posted on March 14, 2000 01:19:06 PM new
Pat I hope this is up your alley....
What is the specific policy on AC for items that a seller does not have in hand, but are warehoused by another company who ships the items to customers for the seller? I read the policy on pre-sells but technically this stuff is not "pre-sold" because it is in stock at the warehouse but the seller does not have possesion.
I am asking because I am testing the waters for some items that i have on hand but there are other things i want to sell that i would prefer to have dropshipped. I want to play by the rules though.
I'm sorry. I was out of town on the 15th and came back and thought I'd seen all the posts... missed yours though.
As always, the seller should provide a complete description of the item so that the buyer would be aware of the nature of the goods and their source.
The idea here, of course, is that the seller would inform potential bidders that the item would be sent from a remote warehouse and that shipping time may vary.
As always, it is the responsibility of the seller to deliver the goods in a timely fashion.
This would mean to me that if the drop-ship arrangement is one that would cause potential for misunderstanding because of the time needed to inform the drop shipper that payment has been made and then the time for them to fulfill the shipment, that must be spelled out in the auction.
There is no specific prohibition against such arrangements but like the pre-sale, the terms of the deal must be established in the auction. That is not only good behavior, but good business.
posted on March 20, 2000 03:12:05 PM new
Well, I knew that if I waved my arms in the air long enough i would get noticed eventually.....
Well, if i decide to go that way i will be good and state the origin of the goods in my TOS. Mainly I was asking because I know the origins of the products of two of the "Merchant Partners" on AC and they don't disclose it.
So far I am not faring well with what i have listed, but we will see what happens. Any big ad campaigns coming up to coincide with the 10 cent listing change?
posted on March 22, 2000 12:14:07 AM new
On any Public Online Auction Site in the User Agreement it should state that if your(seller) items are being Dropshipped it MUST be stated in the Sellers auction/s.
I don't agree with you that auctions should require specific notice of drop shipping fulfillment for an item listed.
Drop-shipping of goods is really not the issue. The issue is consumer expectations for delivery.
For instance, I can be a manufacturer with a direct marketing arm that is administered by a firm specializing in "drop shipping." Firms often do this because the drop-shipping firm becomes responsible for "inventory shrinkage" instead of the manufacturer.
Indeed, it is quite common for manufacturers or importers to farm out order fulfillment to independent companies established specifically to provide that service.
While the term applied to this is "drop shipping" ... it would be misleading to classify this type of scenario with all other possible permutations (including the individual entrepreneur who makes a deal with a wholesale house with this capability or even an artisan who makes items to order.)
The critical obligation for the seller is to inform potential buyers:
1. The real physical location of the item (city, state and country).
2. The typical or expected delivery time for item once payment is made.
If the item can be shipped within 24 hours ... the seller should point to this as this is a strong selling point.
If shipping is likely to be delayed for any reason (check clearing, remote warehouse, etc.) the buyer should be informed about what they should expect in those instances in the auction listing.
The way most online auctions "enforce" this is through the sellers feedback ratings.
I would encourage anyone seeking to buy from anyone to the seller's feedback. You'll see quickly whether the person has a reputation for fast delivery or not.
The point being if a seller avoids telling buyers that it could take three to four weeks for the item to arrive (because it is dropshipped or has to be made or whatever), I can almost guarantee you that will show up as negatives in their rating file.
The second reason I don't think it wise to require a specific drop shipping notice is because the auctions need to be careful about is making rules that are subject to abuse.
What kind of abuse? Seller A is mad at seller B because seller A won't give seller B their source of a particular product. Seller B is protecting their drop-ship source from other sellers at the drop-shipper request. (In this imagined scenario, the drop shipper-artisan is actually the sellers' brother.)
Seller A then notes that seller B simply says that delivery can take up to 3 weeks in his auctions. Seller B complains to the auction that the item is "drop shipped," which technically it is and demands that Seller A be suspended.
Now lets assume that Seller B is a "big seller" ... what is the auction to do?
My best guess is that if such a rule were ever put into effect, 95 percent of the complaints would be this type of abuse.
My advice is that if you are a buyer who is upset because a seller was slow to ship, you should make that complaint known in the users feedback rating file.
That is the proper tool and noting that the seller is slow to ship is certainly of interest to other buyers.
Sellers, of course, should establish realistic expectations regarding the delivery of the items they sell.
Pat
PS: It is important for both buyers and sellers to remember that laws already exist to cover painfully slow delivery. The existing FTC rules put a regulatory limit on delivery expectations in regard to any form of mail order (direct response telephone, TV, catelog or Internet sales.) Generally, the rule is if the item is not sent within 30 days of the receipt of the funds, the buyer must be offered the option of a full refund at that time. This, BTW, is a rule that has "bite."
