Product Sourcing Guide: How To Get Started (2025)

Starting a business can be tough when you don’t have products to sell. That’s where a product sourcing strategy comes in. If you’re not making your own goods, you’ll need a reliable supplier who can manufacture the items your customers want.

The good news is, if you’re starting your business on Shopify, there are lots of options for sourcing products. By using integrated retail or dropshipping suppliers, you can stock your store with popular items. You can even team up with suppliers that specialize in niche products or offer product customization.

Ready to source profitable products for your business? This guide covers the best ways to find products, including eight product sourcing apps that connect potential suppliers with Shopify stores.

What is product sourcing?

Product sourcing is the process of finding and acquiring products to sell to customers for profit. It can involve purchasing items from manufacturers, working with wholesalers, or commissioning custom products.

Some product sourcing methods use a dropshipping fulfillment model where your supplier manages inventory and ships orders directly to your customers.

Popular product sourcing methods

Here are five popular ways to source products for your online or physical store.

Wholesalers

Wholesale product sourcing means purchasing goods in large quantities from a manufacturer, marketplace, or distributor. This allows you to benefit from lower, bulk pricing. 

If you want to get your business up and running quickly, buying products wholesale can be a smart strategy. You can stock your store and start selling without waiting for manufacturing or delivery before fulfilling a customer order.

Pros of wholesale sourcing:

• Wide range of wholesalers to choose from. 
• Achieve profit margins of more than 50%. Low purchase prices result from ordering in bulk at a lower cost per unit and negotiating with suppliers.
• Ability to establish direct relationships with wholesale suppliers who can help develop new product lines.

Cons of wholesale sourcing:

• You’ll need space and systems for storing and managing inventory.
• You’ll need strong cash flow to pre-pay for stock, unless you can set up a payment plan with the wholesaler.

Dropshipping suppliers

Dropshipping is not only a product sourcing technique, but also an order fulfillment method. As a dropshipper, you don’t hold inventory or handle shipping. Instead, you partner with a dropshipping supplier who stores and ships products for you.

The process is straightforward:

1. Find a reliable dropshipping supplier.
2. Add their products to your store.
3. Market your store and products to your customers.
4. When you receive an order, the supplier is notified and handles shipping.

There are two ways to work with dropshipping suppliers:

1. Working directly with a dropshipping supplier: You create your own process for managing orders and communicating with the supplier.
2. Using a dropshipping app: An app connects you to a marketplace of suppliers with a built-in system for relaying customer orders. You can manage multiple suppliers in one place. 

“With Printful, I’ve also worked with a couple of other dropshipping and print on demand companies, and I really appreciate the ability to connect everything together,” says Raven Gibson, founder of Legendary Rootz, in a Shopify Masters interview. 

“I have an idea. I’m able to go in. See if they have a product that serves me or serves that idea that I have, get that sample created. And once it’s approved through me, cause I’m the approver, obviously I’m able to go in and it’s all connected to Shopify. I love it.”

Pros of sourcing from dropshipping suppliers:

• Minimal startup costs since there’s no inventory to buy or store
• No need to handle order fulfillment as the supplier does this for you
• Lots of dropshipping apps are compatible with Shopify

Cons of sourcing from dropshipping suppliers:

• Low profit margins
• Limited control over the product and customer experience
• High competition from other online stores because of a low barrier to entry

Manufacturers

There are two primary ways to source products directly from manufacturers:

Order white label products

White label products are generic items produced by manufacturers. These can often be customized with your business’s branding or logo. Alibaba’s manufacturer marketplace is a common place to start.

📚Learn more: The 13 Best White Label Products To Sell in 2025

Commission a private label product line

With private label products, manufacturers create a custom version of an existing product exclusively for your business. Depending on the manufacturer and the product, you may be able to request unique branding, materials, ingredients, or features to differentiate your product from others.

Pros of manufacturer sourcing:

• Greater control over branding and pricing 
• Higher quality assurance of the final product compared to other sourcing methods like dropshipping
• Manufacturing can lower your cost per unit and increase profit margins

“I love designing with factories,” says Myriam Belzile-Maguire, founder of Maguire Shoes, in a Shopify Masters interview. “I love all their knowledge and how they make it easy. When I sketch something, they make it look even better than my sketch.

“I wanted access to all these amazing suppliers with great materials that I could never use in fast fashion because they were too expensive. I wanted to use all of that without compromise, but also offer a great price for my customers. That’s why I just went direct. It’s slower to build a brand, but I feel like the reward is really good in the end.”

Cons of manufacturer sourcing:

• Minimum order quantities (MOQs) are often required, which may mean investing thousands of dollars upfront
• Prototyping, sampling, refining, and producing a product can take a long time

Trade shows

Trade shows are events where businesses come together to showcase new products and services. These events usually take place in convention centers across major cities and span several days. Smaller, regional trade shows also offer valuable opportunities to connect with local vendors.

Attending trade shows lets you experience products firsthand, meet potential suppliers, and gain inspiration for new product ideas.

Pros of sourcing from trade shows:

• Opportunity to build in-person relationships with suppliers
• See product demonstrations and interact with items before deciding to source
• Explore lots of different products in one day. This can help you negotiate minimum order quantities, product prices, and quality 

Cons of sourcing from trade shows:

• Extra costs: travel, accommodation, and event tickets
• Some suppliers can be pushy—don’t rush into sourcing decisions
• Limited exclusivity, since suppliers meet with many other store owners

Create your own products

If you start a business based on your passion or area of expertise, you could create your own products instead of sourcing them. Whether it’s beauty products, clothing, or jewelry, handcrafting products gives you complete control over quality and branding.

Pros of creating your own products:

• Full control over product quality and branding
• Opportunity to create an innovative product that the market hasn’t seen 
• Higher profit margins since there’s no middleman

Cons of creating your own products:

• Time-consuming and difficult to scale
• Requires upfront investment in raw materials, warehousing, and labor

It’s often best to start small with a single homemade product and grow from there. For example, science teacher Kyle LaFond started his personal care business, American Provenance, with a homemade natural deodorant.

8 Shopify apps for product sourcing

Use these apps to discover a wide range of products and streamline the product sourcing process on Shopify.

1. Faire
2. Printful
3. DSers
4. Spocket
5. Syncee
6. Creative Hub
7. My Online Fashion Store
8. Lulu Direct

1. Faire

More than 100,000 brands and independent makers sell their products to retailers through Faire. 

With Faire, you can search for home, clothing, beauty, and lifestyle products—and view detailed information about items and manufacturers before buying.

Each independent brand on this product sourcing app is vetted by a team of retail experts, reducing risk when working with new suppliers. Eligible retailers can also buy now, pay later, with up to 60 days to pay.

Faire’s large catalog makes it easy to find your next bestseller, no matter your niche. Some of the most popular types of products you can source from Faire include:

• Home décor
• Food and drink
• Beauty and wellness
• Jewelry

💡Tip: Faire is fully integrated with Shopify through the Faire app, so you can seamlessly manage orders.

2. Printful

Printful is a print-on-demand company that offers a large catalog of products you can customize with your own designs. 

Depending on the product, customization options can include colors, custom designs and graphics, and branded elements like product stickers, package inserts, and labels.

You can also order product samples at a discounted price to confirm product quality before promoting items under your brand.

The types of products you can source and customize with Printful include:

• T-shirts
• Posters
• Embroidered hats
• Socks
• Phone cases
• Pillows
• Jackets

3. DSers

DSers was built to help you source and dropship products from China-based supplier marketplace AliExpress.

Using DSers and AliExpress dropshipping, pick from millions of products across almost any niche market. Use Shopify’s inventory management tools to track stock levels and profits. 

One way to use DSers is to curate a branded online store for a specific audience, like accessories for pet owners or photography gear for travel. Once you’ve found an item the DSers app makes it easy to add it to your Shopify store and relay customer orders to your supplier.

DSers also provides performance data for each product, so you can make informed decisions about what to sell.

Types of products you can source through DSers include:

• Clothing
• Accessories
• Home goods
• Electronics
• Phone accessories

4. Spocket

Spocket is a product sourcing app that helps you find products from dropshipping suppliers.

One of its key benefits is a large supplier directory, focused on the US and the EU. With many suppliers based domestically, Spocket offers faster-than-average shipping times for a dropshipping platform.

Through pre-negotiated wholesale pricing, Spocket offers discounts of up to 40%, helping improve your profit margins. You can also order product samples from the dashboard to confirm quality before selling.

The products you can source through Spocket include:

• Earrings
• Apparel
• Sports equipment
• Footwear
• Bath and beauty items

5. Syncee 

Syncee lets you browse a catalog of trusted dropshipping suppliers from around the world and easily import products into your store. You can also customize pricing rules to control how much each item sells for.

Dropshipped products you can source from Syncee include:

• Baby products
• Watches
• Fashion
• Toys
• Fishing accessories
• Perfume

6. Creative Hub

Creative Hub lets you sell art online from popular and innovative creatives. This UK-based product sourcing website gives your business access to work from contemporary artists.

For each piece, you’ll see the retail price (the minimum price you can sell it for) and your vendor share (your profit at the retail price). Some prints are limited editions, which can command a higher price.

Creative Hub has a fixed international shipping cost, which simplifies logistics and lets you sell worldwide. You can also print your logo on packaging labels and include inserts with information about the artist or your business. 

Products you can source with Creative Hub include:

• Fine art giclée 
• C-type prints
• Framed prints
• Canvas prints

7. My Online Fashion Store

My Online Fashion Store is a US-based dropshipping app with a large inventory of women’s apparel. From tops to jewelry to shoes, each of its more than 6,000+ items has a suggested selling price to help you set your profit margin.

This product-sourcing app offers free returns and competitive shipping rates from its LA warehouse. However, it only fulfills orders for customers based in the US.

The products you can source include:

• Scarves
• Tank tops
• Lingerie
• Sunglasses
• Handbags
• Hats
• Belts

8. Lulu Direct

Have an idea for a bestselling coffee table book? Lulu Direct is a low-risk way to try out your idea before investing in it.

This print-on-demand app focuses exclusively on books and calendars, letting you choose the format, size, cover type, ink color, and paper stock to create a custom book product.

The types of books you can create include:

• Hardcover photo books
• Novels
• Comic books
• Workbooks
• Calendars
• Journals and notebooks

📚Find more custom book suppliers: 10 Best Providers for Print-On-Demand Books

Product sourcing best practices for long-term success

To ensure successful product sourcing for your ecommerce business, consider the following best practices:

Conduct market research 

Market research helps you understand the needs and preferences of your target audience—and reveals whether other businesses are already serving them. 

By analyzing data about people, competitors, and your industry, you can make informed decisions about product sourcing or product development.

Sarah Cieslinski, cofounder of Zero Waste Store, explains in a Shopify Masters episode, “When we first decided to start the business, I spent about six months researching and doing my best to try and find products that were made by small businesses, because we wanted to support small businesses specifically and just make sure they were made mindfully and eco-consciously with minimum packaging, especially no plastic packaging.”

“I thought that was very important, we spent about six months researching and testing. I tested hundreds of products and we launched with our shampoo and conditioner bars, which today are still our number one bestselling product.” 

When conducting product research, focus on the following aspects:

Industry trends

Keep up with emerging market trends to identify new product opportunities. What’s rising in popularity, and what’s on its way out? 

Consumer needs

Understand your target market’s needs, preferences, and pain points to choose products that align with demands and achieve product-market fit. How well do your competitors meet those needs—and where do they fall short?

Legislative trends

Keep track of any regulations that may impact the products you source. This helps ensure compliance and avoid potential legal issues. 

For example, if you are sourcing beauty products, you’ll need to stay updated on safety rules, labeling requirements, and product testing. Knowing this in advance helps you choose the right product before committing to a supplier.

Legislation can also highlight opportunities. For instance, if a new fabric is approved that helps hikers stay dry for hours, your outdoor clothing store could source these products and use them as a unique selling point.

There are two main ways to conduct market research:

• Primary research: Gather firsthand research by ordering and testing products yourself, or conducting surveys and interviews with customers.
• Secondary research: Collect publicly available information from sources such as magazines, government reports, industry analysts, and trade publications.

Get samples 

Once you’ve identified a product and a reliable supplier, request samples or prototypes before committing to a large order. 

Sampling allows you to assess the quality of products before putting your brand’s reputation behind them. Even if a product looks great in photos, you want to ensure it meets your standards in real life.

A sample run also helps you evaluate a supplier’s communication, quality control, order processing, and fulfillment process. You’ll see how they share delivery information and package products. Try ordering multiple samples under different names to vet product consistency.

Key metrics to consider in a supplier evaluation include:

• OTIF (on-time, in-full): Measures how reliably the supplier delivers orders on schedule and in full.
• Defect Rate: Tracks how often products have issues, helping you assess consistency.
• Lead Time: Understanding each supplier’s typical order processing and shipping times helps you plan inventory and anticipate potential delays.

“Product samples enable you to inspect the level of quality so that you can ensure every order is worth your investment,” says Tyler Rybacki, former product development expert at subscription coffee company Jot. “Having a sample on hand is also helpful for shooting product photos for sales and marketing materials and your ecommerce website. Always order a sample product before committing to an order.”

When requesting samples, remember to:

• Provide detailed specifications of the product, including any specific colors or styles
• Ask the supplier to label the sample package with “no commercial value” to avoid duty charges when sourcing from overseas
• Request a company tag and model number to differentiate samples during testing 

Tyler suggests sourcing samples from up to five product suppliers to compare quality, pricing, and service. Try ordering various colors and styles to find the right fit for your product strategy.

Source local when possible

Local sourcing means getting products from domestic suppliers instead of international ones. “Local” could mean your immediate community or your home country. 

Sourcing locally can reduce supply chain costs, launch products faster, and earn more revenue. You can also inspect the items in person to speed up the vetting process for new product suppliers.

Stephen Light, co-owner of mattress company Nolah Sleep, has worked with both international and local suppliers. He found that shifting to local suppliers helped his business avoid global supply chain problems and gain more control over the procurement process. 

“Raw material suppliers within your region are likely to be more reactive to your needs as a business, and able to fulfill and coordinate shipments within a short time frame,” Stephen says.

Work with multiple suppliers 

Working with one supplier for your company makes product sourcing simple. Add alternative suppliers to the mix and you may complicate order management.

However, a multi-supplier strategy helps reduce supply chain risks and better meet customer demand. Having a shortlist of backup suppliers provides your business with a safety net in case of product shortages and delays. Renegotiating contracts and exploring new partners are natural parts of owning a business.

Before working with a supplier, evaluate the following criteria:

• Production capacity and lead times
• Product quality control measures
• Timely delivery and transportation costs
• Returns
• Defects
• Customer complaints

Aaron Alpeter, founder of Izba (a supply chain consulting, outsourcing, and technology firm), suggests thinking long term when evaluating a supplier. “To ensure that your supplier’s capacity or inventory cash flow doesn’t constrain your growth, think about what you need for the next two-year time horizon and optimize for that,” he says. 

“Then, in a few months, review that forecast and see if your needs have changed. By doing so, you’ll spot capacity crunches before they arrive and will be able to invest in new capacity or relationships while also avoiding sitting on a mountain of inventory.” 

Build strong supplier relationships

Strong supplier relationships can give your business a competitive advantage. A trusted supplier may prioritize you for product samples, offer help with marketing, or assist with shipping problems. 

Practical ways to build supplier relationships include:

• Paying them on time
• Being clear and upfront with your communication
• Writing detailed contracts that keep both parties accountable
• Providing feedback—not just when it’s negative

If a supplier is not meeting your expectations, don’t hesitate to reconsider the relationship. As Stephen Light advises, it’s a good idea for businesses to be “proactive and build relationships with multiple suppliers, including backup suppliers.”

Stay informed about supply chain trends and challenges

Poor supply chain management can lead to stockouts that drive customers toward competitors. But the supply chain industry is notoriously volatile. Changing tariffs, shipping delays, and labor shortages can impact how quickly you receive inventory.

Before choosing a new product sourcing method, create a contingency plan to ensure you always have inventory to sell. If you’re working with an overseas manufacturer, for example, consider lining up a local supplier as backup if tariffs or shipping restrictions delay incoming international shipments. 

No products to sell? No problem

Thanks to online marketplaces and dropshipping apps, product sourcing is no longer the hurdle it used to be. The platforms and strategies in this article can help you find the right products to turn your small business idea into reality, or give you an actionable way to expand your product line.