Last Updated on May 1, 2021 by Jay Clover
Dropshipping has become one of the most common e-commerce methods in the past few years and it’s booming this year with all the COVID-19 crisis. If you’ve also decided to start a dropshipping business, one of the most important things to consider is the platform you’ll be using.
Many people use Shopify because it’s the most popular one. Others use WooCommerce on WordPress because of the convenience in choosing the plugins and themes. And, some go for other lesser-known platforms, such as Doba.
Although not as popular as Shopify, Doba, too, has much to offer to its users. It’s a great choice for those just starting out and not having a big budget because it offers a 30-day free trial. And, if you know how to do your marketing, 30 days is enough to start making money before upgrading to a paid plan.
Doba Review
What makes Doba so great? Why many dropshippers choose Doba over Shopify or other e-commerce platforms?
It’s the numerous amazing features of Doba. From hassle-free integration with multiple marketplaces and e-commerce platforms to advanced filtering options and inventory management features. On Doba, you can find those and many more features that help you run your dropshipping business with ease. So, let’s check them out!
Doba Features
Integrates With All Major Marketplaces
Doba integrates with many popular e-commerce marketplaces and platforms including Amazon, eBay, BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento, and many others. The integration process is simple, thus allowing you to smoothly synchronize your products, inventory, orders, and other data with any of them.
In addition, all product data (e.g. photos, product descriptions, prices, etc.) automatically synchronizes to your store. Hence, you can create your store with one click per product and adjust them to fit your brand. Moreover, you can import and export products in bulk, thus making the whole importing of products must easier and faster.
Hundreds of Trusted Suppliers
There are hundreds of reliable suppliers on Doba. What makes this platform so special is that the suppliers are qualified to be listed on it since each of them must meet and maintain strict performance and technical standards. Plus, instead of applying to be a dropshipper for a certain supplier, with Doba you instantly get access to all the suppliers listed on the platform. In that way, you get access to millions of products they sell.
In addition, Doba is constantly adding new suppliers to their list as well as new hot products to the catalog. Hence, you can grow your assortments and always sell what your customers demand.
And, to make sure you choose the best supplier for your business, there’s the Suppliers Scoreboard. This list contains all the suppliers operating on Doba with detailed information on each. You can find detailed information on their performance, including fulfillment rates, return policies, shipping providers options, etc.
Advanced Searching and Filtering of Products
Finding the best in-demand products is a key feature for succeeding in dropshipping. With Doba, you can filter and sort all the products listed on their page by various features. This is thanks to their numerous product categories, lots of products, and the fast filtering process. But, if you don’t have the time to search for products, you can let the experts behind Doba do their magic and build a list of in-demand, highly profitable products in your niche.
Seamless Order Fulfillment
Order Life Cycle fulfillment engine is the feature that makes this dropshipping platform very useful and popular. Namely, it allows you and your customers to always know the order status. Also, order fulfillment is hassle-free and their in-house fulfillment team ensures your orders are prepared and shipped out on time. There are no more problems when it comes to refunding, returning products, and reconciliation.
Additionally, you have the option to upload orders in bulk using Doba’s tool. This will save you lots of time and nerves, leaving you more time to focus on marketing and managing your business.
Inventory Management
Not knowing how many items you have per each product you sell on your online store can lead to selling products you don’t have (the supplier doesn’t have). And, this will result in unsatisfied customers, refunds, and many other issues.
To prevent this from happening, you need top-notch inventory management like Doba provides. You can synchronize and automate your product lists by niche, channel, or any other available option. Also, you can set custom low inventory alerts so that you know when a product(s) is almost out of stock. This allows you to organize and list your products any way you like very easily and make sure you always have enough of your products.
In addition, you can set price change alerts so that you know when a supplier’s price per product has changed. This will let you know when you need to change the price of your product (if you want) or work with more or less profit if you leave the same price.
Integrates with Multiple Shipping Providers
Doba integrates with several reliable shipping provides, including FedEx, DHL, UPS, USPS, and others. This allows you to keep track of your orders and receive shipping updates fast and easily. Being able to tell your customer where their order is at any moment will help you build a strong and long-term relationship.
Custom Data Reports
All sales data is found on Doba’s dashboard, so you can access it as soon as you log in. But, it’s always better to have all that data on a platform like Shopify. Having that in mind, Doba has a custom data export feature that allows you to export all sales data to your e-commerce platform without using spreadsheets. To do it, you just need to select the data (sales or inventory) you want to export, choose your store’s e-commerce platform, and choose the proper formatting Then, the export file is automatically generated.
The Elite Seller Report
This is something like a newsletter. It includes information about discounts, deals, and trends. It also contains a well-researched product list and tips on which products to choose for the highest profit.
Multiple Store Management
Have several online stores? You can integrate all of them with Doba, thus managing all of them from one dashboard. Having multiple stores in one place saves you plenty of time and money.
Live Support
Stuck with your order or have another issue? Well, this can happen to anyone, especially novices. But, don’t worry about that because Doba’s in-house support team is there to help you with any issue you may have. You can contact them via phone, chat, and email.
Doba Pricing
There are 3 pricing plans you can choose from depending on your needs and budget, including:
- Start-up – $24.99/month billed monthly; $19.99/month billed annually.
- Business – $49.99/month billed monthly; $39.99/month billed annually.
- Enterprise – $299.99/month (per 6 months minimum) billed monthly, $249.99/month billed annually.
Does Doba Have a Free Trial?
Yes, you get 30 days free trial to use Doba at the Start-up plan. So, you get all the features of this plan for free. This is a great chance for you to try out Doba to find out whether it is the right dropshipping platform for your business.
Is Doba Legit?
If by legit, we speak of whether the company is registered as a business or not, then you can rest assured because Doba is. They are registered as an independent company with around 55 employees and 4 directors.
However, if we speak of whether it is a scam or not, there’s a reason to worry. According to customers’ complaints found online and on Better Bussiness Bureau’s website, Doba is most probably a scam.
Apparently, they charge customers before their trial period expires and they weren’t able to access their account 2 days after creating their free trial account. Also, they don’t have customer support because no one answers the phone, returns to emails, nor is available on the chat after you sign up for an account.
So, carefully consider these complaints before deciding whether it’s worth risking to sign up for a Doba account.
Doba vs Oberlo (Shopify)
The biggest difference between Doba and Shopify is their legitimacy and safety. As already mentioned, Doba seems to be a scam and has a 1-star rating. On the other hand, Shopify is the most popular and used e-commerce/dropshipping platform and has an average of 4.3-star rating across different review and rating sites.
Another difference is that Doba is a big marketplace with over 2 million products offered by hundreds of suppliers. Shopify is an e-commerce platform that also allows you to search and find products from AliExpress and some other third-party suppliers. In addition, Doba allows you to directly import products listed in their database whereas Shopify uses Oberlo for that.
There’s also a difference in their trial period. Namely, Doba offers a 30-day trial period whereas Shopify offers a 14-day trial period.
Furthermore, Doba offers some great features but they are somewhat limited because they don’t automatize your store. On the other hand, Oberlo does exactly that by automatically updating your inventory and price. It also makes sure that your supplier automatically ships out your orders to your customers. Also, there are features like 1-click order fulfillment, unlimited orders, inventory monitoring, email lists, abandoned cart reminder, etc.
And, let’s not forget that Shopify automatically creates your online store so you can start selling ASAP. All you have to do is find and import the products you want to sell in your store. With Doba, you need to integrate with your e-commerce store to use it because it doesn’t create one.
