Caught an eBayer dropshipping

[traditonalproducts]

Purchased 2 wheels for my lawnmower last Saturday. The Amazon package arrived Thursday. Item was packed and delivered by Amazon.  Filed a complaint. In addition their eBay site states no returns. OK right.. Amazing how these individuals keep selling on eBay but I guess its hard to monitor 1000's of eBay sites unless one files a complaint. Good luck out there. 

[chapeau-noir]

This happened to me so often that I generally just purchase new commodities that I can't get locally on Amazon rather than here. Anything I want that's no longer made, old or whatever, I purchase here.

[sumsum70]

What exactly did the seller do wrong? Did you get what you ordered? Did it arrive within the time it was supposed to? "No returns" is a business policy allowed by eBay.

Maybe you should have just bought it on Amazon in the first place.

[chapeau-noir]

Don't know about the OP, but the stuff I was getting frequently had a gift packing slip - i.e., the seller had abused their Prime membership.

[albertabrightalberta]

What I don't understand is how sellers can use their Prime membership to sell an item cheaper on ebay than it is on Amazon.

When I shop, I compare prices on ebay and Amazon and will buy from Ebay if cheaper. Then when the Amazon package arrives, I scratch my head trying to figure out how they do it! 

[b86fiero]

It's very annoying to buy from an eBay seller then receive the merchandise from a different site.  Happened to me too many times so I cancelled my Amazon Prime membership and told Amazon why. 

I prefer to purchase on eBay to support our fellow sellers who contribute to keeping eBay alive.

And as you probably know, eBay allows returns no matter what the seller states.

[universalscreenarts]

Drop shipping is allowed on eBay if you own the items prior to listing or have an agreement with a wholesale supplier to list and sell their items. A user agreement from another retailer or marketplace does not fulfill this requirement.

If you use drop shipping, you’re still responsible for the safe delivery of the item within the time frame stated in your listing and for the buyer’s overall satisfaction with their purchase.

Sellers are not allowed to list an item that is not in their possession on eBay at a premium and then purchase the item from other retailers or marketplaces that ship the item directly to their customers. This creates multiple bad buyer experiences.

Simply put it against eBay policy and can be considered fraud since the eBay seller in question implies that they own the product when in fact they are opperating as an intermediary and would need to disclose they are charging a finder's fee or something to that nature.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

Did you look at the seller's profile?

Location, how long an eBay member, and all feedback history?

I have noticed recently when looking for listings near me in order to save on shipping cost and then look at the seller's profile, it tells me they are in N.Y.

That tells me they are a drop shipper of some kind. Probably using the Amazon or Walmart distribution location that are both withing 10 miles from me. 

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@traditonalproducts wrote:

Purchased 2 wheels for my lawnmower last Saturday. The Amazon package arrived Thursday. Item was packed and delivered by Amazon.  Filed a complaint. In addition their eBay site states no returns. OK right.. Amazing how these individuals keep selling on eBay but I guess its hard to monitor 1000's of eBay sites unless one files a complaint. Good luck out there. 

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They probably sell on Amazon & eBay and maybe other sites, and use FBA (fulfillment by Amazon) for all their platforms. In which case, nothing they did is wrong or against the rules and you simply overreacted. You're allowed to drop ship, you're not allowed to sell something you don't own. Seller can't take your order and go order the item from some 3rd party to ship to you. It's highly unlikely they are selling you a product they bought from someone else on Amazon because there is likely no way for them to profit. They probably use Amazon's services for picking/packing/shipping, they still own the product but Amazon warehouses it and handles the S/H. Absolutely nothing wrong with doing business that way.

Their return policy is completely within policy and within their rights.

You likely filed a frivolous complaint. 

[sumsum70]

The last 3 feedbacks received by OP as a buyer are from parts sellers with anywhere from 114,000 to 255,000 feedbacks. Is it not possible that they are also Amazon sellers and have a way to ship their own FBA items to eBay buyers when needed? 

Whether anyone likes it or not, these are the kinds of sellers eBay has favored for the past decade or so. Lots of volume and lots of fees. eBay does not care about the sellers who post on this forum or make youtube channels about eBay, they want sellers with millions in revenue.

[itsjustasprain]

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@traditonalproducts wrote:

Purchased 2 wheels for my lawnmower last Saturday. The Amazon package arrived Thursday. Item was packed and delivered by Amazon. 

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First off - dropshipping is allowed by Ebay. You do not have to 'catch' a seller doing it. Retail arbitrage (buying an item from someone else and then shipping it straight to you) is not allowed. But you have to know the difference. In this case you need to be sure that the Amazon shipment was sent by another seller and not from your seller's own Amazon account using a Fulfilled By Amazon arrangement for storing and shipping his sales.

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@traditonalproducts wrote:

In addition their eBay site states no returns. OK right. 

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That does not matter. If the item turns out to be Not As Described you can still file a refund request. If the seller wants it back first then they will have to send you a Return label.

[reallynicestamps]

In addition their eBay site states no returns.

No returns is allowed, but all sellers are required to make REFUNDS.

There are some things that neither buyer nor seller want to return (broken glass, dead plants, items that are cheaper than the shipping cost) and No Returns makes sense there.

The seller just refunds without the folderol of sending a Return Shipping Label, getting the unwanted item back, and only then refunding.

However, even a seller with a No Returns policy is entitled to demand the return of the disputed item before refunding, although they will be paying for the return label.

[orangehound]

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@traditonalproducts wrote:

Purchased 2 wheels for my lawnmower last Saturday. The Amazon package arrived Thursday. Item was packed and delivered by Amazon. 

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This is not necessarily drop-shipping.  Amazon offers a warehousing and fulfillment logistics service called Fulfillment by Amazon.  Some Amazon sellers use this service to also fulfill eBay and Shopify orders.

A common way that you can identify a drop-shipper is the price you pay on eBay will be higher than what it is on Amazon ... and, a lot of the time, the seller will be from a third world country.

Also, if you buy from me, you might get your shipment in Amazon packaging.  I'm not a drop-shipper ... nor do I use FBA ... but I will re-use Amazon packaging.  😉

[brightlightbookseller]

Good drop-shippers (which is allowed the way you described, and is still drop-shipping but not a problem) will have FBA ship in a non-Amazon package (that's a small extra fee for them, but reduces buyer confusion), and it won't have an Amazon slip inside, either one marked with the seller's name (not sure if that's possible) or none. That would be the best way to utilize FBA to drop-ship on eBay, based on the rules, but some don't want to pay for the non-Amazon packaging, or just order from Amazon after selling here on eBay (which of course isn't allowed).

On my personal selling account, I often reuse Amazon packaging too, and have actually been complimented on it before because they liked that I was recycling/reusing packaging!

[bonjourami]

Surprising that you dont know that Ebay sellers use Amazon Fullfillment to store and ship their items.