Is Drop-shipping on eBay Still Worth It?

Drop-shipping is not an unfamiliar word to global importers. And we have written another article about drop-shipping: Is Dropshipping Dead? Today, we are going to talk about drop-shipping on eBay.

Many of you may have heard of the rumors that drop-shipping is dead on eBay. However, is it really true? You will find out the answer through this article.

1. What is eBay?

eBay is an online auction style website，where an e-commerce platform similar to Amazon and AliExpress. Serving as an online market place, eBay has attracted global importers to start their importing careers and its users has been increasing speedily for years. As drop-shipping becomes a trend, eBay also added drop-shipping to its services.

With its wide range of categories, you can buy almost everything on eBay, from cars to jewelry. And like we’ve said, it’s an auction style website, you will need to bid on some of its products. But you can also purchase your ideal products at a fixed price by clicking on “Buy It Now” button.

2. What is Drop-shipping on eBay?

Drop-shipping is completely legal on eBay. The reason why people say that drop-shipping on eBay is dead is that eBay has some restrictions on it, which makes drop-shipping on eBay not so profitable for those quick-money-maker.

Drop-shipping Policy on eBay

Drop shipping, where you fulfill orders directly from a wholesale supplier, is allowed on eBay. Remember that if you use drop shipping, you’re still responsible for the safe delivery of the item within the time frame stated in your listing and for the buyer’s overall satisfaction with their purchase.

However, listing an item on eBay and then purchasing the item from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your customer is not allowed on eBay. Activity that doesn’t follow eBay policy could result in a range of actions including but not limited to: administratively ending or canceling listings, hiding or demoting all listings from search results, lowering seller rating, buying or selling restrictions, loss of buyer or seller protections, and account suspension. All fees paid or payable in relation to listings or accounts on which we take any action will not be refunded or otherwise credited to your account.

What does the policy really means?

What is high restricted on eBay? Reselling from other marketplace like Amazon and AliExpress. In other word, you can’t list your products on eBay and then buy it from Amazon or AliExpress, and have it shipped to your eBay customers. If you do so, the platform will lower your rating or even worse suspend your account.

And you will need to fulfill your order directly from a wholesale supplier, which means you will need to buy bulk of inventory at the beginning of your drop-shipping. In this way, your cost will increase and your risk increases as well. As we’ve mentioned in our other article, one of the attracting feature of drop-shipping is that you don’t have to store inventory on your warehouse. Unless you find a reliable wholesale supplier that allows you to buy individual products, otherwise, you will have to buy bulk inventory, which just drives drop-shippers away, especially those small-sized importers.

eBay sets this rule not only to protect its brand but also to protect suppliers on eBay. If you received your package shipped from other marketplace with a receipt at a lower price than your bidding on eBay, what would you think of it? Thus, such policy is just a way how eBay protect itself.

3. How Drop-shipping Works on eBay?

Based on its policies, importers may think drop-shipping is not that worth it on eBay. As for those long-term runners, it’s still possible to drop-ship on eBay. And the process is as follows.

Step 1: Set up your seller account on eBay

This is the very first step. Of course, you will need a seller account for your drop-shipping on eBay. Open up your store and list your products. Remember to follow the policy, otherwise, your rating on eBay will get lower, which is quite essential for your business.

As the policy goes, you need to really cautious to list your products on your store. Therefore, before you make the product list, do market research and product research in advance to avoid blindly investing.

Step 2: Find reliable suppliers

Finding a reliable supplier has always been a top priority to all importing businesses. Therefore, analysis on suppliers becomes rather important. And here are some tips you can refer to.

• Choose “eBay Money Back Guarantee” suppliers
  “eBay Money Back Guarantee” is something to keep your money safe. It promises that you either get the item you ordered or you get your money back. Therefore, suppliers with this is more trustworthy.
• Check on the rating and reviews of suppliers
  What people say about the supplier and the products they’ve bought from the supplier actually indicates whether this supplier is reliable or not. You can check on its feedback profiles to further analyse this supplier.
• Check the category of the supplier
  The category of the supplier can say whether this supplier is concentrated on certain products. A concentrated supplier may focus more on its products’ quality. It doesn’t mean that supplier with wide ranged categories is not trustworthy. It’s just about the products’ quality.

Step 3: Monitor your order at all times

Even though your supplier is the one to ship your products to your customer. You are still responsible for the safe delivery of your products within the given time frame. Therefore, keep in contact with your suppliers and have them informed of your customers’ shipping information. Do monitor your order and make sure things don’t go wrong.

Final words

If you are still asking whether drop-shipping is still worth it, the answer is “yes”. Any business is built upon certain risks and no success is made without even trying. In the end of the article, we hope your drop-shipping on eBay successful and profitable.