CJ Dropshipping review and AliExpress comparison – Which One is Better in 2022?
Dropshipping can be rewarding, but only if you know the best platform to dropship from. CJ and AliExpress are two of the most popular platforms out there, and each comes with its pros and cons. If you are having trouble choosing the best eCommerce dropshipping platform to help with order sourcing, processing, and fulfillment, you’ll find this article helpful.
We’ll start by taking a deeper dive into CJ Dropshipping review – what it offers, how it works, and why it’s one of the fastest-growing eCommerce platforms in the world. Then, we’ll compare it to AliExpress – a force to reckon with in the dropshipping industry that has gained popularity for its low prices, fast shipping times, and ease of use.
Here’s a quick outline of what to expect:
- What is CJ Dropshipping?
- How much does a CJ Dropshipping account cost?
- How do I sign up for CJ?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of CJ?
- How does CJ Dropshipping compare to AliExpress?
So let’s get this show on the road!
What is CJ Dropshipping?
CJ Dropshipping is a one-stop dropshipping platform that provides a wide array of global eCommerce solutions, including product sourcing, order processing, branding, customized packing, warehousing, and logistics. It was founded in 2014 by Andy Chou, who wanted to make it easier for people worldwide to sell products from China. The company has since grown to become one of the largest dropshippers in the world.
In addition, CJdropshipping is also the #2 most popular app on the Shopify App Store. CJdropshipping has more than 2000 positive reviews on Shopify App stores. CJdropshipping also received 5724 positive reviews on Trustpilot. At the time of this writing (March 2022), There are over 80,000 Shopify merchants using the CJ app
Headquartered in Yiwu, Zhejiang, CJ boasts up to 1000 employees and fulfills at least 1 million orders per month. They have offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan and 8 international warehouses storing over 400,000 product varieties.
In addition, CJ integrates with some of the world’s popular eCommerce platforms such as Shopee, Shopify, Woocommerce, Lazada, Amazon, and eBay. This ensures that small-scale dropshippers can easily connect their stores to these marketplaces without having to build their systems.
And as we mentioned, CJ is a one-stop solution for all your dropshipping needs. That means that besides the basic order sourcing, processing, and fulfillment, the platform outdoes itself by offering other essential services, including:
- Customized packaging and branding
- Photo and video shooting
- API support
- Print on demand
- An affiliate program
How much does a CJDropshipping account cost?
CJ’s cost-effectiveness is one of the top reasons most dropshippers prefer using the platform. As of now, there is no monthly fee or setup fee for using CJ Dropshipping. But that’s not all; there’s also no minimum order quantity (MOQ), and users get to enjoy free sourcing, listing, and storage for CJ items. However, if you want to use their affiliate program, you will need to pay $99 annually.
Besides the affiliate program fees, the only costs you’ll incur are the product price and shipping. But there’s a slight catch; these two costs only apply if the product you’re looking for is available in a specific warehouse requested. On the flip side, if CJ has to source the items in a storage facility other than that of your choice, you’ll incur shipping, processing, and warehouse fees.
Here are two more factors that may affect CJ’s drop shipping costs:
- Warehouse location. If your product is available in a US warehouse, you’ll enjoy 90-day free storage as a new user. Afterward, you’ll incur at least $0.8 per day for every cubic meter of storage space. There’s also the processing fee, ranging between $0.6 – $5.00 per item, depending on the weight.
- Turnover rate. Your daily turnover rate also influences how cheap or costly your charges will be. For instance, if you have a low turnover rate, you’ll get charged up to $1.5 per cubic meter per day. On the flip side, if you’re a high turnover store, you could save a few bucks on storage charges. That is, if your store processes over 100 orders per day and have a high monthly turnover rate of over 50%, CJ cancels out your price completely, so you won’t have to incur any inventory storage fees.
N/B: Be sure to check out CJ’s service fee page for further details on pricing in other countries and locations.
How do I sign up for CJDropshipping?
First, you’ll need to create an account by clicking here. Afterward, you’ll proceed to the “Register” button at the top right corner and feed in your details. Then, you can log into your dashboard and click “Create New Store” under the “Stores” tab. From there, you’ll choose a name for your store, enter your contact information, upload images, add products, and set up your payment gateway.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of CJ Dropshipping?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of CJ Dropshipping?
Like any other dropshipping platform, CJ has its pros and cons. Here are some of them:
Pros
- Affordable
The best part about CJ is that it offers an excellent value for money compared to other platforms. With this platform, you don’t have to spend too much time and effort setting up your store. The process is straightforward, which means you can focus on selling instead of worrying about technicalities.
- Free storage
As mentioned earlier, you’ll get 90 days of free warehouse storage when you register as a new user. That means you can sell without having to worry about storing your inventory. And since you can use your storage facilities, you don’t have any additional expenses to incur.
- No monthly fee
Unlike other platforms, CJ doesn’t charge you a monthly subscription fee. Instead, you pay a one-time setup fee and a yearly maintenance cost. This means that you won’t have to worry about paying recurring fees each month.
- Fast shipping
Can you believe that it takes as little as 2-7 days to ship an item from a US-based warehouse and 7-13 days from all over Asia? That’s right! CJ has realized a feat that many other platforms struggle with, thanks to its strategic collaboration with reliable and efficient global postal services like USPS, ePacket, PostNL, DHL, etc.
- Quick processing times
Another thing that sets CJ apart from other platforms is its quick processing times. If your product is available in a selected warehouse, it only takes 1-3 days to receive and approve your order. And if available elsewhere, the order processing time is as fast as 3-5 days. And remember, there are no MOQ requirements at CJ – a part of the reason for the quick processing times.
- Excellent customer support
If you ever run into trouble while using CJ, you can always count on their 24/7 live chat and email support. They’re always ready to help you out whenever you need it, and you’ll barely have to wait for more than 10 minutes without a response. Plus, they offer a quick dispute solution for any damaged items, order delays, orders not received, missing products, etc.
Cons
- CJ risks becoming mainstream
Most dropshippers have jumped ship to CJ from AliExpress because they’ve gotten frustrated with the latter’s order delays and mistakes. But as CJ’s services become more on-demand, it risks becoming mainstream in the future, as it gets overwhelmed with order flows. Nonetheless, CJ seems to understand everything at stake, as displayed in its rapid expansions – a move tipped to harness its fast-paced growth and customer demands.
- A cluttered user interface
The most annoying aspect of CJ is its cluttered UI. It’s hard to navigate through the website and find what you want. As such, you may end up wasting hours trying to figure out how to do something or, even worse, getting stuck somewhere.
CJ Dropshipping vs AliExpress: How do they compare?
Now it’s time to see how these two drop shippers stack up against each other. We’ll compare five critical dropshipping features, including payment methods, warehouse inventory, product listings, cost of purchasing a product, and shipping time & cost. So let’s get started!
Payment methods
AliExpress has no clear-cut list of payment methods it takes, as it varies per vendor.
CJ Dropshipping has eight recognized payment methods
- PayPal
- Bank Wire Transfer: CJ offer up to 2% bonus when using this payment method for wallet charging.
- Westen Union
- Credit Card
- Store Credit
- Payoneer
- Payssion
- Midtrans: For Indonesia merchants
You can see more details about payment method of CJDropshipping here: https://blog.cjdropshipping.com/detail/payment-methods/
Warehouse inventory
As mentioned above, AliExpress has multiple vendors. That means it doesn’t need individual storage warehouses, as the suppliers stock their products in their facilities. Thus, AliExpress doesn’t boast inventory depth compared to its competitors.
On the other hand, CJ has warehouses spread across the US, China, Indonesia, Germany, France, the UK, and more locations. So it boasts a richer inventory for up to 400,000 product varieties, resulting in fast processing and shipping times.
Product listings – scale and quality
There’s no denying it; AliExpress takes a visible lead in the scale and quality of product listings. AliExpress offers a whopping 100 million+ products available at any given time. Meanwhile, CJ only lists around 400,000 items. CJ’s lack of enough staff members also affects the quality of product details in its listings. On the flip side, AliExpress does an excellent job with its product listings since each vendor takes their time and effort to brand and package items, attracting more customers.
Cost of purchasing a product
CJ’s product prices are not the cheapest in the dropshipping sector. And guess what? Neither is AliExpress. The price difference between them is negligible. So CJ always stands out by offering additional services and exclusive perks like free storage, customized packaging, and outstanding customer support.
Shipping time & cost
CJ has a faster shipping time, thanks to its warehouse network across multiple locations. It can deliver orders within 2-7 days, while AliExpress orders usually take 7-15 working days to arrive. As for the shipping costs, both drop shippers charge competitive rates, which vary depending on such factors as item weight, availability in select warehouses, delivery location, etc.
CJ Dropshipping Review: Key Takeaways
There you have it, drop shippers! Hopefully, this comprehensive CJ Dropshipping review and AliExpress comparison was insightful and helped you make the right decision about your future business. If you’re still undecided, here are some key takeaways from our analysis:
- CJ Dropshipping is a better choice if you want to start a dropshipper business that will be profitable in less than one year.
- CJ has a larger inventory than AliExpress, but the latter has a broader variety of products.
- Both companies offer similar pricing, but CJ has better service options.
- AliExpress is a good option for those who already have a website or blog and want to sell online.
- CJ is an excellent choice for people looking for a long-term business opportunity.
- CJ is a better choice for those who want to start a dropshipping business without investing too much money.
- CJ is an excellent starting point if you want to build a global business.
- CJ is a good choice for those who want a simple platform to launch their dropshipping store.
- CJ is a viable option for anyone looking to diversify their income streams.
Now it’s all your call. If you’ve always wanted to become a dropshipper, or if you’re just curious about how it works, we hope this resource helps you decide whether dropshipping is the best fit for you. At Globo, we take pride in helping small businesses and dropshippers succeed by setting up Shopify apps tailored to boost your sales and lift the hassle of your store’s administrative tasks. We do this through our custom Shopify app development services. To learn more about our Shopify app development solutions, we invite you to contact us online now.