Drop Shipping Tips For eBay Users

Drop shippers for ebay, wholesale drop shipping, drop shipping suppliers

Things that you should understand before starting drop shipping through eBay
I you are under the impression that the notion of drop shipping is a recent development, you are mistaken – it is as old as direct marketing and mail-order business. The idea is simple. You place an ad on your website selling something the you do not have but know where to get it from. Your customer buys the product from you and pays you for it. You purchase the product from the supplier at a lesser rate – usually the wholesale rate – and you ask the supplier to ship the product to your customer. The supplier, of course, taking a percentage or a fixed fee and everyone is pleased.

This is an ideal relationship if everything works out fine. You play the middleman. You have no overheads, no inventory, no packing and shipping hassles, save space and no storefront to look after. You accept a certain amount of money; send a smaller amount to the supplier and the difference is your profit.

Some Mistakes That You Have To Avoid While Drop Shipping Through eBay

The concept sounds simple but in real life it is not that simple. Seasoned sellers who have experience with drop shipping know that there will at times be some hassles when the volume of the business goes up. In a traditional drops shipping set-up this may not make much of a difference but when it comes to dealing with eBay such hassles can be the difference between the success or failure of your venture. As such you have to treat eBay related business as specific to that eBay business and consider drop shipping as a distant second. Some of the things that you have to keep tabs on are:

Keep A Close Watch On Fulfillment Times: Actively sending emails to your customers requesting them to send feedbacks is the best way to keep a tab on this activity. A satisfaction survey conducted at regular and reasonable intervals will be of immense help. This will let you know if delivery schedules are kept up in tune to your expectations. eBay and online buyers usually expect better service than that of other direct marketing purchasers. If there is a delay in the shipments for any reason whatsoever, you’ll get a negative feedback and charge reversals in your PayPal account adversely affecting your business.

Keep A Close Tab On Stocking Concerns: Do it by whatever means available. This is more applicable to eBay dealings than with other methods of selling. Keep in touch with your supplier(s) but never leave availability and fulfillment times totally at the mercy of the drop shipper. eBay sales are agreements and there is no going back on them for whatever reason such as “unavailability” or “backorder” situations. Once a buyer purchases a commodity, it should be delivered promptly. If not you will be slapped with a nonperformance violation that usually starts a mere ten days from the close of the auction. A few such violations, even a handful of them, will result in eBay closing you down as a bad seller.

Be Prepared To Mediate In Returns: On eBay, your ability to make sales depends on your feedback score. This is a rating that is given initially to “you” as a contact and not as your supplier. In case your customer has a problem with a return or an exchange and is not satisfied in any way, it will reflect on your ability as a seller in a way that is quite open to the public and will have a negative impact on your future sales. And because of this reason, your mediation in return and exchange problems after completion of a sale might be necessary in ways that will not resemble the issues that you might have to face in traditional selling.

Be Aware Of Buyer Expectations And Product Quality: To repeat, eBay buyers and online buyers also have a lot of expectations from you in trading deals than in the more normal direct marketing settings. A photo and a clear list of the specifications of the product is expected in the auction listing and they naturally expect an “identical” product. As it is it is imperative that your wholesaler and his product catalog are ethical and will not switch inventory without your knowledge. You can, of course, state that the product delivered will vary substantially from that listed; but again this will not go well on eBay resulting in a negative impact on your business.

Keep In Mind That Auctions Are Auctions: Though this is obvious, it is worth mentioning because more often than not, many a eBay seller has felt the sharpness of its bite. If you use the auction format to sell your product, you’ll have to deliver even if the closing price is less than your cost price. If you think that this cannot be honored then go in for the fixed price format (Buy It Now format). If not you are getting into fiscal quicksand. You’ll either lose money or be closed down for non-fulfillment. This has brought down some of the best and the brightest practically overnight.

From the above you should by now have made out that there are two major concerns for a successful business on eBay. Primarily, a good feedback and fulfillment in the light of eBay’s policies and secondly that you have to deliver and deliver fast at the auction’s closing cost, no matter what – including the costs, overheads and/or losses that may accompany such a proposition.

Master these two aspects and you are on your way for a successful drop shipping business on eBay.