trading emails etc.

[CDDiva]

I am new to dropshipping, and am trying to carefully sort out some of the suppliers there, by sending an email asking directly if they dropship for shop owners, and I have been 95% successful in my responses.
A couple gave me very strange responses, and without going in to detail, sent up red flags, so I removed them from my potential list.

However, my question is, is it common, and ok, for a seller to first request your "whasapp" number, and since I do not use such things, wrote back and said sorry, but I use email, not my phone. So his next response was "can I have your email address"

Since I am new to Ali, normally I would think this odd, but want to know, is this common for sellers and clients to exchange personal info....
I am a bit wary of that, mostly because I neither want to break any rules on Ali, and also because it seems a little odd and out of the ordinary for a seller to ask, especially a new client they have not yet worked with.

I should also add, this seller has been on Ali 8 years, and has a close to 100% rating.

Any thoughts on this people?? Your feedback would be well appreciated.

 

[CDDiva]

I have yet not responded to this seller with either my email or any kind of answer.
I would really love some feedback on this please.
Olga B. or another administrator possibly

 

[Direct Webstore]

am trying to carefully sort out some of the suppliers there, by sending an email asking directly if they dropship for shop owners, and I have been 95% successful in my responses.

Considering that ALL Aliexpress sellers cater to drop-shippers, they probably thought it was a strange question and ignored you. Also, many of them use Google Translate and it may have seemed even more strange to them. There's no need to contact them and ask them this.

A couple gave me very strange responses

Google Translate again ... or stock copy/pasted replies. (As is often the case)

However, my question is, is it common, and ok, for a seller to first request your "whasapp" number, and since I do not use such things, wrote back and said sorry, but I use email, not my phone. So his next response was "can I have your email address"

No. It's not common. But then again, it's not common to contact sellers asking if they deal with drop-shippers. So any strange response wouldn't surprise me.

Since I am new to Ali, normally I would think this odd, but want to know, is this common for sellers and clients to exchange personal info....

No. I hardly ever contact sellers at all. Only when I need to get a refund.

Any thoughts on this people?? Your feedback would be well appreciated.

You're dealing with Chinese sellers with poor English skills and strange customs. Just leave them alone, place your orders, only contact them when there's a problem or need a refund ... and everyone will be happy.

I have yet not responded to this seller with either my email or any kind of answer.

Don't bother. Forget about it and just place your orders.

 

[Mar]

it seems a little odd and out of the ordinary for a seller to ask, especially a new client they have not yet worked with.

What's really odd is you sending an email asking directly if they dropship for shop owners. When you import products, that is the time you choose a seller according to their rating. When you have an order, you place that order in the normal process with AliExpress. There is really no transaction for the seller. When you place an order, that is now between AliExpress and the seller although you can communicate with the seller for some other concerns, e. g. delay in shipping.

 

[CDDiva]

What's really odd is you sending an email asking directly if they dropship for shop owners. When you import products, that is the time you choose a seller according to their rating. When you have an order, you place that order in the normal process with AliExpress. There is really no transaction for the seller. When you place an order, that is now between AliExpress and the seller although you can communicate with the seller for some other concerns, e. g. delay in shipping.

I am only doing what your company has suggested thru blogs and articles they send to my email everyday. I have read everything sent to me, from both Alidropship, and dropship.me both of which send very useful info, and those suggestions are in some of the articles and posts. So I do not see how my action can be called odd, if your company suggests such things

UPDATE: I just now logged into Ali, and guess what.
The 2 suppliers I wrote to clarify this statement here:

"The product says this: Dropshipping:Yes
But the purchasing information says this:
3. We only ship to confirmed order addresses. Your order address MUST MATCH your Shipping address. "

they have both changed their store info, and both now have in big letters across the top....

We accept drop shipping
and
Welcome to our store. Wish you have a happy shopping！

Drop shipping is available!

So it must have been a good enough question to make them clarify it on there storefront!

 

[Direct Webstore]

Not sure means when I encounter statements (or lack of them) and information like the following:

The product says this: Dropshipping:Yes
But the purchasing information says this:
3. We only ship to confirmed order addresses. Your order address MUST MATCH your Shipping address.

That's right. As has been stated, you contact them when there is a problem (in this case, lack of clarity) or you need a refund or the delivery is delayed.

But your original statement was that you were contacting them to inquire if they catered to drop shippers, which is simply unnecessary and a waste of time. It also explains the "strange" answers you got that you were concerned about.

The whole Alidropship, Shopify/Oberlo and other systems are based on the fact that Aliexpress sellers do cater to drop-shippers. Reading any docs/articles at all or watching any Youtube videos at all would have made this blatantly obvious. It's almost on "Page 1" so to speak of Aliexpress drop shipping.

Time to move on to the next problem ...

 

[Direct Webstore]

3. We only ship to confirmed order addresses. Your order address MUST MATCH your Shipping address. "

This is a forum oldie. Without going into all the details again or providing search links on the other posts/threads, I'll simply say ... "Ignore it". They will ship to whatever address you put in the "Shipping Address" section. To find that answer more or less repeated, you'll have to use the Search above.

Bottom line ... don't worry about it.

 

[Mar]

So I do not see how my action can be called odd, if your company suggests such things

It is really odd, especially asking directly if they dropship for shop owners. There is no such suggestion. Communicating with the sellers will create more and more confusion like you have now. Soon they will convince you to transact with them directly which is not allowed. You transact with AliExpress when you place order for your customer, let AliExpress handle the sellers. Also, let me tell you, I am not connected to this company.