Difference Between Wholesaling & Dropshipping


Buying wholesale comprises acquiring product inventory at a bargain rate and marking up the prices to sell to customers. This particularly remarkable option is simple and perfect for new entrepreneurs. The products can be acquired and sold online and owners can directly fulfill the orders made by customers.


When buying wholesale, owners are acquiring an existing inventory with a reputation for successful selling. This diminishes the risks of acquiring large inventories without definitely knowing whether or not the products will sell. Basically, if customers are already buying the product from other sellers, it is highly likely they will purchase it from your online store as well. Moreover, you will be able to more quickly fulfill orders made by customers when the product is already in stock and under your control. This eliminates the need for assistance from third-party suppliers.

Furthermore, wholesaling normally produces higher profit margins since shipping and packaging costs are already included in the price of items that are purchased in bulk. However, it should be noted that this is largely because merchants have to handle these product shipment stages.


When inventory is acquired at wholesale rates, business owners are normally required to buy huge quantities of products and find a safe and convenient location to store them. This calls for a sufficiently large space, which, most likely, will involve a sizeable up-front investment. The primary risk of buying wholesale is the uncertainty of the owner’s ability to sell the entire inventory.

Wholesale Dropshippers

There are clear advantages and disadvantages of the two methods. As a result, seeking out wholesale dropshippers is the best option for combining the best features of the two techniques. Wholesale dropshippers can be described as marketplaces or businesses that offer wholesale-priced products and also have the capacity to facilitate the dropshipping process. According to a number of SaleHoo reviews 2018, SaleHoo, a renowned e-commerce company based in New Zealand, provides the best combination of both techniques.

Dropshipping and wholesaling and are different types of supply chain management techniques. They are used to support e-commerce businesses in fulfilling their orders to customers. They both have advantages and disadvantages and the two options are ideal for companies that do not wish to make their own products.


With this method, you can sell products to customers without having to stock an inventory. Dropshippers are dependent on third party suppliers to directly fulfill orders from their customers. With this business model, owners make a profit by charging higher than the supplier.

Amazon is a good example of organizations that use this type of service. Their warehouse’s process and ship a large number of orders. However, third-party vendors’ merchandises are also processed and shipped by other drop shippers.


Owners who use this method are not required to buy large product inventories. Only after their items have been purchased by their customers do they buy the items. This eliminates the possibility of losing money from unsold inventory. It also enables a fast return on investment.

In comparison to wholesaling, dropshipping seems to be the better option for first-time business owners as there are lower startup costs involved. Additionally, business owners are not involved in the processing and shipping of orders. The supplier handles this directly, which further lowers costs.


However, there are risks when orders are not directly being handled by the owner. As such, suppliers should be vetted very carefully. Getting feedback from websites and taking note of the quality scores is a good way of vetting suppliers.

After a purchase is made, lower profit margins are achieved from dropshipping than when goods are purchased from a wholesaler. Drop shipping companies assume the cost for processing and shipping orders; therefore, the price becomes integrated into the pricing of the product.

Most drop shipping marketplaces offer low rates but wholesale prices are usually lower. As a result, the small upfront costs are somewhat mitigated as buying from supply marketplaces could end up being more costly than going straight through a manufacturer.

Picking dropshipping over wholesale could run the risk of products not selling to gain enough profit for the lower margins to be compensated for. However, business operators could commit to an effective marketing strategy and use an assortment of items on the database to generate buzz and engage with customers. Furthermore, risks are generally a lot lower when pre-purchase and stock inventory are not required.