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Selling Without Inventory
Hello,
I'd like to inquire about selling items on ebay without keeping inventory. Here is the scenario I am imagining:
I list an item at a fixed price of let's say $45.00 (a new leather wallet for example)
I have a buyer place their order and pay ME a shipping cost and any sales tax.
I then turn around and order the item from a supplier online, for let's say $35.00, I use the shipping and sales tax money I received from the buyer and use it to pay the supplier's shipping charge and sales tax, and then have the item shipped directly from the supplier to the buyer. (That streamlines the process of me buying an item, have it shipped to my home, take the risk of me not selling it, and turn around and re-ship it to the buyer if and when it does sell. I'd pay shipping AND the buyer would pay shipping. No profit in it)
In my scenario, I just made $10.00! No inventory! Only one shipping charge paid!
This almost sounds too easy. What am I missing?
Every article I've found involves a seller shipping an item they already own and possess and ship it themselves from their home.
Thank you,
evry1nositswindy
Mentor3 years agoYou didn't just make $10. eBay charges 13.25% on the item + tax + shipping plus an additional 30cents per order. You would have no control over inventory. If the other site is out of the product, YOU will be responsible for a defect on your account for not shipping. What happens when you get a return request? YOU are responsible for accepting the return and refunding.
This type of selling is NOT allowed, for so many reasons.
an-57470
·3 years agoYour scenario is similar to Drop Shipping and it has numerous problems. No one recommends drop shipping. You need to read how eBay works because your scenario would not work on eBay.