Bit of Swank review for CJdropshipping: Much Faster

Oct. 4, 2023

I have used this supplier for over a year for my online clothing boutique. My review is mainly focused on clothing, although I do market home goods and appliances as well as jewelry. First off, they are a sourcing supplier, meaning they find products for you to list, then when you (your customers) order, they get the items in from their suppliers and then package and ship them out, confirming quality. From a customer service standpoint, they are a good vendor. They reach out to you and even suggest things for your store. They do a good job of checking quality and letting you know when the product doesn't match what their listing shows. That doesn't mean it will be the right size, not have an odor, or be the fabric quality you or your customers expect, but they try to make sure it is right from matching the listing. Below are my experiences: As a supplier from China to the US, be aware that your customers will wait long times for products. If you are new to dropshipping, this will be impactful, especially during the holidays, so make sure your terms set the right expectations with your customers. You can prepurchase to put in their warehouse, but that does not save much time for US shipping, however it does speed up EMEA. They try what they can to help make it fast, so this is not a hit on the supplier directly, just an issue in general. I order samples prior to listing to confirm quality and size. This adds almost 2 months to a listing, which is horrible for seasonal clothing. About 1/2 of what I order does not match the quality/size I expected. Also, I find if I place the order with multiple different items, about 1/3 are not available or do not clear their QC and it delays shipping while they wait for all the products to come to their warehouse. When I have ordered large quantities to warehouse in the states, it takes about 2 months or more to get the product via the cheapest shipping. That can be expected, but just be aware that if you are trying to stock for the holidays so you can ship out quickly, you may be too late for that in October. At the time of this post I am still awaiting an order from the beginning of August. You can pay to expedite it, but that deeply cuts into the margins and makes the cost about 3 times the cost of the product. They are a sourcing agent, so if a supplier runs out of something, they will attempt to find another supplier to fulfill the order. That does not mean it will be the same quality or sizing that you had samples for or that your customers have received in the past. They try their best to get it right, but I have experienced slight differences in product over a year run. Probably the thing that causes me to rate this app lower though is they hook into your store and scrape all your orders (not just theirs) as well as a hook in your website to see all products people view. This is not shared when you sign up, however if you access the code of your store, you will see the hook. You may find this helpful since one of the services they offer is to source items for you, even those you don't request. That may be a convenience if you are looking for better sourcing. However, you may need to check and update your privacy notices, based on your local regulations. As a whole, I like CJ for the service they offer, it is just very slow for my US-based store and what I offer my customers. Because of that I use them strategically, however I would like if they were only taking orders I send them and did not hook into data I am not wanting to share explicitly with them.