Hey folks, I thought I'd take some time to give you some information about Spocket, and whether or not you should use them. I had the opportunity of working closely with Spocket and know quite a bit about the company both through working with them and my own research. Since I often see people post here asking if they should use it or not, I thought I'd share some things I think the dropshipping community should know about spocket.
I'd like to note that many of the things I'm going to say here are at least partially verifiable, especially if you seek out negative reviews of them.
Q: What is Spocket?
A: Effectively an Oberlo clone.
Q: Should I use Spocket?
Short Answer: No.
Long Answer: Your mileage may very but you are better off sticking to more traditional method of dropshipping. Spocket's platform is not designed to make your life as a dropshipper easier. It works in a functional sense, product imports, sellers, that kind of thing, but it's by far the best option. Here's what you should know:
Products: Spocket's products are basically average. Essentially on par with ali express. You might get lucky and find a good porduct, but it depends on the seller. Products are usually overpriced, as Spocket upcharges.
Sellers: There are some sellers on spocket that are as they advertize. "Local and High Quality". In reality, most of spocket's sellers are dropshippers themselves. Some are even just amazon sellers. The tools to find good sellers are hard and it's essentially hit or miss if you get what they advertise or just your average, cheap, chinese stuff.
Shipping Time: As with sellers. It's totally hit or miss. A lot of the shipping is done from china (whether they say so or not), so shipping time is usually long.
Refunds: Spocket makes it very very hard to get your customer a refund. Because A) they don't want to give out refunds, and B) because of the next point.
Customer Service: Spocket has absolutely terrible customer service. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the main one is that they really don't care about their customers. This is where things get really frustrating with Spokcet. The only thing spocket cares about is your (the dropshippers) money, not the success of your business, or the quality of their service, they just want your money.
Paid Plans: This is the big one. Spocket's main business model is their paid plans. Their goal with every customer is to get them onto their highest tier paid plan. This wouldn't be an issue except for the fact it is EXTREMELY HARD to cancel your monthly plan. I'm not talking about having to click through a bunch of menus, no. In most cases, you'll have to email them and get them to cancel it, and even that is a headache. What's worse is that they have a no refunds policy for their plans, and mixed with their bad customer service, if they charge you, you've just lost over $100. In fact, this is how spocket generates most of their revenue. They offer a 14 day free trial, but ask for a payment method first. Then, once the 14 day free trial is over, they immediately charge you. There are hundreds of 1 star reviews detailing this exact issue if you don't believe me.
Reviews: Speaking of reviews, sprocket knows their model is shitty and relies on naive users, so they fake reviews. Almost every site you go to (trustpilot, shopify, etc.), spocket has thousands of shallow, 5 star reviews. They get these by offering free trials for good reviews, botting, and through other deceptive means.
Image: As with reviews, most of spocket's brand image is fake. Youtubers and bloggers who "Tried and Loved Spocket" were paid to say that. Even Spocket's corporate image is the result of coercing employees to write good things about their employer. Furthermore, I'd bet some poor employee will comment under this post asking to contact support or apologizing for a "poor experience".
Conclusion: Spocket is a company that is superficially interested in dropshipping and actually cares very little about the quality of their service or their dropshipper customers. If Spocket has worked for you, awesome! I'm glad you're making your business work. If you've tried spocket, I'd check your bank account to make sure they aren't still charging you for that free trial you signed up for. To everyone else: avoid Sprocket and stick to traditional dropshipping.
I'll be happy to answer any questions in the comments.
TL;DR: Spocket isn't good. Fake reviews and subpar service overall.