Fast Shipping Time With Dropshipping in 2023 (How to Get It)

If you're a dropshipper, then you know that fast shipping times are essential to your business.

In fact, in 2023, they may even be more important than ever before!

That's why in this article, I'm going to share with you some tips on how to get fast shipping times when dropshipping.

So read on and learn what you need to do to make sure your customers always receive their orders quickly!

Know that you don't need to dropship from China

This is a point that most people get stuck on; they think that dropshipping equals shipping from China and that there are no other options for them.

But guess what?

Dropshipping is just a fulfillment method!

If you’re not sure what a fulfillment method is, then let me explain it real quick to you:

A fulfillment method is the method you use to fulfill your orders. There are three main ecommerce fulfillment methods:

• In-house order fulfillment. For example, you store the stock in your house and send the orders from there as well.
• Third-party fulfillment (or 3PL). This company will handle everything for you, from receiving your inventory from your manufacturer to restocking returned products.
• Dropshipping. With this fulfillment method, your dropshipping supplier will handle everything for you. (Producing the products, shipping, storing, etc.) You can read about what dropshipping is here. Plus, you can read more about the pros and cons here.

The big thing to remember now is that it doesn’t matter what way you send your orders; the basics of ecommerce don’t change.

It doesn’t matter if you’re dropshipping or buying in bulk by using a 3PL, you will still need an online store.

But you don’t need to learn dropshipping specific things; you can learn ecommerce in general!

For example, instead of reading dropshipping specific Facebook Ads articles, read an ecommerce in general Facebook Ads guide.

And yes, before you’re wondering, there are also big ecommerce stores that are using dropshipping as their fulfillment method.

And, to get back to the question, this also means that you can dropship with suppliers outside China. For example, you can take a look at local suppliers. (More about that below)

2 Great tips to get a faster delivery time when dropshipping

Now that you know that you don't need to dropship from China if you don't want that, let's look at how you can get your products delivered faster when dropshipping.

Check out these great tips to help you speed up the process!

By following these simple strategies, you'll be able to reduce the delivery time for your customers and keep them happy.

So what are you waiting for? Start reading now and see how you can improve your shipping times!

1. Find a local dropshipping supplier (or multiple suppliers)

This is one of the biggest ways to get delivery times down when dropshipping because it will reduce your shipping time by a lot – if you compare it to shipping from China.

Why?

Well, if you find a local supplier (or multiple suppliers depending on how many products you're selling), then they can send your packages directly to your customer from (usually) the same country!

This will save a lot of time when you compare it to the 2-4 weeks that you usually deal with when dropshipping with AliExpress. (And yes, ePacket isn't the same right now)

I will have three great examples for you below, but if you're interested in finding more local suppliers, then check out this article here for a few great tips!

Plus, check out these lists here if you're looking for a specific country:

• Best suppliers in Canada
• Best suppliers in the United States
• Best suppliers in Europe
• Best suppliers in the United Kingdom
• Best suppliers in Australia
• Best suppliers in New Zealand

Dropshipping supplier examples with a fast shipping time

1. Spocket

Spocket is a platform that lets you discover dropshipping suppliers from Europe and the United States.

If you're interested, they also offer suppliers from different countries, but around 80% of all Spocket's suppliers come from the US/EU.

Spocket has a directory of US dropshipping suppliers in all kinds of niches as you can see here:

They have even added a new feature that allows you to chat with suppliers directly:

Pricing

You will see Spocket's pricing plans below. If you're interested in Spocket but don't want to pay anything yet, you can create a free account to browse through Spocket's catalog.

To start selling with Spocket, you are looking at $25 per month for the starter plan. If you want to sell more than 25 unique products, the monthly subscription fee becomes a bit higher, but remember that you can get up to 8 months off by paying yearly!

Exclusive Spocket offer: Enter the coupon code: SpocketTrial during checkout, and you'll instantly unlock a FREE 30-day trial. Click here to redeem your free trial now!

Pros

• Order samples. With Spocket, you can order samples with a few simple clicks to test out the products and suppliers!
• Many integration possibilities. Spocket can be integrated with ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Wix, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce.
• Branded invoicing. When scaling your business, you can consider upgrading to the Pro plan to unlock branded invoicing.

Cons

• Customized packaging not available. If you are looking to private label your business and ship your products using customized packaging, Spocket isn't for you. (If you're not sure, check out this article here, which goes over the difference between dropshipping and private labeling)

2. Sellvia

Let's continue with a relatively new US dropshipping supplier that has been developed by AliDropship.

It is called Sellvia, and has been developed to address the main pain point of any ecommerce entrepreneur, long delivery times from Asia to North America.

To put it short, Sellvia is buying products from suppliers in Asia and storing them in their US warehouse located in Irvine, California. Then, they ship out the products to US customers for the dropshippers they are working with.

Now, their clients can get their orders shipped across the US within one to three business days!

Pricing

Sellvia offers a simple pricing structure. To work with them, you will have to purchase their subscription plan, which costs $39 per month. This plan will give you unlimited product imports and orders.

However, they recently launched Sellvia Pro, which costs you $69 per month. This plan contains things like getting a turnkey store and more!

And yes, you can get a 14-day free trial by clicking here!

Pros

• Fast shipping times. With Sellvia, your US customers will receive their products in just one to three business days! Besides that, all products are processed within 24 hours.
• Product description example is included. They provide you with a product description example for each product. You will be able to use this example as inspiration for crafting your own version!

Cons

• The given profit figures might be misleading. On Sellvia's product pages, they give you a potential profit number that is calculated by subtracting the retail price with the product price.
  
  However, the shipping costs are not taken into account here, which may be even higher than the product price. And remember that besides these, you will have other costs for your business too!

Tip: Would you like to find out what your real profit would be? If so, check out our profit margin calculator here!

3. Syncee

The following platform is called Syncee.

Syncee is a B2B platform for dropshippers, retailers, and suppliers. Simply said, it's a place where dropshippers and retailers can find their suppliers!

Pricing

Syncee’s pricing plans range from $29 to $99 per month (you need at least the Basic plan to start selling):

However, don't forget you can test any of the plans for 14 days without actual charges. And if you choose to pay annually, you can save up to eight monthly subscription costs!

Pros

• Chat with suppliers feature. Using Syncee’s built-in communication tool, you will be able to ask suppliers some important questions before partnering with them.
• Location filter for suppliers. If you're looking for suppliers from a specific country, this will be a great feature since you will find them without much effort!
• Auto order feature. When integrated with their app, for example, Syncee's Shopify app, your new orders will be automatically forwarded to your supplier when a customer purchases products from your online store.

Cons

• Pricing. If you want to publish more than 25 products on your store, Syncee will cost at least $49 per month if you pay monthly.

If you didn't find an amazing supplier yet, then check out more local suppliers here!

2. Automating your order processing and fulfillment

You might not think that this is important, but I believe that it's very key in getting your delivery times down.

Why?

Well, when you automate your order processing and fulfillment, then the whole process becomes way easier and faster for you.

This will also reduce your stress levels because everything will be handled by computers throughout the week.

One example is with ordering your products.

When you automate your order processing and fulfillment, then it will be less work for you when you're getting a ton of orders at once. (Imagine ordering all these orders one-by-one!)

And because there's less work required for you to handle, this means that you can spend more time focusing on the big picture – like getting more customers!

For more information about the best automation software for dropshipping, check out this article here!

How fast is shipping with dropshipping?

Usually, if you're dropshipping from China, the shipping time is around 2-4 weeks before the package reaches your customer.

That's a long time for sure!

With local suppliers, you can bring this down to usually less than a week. Sometimes even a few days!

Of course, there are still some things to keep in mind then with your shipping time. For example, how fast can you push the orders through to your suppliers?

Usually, this is pretty fast if you're using automation software or CSV, but if you're doing this manually, then don't forget that this will add a bit of time to the total shipping time (the time that it takes before the package reaches your customer).

What expectations do people have regarding delivery times when ordering online?

Did you know that 45% of US consumers expect that orders placed by 1 PM to 4 PM are eligible for next-day delivery? (Source)

So, how do you meet these kinds of expectations consumers have when shopping at your dropshipping store?

And I’m not even talking about all the expectations that are set on ecommerce stores after Amazon took off.

For example, did you know that 59% of Amazon’s total US customers have Amazon Prime memberships? (Source)

In case you don’t know what Amazon Prime is, you can click here to learn more about what it includes. You will see that it includes a lot, but the most important thing is that it includes free two-day delivery.

A report of late 2017 shows that the maximum delivery time that shoppers will accept in order to receive free shipping is on average 4.5 days. That’s down a full day from 5.5 days in a similar survey in 2012.

To make it even worse, prime members expect their free deliveries to arrive on average within a maximum of 3.8 days.

Well, even the fastest shipping (and most expensive one) doesn’t bring your products from China to your customer in, for example, the US in one day.

Even FedEx will take around three business days before they have delivered your product(s).

This maximum waiting time has now luckily increased to 8 days thanks to the pandemic.

Do you need to have a fast shipping time when dropshipping?

You would think it must be impossible to sell products with a two to three week delivery time.

But, I can tell you that this is not always the case:

Let me explain.

Would you wait for 2-4 weeks for a sandwich maker that you can also buy in the store next door?

I don’t think so…

But what if it’s a special sandwich maker, that you never saw before and is also in your favorite color? Would you care if you might need to wait for 2-4 weeks before it’s delivered?

In a case like this, most people won’t think too much about the delivery time.

Instead, they will be fantasizing about how their new awesome sandwich maker will look in their kitchen.

So this means that long delivery times don’t really matter, but faster delivery times are definitely great to have and will improve your dropshipping store in many ways, like fewer people asking where their package is.

Plus, it can sound more trustworthy if you say that your product will arrive in 4-7 days than saying it takes 2-4 weeks to deliver.

Conclusion

That's all!

I hope you now see that having fast shipping times is important, but don't forget that dropshipping with local dropshipping suppliers has other benefits as well. You can read more about these benefits in this article here.

Although, if your product is worth waiting for then dropshipping with long shipping times (AliExpress) is still alright! Just try to keep the tips in mind to make your AliExpress delivery time as short as possible.

If you got any more tips regarding having a faster delivery time when dropshipping, or if have any questions, then let me know by commenting below or contacting me directly by pressing the “Contact Us” button at the top!

Good luck with your dropshipping store! Don't forget that success takes time and a lot of effort!

Getting started with dropshipping in 2023

So, are you ready to get started with dropshipping? Or maybe you have already started, but you’re looking to get some inspiration?

If so, I suggest reading our complete Shopify dropshipping guide!

It's a huge article, but it contains everything that you need to know to create your own Shopify dropshipping store in 2023. It's like a dropshipping course, but for free!

Reading this article will help you to get started and stay motivated while beginning and continuing your dropshipping journey!

Just don’t forget that success takes time. Keep improving each and every day!

Shopify Dropshipping: A 20-Step Guide to Starting Your Store

Here are some of our best articles:

• AliExpress Dropshipping: A 20-Step Getting Started Guide (2023)
• The Complete Guide: Can You Start Dropshipping Without Money in 2023?
• 12 Reasons Why Most People Fail With Dropshipping in 2023 | Beat Them!
• 23 Awesome Shopify Dropshipping Store Examples

Also, if you haven't created a Shopify account yet, then you can click here to get a free 3-day trial + pay $1/month for the first 3 months!