultra-short shipping times, people will open disputes for their orders, their ratings will go down, and they may get issues with AliExpress.

Therefore, some fake UK suppliers on AliExpress will offer an option to ship from the UK with an unusually long shipping time.

This is a way to spot fake UK AliExpress suppliers.

For example, here’s a supplier on AliExpress that promises delivery within 12 days with UK shipping:

However, here, we found a different product that’s also shipped from the UK, but its estimated delivery time is more than a month away!

3. Examine the shipping methods

Genuine UK suppliers on AliExpress will mention their shipping method or carrier to ship products from the UK.

You can see an example from the image above, where the shipping method is ‘Royal Mail,’ a popular shipping carrier in the UK.

Fake UK suppliers might show a shipping method like ‘Seller’s Shipping Method – UK’ on the shipping information page (like in the image above).

This could be an indication that, in reality, the product is not shipped from the UK!

4. Check the product reviews

Looking at the product reviews can give you a rough idea of the product’s shipping time.

Read the reviews and pay attention to the ‘Ships from: United Kingdom’ reviews.

Read some of them and see what people say about the product’s shipping time!

Here’s an example of someone who was satisfied with their product’s fast delivery time because it was sent by a UK supplier on AliExpress:

5. Use your ecommerce platform’s app store

This tip will be a quick and simple one.

If you are dropshipping with an ecommerce platform like Shopify, you can use the app store to find new dropshipping suppliers.

Take a look at the suppliers we have found by typing ‘UK dropshipping supplier’ in the Shopify App Store:

In these results, we already see great UK dropshipping suppliers like Dripshipper and CJdropshipping!

An added benefit of this method is that the dropshipping suppliers you find are super easy to connect to your store!

6. Use a dropshipping agent

Finally, we have arrived at the last tip; using a dropshipping agent.

If you don’t want to find a suitable dropshipping supplier for your business, you can contact a dropshipping agent who will do it for you!

A dropshipping agent is a person that can do various tasks for your dropshipping store. These include:

• Contacting suppliers
• Sourcing products
• Storing products in a warehouse
• Packing the products
• Shipping the products

If you are looking for a UK dropshipping supplier, the first job is the one you will be most interested in.

A good dropshipping agent will have the knowledge and network to find the best dropshipping supplier for your business.

Check out our five tips on how to find a high-quality private dropshipping agent for more information!

Or you can check out our list of the best dropshipping agents here.

How do you pick the best dropshipping supplier for your business?

So, you are on the lookout for a dropshipping supplier, right?

But how do you pick the best dropshipping supplier for your business?

After all, you will come across a lot of dropshipping suppliers from the UK after applying the tips in this article.

The best way to pick the right dropshipping supplier for your business is to filter the dropshipping suppliers you come across against a set of indicators.

First and foremost, you should filter a list of suppliers on their location.

If you are looking for UK dropshipping suppliers, then a supplier from Australia won’t fit your business.

Here is a list of indicators you can use to choose your dropshipping supplier:

• Location
• Fair prices
• Excellent customer service
• The products
• Pricing plan
• Shipping and order processing time
• Integration possibilities with your store
• Customized packaging

By applying these characteristics and indicators, you can separate the good suppliers from the bad ones.

For more things to consider before picking a dropshipping supplier, check out our article about spotting a good dropshipping supplier.

Besides analyzing your suppliers based on these indicators, you can use these 14 questions for finding dropshipping suppliers. They will help you find the most amazing supplier for your business!

Should you do dropshipping with multiple suppliers?

Last but not least, there is one question that remains.

Suppose you have found two or more great products that a single supplier doesn’t offer. Or maybe you need some of the benefits of one supplier that the other doesn’t offer.

In this case, should you do dropshipping with multiple suppliers?

Some think dropshipping with multiple suppliers can quickly become a logistical nightmare, but is this true?

Well, the true answer can be detailed. We have written two whole articles about dropshipping with multiple suppliers.

Basically, it comes down to personal preference as well.

Do you want the added benefits of combining the strengths of two or more suppliers? Or do you want the ease of dropshipping with a single supplier?

That’s something you will have to decide for yourself.

When you decide to dropship with multiple suppliers, be aware that you should know a thing or two about dropshipping with multiple suppliers.

For example, how should you handle a situation where a customer orders a product from supplier A and a product from supplier B in one order?

We hope this image will make it clearer, but remember to read the articles we linked to above if you plan on doing this!

How do you find local dropshipping suppliers in other countries?

Not sure yet about dropshipping with suppliers from the United Kingdom? Or are you interested in scaling further to other countries?

We’ve got you covered! Check out the lists below to find great suppliers in different countries:

Plus, don’t forget to check our guide on the best countries for dropshipping!

Conclusion

There you have it!

As you can see, finding dropshipping suppliers from the UK shouldn’t be that hard.

You can use sources like articles on Do Dropshipping, Google, supplier directories, and more to find dropshipping suppliers from the United Kingdom.

If you still didn’t find a suitable dropshipping supplier for your business after applying these tips, remember that you can always contact us by leaving a comment below.

We will do our best to help you find a dropshipping supplier!

We wish you the best of luck with your search, and have a great rest of your day!

Want to learn more about dropshipping?

Ready to move your dropshipping store to the next level? Check out the articles below: