Oberlo Shutting Down: Everything We Know (FAQ + History)

If you're a Shopify user, then you may have heard the news that Oberlo is being shut down.

On June 30, 2022, the Oberlo app stopped working. This has left many people wondering what they should do next – especially those who rely on Oberlo for their business.

In this article, we'll answer all of your questions and give you a detailed overview of Oberlo's history. We'll also recommend some alternative dropshipping apps to help you continue your business!

The Oberlo Shutdown: Key points (What we know so far)

Oberlo allowed users to import products from AliExpress and made it easy to fulfill orders with just a few clicks, so if you're an Oberlo user, this shutdown will obviously affect you.

Here are the most important things to know about this Oberlo sunset:

• On May 12, 2022, Oberlo will be discontinued. The Oberlo app has been deleted from the Shopify App Store already.
• On June 30, 2022, Oberlo will be shutting down. Until June 30, users who already have an account can still use the app. After that date, the app will be removed from your Shopify store, and historical data will be lost. (At first, this was June 15, but they moved it to June 30)
• Shopify (the owner of Oberlo) chose DSers as a safe and trusted partner for Shopify merchants who dropship as a substitute to Oberlo.

What happened to Oberlo? (Why is it shutting down?)

In short, Oberlo is shutting down because Shopify decided to discontinue the app.

Shopify acquired Oberlo in 2017, and it quickly became one of the most popular dropshipping apps on its platform.

There's been a lot of speculation as to why Oberlo is shutting down. It's possible that Shopify feels that Oberlo is no longer needed now that they have their own fulfillment network.

This product deprecation, which is a routine occurrence, is in pursuit of providing merchants with the best solutions to reach their customers wherever they are.

Source

Shopify has been investing in other areas lately, such as their own Shopify Fulfillment Network, which currently accepts stores fulfilling three or more American or Canadian orders per day and whose products are not on their prohibited items list.

Plus, they recently acquired Deliverr for $2.1B as well, which could signal that Shopify is focusing on fulfilling orders themselves instead of relying on other platforms like AliExpress.

Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN) and Deliverr are combining to remove supply chain complexity for merchants of all sizes, on and off Shopify, democratizing access to end-to-end logistics for independent brands for the first time.

Source

Here's another possibility mentioned by sm4h on Reddit:

Most important thing AliExpress is a nightmare to work with, they didn't have an API until recently, and it's very limited and weird compared to other APIs.

Oberlo didn't use the API a lot, they rely on browser automation using a Chrome Extension, which is a complete nightmare, they constantly change stuff around, show changes to only few users (like gradual release) and in general require a lot of maintenance and things a big company like Shopify won't do.

The reason they use automation is it's the best way to get affiliate revenue. Oberlo generates most of its cash from the AliExpress Affiliate program, that's why they didn't move to the API.

DSers had some close contact with AliExpress, they were the first to get an exclusive access to their API, they were just starting and didn't care about revenue.

Dropshipping in general is not a trend like it used to be when Shopify acquired Oberlo, so it's a hassle for Shopify to continue this venture.

Source

Whatever the reason is, it's clear that Shopify wants to move in a different direction – and Oberlo is no longer part of their plans.

What does this mean for Oberlo users? (The impact on dropshipping businesses)

If you're an Oberlo user, then you'll need to find an alternative dropshipping app before June 30, 2022. After that date, the Oberlo app will stop working completely, and you'll be unable to access your products, orders, or customers.

This obviously has a big impact on your business. You'll need to find a new dropshipping app and migrate all of your products over before Oberlo shuts down completely.

Luckily, there are plenty of other great software tools out there that can help you with your business. Below, we'll recommend some alternative apps for you to consider.

We recommend starting the migration process as soon as possible! The sooner you start, the less impact this Oberlo shutdown will have on your business.

The history of Oberlo (2015 - 2022) 

Oberlo was founded in September 2015 in Lithuanian by a group of entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity in the ecommerce market.

Oberlo started as a dropshipping app startup that allowed users to import products from AliExpress into their Shopify stores.

In 2017, Shopify acquired Oberlo for $15M, and it quickly became one of the most popular apps on the Shopify App Store, thanks to its ease of use and powerful features. (And, of course, by having Shopify itself behind the app now)

On July 15, 2019, Oberlo shut down their 'Oberlo verified suppliers' (Oberlo Supply marketplace), which let their users use suppliers that Oberlo verified:

In 2020, Oberlo went for a full rebranding - going from this:

To this:

Then, in May 2022, Shopify announced that Oberlo would be shutting down on June 30, 2022. This surprised many Oberlo users, who were left scrambling to find an alternative solution.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other great dropshipping apps out there that can help you continue your business.

In the next section, we'll show you some of the best Oberlo alternatives that you can give a try:

What are the best Oberlo alternatives? (Other dropshipping apps)

There are plenty of other great dropshipping apps out there that can help you with your business. Here are some of our top recommendations for dropshippers:

• DSers (Recommended by Oberlo)
• AliScraper (A free tool from Spocket)
• Dropified
• AutoDS
• Sell The Trend (Yes, they are more than a product research tool)
• AliDropship (For if you want to use WordPress/WooCommerce)

For more information about these Oberlo alternatives, check out the full article here!

That article will also contain a few Oberlo alternatives if you don't want to do dropshipping with AliExpress anymore.

And below, you will find a few tips on how to migrate from Oberlo to the most popular dropshipping apps:

How do you migrate data from Oberlo to other apps?

Below you will find a few great tips on how to export your data from Oberlo to other leading dropshipping apps so that you won't lose any business!

If your dropshipping app isn't listed below, then it’s not possible to manually export your data from Oberlo.

Your order data, on the other hand, is an exception. You can export it from Oberlo to a CSV or XLSX file format from the Orders page.

How to migrate from Oberlo to DSers

Oberlo chose DSers because they provide all of the features you need to expand your business. (You can learn more about them in this DSers vs. Oberlo comparison guide)

DSers has a tight integration with AliExpress, bulk order fulfillment, and more than 150,000 merchants. To make the transfer from Oberlo to DSers as simple as possible, Oberlo collaborated closely with the DSers staff.

Here are the exact steps you need to migrate from Oberlo to DSers:

1. From your Oberlo admin, click Home.
2. Click Migrate to DSers now.
3. Click Continue to DSers.
4. If you don’t have the DSers app installed in your Shopify admin, then click here to install it.
5. Create your DSers account or log in to an existing one:
   • If you don’t have a DSers account, then create one.
   • If you already have a DSers account, then log into it and then select your data preference. Your Oberlo account might not match your DSers account data, such as product pricing rules. You need to choose which app’s data you want to use as a reference.
6. Click Start migration. This step begins the data migration process from Oberlo to DSers.

After you've moved to DSers, a success message is shown, and your Oberlo account is switched to read-only. This means you can log in to Oberlo, but you can't do anything.

Note: Only the Oberlo account admin can begin the migration process; staff accounts can’t do this.

The migration duration depends on how much data you have in Oberlo, such as products and orders. For small businesses, the data migration can take minutes, but for very large businesses, it can take multiple hours.

The following changes happen after you migrate to DSers:

• Your Oberlo settings, products, orders, and import list are migrated to DSers.
• Your product inventory location in Shopify changes from Oberlo to DSers.
• Your Oberlo account is in read-only mode; you can no longer do any actions in the Oberlo app.
• Your subscription plan is migrated to a free plan on DSers. If you want, you can subscribe to a paid DSers plan. 

Your shipment tracking data isn’t migrated to DSers. You can find your shipment status for historical orders in your Shopify admin and your AliExpress account!

If you're looking for more information, check out this article from DSers.

How to migrate from Oberlo to AliSraper (Spocket)

Next up is the option to move your data from Oberlo to AliScraper (a free AliExpress tool made by Spocket)

Simply go to this page here, and follow their instructions after installing AliScraper!

And don't forget to take a look at Spocket if you're not interested anymore in dropshipping from China!

How to migrate from Oberlo to Dropified

Wondering how to move your data from Oberlo to Dropified?

Simply follow this video here:

How to Migrate Your Existing Oberlo Store into Dropified *IMPORTANT: Delete Oberlo Once Completed*

Plus, check out this article from Dropified here!

How to migrate from Oberlo to Sell The Trend

Next up is for those who want to use Sell The Trend for their fulfillment part.

If you're not sure what Sell The Trend is, check out our in-depth review here!

For the migration progress, just follow this video here, and you will get up and running in no time:

Switch From Oberlo To Sell The Trend [Oberlo Replacement]

Oberlo's Shutdown: FAQs

Before shutting down this article (see what I did there?), let's go over some of the frequently asked questions about Oberlo's shutdown:

Conclusion

That's it!

Those are all the details on Oberlo shutting down and everything you need to know in order to migrate your store over to another dropshipping app!

We hope this article helped clear things up for you, and if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below!

If you're looking for more Oberlo alternatives, be sure to check out our full list here.

What are your thoughts on Oberlo shutting down? Let us know in the comments below!

Want to learn more about dropshipping?

Ready to move your dropshipping store to the next level? Check out the articles below:

• 11 Amazing Tips to Increase Dropshipping Sales in 2024
• 12 Best US Dropshipping Suppliers in 2024 (Fast Shipping)
• How Does AliExpress Work? (What You Should Know in 2024)