If you run a dropshipping business, you might have experienced this: A customer orders an item, only for you to learn that your manufacturer is facing a production delay. The delay might stem from bad weather, supply chain disruptions, rising material costs, or another issue—but either way, your business ends up responsible for longer wait times for customer orders or potentially higher production and shipping costs. 

But what if, as a business owner, you could work with several suppliers and pivot to another when one can’t fulfill orders, or even switch to the supplier with the lowest price, in real time? That’s where drop surfing comes in. Since dropshipping typically means working closely with a single supplier or manufacturer to fulfill customer orders, your online business depends heavily on that relationship. Drop surfing helps reduce that dependency by letting merchants source the same product from multiple approved suppliers and manage products more flexibly across their online store.

This guide explains how drop surfing works, how it differs from traditional dropshipping, and what to consider before adopting it as part of your ecommerce strategy.

What is drop surfing?

Drop surfing is a dropshipping strategy that uses several suppliers to secure the lowest price—or the fastest available fulfillment—on every order. For any item you sell in your online store, you identify approved suppliers. When a customer makes a purchase, you or your drop surfing software “surf” through the suppliers or vendors to find the best option at that exact moment, often the cheapest vendor that still meets your inventory, shipping, and quality needs for that specific product. 

In dropshipping, prices and availability can fluctuate—sometimes slightly, sometimes substantially—depending on supply and demand, labor availability, and shipping costs. Though fluctuations are typically part of doing business, drop surfing helps merchants maintain reliability and improve profit margins by moving between multiple vendors to consistently find the best deal.

Drop surfing vs. dropshipping 

Dropshipping is the business practice of selling goods online to customers, then forwarding their orders to a manufacturer who produces and ships them directly to the customer. It eliminates the need for the seller to hold inventory or manage multiple shipping steps. 

Drop surfing is a dropshipping strategy that gives sellers the flexibility to choose between multiple dropshipping suppliers for each order. This approach helps balance cost and delivery times, reducing the risks of supplier delays while increasing potential profit margins. 

How does drop surfing work?

Two main approaches define the drop surfing process: manual and automatic.

Manual drop surfing requires that you check several vendors for each order and choose one supplier to fulfill the order. In automatic drop surfing, you use software to find the best supplier based on a predetermined set of conditions like product price, shipping cost, and estimated delivery time. 

The manual approach can be less expensive but difficult to scale, since it requires extra effort and depends on your time and availability. Many drop surfers instead use automation tools like AutoDS or DSers, both of which can be integrated with your Shopify site and allow you to compare supplier prices and shipping costs in real time.

Drop surfing example

So what does this business model look like in action? Imagine you own a smartphone accessories business that sells specialty phone cases. A customer places an order for an iPhone case, and your store’s connected automation tool checks real-time prices and shipping options from several preapproved dropshipping suppliers that carry the exact same product.

Supplier A lists the case at $1.75 with a shipping cost of $2 and a shipping time of one week. Supplier B offers the same product at $1.50 with $2.50 shipping and a similar delivery window. Supplier C undercuts them both at $1.40 product price with $1.75 shipping, but its factory is waiting on a new shipment of raw materials, pushing the delivery date out by six weeks. 

Your software evaluates all three listings against your preset criteria and selects Supplier A. Supplier B’s higher shipping costs outweigh the savings you’d make from the cheaper product price, and even though Supplier C’s total cost is lowest, the long delay would break your fulfillment promise. Supplier A offers the best balance of cost, shipping speed, and reliability, helping your store maintain smoother operations and steady sales.

In traditional dropshipping, you’d be tied to one vendor, even if that meant higher overall costs, like with Supplier B, or long delays, like with Supplier C. Drop surfing gives you options—and the agility to choose the supplier that best meets your profit and delivery targets, helping you achieve higher profit margins and make more money over time.

Challenges of drop surfing

• Inconsistent product quality and customer experience
• Reduced supplier loyalty and negotiation power
• Greater operational complexity

The benefits of drop surfing can make it seem like an obvious choice. Automating the process and choosing from multiple suppliers to find the cheapest price and best deal appears to be a simple way to achieve higher margins. That said, there are some challenges to consider.

Inconsistent product quality and customer experience

One advantage of using only one supplier is your ability to build and maintain a relationship over time. This makes it easier to ensure consistent product quality and reliable shipping speeds. Because drop surfing involves switching between suppliers, two different customers could receive items of varying quality or delivery times for the same product, leading to inconsistent experiences and potential drops in customer satisfaction.

How to manage it. Invest in strong vendor management, vetting, and preapproving trusted suppliers. Review product samples for quality before listing them. Also, being transparent about shipping times and offering prompt refunds or replacements for faulty items can help preserve customer trust.

Reduced supplier loyalty and negotiation power

Because drop surfing involves moving between multiple suppliers instead of building a long-term relationship with one, it can be harder to earn preferred pricing, bulk discounts, or priority fulfillment. Over time, that lack of relationship can mean paying slightly higher rates or receiving lower priority during peak demand periods.

How to manage it. Maintain a shortlist of trusted suppliers you use most frequently. Even if your goal is to find the lowest price per order, developing occasional repeat business helps strengthen relationships and improve your ability to negotiate better terms.

Greater operational complexity

One of the strengths of the dropshipping model is the relatively lower effort required, but using drop surfing as a business strategy can increase your time and effort managing suppliers. While automation tools can reduce some of that workload, they also add another layer of complexity to the fulfillment process and can lead to technical issues that reflect poorly on your business, in addition to being another software fee to cover.

How to manage it. Choose an automated drop surfing tool that fits your business needs and budget and offers responsive customer support when technical issues arise.