BrandsGateway
Considered the fastest growing online B2B luxury fashion marketplace, BrandsGateway is known to be the one that successfully connects wholesale vendors, retail buyers, and dropshippers from around the world.
BrandsGateway was founded in 2017, and since then it has been a platform for dropshipping and wholesale buyers in the luxury fashion industry. The company’s headquarters are located in Estonia, but they are operating from several locations across the globe. They have four warehouses located in Sweden, Germany, Italy, and the U.S.A, and four offices located in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and North Macedonia.
As stated on BrandsGateway’s official website, the company’s mission is to provide ultimate customer satisfaction and help their customers to grow their businesses to their full potential. In addition, BrandsGateway’s vision is to dedicate themselves to the innovation of online wholesale fashion and improve the connection between B2B sellers and buyers.
Pricing plans
BrandsGateway’s dropshipping program encompasses 3 main dropshipping plans which include the following features and possibilities:
- No minimum order quantity
- Automated order placement
- Real-time inventory synchronization
- Shopify & WooCommerce Plugins
- CSV, XLS Access (Updated every 4 hours)
- Dedicated Account Manager
- Currency Converter
From the above-mentioned features, the ability to have a dedicated account manager is important to be emphasized. BrandsGateway’s account managers provide:
- 30 minutes brainstorming sessions
- Expert feedback of your web-shop
- Help with any BrandsGateway-related issue
- Communication via your preferred channel: WhatsApp or Phone
Speaking of the plans’ prices, BrandsGateway provides 3 main pricing options: Monthly Package which costs €295 for a month (billed monthly), Startup Package which costs €590 for 3 months, and it’s billed quarterly with €197 per month. Lastly, the Annual Package costs €1,695 for a year, and it’s billed yearly (€140 per month).
Delivery times and costs
As a dropshipping and wholesale supplier of designer clothing and accessories that has warehouses in different countries around the world, BrandsGateway promises fast and secure shipping of their products to any location.
To put it in numbers, the company provides delivery within Europe in 3-5 business days and 5-7 business days to other countries across the globe. BrandsGateway’s shipping fees start from €15, regardless of the size or weight of the package with FedEx, DHL and USP.
Return policy
BrandsGateway follows the European Trade Law which requires traders to accept a 14-day return policy. They provide full refund if the items are returned within 14 days from the delivery date both for locations in and outside the EU. BrandsGateway’s return policy is quite flexible and convenient in comparison to BrandsDistribution and Griffati.
Platforms integration
BrandsGateway provides seamless integration with Shopify and WooCommerce for dropshippers whose online stores are based on these eCommerce platforms. This integration provides the following benefits for dropshippers:
- Automatic inventory updates
The inventory is updated regularly to avoid selling products that are out of stock.
- Desired profit margins
Dropshippers are allowed to set and control their desired profit margins per category. BrandsGateway helps to earn up to 250% on every order.
- Real-time order syncing
Real-time order syncing is enabled from Shopify or WooCommerce dropshipping stores to BrandsGateway.
- Currency converter
The plug-in is designed to convert all currencies, so whatever currency you select, the prices will be converted automatically.
- Easy and simple category mappings
Importing of the products’ images, descriptions, variations, SKU’s, quantities, and tags are possible by easily mapping BrandsGateway’s categories with Shopify collections.
Additionally, for those running a store on other platforms such as BigCommerce, Prestashop, Channeladvisor, and Magento, as well as on marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Poshmark, Asos, and Shopstyle, BrandsGateway provides the possibility for a CSV/XLSX file integration which is updated every 4 hours. Apart from CSV, BrandsGateway also offers a rest api integration for custom built websites.
Customers’ reviews
An important characteristic that sets BrandsGateway apart from the other dropshipping and wholesale suppliers of luxury fashion is the constant positive customer feedback. On BrandsGateway’s Trustpilot page, the company is rated with a 4.6/5 rating with 95% of excellent reviews and 1% bad reviews.
The majority of the customers’ reviews for BrandsGateway mention their excellent customer support, professional dropshipping service, fast shipping, premium products, and high-profit margins. We extracted some reviews to highlight what people are satisfied with when working with BrandsGateway.
“Out of all dropshipping suppliers on the European market BrandsGateway is the best. We work with a lot of suppliers and with them, everything is very smooth, transactions, inventory mapping, importing products, everything. Products are very well-titled, tagged, and equipped with very nice descriptions.”
“I’m very happy with my order and the way you take care of every question that I have. The products are perfect and I’m looking forward to shopping again. BrandsGateway is no. 1.”
“WOW!!! I received my first dropship order a week ago and my customer loved the dress she purchased. Fast shipping and unbelievable margins.”
Types of brands and products
BrandsGateway is a dropshipping supplier of luxury fashion brands and products with a wide-ranging portfolio of products. They offer more than 90,000 luxury items at wholesale prices and discounts of up to 90%.
BrandsGateway’s products are associated with elegance, sophistication, and luxury. All items featured in the company’s portfolio come from more than 70 luxury brands recognized and desired worldwide. Starting from Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli, Karl Lagerfeld, Michael Kors, Armani, and Versace, BrandsGateway strives to offer premium clothing and accessories at convenient wholesale prices.
Having more than 90,000 products available for purchasing, BrandsGateway divides its products into several categories including, clothing, shoes, bags, accessories, watches, jewelry, sunglasses, and frames.
Affiliate program
BrandsGateway’s affiliate program is intended for dropshippers who are interested in boosting their profits. The idea is to offer them an additional source of income which is based on referrals. BrandsGateway’s affiliate program encourages their affiliates to refer people to their dropshipping subscription service and earn as long as they are our paying customers.
BrandsDistribution
BrandsDistribution is an online B2B platform for selling branded clothing and accessories. Established in 2006, BrandsDistribution provides services for retailers, online shops, chain stores, and large online retailers.
As stated on their official website, the company’s mission is to connect technology, fashion, and excellence in logistics and distribution.
Pricing Plans
BrandsDistribution also has three main pricing plans for their dropshipping services. Their first pricing plan, called Droppyfile, costs €69 a month. At first glance, this pricing plan might seem like a good deal, but compared with BrandsGateway’s plan, this one offers quite limited features. For example, this plan doesn’t include an automatic synchronization with new arrivals, automatic forwarding of orders to the product supplier, technical support, and expert advice on sales and promotion. Following this package, the second Droppypro plan costs €99 a month. Finally, their Droppyplus plan costs €159 a month and offers more features and possibilities than the previous two plans.
Delivery times and costs
Located in Italy, BrandsDistribution offers worldwide shipping of their products as well. However, as compared with BrandsGateway, their delivery costs and times depend on the location and weight, and size of the packages. Postal service is only available for packages up to 5kg, and while BrandsGateway provides delivery of products within Europe for 3-5 business days, BrandsDistribution delivers them within 4-8 business days and the costs range between €4.90 to €14.90. Standard shipping is available for packages to and over 5kg, and the costs vary from €7.90 to €22 and the delivery is from 3-5 business days, while Express delivery costs start from €6.90 to €32.90 with a delivery time from 2-3 business days.
For USA and Extra EU countries, BrandsDistribution delivers packages only with Standard and Express shipping. Hence, the standard shipping costs vary from €9.90 to €25 and the delivery is between 5-10 business days. For express delivery, the costs range from €19.90 to €48.90 and the packages are expected to arrive between 2-5 business days.
Return policy
BrandsDistribution accepts returns within 7 days of the delivery of the order. The procedure for returning merchandise is as follows:
a.The customer must first send a request for acceptance of the return.
b. The request is then confirmed by our customer services by e-mail who also issue a returns code.
c. The goods must be returned together with a copy of the e-mail confirmation containing relevant returns acceptance code.
d. Our logistics confirm return delivery of the package.
e. Confirmation is sent to the customer that the goods received match the returns request.
f. A credit note or a refund is issued in the customer’s name.
If the order is damaged or incomplete for internal reasons (e.g. incorrect quantities shown as available in the website) a credit note will be immediately issued for the customer.
Credit expires 2 years after the creation of the credit note.
Platforms integration
While BrandsGateway has an automated integration with Shopify and WooCommerce that is included in the dropshipping packages, BrandsDistribution has an app for importing their fashion catalog on Shopify stores which costs $99 per month. In addition, they offer integration with Amazon, eBay, WooCommerce, and Prestashop.
Customers’ reviews
When it comes to customers’ satisfaction, in comparison with BrandsGateway, BrandsDistribution has quite a poor rating of 2.6/5 on Trustpilot with 55% bad, poor or average reviews. The majority of the customers are dissatisfied with the company’s customer support. More specifically, a lot of customers complain about the company not answering their email and phone calls and inquiries, expensive shipping costs, and mistaken packages.
We gathered some of the reviews to give you a better understanding of which issues are the most common for dropshippers working with BrandsDistribution.
“Terrible company to deal with no communication, no reply to emails, or the chat feature, they don’t call you back.”
“Their turnkey solution is just ridiculous and they should be ashamed for offering that service. All the turnkey websites are under the same hosting, the loading time is crazy long. They never respond to any of my requests and it took 6 weeks longer than they promised. The results were a slow website with bugs everywhere.”
“Very bad experience. Don’t have a phone number to contact and won’t answer any of my emails. Won’t order again from BrandsDistribution.”
Types of brands and products
While BrandsGateway focuses on selling premium luxury designer brands that evoke elegance and sophistication, BrandsDistribution has a portfolio of brands that include casual and sportswear. Some of the brands featured in BrandsDistribution’s portfolio include Adidas, Nike, Timberland, New Balance, UGG, and more.
Affiliate program
BrandsDistribution also has developed an affiliate program for its dropshippers. The program allows affiliates to earn more money from everyone who will activate a dropshipping package from their affiliate link.
BrandsDistribution’s Affiliate Program is intended for diverse types of people interested in dropshipping, including entrepreneurs, YouTubers, marketing professionals, and more.
Griffati
Based in Italy, Griffati is a dropshipping and wholesale supplier with more than 20,000 products from Italian and international brands. In comparison with BrandsGateway that offers discounts up to 90%, Griffati offers discounts from 50% to 80% from the retailer price.
As stated on their official website, they consider the following as their strengths: careful customer service, shipping within and outside Europe, a wide selection of products and brands, and a user-friendly and intuitive web platform.
Pricing plans
Griffati’s pricing strategy is the following – they charge 340€ as activation fee for a dropshipping package plus 110€ on a monthly basis.
Delivery times and costs
Compared with BrandsGateway and BrandsDistribution, Griffati uses only UPS and DHL Express for shipping and delivery of their products. They also provide worldwide shipping and their fees are wide-ranging depending on the location. In particular, they provide UPS shipping only for some countries in Europe, and their delivery times vary from 2-6 business days. For the rest of the countries in Europe and the rest of the continents they provide express shipping with DHL and their rates range from €7 to around €600 depending on the area in which the location falls under and the package’s weight calculation.
Return policy
From all three dropshipping suppliers, Griffati has the strictest return policy. Particularly, the company doesn’t accept returns or exchanges of goods, except in case of a mistaken or faulty product. Therefore, if, in case, you want to return goods that don’t fall under these two categories, your request for return and refund won’t be approved. Lastly, Griffati’s return policy doesn’t follow the EU regulations and lasts for 10 days instead of 14 and the buyer must have a written return authorization by Griffati for the return to be accepted and approved.
Platforms integration
Griffati is providing Shopify, Prestashop and WooCommerce integration services as well as on Amazon, eBay, Aliexpress, and Google Shopping.
Customers’ reviews
When speaking of customers’ experience, Griffati is behind BrandsGateway and before BrandsDistribution with a 3.3/5 rating on Trustpilot. Around 50% of the customers consider the company’s services bad and 17% excellent. The customers are mostly complaining about the company’s return policy, high shipping costs, and out of stock items.
These are some of the negative reviews that dropshippers left for Griffati.
“Twice I have experienced that the item my customer purchased, was sold out, but not registered on their side.”
“I understand that they can’t offer free returns, but they don’t accept any returns whatsoever unless the item is defected.”
Types of brands and products
Similar to BrandsDistribution, Griffati offers more brands and products for everyday wear. They have some luxury premium brands in their portfolio, however, compared to BrandsGateway, it’s safe to conclude that their target audience is not the luxury buyer. Some of the brands that Griffati offers to their customers are Levi’s, Gant, Desigual, Tommy Hilfiger, and U.S. Polo Assn.
Affiliate program
Unlike BrandsGateway and BrandsDistribution, Griffati doesn’t offer an affiliate program for its dropshippers which could be considered a downside for dropshippers looking for a way to earn more through their dropshipping business.
In a nutshell
To conclude, BrandsGateway, BrandsDistribution and Griffati are all dropshipping and wholesale suppliers competing on the fashion market by selling clothing and accessories for women and men. So, if you are just starting out in this industry you must ask yourself how to choose which supplier is the best?
Logically, after analysing and comparing their services and products more in depth, we can summarize that customers’ reviews play an instrumental role when choosing a supplier. There’s a saying that goes: “Bad reputation is what people remember”. Therefore, if at the beginning, pricing plans may seem like the crucial and decisive element for you, remember that it’s not smart to choose the supplier with cheapest services because along the way you’ll realize that other things are of greater importance, such as the quality of their services. And you can learn about the quality of one supplier’s services only if you do research and analyse other customers’ experiences.
A supplier that is constantly praised for its dropshipping and wholesale services, customer support, or fast and secure shipping, is the one you need for your business to thrive. That being said, focus on the bigger picture and see which of these suppliers received the best feedback so far for their overall services and support.
