How to Find Dropshipping Suppliers for Amazon
What an Amazon-ready dropshipping supplier must offer, where to find one, how to test it and what to agree in writing before you list a single product.
A dropshipping supplier for Amazon must ship in plain packaging with your packing slip, ship fast from the marketplace’s country with working tracking, keep an accurate stock feed and support returns in your name. Good places to look are brands and wholesalers with a dropship program, distributors in your category and trade fairs. Test every supplier with real orders before you list its products.
What an Amazon-ready supplier must offer
Amazon measures you on every shipment your supplier sends (Amazon dropshipping: rules and risks). So a supplier is only usable if it offers:
- Blind shipping: plain packaging, no supplier invoice or flyer, and your packing slip.
- Fast handling: orders shipped within the handling time you set, with a clear daily cut-off.
- Working tracking for every order, sent to you quickly.
- Local stock: shipping from the marketplace’s country, so delivery times match buyers’ expectations.
- An accurate stock feed: a file or connection you can update at least daily.
- Returns: a way to receive returns at an address in your name, or to handle them with you.
- Proper invoices: for your accounts and, for gated brands, for Amazon’s approval (Amazon Apply to Sell: gated products).
If a supplier cannot offer the first three, it is not suitable for Amazon.
Where to find suppliers
1. Brands and wholesalers with a dropship program
Many brands and wholesalers ship single orders for resellers. Look on their websites for dropship, drop shipping program, reseller or trade pages, or ask directly when you contact them for a wholesale account (Amazon wholesale: how to find brands to sell).
2. Distributors in your category
Distributors carry many brands. Some offer dropshipping to approved resellers, which opens several brands with one account.
3. Trade fairs and industry associations
Meeting suppliers in person makes it easier to agree on blind shipping, returns and stock feeds.
4. Manufacturers in your own country
Local manufacturers can ship fast within the country and are often open to custom packing slips.
5. Supplier directories
Paid directories list suppliers that dropship. Treat every listing as a lead, not a guarantee, and check it as below.
What to avoid
- Retail websites and marketplaces that ship in their own boxes with their own invoices: this breaks Amazon’s drop shipping policy.
- Suppliers with long international delivery times for a marketplace where buyers expect fast delivery.
- Suppliers who cannot show where their products come from: inauthentic products can lead to complaints and account problems.
How to test a supplier
- Ask for their process in writing: handling time, cut-off time, carriers, how tracking is sent, how stock is updated, and how returns work.
- Place several test orders to different addresses. Check the package: no supplier name, no prices, your packing slip.
- Measure the time from order to tracking and from tracking to delivery.
- Test a return to see how it is handled.
- Check the stock feed against what they can really ship.
- Start small: list a few products, watch your metrics for a few weeks, then add more.
What to agree in writing
- Handling time and daily cut-off.
- Blind shipping and your packing slip on every order.
- Tracking within a set time after shipping.
- Stock feed format and how often it is updated.
- Returns address and process.
- Who pays for wrong items, damage and late shipments.
- Prices, payment terms and minimums, if any.
Choosing which supplier products to list
A supplier catalog can hold thousands of products, and most will not work on Amazon. For each product, find its ASIN (often by searching the barcode on Amazon), then check demand, sellers, the Featured Offer and whether seller-fulfilled offers can compete (Amazon dropshipping product research).
The faster way: check supplier products with ENSKOM
ENSKOM is a Chrome extension that reads public Amazon pages in your own browser:
- Paste up to 10,000 ASINs from your supplier’s catalog into one research.
- Detailed Research: collect the current price, sellers, Featured Offer, FBA or FBM and Sales Rank, as Amazon shows them. A value Amazon does not show is marked Unknown, never guessed.
- Store Researcher: see every seller offering the same products.
- Export: export to CSV or Excel and compare with the supplier’s prices.
The Free plan includes every research feature.
Guides: Start a new research · Detailed Research · Seller Discovery
FAQ
What is blind shipping?
Shipping an order in plain packaging, without the supplier’s name, prices or advertising, and with the seller’s own packing slip. Amazon’s drop shipping policy effectively requires it.
Can I use AliExpress as an Amazon dropshipping supplier?
It is risky. Delivery times are often long for Amazon buyers, and packages may show another seller’s name. Check every point of Amazon’s policy before you try.
Do dropshipping suppliers charge fees?
Some charge a per-order dropship fee or a membership; others build it into the price. Include it in your margin calculation.
How many suppliers should I start with?
One or two you have tested well. Add more once your metrics are stable.
Can a supplier ship to several Amazon marketplaces?
Only if it can deliver fast enough in each one. Usually you need a supplier with stock in each marketplace’s country or region (Amazon marketplaces list).