Five best dropshipping clothing suppliers and how to get started

Ready to launch your own clothing line but dread the complexities of manufacturing, inventory, and shipping? 

Dropshipping  takes that hassle away, letting you focus on the fun part – designing and selling incredible clothes.  

The key lies in finding the right suppliers. We're about to unveil the top five clothing dropshippers to make your launch a total breeze.  

We'll cover everything you need to get started and make your fashion dreams a reality!

• The fashion sector represents a lucrative opportunity for clothing dropshipping businesses, with platforms like Gelato providing a smooth experience for custom-printed apparel. 

• The top five luxury clothing distribution and dropshipping suppliers include Spocket, Modalyst, AliExpress, and Gelato. They offer distribution for both regular and luxury clothing, feature unique attributes, have extensive product catalogs, and offer various pricing structures.

• Choosing the ideal dropshipping partner involves considering factors such as product range, quality, shipping times, customer support, and return policies.

• Launching a clothing dropshipping business entails following key steps to start operations effectively.

• Growing your business with Gelato can be achieved by taking advantage of its benefits, including no need for upfront inventory investment, fast shipping, and both global and local production capabilities.

Dropshipping, particularly in the clothing sector, offers significant profitability with high-profit margins, often reaching 20% to 30%. The diverse range of items in fashion apparel caters to a vast audience, contributing to the predicted growth of the online clothing market by 2030. 

Apart from high profits, dropshipping reduces overhead costs and inventory risks. The supplier handles storage and shipping, allowing the entrepreneur to focus on showcasing products. 

So, with no unsold items and minimal shipping and storage costs, dropshipping translates into a cost-effective business model, particularly suitable for those launching online clothing brands.

Let's dive into our curated list of the five best clothing dropshipping suppliers. They offer a range of fashionable items, reliable service, and competitive pricing for your business needs.

1. Gelato

Gelato is a global print on demand platform that stands as a robust alternative or complement to traditional dropshipping, particularly for custom clothing products. Unlike conventional dropshipping, Gelato eliminates the need for upfront inventory investment by enabling the sale of products printed on demand across the globe.

Benefits of using Gelato

• Product Quality Guarantee: Gelato's commitment to quality reassures businesses of the caliber of products their customers will receive.

• Fast shipping times: Leveraging local production facilities around the world, Gelato is able to offer quick turnaround times for orders, enhancing customer satisfaction.

• Sustainable business model: Gelato’s print on demand model is inherently more sustainable than traditional retail models, as products are only produced when they are ordered, minimizing waste.

Product catalog

Gelato offers a wide range of customizable products, with a strong focus on men's and women's clothing products. This includes t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, tank tops, and other clothing items that can be personalized with unique designs. 

Fulfillment location(s)

Gelato operates with local production facilities in 32 countries, ensuring that products are produced and shipped from a location nearest to the customer. This global network supports efficient fulfillment and delivery.

Shipping details

Shipping times and costs with Gelato are optimized through its global network of local production facilities. This approach ensures that products are delivered quickly and efficiently, with shipping details varying depending on the customer’s location and the specific product ordered.

Pricing and fees

Gelato is 100% free to use, with no credit card required for sign-up. The pricing for products sold through Gelato involves a cost for product production and a markup that the seller can control.

However, if you are looking for exclusive benefits like faster delivery and subsidized shipping costs, you can opt for a premium plan.

• Gelato+: $24 per month

• Gelato Gold: $119 per month

• Platinum: Bespoke pricing for enterprises

2. Syncee

Syncee is a global dropshipping and wholesale platform that allows retailers to easily start and grow their dropshipping businesses. It offers a one-stop solution with access to millions of dropshipping products worldwide.

Product catalog

The platform boasts over 8 million dropshipping products across various categories, ensuring a wide selection for retailers. Retailers can easily add these products to their stores with a single click, streamlining the process of building a diverse and appealing product lineup.

Fulfillment location(s)

Syncee connects retailers with trusted dropshipping suppliers located in the US, CA, EU, UK, and AU. This network allows for fast shipping and a broad selection of products, catering to a global customer base.

Shipping details

The platform emphasizes super-fast shipping as a key component of its service, collaborating with suppliers who are capable of reliable and speedy delivery. This focus aims to enhance customer satisfaction and boost retailers' sales.

Pricing and fees

Syncee offers a 14-day free trial to new users, allowing them to explore the platform's features and product selection without upfront costs. Let's look at the various pricing tiers:

• Starter: Free

• Basic: $29/month

• Pro: $49/month

• Business: $99/month

• Plus: $299/month

3. Spocket

Spocket is designed to facilitate easy dropshipping with top products from US and EU suppliers. It allows seamless integration with major ecommerce platforms. It stands out for its ability to automatically sync orders with your online store, ensuring a streamlined operation for dropshippers.

Product catalog

Spocket offers a diverse selection of products to dropship from various categories - sourced from suppliers all around the world. This platform enables users to order product samples directly from the dashboard, making it easy to test products and suppliers for reliability.

Fulfillment location(s)

A significant advantage of Spocket is that 80% of its dropshipping suppliers are based in the US or Europe, facilitating fast and reliable shipping to customers. This geographic distribution supports efficient fulfillment processes and enhances customer satisfaction.

Shipping details

The focus on US and EU-based suppliers ensures quick, reliable, and effortless shipping for Spocket users. This is crucial for dropshippers who want to maintain high levels of customer service and fast delivery times.

Pricing and Fees

Spocket encourages new users to start with a 14-day free trial, allowing them to explore the platform's capabilities and product offerings. After that, choose from the following plans to start your dropshipping journey in full swing.

• Starter: $39.99/month

• Pro: $59.99/month

• Empire: $99.99/month

• Unicorn: $299/month

4. Modalyst

Modalyst positions itself as the future of dropshipping, offering a comprehensive solution for Creators and Merchants to manage, create, and grow their ecommerce brands. The platform is notable for its integration with the best print on demand services and dropshipping tools, allowing users to start for free without a credit card.

Product catalog

With access to over 10 million products added to virtual storefronts and having served over 600,000 ecommerce stores, Modalyst provides a vast selection of items. It caters to a wide range of creators and merchants, offering the best print on demand companies, dropshipping suppliers, and custom products for online sale.

Fulfillment location(s)

Modalyst features a wide array of suppliers, including those based in the USA, UK, Europe, Canada, and Australia, as well as top AliExpress suppliers. This diverse supplier base ensures that users can find fast shipping options and cater to a global audience.

Shipping details

The platform emphasizes dropshipping inventory automation as a cost-effective and efficient strategy, removing traditional inventory management complications. Modalyst connects users to a vast inventory, allowing them to focus on selling products through online stores without worrying about fulfillment.

Pricing and fees

Modalyst allows users to start for free and offers the ability to define pricing and shipping standards to automatically increase margins. It also offers membership plans with additional benefits.

• Hobby: $0/month

• Start Up: $35/month

• Pro: $90/month

5. AliExpress

AliExpress is a global online retail service based in China and is part of the Alibaba Group. It is known for providing a vast range of products, including a comprehensive selection for dropshipping, at competitive prices to international buyers, with a user-friendly platform that supports multiple languages and currencies.

Product catalog

The platform boasts an extensive catalog that includes millions of products across a wide range of categories, such as clothing, electronics, beauty products, and more. AliExpress is particularly popular among dropshippers for its vast selection of affordable items, allowing them to offer various products in its online stores.

Fulfillment location(s)

AliExpress sellers are primarily based in China and Hong Kong, offering global shipping to almost every country around the world. This wide reach makes it an attractive platform for dropshippers looking to source products from Asia.

Shipping details

Shipping times and costs on AliExpress can vary significantly depending on the seller, the destination country, and the chosen shipping method. While some sellers offer free shipping, it may result in longer delivery times, expedited shipping options are available for faster delivery at an additional cost.

Pricing and fees

AliExpress does not charge a membership fee to buyers, making it accessible to dropshippers without upfront costs. Prices for products are set by individual sellers, and dropshippers can often benefit from wholesale discounts on bulk orders, enhancing their profit margins.

Here are some key considerations to keep in mind in order to choose one of the best clothing dropshipping suppliers: 

• Product range: You’ll want to choose a dropshipping clothing supplier that offers a comprehensive range of clothing styles, especially if your store caters to a variety of customers. Explore the supplier's product catalog and ensure they have a wide variety to cater to your unique clothing niche.

• Product quality: The quality of your products will directly influence your brand image and customer trust. Reputable fashion clothing suppliers usually offer sample products for you to assess the quality before making a commitment.

• Cost and fees: Every supplier has its pricing model, which can significantly impact your profit margins. It's vital to choose a supplier whose cost structure aligns with your pricing strategy.

• Fulfillment and shipping times: Fast and reliable shipping is crucial in ecommerce. Examine the supplier's fulfillment locations and understand their shipping timelines to ensure they align with your customers' expectations.

• Customer support: Excellent customer service from your supplier is critical, especially when you need to resolve issues related to orders, shipping, and returns. Ensure the extravagant fashion clothing supplier lives up to the hype and offers responsive customer support and open communication channels.

• Reviews and feedback: Customer reviews and feedback about the supplier can provide valuable insights into the supplier's reliability, product quality, and customer service.

• Return policy: Understanding a supplier's return policy is important, as it will impact how you handle exchanges and returns with your own customers. A clear and fair return policy is a must.

With a bit of preparation and strategic planning, you can get your online fashion store up and running smoothly. Here's the step-by-step guide to kick off your dropshipping clothing business: 

1. Identify your niche: Begin by identifying your target audience and the types of clothing items you want to sell. Be it streetwear, activewear, or formal wear, knowing your niche market gives you a clearer direction and helps in selecting the right supplier.

2. Select a dropshipping supplier: Your supplier plays a critical role in the success of your business. Evaluate different supplier options considering their pricing, product quality, shipping timescale, and customer support.

3. Choose your ecommerce platform: Once you have selected your supplier, choose an ecommerce platform to launch your business. Platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce can be excellent choices. Look for platforms that have good integration with your chosen supplier.

4. Add products to your store: Now, it's time to add the selected clothing items to your store. Make sure to add high-quality images and provide accurate, appealing product descriptions. This helps captivate your potential buyers and improve conversions.

5. Set up shipping and return policies: Clearly outline your shipping and returns policy to prevent misunderstandings between you and your customers.

6. Launch your store: Now that everything's in place, it's finally time to go live and open your online clothing store to the world. But remember, the work doesn't stop here; regular evaluation and adaptability to your business model is required to stay ahead of your competitors.

7. Market your brand: From social media promotions and influencer collaborations to SEO optimization, invest in strong marketing strategies to reach out to your potential customers and increase your brand visibility.

Note: Whether you're choosing conventional dropshipping or going for print on demand with Gelato, these steps will be the same. The only difference would be in the customization options available with print on demand suppliers like Gelato, providing you with an added opportunity to deliver distinctive fashion items.

Gelato allows you to expand your clothing line by offering unlimited customization options in various product categories. You're not only limited to t-shirts, but you can also venture into creating personalized mugs, custom phone cases, unique wall art, and even custom photo books. 

By integrating Gelato into your platform, you can offer these myriad products to your customers without any upfront investment.

Ready to skyrocket your business growth? Sign up for Gelato today and select a subscription plan that aligns with your business goals.