Some wholesalers drop ship which many eBay sellers find very attractive. Imagine if you could sell products on eBay that you DON’T have to stock, you DON’T have to pack, you DON’T have to ship or post and you DON’T have to pay for until AFTER someone has bought them from you and ALREADY paid you!

That is exactly what drop shipping is. You list products to sell on eBay. When someone buys your product and has ALREADY paid you for it, you send the details of their order, their delivery address and your payment to the drop ship wholesale supplier who sends the product direct to the customer. So you don’t have to buy the product in advance, you don’t have to stock the product, you don’t have to pack the product and you don’t have to send or ship the product.

Of course, the drop shipper is likely to charge you more per unit than if you were to buy stock in bulk from them to sell and ship yourself. But the saving in time, hassle and effort that drop shipping provides for you can far out-weigh this additional cost. However, if your competitor is buying the same product in bulk from a wholesaler, the extra drop shipping cost may make it difficult for you to compete.

Another problem with drop shipping is that you cease to be in control of the service that your customer receives. If the drop shipper cocks up, it’s YOUR reputation that will be ruined and YOU will have to deal with the unhappy customer. Your customer’s contract is with YOU not the drop shipper. It is YOU that they will complain to if things go wrong and YOU who will get the negative feedback – not the drop shipper.

Because of this, you MUST have good communication with your drop shipper. When you send them details of your customer orders, make sure the drop shipper confirms receipt of your instructions and informs you when they send the goods to your customer. If you don’t hear from the drop shipper – chase them.

It is VITAL that you ensure that your drop ship supplier will still have sufficient stock available to fulfil your orders when your eBay listings end. Otherwise you will be listing items for sale that you don’t have and can’t provide. Your customer will have every right to complain and report you to eBay.

To avoid this, you should ALWAYS ensure that your supplier has sufficient stock BEFORE you list the product for sale on eBay each time. Reputable drop shippers will have a mechanism (ideally a website) so that you KNOW how much they have in stock at any given time. You can then check availability BEFORE you list the items for sale on eBay. If they are low on stock, don’t list until they re-stock – your reputation is too important. It is also a good idea to hold some stock yourself so that if your supplier does unexpectedly run out of stock – you have some emergency supplies to fulfil your orders yourself.

If you do sell something which is out of stock at your drop shipper, contact the buyer IMMEDIATELY, explain that the item has proved more popular than expected and offer a refund if they want it. If they do leave negative feedback at least you can add a comment that a full refund was given. Or offer a discount if they are prepared to wait for their item. This is better than getting negative feedback.

If they are angry – and you know that you can buy the same item at a retail price either online or from a shop – BUY IT AND SEND IT TO YOUR BUYER. OK – you’ll lose money. But that’s better than getting negative feedback and a complaint to eBay for selling something that you don’t have.

Use Worlwide Brands to source genuine, reliable drop shippers.

Martyn Boaden

This post is based on an extract taken from The Lazy Way To Wealth On eBay