I’m surprised more people don’t utilize VIP links when dropshipping from AliExpress. This may be because they don’t know about them yet, hopefully after reading this article they will start using them as they are an effective and underutilized tool.
An AliExpress VIP link is a hidden listing that is only visible to you and your supplier. VIP links are only given to dropshippers who are making consistent daily sales and provide perks such as faster shipping and lower product costs that are not available to anyone else publicly.
It’s like being in a special membership group and you receive the VIP treatment because you’re the big spender. Normal everyday consumers shopping on AliExpress will not see or be aware of your VIP link.
Why You Should Use VIP Links?
What you get out of the VIP listing will differ from supplier to supplier as it’s completely negotiable and each dropshipping business will have different needs. Obviously, the more sales you are making will provide you with more leverage to negotiate better terms.
These are some of the advantages of using VIP links:
- It helps build a stronger relationship between you and your supplier which can have several benefits.
- Your supplier will know exactly which orders are yours so they can see how many sales you’re making and provide you with all the benefits.
- They prioritize your sales before others making processing times faster.
- It will not publicly increase the order count which will reduce competition.
- They may be able to upgrade you to better shipping carriers for faster and more reliable shipping.
- You can negotiate lower product costs and better quality variants of the same product.
- It’s the most risk free way of semi-scaling your dropshipping business without the upfront cost of buying in bulk.
How Do You Become a VIP on AliExpress?
Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as sending a supplier a message saying ‘I’m dropshipping, I want to be a VIP member”. You need to be making consistent daily sales first and the number of sales required will vary between suppliers.
In general, I would say once you hit around 10 sales a day you could message a few suppliers and request a VIP listing. Some suppliers will be happy to provide you with your own VIP link once you hit 5 sales per day whilst others may require 20 sales per day.
The whole process is not only about you finding a supplier to give you a VIP link, it’s also a vetting process for you so you only work with trustworthy and reliable suppliers who can benefit your business. There are tons of suppliers out and trust me, some of them you don’t want a VIP link from.
The most effective method of obtaining a VIP link from reputable suppliers is to send a professional message to at least 5 suppliers and see who replies with detailed and knowledgeable answers. A message you may use could be something like this:
Hello,
My name is (Your name) I am currently dropshipping (Your product) and doing around 10 sales per day. My current supplier has limited stock and I am currently looking for a second supplier to create a VIP listing for me so I can scale my business further.
Can you please answer the following questions:
- How much stock do you currently have for this product?
- Which are the best shipping lines you have access to and can you provide quotes for them?
- What are your processing times once I place an order?
- Are you negotiable on product price once I scale my business and increase my daily sales?
I look forward to hearing back from you.
If a supplier is serious about working with you they will answer each of your questions properly. If a supplier does not answer all your questions or brushes over each question, skip them. There are plenty of suppliers to choose from.
How Many Sales Should You Be Making with the VIP Link?
I mentioned above once you reach 10 sales a day you can reach out to suppliers for a VIP link. Once you have this link and your supplier has enough inventory, does that mean you can start scaling your business hard? Definitely Not!
No matter how much stock your supplier has, AliExpress is not the ideal platform for scaling a business. AliExpress is great for testing products and validating potential profitability. However, even with a VIP link, you are far better off transitioning into buying in bulk and either using a dropshipping agent based in China or shipping the order to a 3PL to dropship domestically.
My advice would be to utilize the VIP listing for fast and reliable shipping to your customers but only semi-scale your business. This means once you’re seeing consistent sales of around 10 to 30 sales a day for a few weeks, then stop using AliExpress and buy in bulk.
Receiving the VIP AliExpress treatment is nice but that can’t compare to working with an agent or a 3PL. The AliExpress process is simply to test and reduce the risk of a large upfront order. By ordering in bulk from China, you are effectively reducing the number of middlemen between the manufacturer and yourself which increases your profit margins.
Of course, don’t tell your AliExpress supplier who is providing you with the VIP link that you plan to abandon him once you reach 30 sales per day. If you do plan to work with an agent in China, be sure to find out how many daily sales they require before transitioning to work with them. In my experience, this can be anywhere from 20 to 50 sales per day.
Summary
Dropshipping from AliExpress can cause all kinds of problems and although having access to a VIP link is not risk free, it’s still the most reliable way you can dropship from AliExpress. Having a VIP link is almost like you’re working with an agent before you can actually work with an agent.
It still surprises me that more dropshippers are not taking advantage of this powerful tool. AliExpress is a necessary and often problematic step in creating a long-term and profitable dropshipping business, VIP links are a way of reducing those problems.
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