How to Use SaleHoo for Your Drop Shipping Needs
From the Featured Article Series:
The Best Drop Shipping Companies 2021
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Understanding SaleHoo’s Business Model
- Getting Started with SaleHoo
- Maximizing Your SaleHoo Experience
When it comes to drop shipping, finding good suppliers is just as important as launching your online store. Without the right suppliers, you could end up with a line of dissatisfied customers asking for refunds. SaleHoo – with its large supplier directory – offers to nip that problem in the bud for you. It’s easy to find verified suppliers, and it’s even easier to do some market research on the fly.
SaleHoo is an indispensable drop shipping tool – but only if you learn how to use it properly. Want to know how? Read on!
Understanding SaleHoo’s Business Model
Before we dig in deeper, it’s important for you to understand exactly what SaleHoo offers. Unlike companies like Inventory Source, SaleHoo is mainly a drop shipping directory – not a drop shipping platform. If you need automatic supplier feed syncing and order processing, you should look elsewhere.
But if you’re looking for a large directory filled with verified suppliers and market research tools, then keep reading!
What Does a 1-Year SaleHoo Membership Get Me?
For $67 a year, you will get access to:
- Supplier directory
- Market research labs
- Members forum
- Personal email support
- 60-day money back guarantee
Do I Need to Sign Up for a SaleHoo Store?
No. SaleHoo Stores – the company’s eCommerce website builder – is completely optional. It’s a quick and easy solution for those who don’t have an online store yet. If you already have one, then you’re not missing out on anything. But if you plan on signing up, take note that it’s an added expense outside of the $67/year membership fee. See our review for more information on SaleHoo Stores!
Getting Started with SaleHoo
Now that you understand what SaleHoo offers, it’s time to get serious. First order of business: formulate a game plan. Going in blindly is ill-advised when starting a business – so make sure you do your due diligence!
Before signing up with SaleHoo, it’s better to have a general idea what kind of online store you want to run. Do you envision your store carrying an assortment of goods? Or do you want to focus on only one product category?
Pencil in a plan, however rough. SaleHoo can help you iron out the details (more on this later), but it’s important that you know where you’re headed.
Joining SaleHoo
If you already have an idea where to take your store, it’s time to join SaleHoo! If it’s your first time to join any sort of drop shipping website, don’t worry – it’s quick and easy. Simply go to SaleHoo’s website and click on the Get Started button.
Next, you’ll be asked to provide your full name and email address. Click on Create Account once you’re done. Easy, right? Not so fast – you still need to pay the $67 annual fee! Otherwise, you won’t get access to their directory.
After creating your account, you’ll be redirected to the payment page. Just provide your payment details to proceed. SaleHoo accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club International, Discover, JCB, and PayPal.
Once you’re done, agree to the payment terms and click on the Pay Now button. And that’s it – you are now free to browse SaleHoo’s vast directory or use their market research tools.
Speaking of which…
Using SaleHoo Labs
Before we get into the details, let’s discuss what SaleHoo Labs offers. Basically, it gives you the power to research for products that will sell well. And once you subscribe to the annual membership, you can access it anytime you wish. It’s a very powerful market research tool – and at no additional cost! Pretty cool, right?
Okay, now let’s begin – here’s how to use SaleHoo Labs. Start by logging into your SaleHoo account. Next, under the Labs menu, click on the Discover Products link – this will take you directly to the market research tool. Once inside, you can now start browsing for products!
If you already have an idea what products you want to sell, you can select the most relevant category under the Product Type dropdown menu. Alternatively, if you want to broaden your scope, simply select All under this same menu.
Next, you’re going to want to filter out products that aren’t selling very well. To do this, simply adjust the Sell Rate slider – which is right beside the Product Type dropdown menu – to at least 30-35%. Doing so will filter out products that have a success rate of below 30% so you can focus on those that have a better chance of selling.
You’re also going to want to set the Average Price slider to narrow down products to your desired price range.
And if you want to find products with little or no competition, it’s a good idea to customize the Competition filter as well.
If you’re not familiar with this concept, below is a brief explanation:
- Low-Medium Competition: These are products that aren’t being sold by many sellers. If you don’t want to battle it out with other retailers, selling products without much competition is ideal – especially for those new to the industry. On the flip side, it will take a fair amount of work to dominate a product category where competition is low (more on this below).
- High Competition: Typically, high competition products indicate a thriving market. If you’re an experienced seller, these types of products are definitely worth considering.
Now that you’ve successfully sorted products using your desired preferences, you should probably keep track of the most promising ones! You wouldn’t want all your effort to go to waste, right?
To save products, simply click on the Save button found on the upper right corner of each product box. If you want to review the products you’ve saved, you can access them at any time under the Saved Product Ideas section of SaleHoo Labs.
Bonus tip: if you want to re-use your filter settings, you can save that too! Just tick the heart icon right next to the Competition filter and you’ll be sent periodical updates via email. The best part is that the updates contain products that match your filter settings, so you won’t have to keep logging back in to find new product ideas.
Using SaleHoo’s Supplier Directory
Okay, now that you’ve narrowed down the products you want to sell, it’s time to search for suppliers! To start, simply type in whatever product you want on their directory search bar. Alternatively, you can also click on Give me an idea if you’d rather have SaleHoo suggest product ideas to you.
From there, you can browse the search results one by one. But that might take forever because SaleHoo has over 8,000 suppliers and more than 25 million products. To narrow down the search results, you can browse by categories. These include Antiques and Collectables, Baby Gear, Clothing and Fashion, Consumer Electronics, Health and Beauty, Toys and Games, Travel and Outdoors, and more.
If you want to narrow down search results even further, also have access to several filtering options. First, you can sort search results by Most Relevant, Newest, or Oldest. If you want to filter products and/or suppliers by location, you can do that too. Currently, you can choose between Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South/Central America. If you don’t have a particular location in mind, simply select All.
As a seller, you’re going to want to stick to a budget when ordering inventory. SaleHoo’s supplier directory lets you sort search results by suppliers’ minimum order requirements. You can choose between Up to $100, Up to $500, Up to $1000, or Up to $5000. But if you don’t care about that, simply choose Doesn’t matter.
You can also choose to sort by shipping terms. If you want to find suppliers that ship worldwide, simply choose Yes, required under the Ships Worldwide filter. Otherwise, choose Doesn’t matter.
Oh, and you can also sort by Tax ID requirements. It works similarly to the previous filter. Simply choose between Not Required, Required, or Doesn’t matter.
Finally, SaleHoo also gives you to the power to sort between different types of suppliers. You can choose between Dropshippers, Wholesalers, Liquidators, and Manufacturers. You can also just choose All if you want.
Connecting with Suppliers
Now that you know how to filter search results in SaleHoo’s directory, looking for the right supplier should be ten times easier. All you have to do now is to connect with your supplier of choice. It’s important to note that SaleHoo won’t facilitate this for you – you’d have to contact suppliers yourselves. It’s easy, so don’t worry.
Upon clicking on a product, a pop-up window will appear. This window contains details about the supplier, so make sure you read everything! If the supplier meets your preferences, then just refer to the provided contact details. From there, just rely on your business-savvy self to nab the perfect partner for your online business!
Maximizing Your SaleHoo Experience
So, you now know how to research for product ideas using SaleHoo Labs, as well as find the right suppliers for your business. Congratulations! You are now one step closer to having a successful online drop shipping business!
But what if I told you that’s just the tip of the iceberg? If you want to maximize your SaleHoo experience, consider the tips below:
- Consider getting a SaleHoo Store if you don’t have an online store yet. SaleHoo Stores feature built-in marketing tools and tons of customizable templates. The best part is that it requires zero technical skills to create a SaleHoo Store.
- Take advantage of SaleHoo’s premium seven-lesson course – if you have the extra dough. For a one-time fee of $247, you get a specialized curriculum designed to improve your selling techniques. Each lesson contains videos, full-length interviews from industry experts, and more. The best part? You also get lifetime access – whether you’re a SaleHoo member or not.
- Peruse SaleHoo’s self-help sections. If you don’t have the budget to buy the seven-lesson course mentioned earlier, the free self-help/educational materials on SaleHoo’s website should be more than enough. These include eBooks, manuals, webinars, and more. Their blog also features articles that teach beginners all about drop shipping. You can learn a lot without paying anything at all!
- Take part in SaleHoo’s Smart Seller Training Program – if you’re already a member, that is. This training program provides even more useful resources that can help you improve as a seller. You can learn how to get the best deals from suppliers, how to handle shipping logistics, how best to handle customer complaints, and more.