How to Deal with Long Shipping Times Dropshipping Aliexpress (2021)

Find out How you can Deal with Long Shipping Times Dropshipping with Aliexpress Below!

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Shipping plays a significant role in dropshipping. After all, customers will not be getting what they paid for if it wasn’t for shipping, and that would be a scam. Shipping has come a long way since, and customers have a variety of shipping options to choose from. Nevertheless, sometimes problems can still occur along the shipping journey that might cause delays in customer orders.

One thing you will quickly learn is that customers do not like it when they take a long time to receive something they have paid for. This occurrence can cause a flurry of problems such as the customer launching complaints, asking for a refund, canceling the order, etc. Moreover, the customer might leave a bad review, jeopardizing your store’s credibility. To try and avoid all of this from happening and affecting your business, there are several simple tips you can try, which will be covered in this review today.

Tip no. 1 – Be upfront with customers about shipping times

The smart thing to do is, to be honest with customers about your shipping times even before they purchase the product. Doing this is a great way to manage expectations, and therefore the customer also knows how long she has to wait before receiving her items. For example, if the shipping time takes an average of two weeks, you state it clearly at your product page or during checkout. If you do not inform customers, they will end up getting angry when they expected their items to reach within a few days. But if you have stated it clearly on your website, then customers would usually be more understanding, or at least it saves the customer from complaining that you did not inform them earlier. Also, when the items arrive earlier at the end, which usually happens, your customers will be delighted.

There are certain spots that you can display shipping times so that customers will surely see them:

• The FAQ page is where most people go if they have any questions. If you have products from global suppliers, it is essential to state clearly the expected timeline so you can get the best deals possible.
• Order confirmation page is another vital spot to display shipping disclaimers as a final reminder to customers that their item will arrive in that estimated timeframe.
• Then, in case your customers forget about their shipping times after purchasing their products, you should also include it in the shipping confirmation email. This way, your customers can check anytime they’re wondering where their items might be.

Tip no. 2 – Always use ePacket shipping

Free shipping is only significant because it is free. However, the long waiting times are sometimes just not worth it. You might be trying to save some money or cut down costs, but you will soon realize that it is a bad idea. If you are using free shipping options for your customers, their items might sometimes take up to 1 and a half months to arrive. Who do you think the customers will blame? You will be bombarded with complaints and negative reviews that might affect your overall store rating and eventually, your business. The solution to this problem is to pay for ePacket shipping, which ships products from China to the US in an average time of two weeks. Two weeks is usually still bearable for most customers because they already know from your disclaimer that they should estimate between two weeks to a month. And if your customers receive their items sooner than expected, they are usually thrilled and might even leave positive comments or tell their friends and families about their experience.

Tip no. 3 – Always quickly respond to customers

It can ruin your day to receive customer complaints or negative feedback from customers. Nevertheless, if you want your business to succeed and continue to thrive, you need to tackle the situation head-on. The first thing you should do is to reply to customers as soon as you can. The ideal timing is within 6 to 12 hours at most. Otherwise, customers might only get angry doing this time if they do not get a response. If you reply to it at a longer time, customers might get anxious that your store is illegitimate, and they might not get their products. In the meantime, they might even escalate their complaints to social media, affecting your store’s rating.

Responding to customer shipping complains

Of course, if your store receives a large volume of orders, you will not have time to draft replies to every email manually. Therefore, the smart way to do this is to prepare responses and save them as templates to use whenever necessary. Next time you need to reply to a customer, select the template, tweak it, and send it! All this also will ensure that you respond within the recommended timeframe. Then, if your business expands to a larger scale, you can consider outsourcing customer service to a virtual assistant so you can focus on scaling your business.

So there you have it. Shipping plays an essential role in your dropshipping business. The best way to avoid customer complaints about shipping problems is to manage expectations by being upfront with your shipping times. And if you do receive complaints, which is inevitable for every type of business, you should reply to them the soonest possible. You should also continue being upfront and informing them of any further delays or updates to avoid further complications.