AutoDS sourcing as an alternative to Chinese suppliers! Learn how to get better prices and shipping to fulfill your orders
Quick jump:
What is AutoDS product sourcing?
With AutoDS sourcing, you can fulfill products using our agents rather than Aliexpress or other suppliers.
The AutoDS Sourcing service offers more control over the product, better shipping times, and pre-shipment inspections.
What are the benefits of using AutoDS sourcing?
These are some common struggles when working with supported suppliers such as;
- Long shipping time
- Quality of products - products are not being inspected, customers can get defective products, causing bad reviews
- Customer support- reaching and communicating with Aliexpress is not easy
AutoDS sourcing offers different solutions for these problems, as mentioned before.
How can I request AutoDS sourcing for an order?
Before you request a quote for an order, you'll need to configure a few settings in your AutoDS account. Check it out:
Order processor
To begin with, you must enable the Order Processor add-on in your AutoDS settings. This add-on automates order processing and makes the “Request Sourcing” option available in your order and product lists.
Note:
- Orders from Sourcing requests will always utilize the FBA service and auto-order automation, so when you make a sourcing request for an order, it’s essential to ensure that you have enough balance to cover the order buy price (including product price and shipping costs to the destination) and sufficient auto-order credits. Read more about the FBA service here: A Full Explanation & FAQ about the 'Fulfilled by AutoDS Service
- Sourcing requests can be made for all AutoDS-supported suppliers and will be fulfilled with products from our private suppliers in our warehouse in China.
What is the difference between AutoDS private suppliers and AutoDS warehouse?
AutoDS warehouse is our fulfillment center in China which contains thousands of selling products that we sourced (and keep on sourcing each week), so you can use them for your dropshipping business.
On top of the products we've imported to our warehouse, you will also find products from private suppliers who use the AutoDS platform to spread rumors about their products.
Sourcing Supplier
Make sure the Sourcing Supplier is registered. You do that on Settings > Add Supplier. Also, remind to select China as the warehouse and click on "add supplier".
Requesting a quote
There are two ways to request a quote:
Quotes can be requested after receiving an order for an unmonitored product or from a supported supplier only (except Wish).
The 'Request Sourcing' option will appear once you have such an order:
On the orders page, you will have a section for Sourcing, click on the "Request Sourcing +. By clicking on it, you will be directed to the quote related to this order or start the quote process for this order/product.
You can also request sourcing for your products directly from your product page.
It will also cost you 1 AO credit per sourcing request.
Sourcing requests status
To view all sourcing requests and their statutes, it will be displayed on the Sourcing Request column on the orders page. The status of the sourcing request will also be visible on the orders page, sourcing column for easy access.
You can click on "Sourcing Request" to check on the request directly from the orders page.
- New - there is no information about this product yet. You can click on Request a quote
- In progress - the product is in the quoting process, which can take up to 48 hours
- Cannot be sourced - our agents are not able to fulfill this product
- Ready - You have got a quote for the product
- Linked - the quote is linked to a product
How do I apply a sourcing request to my order?
When the request is under 'Ready' status, to see the request results - click on the product image or 'Sourcing Details' button, and you will be taken to a page where you can see all the variations we found for the product, the price, the shipping, the description, and check that it is indeed the same item.
**This information is only for your review; it will not change anything about the product at this time.
To apply AutoDS sourcing to your product, click the 'Link product' button and specify the right variation for your product if prices and shipping methods work for you.
You can also apply it on unfulfilled orders of this product by checking this box, and the buy ID will be changed accordingly.
Note ❗️
- A quoted order (after you link a new product from the given options) will also change the original product's buy ID. However, only the Buy ID will change, not the images or anything else. If you wish, you can change the images as shown in the quote for the order. So the future orders will have the new product.
- When you request a quote, you might get offers for similar, not identical products but with better prices or shipping times from any supported supplier.
- The new supplier will not be visible on the order or the product. It will displayed as AutoDS Sourcing
- Shipping info will be displayed on the selected variant and not only on the main product.
If, for any reason, you choose not to fulfill the order with AutoDS sourcing, you can edit the order, select 'Fulfill this order using a different product', and update the supplier and buy ID.
Sourcing messages center
If you have questions about a quote before and after linking it to a product or order, you can send a message.
Via Quote Details button →Message about this Quote
Via orders which are linked to a Quote → Send message about this order
Payment
AutoDS does not charge for sourcing requests for orders, but you must use the Fulfilled by AutoDS (FBA) service for automated order processing. Sourcing requests are only charged for products and cost just 1 AO credit per product.
To ensure smooth transactions, make sure to load balance to use the FBA services for order sourcing requests. Click here to learn how to load balance.
Sourcing Returns Policy
No returns are accepted for the sourced products or orders.
If the wrong recipient's name and address have been provided, returns and refunds will not be possible.
On rare occasions, the Chinese carrier may judge that the product is very large in volume, and may readjust the shipping cost in accordance with volume metrics, resulting in more expensive shipping. This is unfortunately unforeseeable as it depends on each carrier's checks and judgment.
How to Request for a change?
You can now ask to change the first sourced item for your items.
Here's How:
The "Request for a Change" button is on the Orders>Sourcing Page. 
Once you click on the button, a pop will appear to confirm the changes you want to make,
It is important to write a reason why you want to source other items so you can proceed with the request. Note that - all variations will be updated when you request a change.
Once you have confirmed, it will be in progress which will be displayed on the page for you to track.
When it is ready, it will be displayed on the product you have requested a change, you can either just click on the "Linked product" or check the "New variants have been found for your sourcing request. "Link Product".
A new pop-up page will appear to confirm if you want to proceed with the new variants or keep the existing ones.
Linking new variants, you will be able to see "New" at the top left of the products, you can select which ones you want to link and only selected ones will be updated.
Once you have confirmed it, it will start updating your products.
Note 📝
In case you receive a damaged product or parts missing from your order you can contact us within 7 business days from the delivery date of your order.
After this time frame, we won't be able to accommodate further requests.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the support chat - we are happy to help.