Has anyone had any success with using a dropshipping company to sell on Ebay?

Question

I keep trying to find ways to make money from home, and selling stuff on ebay is something i have done a lot of. I was recently told about something called dropshipping, where you sell an item on ebay, then buy it for less from a dropshipper, and they send it to your ebay customer.

However, I have read several forum discussions on Ebay about how most of these are scams. Has anyone had any luck with these, and which ones specifically? Otherwise, how can i get a hold of goods at a low enough price so i can make a profit selling on ebay?

Answer 1

Drop shipping is a process by which you advertise an item on eBay, but don’t actually pay for it until it sells. Once a customer buys the item and pays for it, you contact the drop shipper and pay for the item, and they ship it directly to the customer. You don’t have to store the item or ship it. You can find drop shipping companies all over the internet. I personally don’t use this method for several reasons:

•I can find merchandise more inexpensively through other means
•I am not able to physically handle the item and answer questions about it or give measurements
•The drop shipping companies charge a fee to use their services
•Returns can be confusing

Let’s look at an example. You can purchase high quality wool sweaters from a drop shipper for around $30. In my experience, you are lucky to get a sale price of $30 for a brand new wool sweater on eBay. You can also find quality wool sweaters in a thrift store for about $3. The item might be used, but if it is a quality name brand and in very good condition, you can sell it on eBay for $20 - $30. Many people are willing to purchase gently used clothing as long as it is in good condition and a quality or designer name. So, if you purchase the item from a drop shipper, your profit will only be a couple of dollars at best. If you find the sweater on your own in a thrift store, consignment store, or garage sale, you have significantly increased your profit margin to and will profit around $17 to $27 on just one item.

Granted, you don’t have to find or store the item when you work with a drop shipper, but you aren’t making any money either. Sellers who use drop shippers are forced to keep their starting prices high or they will lose money. They have to charge at least what the drop shipper is charging them. You can undercut the competition by pricing your items significantly lower and still make a nice profit.

Look through eBay completed listings at how many items are not sold because the starting price is inflated. These are the sellers who use drop shippers. These sellers also usually have multiple listings for the same exact items with the same exact photo (provided by the drop shipper). These sellers constantly relist the same item over and over again and end up paying a lot of fees, without having many sales to pay the fees. Furthermore, many eBay sellers use the same drop shipping companies, so their listings and photos look the same. These sellers are saturating eBay with too much of the same product. You are much better off doing the legwork yourself and finding unique items that stand out and drive bidders to your listings.

Email me if you have more questions

Answer 2

I've looked into that too, but haven't committed as of yet, mainly due to other priorities that I currently have. I can see how drop shipping would get a bad rap, given that a number of the companies charge you a service fee per month just to be associated with them. Other issues arise when some companies deliver cheap products that may not live up to the expectations of the customer, or even the product info page, leaving you with the mess of cleaning up after a bad sale.

Furthermore, since some drop shipping companies are located outside of the United States, they may be immune to business laws within the US, but you as a seller within the US are not. Hence, you may be subject to any liability claims that result after your sale. Indeed, there is a potential to make some good money, so I've read, yet there is also the potential for great damage to your reputation. Hence, make sure you know the company you're doing business with.

Answer 3

kelly,

EVERYTHING you have read on those forums is TRUE!

drop shipping is a TERRIBLE idea!

we deal with horror stories a lot on ebays Trust and Safety forum.

these problems NEVER end well.

you sell the items, you get paid by your buyers, you place your orders, then pay your drop shipper, who in return doesn't send you items.

thenYOUR money is gone.

the buyer then files with ebay and PAYPAL for non delivery.

then YOU have to refund your buyers.

problem is the original money from this deal is already gone to pay the drop shipper.

YOU are now SCREWED!

don't pay any attention to the posters above me with all their pretty links.

this is just a BAD, BAD idea.

Answer 4

It is true some can be scams, we have a perfect site for you to give a try, customer service is great. They have over 3500 wholesale items they dropship worldwide with NO fees. No dropship,setup or membership fees. Onsite inventory and shipping calculator.Great ebay source.
http://www.stockmysite.com


Good luck!!!
D

Answer 5

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Answer 6

You should try www.flugpo.com also. Its an up and coming site for buying and selling could work well. Good luck!!