Amazon seller buying my stuff on eBay and re-selling it on Amazon

[inhawaii]

A while ago i posted about a guy who listed one of my eBay items for sale on Amazon. It's a kite accessory. I sell it for $27. He marked it up to $40-something  and put a 1-3 week shipping time.  That way if he got an order for one, he could buy it from me, and still have plenty of time to ship it to his buyer.

I did some research on this Amazon seller.  It turns out he has hundreds of items for sale on Amazon where it looks like he picked a eBay item, marked it way up, stole the picture, stole the text - sometimes word for word, and listed it on Amazon

The other day I sold one of these kite assessories and the buyer asked that I not include a invoice with the order. I immediately thought that this has to be the guy.  Sure enough, after doing some research on this ebay buyer, he's registered in India. He lists ebay stuff on Amazon.  If he gets a order for one, he buys it on ebay and sends it to his Amazon customer.  In this case he has me drop shipping  it directly to his customer (i think). I shipped it to whatever address was pre-filled out when I print out a ebay shipping label. Isn't that the "verified" address?

I didn't include a invoice with the order as I was asked, but what if i did. That would get the guy in hot water. Am I obligated in any way to follow the buyers special instructions?

[luckythewinner]

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@inhawaii wrote:

I didn't include a invoice with the order as I was asked, but what if i did. That would get the guy in hot water. Am I obligated in any way to follow the buyers special instructions?

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You offered your item and chose your price, and someone bought it. What he does with it is his business. 

And don't forget, "the guy" you would get in hot water is your eBay buyer.  Knowing the amount of power that eBay buyers have over eBay sellers, I would think twice before antagonizing him.  

Here's an idea - list it on Amazon yourself for $35. 

[*eponymous*]

None of that applies to this OP or to eBay.

[auctionpet]

If you don't want to sell to this person you can always block them. Your choice.

I know some folks buy here to resell elsewhere, which is fine. But this person is obviously using the OP as a drop shipper which is like a business partner, asking that you hide the fact that your the one shipping this item. That would tend to rub me the wrong way too.

So they don't want you to include any papers revealing your the seller. This would also include a simple customer 'Thank you'. As a buyer, I'd find that to be a bit rude and unappreciative.

For all they know your using ebay shipping boxes and mailing labels, which boldly say eBay!

[tarpedge]

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@sharingtheland wrote:

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@tarpedge wrote:
One more time.

The Indian flip sells say 500 items listed on eBay through Amazon.

If OP competes with that one or several items on Amazon, the Indian still has 499 other items, or will replace that one item with 50 more items listed on eBay.

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I don't think the OP particularly cares about the other 499 items.

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Perhaps read the second paragraph in the OP again.

[titanfiberglass]

There are 2 sellers on amazon that do that with my products.  Asks double on the river than what I get on ebay.  Good luck to them. I'm still gonna get paid.

[hawgryders]

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@inhawaii wrote:

A while ago i posted about a guy who listed one of my eBay items for sale on Amazon. It's a kite accessory. I sell it for $27. He marked it up to $40-something  and put a 1-3 week shipping time.  That way if he got an order for one, he could buy it from me, and still have plenty of time to ship it to his buyer.

I did some research on this Amazon seller.  It turns out he has hundreds of items for sale on Amazon where it looks like he picked a eBay item, marked it way up, stole the picture, stole the text - sometimes word for word, and listed it on Amazon

The other day I sold one of these kite assessories and the buyer asked that I not include a invoice with the order. I immediately thought that this has to be the guy.  Sure enough, after doing some research on this ebay buyer, he's registered in India. He lists ebay stuff on Amazon.  If he gets a order for one, he buys it on ebay and sends it to his Amazon customer.  In this case he has me drop shipping  it directly to his customer (i think). I shipped it to whatever address was pre-filled out when I print out a ebay shipping label. Isn't that the "verified" address?

I didn't include a invoice with the order as I was asked, but what if i did. That would get the guy in hot water. Am I obligated in any way to follow the buyers special instructions?

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You got your asking price --- that's all you should care about

What the buyer does with HIS item is of no concern to you ...

[lemarcheaupuces]

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@inhawaii wrote:

A while ago i posted about a guy who listed one of my eBay items for sale on Amazon. It's a kite accessory. I sell it for $27. He marked it up to $40-something  and put a 1-3 week shipping time.  That way if he got an order for one, he could buy it from me, and still have plenty of time to ship it to his buyer.

I did some research on this Amazon seller.  It turns out he has hundreds of items for sale on Amazon where it looks like he picked a eBay item, marked it way up, stole the picture, stole the text - sometimes word for word, and listed it on Amazon

The other day I sold one of these kite assessories and the buyer asked that I not include a invoice with the order. I immediately thought that this has to be the guy.  Sure enough, after doing some research on this ebay buyer, he's registered in India. He lists ebay stuff on Amazon.  If he gets a order for one, he buys it on ebay and sends it to his Amazon customer.  In this case he has me drop shipping  it directly to his customer (i think). I shipped it to whatever address was pre-filled out when I print out a ebay shipping label. Isn't that the "verified" address?

I didn't include a invoice with the order as I was asked, but what if i did. That would get the guy in hot water. Am I obligated in any way to follow the buyers special instructions?

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there was a similar thread not that long ago (you probably could find it).

the poster was a lot more upset than you about the stolen pics and descriptions.

ask yourself?

are you satisfied selling a kite for $27?

you say you sell 1 a week?

if this buyer became a regular customer of mine, the only thing i would care about is the sale.

i would only have an issue if this buyer;

claims not received, item damaged or some other scam like that.

the theft of my pics and description doesn't cost me a penny.

i wouldn't care a bit about it.

the buyer requested NO invoice.

why mess with the request?

might as well refuse to sell to him, report the buyer to ebay (not even sure if reportable), and block him/her.  

including an invoice just to mess with this individual is asking for trouble.

this buyer has so many ways to get back to you; CB, no receipt claim, snad...

i am NOT saying that stealing pics and descriptions is right.

it is not.

i probably already such customers.

once in a while i have requests with,  NO invoice.

i never asked myself why, never looked into it and really don't care as long as i make a sale.

[lemarcheaupuces]

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@auctionpet wrote:
If you don't want to sell to this person you can always block them. Your choice.

I know some folks buy here to resell elsewhere, which is fine. But this person is obviously using the OP as a drop shipper which is like a business partner, asking that you hide the fact that your the one shipping this item. That would tend to rub me the wrong way too.

So they don't want you to include any papers revealing your the seller. This would also include a simple customer 'Thank you'. As a buyer, I'd find that to be a bit rude and unappreciative.

For all they know your using ebay shipping boxes and mailing labels, which boldly say eBay!

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there has been many threads on this board about;

i bought on ebay and received an Amazon package.

seems to be common practice, nothing unusual.

i am a busy buyer and never look at the paperwork enclosed.

packing, speed of shipping, item as described are a lot more important as far as i am concerned.

as a seller all i care about it the sale.

in general buyers are easy going.

once in a while i get special requests.

i don't ask myself questions, if reasonable i just oblige.

but it is just me and the way i handle my business.

i understand that others see it differently.

[inhawaii]

Thanks for everyone's advice and opinions.

I have a full time job.  Ebay is just a side hobby for me. I don't really want to sell on Amazon for now. Maybe some day?  Maybe after I retire?

I don't really want to raise my price. I think it's a fair price and i'm fine selling 1 or 2 a week. I think raising the price would decrease sales. 

The Amazon guy has only sold 1 so far.  Since that sale he's raised his price to $50.74.  At that price I don't think he'll be selling many of them. 

I've decided to just let it go and be happy for the occasional sale i may get from this guy. 

Thanks again everybody!

[7606dennis]

While I have an issue with anyone infringing on the intellectual rights of others by the unauthorized use of their images and/or ad copy.

With regard to the buying on eBay and selling on Amazon, I don't see anything particularly wrong with that.  If a seller can do it and still make a profit, more power to them.  Provided, of course, that they do not infringe on any trademark or copyright.

Frankly, if the seller is able to buy from you, raise the price and find buyers at the higher price elsewhere, you might need to reconsider your pricing policies.  Perhaps you are pricing your goods too low.

[a_c_green]

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@inhawaii wrote:

I don't really want to raise my price. I think it's a fair price and i'm fine selling 1 or 2 a week. I think raising the price would decrease sales.

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@inhawaii: Try listing a few of those items as auctions, where the opening price is what you've previously been showing as a fixed-price BuyItnow. That way, you'll still be selling at the price you've decided on, but if competitive bidding breaks out (as I suspect it may), then all the rest is gravy.

If you do, please come back to this thread in a couple of weeks and let us know how that worked out.

[phcd1]

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@inhawaii wrote:

I don't want to "gouge" my ebay customers and raise the price.  $27 is a fair price....

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I just don't understand this way of thinking. If you don't want to make the maximum profit, why don't you just give them away for free and REALLY not gouge your customers?

[omgitlightsup]

This is called just-in-time inventory management, and pretty much anyone who resells stuff on Amazon or any web site does this.

The real question is, how do you feel about your place in the food chain? 

As a wholesaler of your product, you have no customer service overhead and you get free advertising from retailers who are marking your good up. And.. as with any product on the market anywhere, customers who do a little more thorough searching will get a better deal on it.

Would you rather deal directly with the customer and spend more time and money? Would it make a positive impact on your bottom line?

If you mark your product up, demand will go down. Whether you'd make more money in the long run depends on your marginal costs, and if you don't have any reasonable evidence you should probably just base your decisions on whether you're making enough money, and ignore what happens with your merchandise after you ship it.