Shein Dropshipping: A Step-by-Step Guide to Fashion E-commerce 2024

$1670.1 billion. This is what the dropshipping market is expected to reach by 2031 (source: alliedmarketresearch).
Undoubtedly, dropshipping has emerged as one of the most popular business pathways for eCommerce business owners to make money. And if you are also thinking of exploring this business opportunity, then it is not too late.
Fashion e-commerce is a billion-dollar industry, and entering this market with the dropshipping business model can be easier than you thought with Shein dropshipping.
This affordable clothing brand supplier can help you build a profitable dropshipping business in no time. In this blog, we will answer all the burning questions you have on Shein dropshipping and understand the steps involved in setting up a successful Shein dropshipping business in detail. Let’s begin!

Is Shein Legit?

Source: Shein

Yes, Shein is a legitimate and well-known fast-fashion retailer founded in China and headquartered in Singapore. They were initially known as a dropshipping business, as they were involved in sourcing products from wholesale markets and not in design or manufacturing.
Currently, Shein offers a wide range of clothing, accessories, and other items at affordable prices for women, men, and even kids. It has gained popularity globally, especially among young and trend-focused consumers.
While Shein is a legitimate company, like any other online marketplace, there can be mixed reviews and experiences from customers. The brand is known for selling affordable versions of high-end and trendy fashion items. In this process, customers have faced issues with the quality of items and occasional reports of customer dissatisfaction related to shipping times and sizing discrepancies. On the other hand, Some people have had positive experiences with Shein, praising its affordable fashion and diverse product offerings.
If you are considering building a dropshipping business with Shein, it’s advisable to read customer reviews, check the sizing information provided on the website, and be aware of the shipping times, especially if you are ordering from a location outside Shein’s primary markets.

Is Shein A Dropshipping Store?

Source: Canva

Shein (formerly SheInside) is one of the fastest-growing online-only e-commerce brands. Debuted in October 2008, it has become the most important international fashion marketplace for most customers worldwide. In fact, Shein is the second-most downloaded shopping app (source: UBS Evidence Lab data) in the US. Now, that’s impressive!
With its staggeringly low prices, a jaw-droppingly wide selection of items, and lightning-fast delivery times, it single-handedly revolutionized the way people shop.

Now, to answer your question – does Shein dropship or can you dropship from Shein? Not exactly. Shein is an online B2C fashion marketplace that sells fashionable women’s dresses at reasonable prices. Women adore Shein products because they provide a luxurious look and feel for a lower price.
Even though Shein does present itself as a dropshipping store, businesses can still source products from them in bulk and sell them in their own stores. The only catch here is that you will not be allowed to use any of Shein’s product images. You can, however, use your own product photos and start a dropshipping store with Shein products.
Shein also offers wholesale discounts to customers who purchase products in bulk. Orders over $200 are eligible for a 25% discount, and orders over $3000 are eligible for a 40% discount.

Advantages Of Dropshipping From Shein In 2024

If you are considering starting a Shein dropshipping business, here are some of the perks or benefits you should expect:

• Dropshipping from Shein offers a wide range of prestigious products at competitive prices compared to most online retail marketplaces.
• The Shein online marketplace has a large number of products and styles in each category. Shein’s online retail shop makes finding the product you’re looking for simple.
• Unlike other online shopping marketplaces, Shein offers a more extensive size range from which a customer can select the correct size measurement of the product required.
• Shein offers international shipping to over 220 countries with international warehouses across the USA, UK, Asia, etc.
• New and updated products are added to the Shein women’s clothing store daily.
• More convenient return and refund options assist the customer in returning the product if anyone is dissatisfied with its quality. This clothing line also regularly offers exceptional sales and promotes lucrative offers and discounts to entice customers.
• Shein’s customer service is highly transparent and user-friendly. It consists of call-and-chat executives who speak in a range of popular languages.
• It also provides a variety of payment options and numerous lucrative discounts and sales to entice customers to shop.

Disadvantages Of Dropshipping From Shein In 2024

• Like other dropshipping marketplaces, you might face quality issues with some products.
• Shein is a popular platform, and many entrepreneurs opt for Shein dropshipping. The market saturation can lead to intense competition, making it challenging to stand out and attract customers.
• Shipping dates may fluctuate and can become unpredictable depending on adverse weather conditions. This might lead to poor customer satisfaction and the possibility of your products being misplaced.
• Dropshipping from Shein means you’re essentially reselling their products. So, this will limit your ability to build a unique brand identity for your businesses as the products, packaging, and overall experience are associated with Shein rather than your brand.

Best Features of Shein That You Should Know Of

Here are some of the notable features of Shein that you must know:

• Shein Marketplace

Source: Shein

Shein U.S. Marketplace is a platform that allows sellers to join and sell their products on Shein. With Shein’s massive customer base, sellers can instantly tap into a large audience base and conduct a profitable business. Shein offers 0% marketplace fees for the new suppliers for the first three months and a flat 10% fee after this period.

• Extensive Product Catalog

Source: Shein

Shein has a diverse catalog with over 600,000 items (source: BBC) across categories like fashion, home decor, electronics, and more. Its recent expansion into new markets demonstrates a commitment to meeting customers’ evolving needs worldwide.

• Shein VIP Program

Source: Shein

The Shein VIP program is a rewards and loyalty program structured into tiers based on customer spending. The membership to Shein VIP is free and is available to individuals only. Once you become a Shein VIP member, you’ll get access to reward points added for every purchase, and customers can accumulate points by leaving reviews, redeemable for future discounts.

How Does Shein Dropship Work: Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to explore Shein dropshipping in 2024? Here are the steps you need to follow to get your dropshipping business up and running in no time.

Step 1: Pick A Niche

Source: Canva

Shein has expanded their product catalogs to new niches, including home and kitchen, beauty, health, sports, and more. Now, Shein has around 20 categories for you to choose from, with a wide range of products in each category. Hence, you need to start by picking the right niches from the available categories.
Even now, fashion is one of their dominant categories, and you can still choose this niche for your dropshipping business. A better way to do this is to understand each of these products’ markets and target audiences. Do a detailed analysis, and pick the one that is less competitive and easier to function in. You can use tools like Google Trends to understand the current trends or even use product research tools for dropshipping, such as AliShark or FindNiche.

Step 2: Find a Reliable Supplier

Source: Canva

Shein has over 3000 suppliers, but not all might be reliable or can cater to your store’s needs. Finding a good supplier is essential, as are factors such as product quality, pricing, shipping times, and customer satisfaction, which should be considered before choosing a supplier. Make sure your chosen supplier has sufficient stock, effective communication, and reliable fulfillment processes.

Step 3: Sign Up on Shein’s Website

Source: Shein

Creating a Shein dropshipping account is a straightforward process:

1. Visit the Shein website.
2. Click on the register button.
3. Enter your email and a preferred password.
4. Confirm your email.

Once registered, you’ll have access to your dashboard, which consolidates all your buyer history.

Source: Shein

Step 4: Create Your Online Dropshipping Store

This is an important step in your Shein dropshipping journey. Decide where you’ll be selling – either by creating your own store on platforms like Shopify or selling on marketplaces like Amazon or eBay. Creating your own store provides control but requires investment, while marketplaces offer ready traffic but limited control. Platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce can be great for creating a unique brand experience for your customers.

Source: Canva

Step 5: Import Shein Products and Create Listings

Like running any online store, creating a clear product listing can help attract customers to your website and increase sales. For each product, ensure you have detailed titles and product descriptions written. Also, try to include relevant keywords and details such as SKU, color, variants, sizes, etc., accurately. Remember to use your own high-quality images, as Shein does not allow drop shippers to use their images.
For directly importing products into dropshipping stores, you can take the help of dropshipping apps such as the Shein Product Importer for Woo Commerce or ShionImporter Fashion Dropship, which are available in the Shopify store.

Source: Canva

Step 6: Calculate the Pricing and Set Margins

Pricing is a balancing act. Choose affordable products but avoid compromising quality. Consider all associated costs, including initial product costs, platform fees, marketing, and shipping. Set competitive margins to attract customers while ensuring profitability.

Source: Canva

Step 7: Market Your Store

This is critical for the sustenance of any dropshipping store. Promotion lies at the heart of running an online store, especially in the dropshipping business, where the competition is vast. Consider utilizing social media, ads, email marketing, and other promotional activities to highlight your store’s key factors. This could be quicker deliveries, better prices, etc., but don’t be afraid to highlight your best features to outshine your competitors.

Step 8: Fulfill Orders

While Shein takes care of fulfillment, you’re responsible for submitting orders to the Shein supplier on time and maintaining communication with both the supplier and the customer. Ensure the customer receives their order and is satisfied with the service. In order to speed up the process of sourcing and order fulfillment, you can use HyperSKU to enable a seamless dropshipping experience for your store.
And that’s all! You are all set to run your own Shein dropshipping business.

So, Should You Dropship From Shein?

Today, Shein is at the top of its game when it comes to fashion apparel, and the reason for this is the company’s quick decisions to bring the latest styles to the market its fashion market.
It has globally positioned warehouses in most of these countries, allowing for more comfortable and quick product transportation and faster customer outreach.

You can dropship from Shein, but you cannot use any of their product images that include models. This means that if you want to drop ship from Shein legally, you must provide your product images.
It’s also a good idea to contact a supplier before dropshipping from them. So send them a message, and they will explain everything you can and cannot do.

Best Shein Dropshipping Alternatives to Check Out In 2024

Looking for Shein dropshipping alternatives? Here are three profitable dropshipping suppliers you can consider:

• Alibaba (www.alibaba.com)

Source: Alibaba

Dropshipping Alibaba is one of the best B2B marketplaces that facilitates direct connections between buyers and manufacturers. This dropshipping supplier caters to advanced drop shippers seeking bulk purchases at the distribution level. They have a rather large product catalog featuring over 2.8 million suppliers across 5,900 categories.

• HyperSKU Fashion

If you’re on the hunt for a dependable and all-encompassing dropshipping solution tailored for the fashion industry, look no further than HyperSKU Fashion from HyperSKU! Boasting a vast array of trending dresses, tops, swimwear, and accessories, our platform offers a diverse selection to cater to your customers’ desires. They meticulously curated a top-tier fashion catalog to cater to the distinctive needs of fashion boutique owners like you!

Seamlessly integrate our handpicked products into your store, sourced from around the globe, with lightning-fast shipping in just 5-12 days. Their comprehensive supply chain solution includes features like order bundling/splitting, multi-order processing, and a shipping calculator to boost your bottom line. With streamlined product sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics, HyperSKU is aimed to be your all-in-one supply chain solution.

• Zaful (www.m.zaful.com)

Source: Zaful 

If you are looking for a fashion dropshipping supplier, then Zaful could be the one you’re looking for. Zaful can indeed be positioned as a formidable competitor to Shein in the clothing industry, as they, too, have a wide and diverse range of products, including dresses, jackets, swimwear, and accessories. While they don’t have a direct dropshipping program, businesses like yours can leverage Zaful’s products for sales and capitalize on its affiliate marketing program.

• Buy2Bee

Source: Buy 2 Bee

Another popular one on the list is Buy2Bee. With over two decades of industry experience, Buy2Bee specializes in branded goods, offering authenticity and quality. Products from renowned brands like Gucci and Calvin Klein are showcased with HD images, and entrepreneurs can even use the provided banners.

Final Thoughts

Dropshipping from Shein may not be ideal if you are looking to create a unique and branded online store. Since they do not permit them without their images, which is highly inconvenient for a drop shipper, they send out packages with their branding on them, which is a big no-no for any dropshipper. Customers will find the source and feel duped. However, if you are in your teens and want to explore dropshipping and similar business ideas for teens, don’t forget to do the necessary research before starting the business.

If you still want to dropship from Shein, you should consider importing products through HyperSKU. This way, you can still buy many Shein products, get reasonable shipping rates, and they won’t put their branding on the packages. So, what are you waiting for? Start dropshipping today!

Latest articles you might be interested in:

• Discover Top 20 Dropshipping Suppliers for Your Online Business
• 5 Steps to Master Shopify Dropshipping for Profitable Business