A couple of weeks ago I tried to buy a futon mattress on eBay. Why buy such an absurd item on eBay? Because I had ~$60 eBay bucks to spend, plus a $10 coupon, and I needed a new bottom bunk mattress for my kids' room. I found a good price, and everything was coming up Milhouse. Except I got a message the next day from the seller telling me they were sorry, but they didn't have the inventory and was going to have to cancel my order. No big deal- I got a refund, my bonus and my coupon back.
I tried again, but this time the seller canceled my order claiming I had requested the cancellation. No, I most certainly did not, and I'm well aware that the seller chose that option to avoid a defect on their account.
That little lie cost me the use of the $10 coupon, which I had to get back by spending 30 solid minutes on the phone with different, increasingly confused reps from the Philippines. It also turned me into a snitch, since by explaining the situation over the phone led to the seller being reported for violating TOS.
This is what drop-shipping does. I know there are dozens of get-rich quick youtube videos extolling the virtues of doing very little work for Lamborghinis filled with models, but it almost always backfires. If you do not have the product in your hands, you do not have product. You have no way to know the quality or the volume. I know there are a few (neigh, dozens!) of sellers who have not run into obstacles in their drop-shipping career, but I promise you you've gotten lucky.
