posted on July 15, 2001 10:30:41 AM new
I've seen a few sites that offer drop-shipping for auction sellers. These sites show great deals etc. I was wondering if anyone ahd had any luck with these and if so which ones?
posted on July 16, 2001 06:03:23 AM new
Lots of sites show great deals and there are many now offering dropshipping services. It's the EASIEST form of e-Commerce! However, if you do intend to use these services to resell items on eBay and other venues you better do your research first and make sure they're the LOWEST COST wholesaler of that product, their shipping terms are favorable, they're reputable, and there's a demand for the items they offer. If they're just a middleman between you and the REAL wholesaler, you'll have a hell of a time trying to compete on eBay and other venues! Others will find ways to deal direct with the TRUE lowest cost provider (many times the TRUE source will only deal direct with businesses). This is what's happening on eBay. Some of the shipping and additional fees these companies tack on can make it even harder to sell. Research eBay to see if your prospective sources can compete on price with what others are offering.
Even if you do deal direct with the lowest cost provider, there may be many others (and their #s are increasing) doing the exact same thing. You'll have to find creative ways to sell in order to differentiate yourself and overcome this situation.
In addition, if people are dealing with the lowest cost provider they'll be reluctant to share that information for fear of fostering competition.
posted on July 16, 2001 07:30:46 AM new
Some auction sites do not permit sellers to use dropshippers. Sellers must have the merchandise on hand. I believe Amazon has this rule (unless that has been changed recently).
posted on July 16, 2001 08:36:22 AM new
eSeller004:
I think that the rule might be a good thing from the point of view of the buyer. If a seller doesn't order the merchandise until after an auction closes with a winning bidder, then it quite possible that the dropshipper is out of stock and the poor buyer has to wait.
I remember a old thread in the eBay Outlook where one of the posters talked about that happening quite frequently with an electronics suppler he used to use as a drop shipper.
That underlines the importance of having a reliable supplier if a seller is using a drop shipper.
I've had that happen a couple of times. I try to make it up to them by offering a better quality product as a replacement or a full refund. The times it has happened to me the customers have been understanding and have chosen the replacement. I try and offer a few choices for the replacement since luckily the items I sell my supplier has so many varieties of. It reduces my profit margin, but that's OK.
posted on July 16, 2001 09:52:54 AM new
I have wondered about whether drop-shipping was even allowed on Yahoo. In their terms of service covering auctions, there is the following: (bolding mine)
7. Rights to and possession of items for auction. You may not offer any item for sale which is not in your possession, you do not have the right to sell, or that does not exist at the time of the auction.
I'm not the brightest "star" in the sky so I really can't determine if they are saying you cannot offer drop-shipping OR whether you have to have the right to sell the item from the drop-shipper. Also, presale of an item seems to be a no-no.
posted on July 16, 2001 09:59:23 AM new
Yeah, that sounds like Yahoo doesn't allow dropshipping. Then again I've dropshipped items on Yahoo and they haven't said anything. Unless you state it in your auction description Yahoo won't know where your item originates and you won't run into trouble unless an item is out of stock and a bidder complains to Yahoo.
