Welcome to my review of Modalyst.
We all know that dropshipping is one of the most popular methods to start an eCommerce business. Since you do not have to worry about purchasing inventory, storage and delivery fees, it is a low-risk way to start an online business.
However, one of the most time-consuming aspects of stating an eCommerce business is finding reliable suppliers with quality products at affordable prices. Fortunately, if you know where to look, there are tools and services that will streamline this process for you.
Modalyst is a drop shipping app that will give online merchants access to thousands of suppliers and millions of high-quality products.
If you are looking for a drop shipping app that connects you with local suppliers and also streamlines the drop shipping process, then Modalyst may be the solution you are looking for.
Modalyst Review
Modalyst was founded in 2013 by Jill Sherman and Alain Miguel. Jill Sherman has worked in luxury fashion and retail technology for over 18 years and Alain Miguel has been featured in Forbes 30 under 30. Both have MBA’s from MIT and created Modalyst to make it easier for people to start an eCommerce business without having to deal with inventory management, warehousing and fulfilment.
I have already reviewed a couple of similar apps like Spocket and Oberlo, both apps are very impressive in what they can do and how they help online retailers run their business more efficiently.
Modalyst comes with many of the same features as Spocket and Oberlo plus some additional features that are unique to the app.
Modalyst Features
I really like the Modalyst user interface, it’s well-designed, easy to navigate and you can literally control your dropshipping business from within the platform.
So, the main feature of Modalyst is that it gives small online retailers access to a wide variety of high-quality products from suppliers who are based in the EU and USA.
Modalyst gives you 3 inventory types to source products from, they are;
Independent Brands – Get access to high-quality niche related products that are hard to find anywhere else from small independent brands. There are products from 650+ suppliers and you get direct access to them which will allow you to communicate with them about products, prices and anything else that you may have questions about.
These suppliers have been thoroughly vetted by Modalyst so that they meet their high standards. Price, shipping and returns policy are also ironed out during the vetting process so that both merchant and supplier benefit from each other’s business.
Cool Affordable Products – Most of these products are from the SHEIN marketplace, SHEIN as many of you may know. mainly focuses on women’s fashion. There are over 100k products to choose from and they ship to over 80 countries and have distribution centres all around the world for faster shipping. Women’s apparel is the top niche for dropshipping and with direct access to the SHIEN marketplace you get an advantage over your competitors.
Low-Cost Goods – Choose from a wide selection of low-cost goods in over 40+ categories, from cool drones to trendy fashion wear, the basement prices for many of these products means that you can set high-profit margins.
All products are sourced from the WISH marketplace and shipping times range between 5-8 days. WISH has some tremendous products for sale at really low prices, you can easily raise your profit margins if you decide to source products from here.
Premium Brands – This option is only available in their Pro and Business plans, it gives you access to well-known brands and gives more options as to the kind of products you can drop ship through Modalyst.
You can search for products through keyword research and filter by your chosen category, price, shipping times and supplier.
Products from independent brands will have their own page with unique description, images, pricing and shipping times.
All products have a brief description along with their wholesale price, shipping costs, the number of countries you can ship to and the total stock count. If you like the product, you can easily import them into your import list and from there you can bulk import products into your store.
Pricing Automation
One of the cool features of this app is that you can automatically mark-up your prices as soon as you import your products into your store. This will save you a lot of time from having to manually price each item you import, there are two ways you can mark-up prices, they are;
Multiplied – Using the multiple mark-ups will automatically multiply the wholesale price by your requested amount.
Added – Same as before but this time the requested mark-up will be added on to the original price.
There is an added feature within this tool that allows you to add your shipping rate to your overall cost so that you can offer your customers free shipping without it affecting your overall profit margins.
Order Management
Managing orders from multiple suppliers can be a hassle, however, with the Modalyst order management system, everything is simplified, and you can process orders through the simple click of a button.
Your suppliers will process your orders after they have received payment and will notify you when the product has been dispatched. You will also get tracking details for the package which you can forward to your customers so that they know when their delivery will be arriving.
Another cool feature of Modalyst that really impressed me and one that I have not yet seen from its competitors is that you can communicate with your suppliers directly within the app. This will allow you to sort out any issues, build a closer relationship and may even negotiate some additional discounts for high volume products.
Real-Time Inventory Updates
Get automatic notification of any changes to products you may be selling. If there are changes to the description, inventory level or pricing, you will be notified within the dashboard. This will give you time to make any necessary changes to your store so that it does not adversely affect your business.
Faster Shipping Time
With the majority of suppliers being based in the EU and USA or having warehouses based in those regions, the average shipping is between 5 – 7 days. There are some independent suppliers that offer faster shipping times for certain products. To find these fast shipping products, you will need to select the fast shipping filter when you search for products to sell.
This is another area where Modalyst offers a competitive edge to its members over rival apps that only source products from AliExpress and where shipping times take 2 weeks or more.
KIT Integration
This is a relatively new feature that they recently added on, for anyone who is not familiar with KIT, it is a Shopify app that acts as your own virtual assistant. It can help with product recommendations, marketing and advertising. This is a powerful AI-powered app that comes with a lot of features that will help drive more sales to your store. Check out more information about this app here.
eCommerce Integration
Modalyst currently is only compatible with Shopify and BigCommerce, reviews on both sites for Modalyst are very positive. Both Shopify and BigCommerce have similar pricing plans o it will not matter which one you choose, however, personally I would go with Shopify as they have a lot more apps that will help you extend the functionality of your site.
I do wish that it was available for WooCommerce as well because it is the largest eCommerce platform by market share and I do enjoy using the WordPress platform.
Modalyst Pricing
Hobby – $0– Modalyst offers a free lifetime option which will allow you to test out the app for free without any risks. However, you are limited to importing only 50 products and have a 5% transaction fee for every product you sell.
Starter – $ 30 pm– The starter plan increases your import limit to 250 but you still will not have access to premium products.
Pro – $240 Yearly -The Pro plan gives you access to all products including premium brands.
Business – $480 Yearly – Access to all products, import an unlimited number of products and the transaction fee is reduced to 2%.
Final Thoughts
If you are planning on starting a drop shipping business or even if you already have a drop shipping business but would like more avenues to source high-quality products, then you should definitely think about giving Modalyst a try.
Drop shipping is becoming an increasingly popular method of starting an eCommerce business and apps like Modalyst make it easier and more streamlined.
The good thing about Modalyst is it comes with a free trial, so you can try it for free without any risks.