Spocket dropshipping marketplace review
For running a profitable drop-shipping online store, it is important to have the right supplier for drop shipping, supplying high quality products at affordable prices. Spocket is one of the most popular drop-shipping marketplaces, and this spocket review provides information on this marketplaces, which will be useful for those who are running an online store. Spocket allows merchants to search and contact drop-shipping suppliers based in the European Union and the United States. It allows merchants, to stock high quality items in their online store.
Spocket details
The Spocket drop-shipping marketplace has a Spocket app which is highly rated on Shopify. It allows online retailers to find and add products to their stores quickly. Though there are some advantages of dropshipping, there are a few disadvantages in terms of the branding, profit margins, policies for returns and shipping. Spocket has taken the effort to ensure that the problems faced by the online retailers while using other drop-shipping marketplaces or suppliers are largely eliminated . This makes drop shipping easier for the suppliers, merchants and ultimately the customers.
Spocket user profile
Spocket marketplace is developed specifically for online merchants who wish to drop ship products of the highest quality on their store. While customers may purchase a low quality product from an online store once, they are unlikely to purchase more products from the store. Repeat customers are usually a major part of the customer base for any business, hence poor quality products can damage the reputation of the business. This is the reason, why it is important to sell high quality products, even if the merchant is drop-shipping.
Spocket takes pride in finding quality products, so the eCommerce seller does not have to spend time searching for suppliers, research the product quality, they can focus on selling products to their customers. Spocket has a huge number of products which are available for drop-shipping. It allows the seller to create a list of high quality products which are in demand, without having to make or find them, find suppliers or ship them to customers. Since the products are of high quality, it will help the merchant in brand building and ensure that the merchant has a large number of repeat customers.
Setting up Spocket on Shopify stores
Spocket integrates directly with Shopify and Woocommerce stores and stepwise directions are provided below
– Install Spocket app using the Shopify App store to the connect Spocket to the Shopify store
– A four step tour is provided with the App to familiarize the user, who can then search the Spocket marketplace for products based on various criteria like price, product name, popularity
– The merchant can then add the products he is interested in, to his importer list. The merchant can then modify the list if required, before pushing it to store
– After adding the products, the Shopify store will be ready for use. The premium products in the Spocket marketplace are only available to those who use Spocket’s paid plans.
Services & Features of Spocket
Free Plan
Spocket offers a free basic plan, where merchants can add a maximum of 25 products to their online store. There is also no limit to the number of orders which they can receive for these products. Other features like shipment tracking, pricing, inventory updates are also available.
Branded invoice
The branding options for the invoice will vary depending on whether the plan is free or paid, and the customization options include logo for the paid plan.
Quality products
Spocket is aware that merchants are upset by the poor quality of the products drop-shipped, so they are focusing on verifying the suppliers, to ensure that they are only selling high quality products. This ensures that the merchants are only working with quality suppliers.
Higher profit margins
Typically a merchant will make a profit of 15-45% while drop shipping, Spocket tries to ensure that merchants make a profit of 30-60% on every sale. This helps them make a greater profit and grow faster.
Ordering samples
Merchants should sell products only after checking the product themselves. Spocket makes it easy for the merchant to order a sample of the product which they wish to sell using the dashboard provided.
Automated selling
Like other drop-shipping marketplaces, Spocket helps to automate the drop-shipping business, since orders are atomically sent to the supplier. This increases the efficiency, reducing the possibility of mistakes and makes it better for the user.
Faster delivery
Since approximately 60% of the suppliers listed at Spocket are located in EU and US, the items will be delivered faster to customers in good condition. hence the customers are likely to be more satisfied.
Vetting of Spocket suppliers
The process of vetting the suppliers listed in the Spocket marketplace are
– Suppliers have to apply to become part of the marketplace, and they are approved only if they meet various criteria like product demand, packaging requirement, discount of 30-60%
– Interview of supplier: The supplier will also be interviewed to investigate the business, to find the history and whether it is suitable
– Product testing: Spocket product quality team will order products from the supplier store, to check the quality, packaging and shipping time.
Only if the supplier will pass the tests, they become a part of the marketplace. Even then, the performance of the supplier is monitored for their performance for the first two months to ensure that the merchants are satisfied with the supplier. If the supplier does not meet the criteria, the account is deactivated.
Product customization
The merchant can use Spocket product information in their online store, or they can make any kind of changes they wish in the product listing like description,images
Premium and discounted products
Spocket has a wide range of suppliers including local vendors, small and large manufactures, artisans. The products can be classified into discounted products with low margins and premium products, which offer greater profit and are available only for paid subscribers.
Shipping & return policy
All suppliers should specify their return policy or no returns, 15 day or 30 day return. A flat rate is charged for domestic and international shipping, with tracking number provided.
Real time inventory updates
Spocket offers real time updates of inventory which ensure that the merchant does not sell out of stock products
Pros & Cons of Spocket
Pros
– large marketplace with vetting of suppliers, real time updates
– new suppliers are added regularly
– selling on top eCommerce platforms like Woocommerce, Shopify with easy integration and automated selling
– Higher profit margin of 30 to 60%
– Free plan available for merchants with a limited budget
– Available to merchants worldwide
Cons
– The products cannot be sold on some marketplaces like Ebay, Amazon, Etsy
– Customs duty and taxes not included
– the packaging cannot be customized
– merchants cannot contact suppliers directly
Spocket pricing
Spocket has a free plan where the merchant can only sell 25 products from the marketplace. There is a standard plan, priced at $29 per month which allows the merchant to list up to 250 products, including premium products and offers branded invoicing. The professional plan is similar to the standard plan, only it offers unlimited products and is priced at $79/month.
Conclusion
Spocket is highly recommended for online merchants since they have a large number of popular products and high quality suppliers, for automated online selling.