Thinking about starting an automotive parts e-commerce store - looking for honest advice on the dropshipping route

Posted by Jay-Oh-Jay@reddit | Autos | View on Reddit | 11 comments

So I've been kicking around the idea of selling automotive parts online for a while now (I love car and trucks). I already have a specific niche in mind (aftermarket stuff for a particular vehicle line), and I believe it to be a good market.

My biggest hesitation right now is inventory. I don't have like 50k or whatever to drop on stock upfront, so I'm looking at the dropshipping model to start. I want to find reliable suppliers, list their products, handle the marketing and customer service side and stuff like that ya know?

Here's what's keeping me up at night though: finding legit suppliers. I've noticed that there is a TOOOON of garbage dropshipping suppliers out there, especially in automotive where quality is one of the most important things.

For those of you who have done this (especially in automotive niche)

How did you find suppliers that you could trust?
How do you even go about contacting them?
How do you find them?

I haven't dug deep into supplier research yet, and wanted to get a reality check from people who have actually done this before I waste months going down the wrong path.

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hofmny@reddit

Honestly, you have to pick a niche. It's fine to put all the parts on your website from a distributor, but definitely not on the homepage, and definitely not on the main category menus.

Google crawl budget is very low for new websites and even if it's an existing domain that you purchase, you want to maximize your crawl budget and SEO rankings.

So definitely keep 50,000 parts on your website, that's fine, with automotive, you typically have a lot of parts because there's so many different applications. But highlight the main parts in your niche that you want to sell and make it easy to find these parts.

For example, if you have a year make model selector, the resulting page should highlight the products in your niche, and then maybe have a section for other parts which they can expand by clicking a button. There are many other UX patterns you can follow.

A good guide I found is: https://square.parts/resources/can-i-be-successful-selling-auto-parts-online

D4ng3rd4n@reddit

You should specialize in group buys first. If you can't get 10 people to buy a widget in a group buy what makes you think you could sell 50k of inventory. Get a reputation for good parts at a good price in monthly group buys from reputable wholesalers. If the niche proves itself out, then you can get bigger.

Jay-Oh-Jay@reddit (OP)

What platforms do you recommend for group buys? I have Facebook and forum websites for the vehicle I want to sell things for in mind.

Start where you hang out

HappyBend0@reddit

To find suppliers you trust, go with people you can actually talk to. I'm not talking email, i'm talking Zoom or in-person. People are just much more loyal and trustworthy when you actually know who they are. Automotive is a huge niche but I know a few californian suppliers since I used to do this on ebay so i may be able to help if you want to sell in the US

Sent you a DM. Thank you!

Embarrassed_Watch689@reddit

What are the specific model series you plan to focus on and the corresponding core after-sales accessories categories?
What are the three core assessment indicators (such as quality certification, delivery timeliness, and after-sales policy) that you value most when screening delivery suppliers?
What marketing and Client Server channels (such as independent websites, social media, platform stores) are you currently preparing?
In the face of after-sales problems with auto parts (such as model discrepancies, quality defects), what is the supplier's bottom line solution that you can accept?
In addition to avoiding inventory costs, do you have clear expectations for the comprehensive cost cap (including delivery service fees and freight) for single-piece delivery?

ThrowawayGunName@reddit

Setup a business and contact Turn 14, motovicity, keystone, etc.

Look around the SEMA website for wholesale only distributors. Google automotive wholesale only distributors.

Original-Split5085@reddit

It has been a while so I am sure online marketing has changed. But about a decade ago I worked for a US based aftermarket parts manufacturer (about 200 employees, so mid sized maybe?). Our biggest reseller was a drop shipper. It helped him that the company I worked for was one that stuck to strict MSRP on their own website so they didn't undercut resellers. But this guy was just better than anyone else at internet marketing. This was a company that had a quality product and didn't care if a drop shipper was making money without holding inventory, at the end of the day it was still a sale for them.

If you want to do this in a quality manner, I would find suppliers whose products you would personally use. Dropship does not have to mean cheap Chinese rip off garbage. Then you can honestly create content to promote it.

Like I say my knowledge is ten years or more old, and online marketing changes fast, but I think the basics are still the same in some ways.

RealMadLadStalin@reddit

Honestly, my advice will be to save up till you have 30-50k, and in the mean time, connect with owners of cars in your niche and use them as your beta testers. Ask them if they’re looking for parts, and if one hits you up, try to fill their order which will push you to try ordering, pricing it etc. dm me for more details, I might be able to help you on advice with suppliers if you let me know your niche

Future-Turtle@reddit

You aren't going to upset establish online auto parts stores with cheap dropshipped garbage.