Are you a dropshipping store owner or thinking about starting a dropshipping store? Well, then you should read this post. Most of the dropshippers (prospective and new) worry about the time it’d take for an order to reach their customer with AliExpress.
In the good old days, China suppliers used to ship the parcels by the sea which meant it would take up to 2 months. Seriously? Well, yes! Imagine that as a customer. Most newbies are scared when they receive angry customer emails or messages. They get worried they may lose a customer or will have to refund the amount.
As a dropshipper, you want to earn good money and keep your customers happy and that’s pretty much all of what makes a profitable dropshipping business. But how do you achieve that?
How do you select the best AliExpress shipping method for dropshipping business? In the days where Amazon is offering Prime next day delivery, how do you satiate your customers?
Entering ePacket shipping- the solution to all your problems and a savior for all the AliExpress drop shippers.
I’ll cover everything to answer all the what, how and why you may have related to ePacket shipping.
Let’s get started…
What is ePacket delivery?
ePacket as the name suggests started as a means to promote e-commerce business from China and Hong Kong suppliers around the world. What started as an agreement between US Postal Service and Hong Kong Post to increase international sales for China found large popularity very soon.
As of this writing, ePacket delivery service is available in 38 countries which I would be sharing in the later section of this post.
ePacket delivery is one of the most popular and best AliExpress shipping method for dropshipping which delivers the package to the destination between 10-15 days. This is a very impressive number considering AliExpress packages can take anywhere between 30-60 days.
That’s almost 2 months!
While there are other fast shipping methods available as well (according to your destination country) including EMS and DHL, they can be very expensive for your low-cost dropshipping products and ruin your profit margin. Imagine paying $24 for shipping of a $1 worth product.
It just isn’t worth it!
Well, you may choose to sell it for 30 dollars to cover the shipping, but what about your competition? The pricing strategy has to be considered here and so the best bet is to use a low cost and effective shipping method- ePacket delivery for your dropshipping business.
ePacket delivery- package weight & size limit
The suppliers can offer ePacket delivery as a shipping method if the product meets the ePacket delivery requirements.
One of the major considerations here is the weight and size of the package.
Each package, including the box and filler material, should not weigh more than 2 Kg (4.4 lbs) for all countries with an exception of Israel that has a limit of the package not weighing more than 3 Kg (6.61 lbs).
Now, let’s talk about size:
The package can have a maximum length of 60 cm and the total height and thickness (width) of the package cannot be more than 90 cm.
Please note that this information has been drawn from the official China Post site who had posted the information on 25 October 2017.
Further, the package must be shipped from China or Hong Kong to one of the 38 eligible countries.
What Makes ePacket Shipping The Best AliExpress Shipping Method For Dropshipping
It’s cheap & cost-effective
Neither you nor your customer would want to pay a hefty sum of $50 for a $5 worth of product no matter how hot selling the item is. A good idea is to pick ePacket delivery and pay a $2 (the amount varies per item and country) and add it to the selling price on your dropshipping store.
You’d still retain a pretty good margin and have a happy customer at the end of the sale.
It’s very fast
As noted above, standard AliExpress shipping method can take up to two months for delivery. ePacket shipping method is a relatively faster method which delivers the product within 7-15 days depending upon the destination country.
Now, let’s take a look at some of the downsides of ePacket shipping.
Package tracking is available
ePacket allows for easy package tracking across the globe and you can use multiple sites like EMS, Aftership, and 17Trackto track your packages. This is very important since you’re dropshipping and you’d want to let your customers know the status of their order for a better customer support.
It’d also help you to avoid the nightmare of handling shipping and returns for your dropshipping business.
Quick conversion
While you’re not Amazon and people don’t expect next day delivery, fast shipping and delivery can keep you ahead of the competition and result in a quick conversion for your store.
People can wait for hot selling items but if you can deliver it before your major competition at a comparatively lower price, you’ll be the clear winner of your niche domain.
ePacket shipping: the cons
It isn’t available everywhere
ePacket shipping was an agreement between Hong Kong Post and US Postal service which started out with a goal to promote International shipping for China. However, it boomed and spread to more countries supporting a total of 38 currently.
This means it isn’t available everywhere so you might want to check where your target audience lives before thinking about ePacket.
You can’t ship every item with ePacket
ePacket has a size and weight limit as discussed in the previous section which means you can’t ship just about anything with ePacket shipping in your dropshipping store.
While ePacket has its cons, there are just some minor hiccups that are overshadowed by the immense benefits of ePacket shipping for your dropshipping store.
Which countries have ePacket shipping facility?
Below you’ll find the list of countries that have ePacket Shipping Facility available.