How to Make Dropshipping Work in Australia! (2025 Update)

I started dropshipping in Australia back in 2016 and I can tell you one thing, it’s not as easy today as it was back then. So hopefully, I’m qualified enough to give you an honest answer about whether dropshipping still works in Australia and if it’s still worth it.

If you want a quick answer, dropshipping still works in Australia, however, it has changed and many of the tactics that previously worked no won’t work. No longer can you list some trending products from AliExpress on a Shopify store and expect to make sales. Dropshipping in Australia has evolved and I believe that’s a good thing.

If you’re a complete beginner deciding whether it’s worth starting your own dropshipping business in Australia, I would say “definitely”. As long as you’re willing to devote time to learning the process and knowing it is not as easy as many YouTubers make it out to be.

Is Dropshipping Profitable in Australia?

According to the International Trade Administration, eCommerce is growing rapidly in Australia and is expected to reach USD32 billion annually by 2025.

Australia has a high GDP per capita which means the citizens have excess disposable income compared to some countries and they love shopping online. This makes dropshipping a viable and profitable business venture in Australia.

However, this does not mean dropshipping in Australia is all positive, there are several disadvantages you should be aware of:

• Shipping times from AliExpress to Australia will vary but are often a little longer compared to the US and the UK.
• Australia’s smaller population compared to larger countries can be positive and negative. It often means you can’t target very specific niches with a small audience and will need to broaden your niche to find a large enough audience of buyers.
• There are fewer domestic suppliers meaning it can be tough to source suppliers with unique products other dropshippers have not already sourced.
• Rural areas of Australia can be very expensive for shipping and it can get a little messy when working out shipping costs.
• E-commerce in Australia is not saturated but it is reasonably competitive.
• Advertising costs in Australia are not as high as in the USA but are still reasonably high.

Essentially, this means dropshipping in Australia CAN be profitable but is far from guaranteed.

How Does Dropshipping Work in Australia?

There are several ways you can make dropshipping work, I’ll give you my opinion on the best and worst ways to dropship in Australia.

First, you can try dropshipping on Amazon and eBay. eBay is currently more popular than Amazon in Australia but I would avoid dropshipping on either of these marketplaces for a number of reasons:

• They are competitive.
• Profit margins are low due to price wars.
• Both platforms have several fees associated with them which really add up.
• They are essentially your boss meaning your business relies solely on them, if they change their policies or decide you can’t use their platform anymore, your business is over.
• You don’t have a valuable asset you can eventually sell for a large sum of money.

A better option is to create your own dropshipping Shopify store in Australia. This way it’s your business and you can run it how you like and your business is not at the mercy of others.

The obvious downside to a Shopify store is you need to drive traffic to your store as opposed to relying on eBay and Amazon which already have the traffic. You have a few main options when it comes to Shopify dropshipping in Australia.

The first option is retail arbitrage which is not technically a type of dropshipping but is similar. It basically means you list products from other retailers on your store or marketplace at a marked-up price.

For example, you could list products from Kmart or Big W on your online business and have these stores send the products directly to your customer. I do not recommend this option as it’s more ongoing work and is unsustainable in the long term.

The best two options for dropshipping in Australia are;

1. Dropshipping from China

This initially involves dropshipping from AliExpress or CJ Dropshipping for a short period of time. Shipping times from China to Australia are reasonably long, the product quality is hit and miss and the suppliers are notoriously unreliable. This is not a long-term option and why you should not scale your business with AliExpress or CJ Dropshipping.

These platforms are most effective for testing products which help you validate the potential of the product before transitioning to the next step. The next step is sourcing your product in bulk and building a brand within Australia. I have a ton of resources and tutorials on this website on how to do this.

2. Dropshipping from Australian Suppliers

The next option is to find suppliers based in Australia who are willing to dropship for you. Although you can dropship any kind of product fro Australian suppliers, the most viable option is to dropship high ticket products valued at $100 and over.

The reason for this is it’s not worth your supplier’s time to be shipping individual products valued at $20 for small profit margins, especially if they’re shipping across the other side of Australia. The ideal price range for high ticket products is valued anywhere between $200 and $1,000. This provides you both with healthy profit margins whilst not high enough that your customer will have trust issues purchasing for you.

Should You Sell Australia-Wide?

You can dropship anywhere in Australia, however, remote areas of Australia can be very expensive when it comes to shipping. If you dropship larger products to many rural Australian areas, you may run at a loss if you’re profit margins aren’t adequate.

For example, dropshipping oversized products such as kayaks or gym equipment to the Pilbara region of Australia will cost you far more than the actual product itself. You need to work with a shipping company that can provide you with delivery cost estimates to your customers or you need to specify clearly which areas of Australia you can and can’t ship to.

Each Australian shipping company’s pricing structure will vary so it’s worth shopping around to find the company that suits your business needs. If you require some assistance I may be able to offer e-commerce support if you’re based in Perth.

Australia Post and Sendle are popular companies for dropshipping smaller packages in Australia but larger or more complicated products may require a company such as Toll Couriers or Pack and Send.

Whilst you can dropship from AliExpress to Australia, the estimated delivery times stated are only estimates. Delivery times will vary depending on which State, City or Town you’re shipping to.

How to Find Dropshipping Suppliers in Australia

Finding suppliers and companies in Australia who dropship is time consuming and frustrating. Trust me I’ve spent hours doing it!

It is however worth your time if you can manage to find a supplier to work with that you wouldn’t have found otherwise. A top supplier can be the difference between running a successful or an unsuccessful dropshipping business.

If you work with a supplier that is easy to find and approves everyone, you’ll likely be facing a ton of competition. If you work with a supplier that was difficult to find and vetted you before approving you, you’ll likely be facing far less competition.

1. Find Australian Dropship Suppliers & Companies on Google

Google is generally the best way to find suppliers online, however, it’s not always that easy to find them. Many companies have outdated websites that don’t rank very well in Google, therefore you may be scrolling through multiple pages before you come across the right supplier.

Let’s say for example, you plan to dropship in the pet supplies niche. Googling “pet supplies dropshipping” and scrolling through the first few pages of Google may not be enough. You need to try multiple variations to find the suppliers everyone else can’t find.

Try typing these variations into Google:

• Pet supplies dropshipping
• Pet supplies wholesale
• Pet supplies supplier
• Pet supplies reseller
• Pet supplies manufacturer
• Pet supplies distributor

Then after each variation, try typing Australia, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and so on. Go through several pages of Google with each variation. Yes, it’s time consuming, but if you find one good supplier that other dropshippers haven’t yet found, it will be well worth the investment of time.

You may be surprised how many more suppliers you’ll find with this method.

Don’t assume that a supplier doesn’t dropship just because they don’t have it listed on their website. I’ve contacted many suppliers who were happy to dropship although didn’t have it listed on their website. Often they are the best suppliers because nobody has bothered contacting them and you get access to products competitors don’t stock.

Many Australian wholesale suppliers don’t have it listed on their website that they dropship, so it’s always worth asking. Often they don’t want to advertise the fact that they dropship, but they’re happy to partner this way.

2. Find Australian Dropship Suppliers on eBay

The next method for finding suppliers is to use eBay. This is another option to find suppliers that many people don’t bother to explore.

1. Go to eBay and type in your niche or product into the search bar.
2. Filter the results for Australia only so you don’t get all the listings from other countries, such as China.
3. You can then click on each individual product and it will have the seller information on the right.
4. Click the seller information and you will have all the information for another potential supplier you can contact.

By utilizing these steps you can find more potential suppliers not listed on Google. Often these suppliers haven’t been contacted by other dropshippers and may be willing to collaborate with you.

3. Find Australian Dropship Suppliers via your Competitors

Another option is to use your competitor’s websites to help find their suppliers which you can also use. This is beneficial for other online-only stores as some brands will only work with brick and mortar stores.

Head to your competitor’s websites on the first few pages of Google as these will be your biggest competition. Make a list of each of the brands they are selling on their online store, if other online-only stores can sell these brands, you can too.

Google and contact these brands directly via email or by phone. Let them know you are an online retailer interested in stocking their products and want to know who to contact to become a reseller of their products. They will give you all the contact information you need for their best suppliers to contact.

You may be contacting the actual manufacturer who may be located outside of Australia or the main Australian distributor. Just sound professional and let them know you are a legitimate business (Even if you’re not) and they will point you in the right direction.

Once you have found the supplier you want to deal with, I suggest you read my article on how to get approved by dropshipping suppliers and I have some free suppliers email templates you can use to contact them.

4. How to Find the Best Australian Dropship Suppliers

Sometimes the best of the best dropshipping suppliers may be hard to track down. But let’s say one of your dropshipping competitors is stocking products and brands that you want to sell but cannot find online anywhere.

This may be a last resort but you can order the product from your competitor and when the package arrives, you have a shipped-from sticker with a return address. You can then Google the address to find the company or manufacturer from Australia that sent it.

This option will hopefully be unnecessary but it can be the difference between finding your ideal supplier.

5. The Easy Way to Find Australian Dropship Suppliers & Companies

This method is the fastest and easiest way of finding a ton of Australian-based dropshipping companies and suppliers to work with. You can simply check out the articles below on this website:

• 22 Australian suppliers of pet supplies
• 20 Australian clothing suppliers – Wholesale and dropshipping
• List of Sydney-based dropshipping suppliers

Another option is I have a large list of dropshipping suppliers in my members area with over 100 of them being based in Australia.

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