If you're already using a dropshipping app for general merchandise - or thinking about adding one - and you want to layer in BooksCloud for books, the natural question is whether these apps conflict with each other on a single Shopify store.
The short answer is no. The longer answer explains why, and what to be aware of when running multiple dropshipping sources.
First, a Note on Oberlo
Oberlo was Shopify's own dropshipping app for general products and was shut down in June 2022. It no longer exists as a functional product. If you see references to Oberlo in articles or forum posts, they're referencing the old tool. For general-product dropshipping today, the active alternatives include Zendrop, DSers, AutoDS, Spocket, and others.
How BooksCloud Handles Its Products
BooksCloud is a purpose-built app for one product category: books. It syncs its own product catalog to your Shopify store and handles fulfillment exclusively for products within its catalog. When an order comes in containing a BooksCloud book, BooksCloud processes and fulfills that book.
The key design point: BooksCloud only acts on orders that include products it sourced. It does not touch, interfere with, or attempt to fulfill products from other suppliers. It has no visibility into or authority over your non-book products.
How Other Dropshipping Apps Handle Their Products
Apps like Zendrop and DSers work the same way from the opposite direction. They source and fulfill general merchandise (electronics, apparel, home goods, beauty products, etc.) and act on orders that include products from their catalogs. They do not touch BooksCloud products.
Each app operates within its own product scope. Neither app is aware of the other in any operationally significant way - they simply each respond to the relevant portion of your incoming orders.
What "No Conflict" Actually Means in Practice
Running both BooksCloud and Zendrop (or DSers) on your store means:
- Your store catalog includes books (BooksCloud) and general merchandise (Zendrop/DSers)
- When a customer orders a book only, BooksCloud fulfills it
- When a customer orders a general product only, Zendrop/DSers fulfills it
- When a customer orders both in the same cart, both apps process their respective items - resulting in two separate shipments
This is completely normal behavior for multi-supplier dropshipping stores. The apps operate in parallel, not in competition.
Things to Keep in Mind
Product tagging and organization. With products from multiple sources, keeping your collections organized becomes more important. Tag BooksCloud products clearly (they come tagged automatically in most cases) so you can segment and manage them separately in reports.
Customer communication. If a customer orders a book and a non-book product and both ship separately, they'll receive two tracking numbers. Setting the expectation upfront - "Items may ship separately from different warehouses" - in your shipping policy reduces support inquiries.
Margin management. Each app has its own cost structure. BooksCloud charges $7 per book order. Zendrop and DSers have their own pricing models. Track your costs per product source to ensure each channel is profitable.
"As a business owner, I'm grateful for partners who make our work easier. BooksCloud does exactly that - and more." - BooksCloud merchant
The multi-supplier model is well-supported by Shopify's infrastructure. BooksCloud was built to integrate seamlessly into this kind of store architecture, and there's no technical barrier to running it alongside other dropshipping tools.