I started out with DSers for dropshipping and it was fine when I only had a handful of SKUs. Once I added more products, the cracks started showing. Different suppliers had different shipping times, inventory would swing randomly, and the fulfillment pace was all over the place. It got hard to keep customer expectations consistent.
Lately I’ve been testing sourcing directly on Alibaba instead. I’m mainly filtering for low MOQ suppliers who can do US warehouse / faster fulfillment, and ideally can offer FBA-ready packaging. The quotes feel more transparent, and I like being able to align on packaging and shipping upfront. It’s still work, but it feels more stable than relying on whatever DSers supplier happens to be available that week.
For anyone who’s made the switch from DSers to Alibaba: how did you do it? Did you stay pure dropshipping, or move to a hybrid model (small inventory + local shipping)?