Could this lead to a Problem

[gooseislandcollectibles]

I don't have all the answers so I hope I can find one amongst the community. I sell mostly media items. I had a buyer contact me asking why he received a record from me. After researching I found he actually ordered from another seller and that seller ordered from me and had me ship the item to this buyer. I thought this was a one time happening but after going through my sales records this has happened multiple times from multiple sellers buying from me and having me ship to their customers. Do not get me wrong I appreciate all sales anyway I can get them these days but if something goes sideways what should I look for or prepare for? If you need more info let me know and I will provide what I can. Thanks as always!

[gooseislandcollectibles]

Thank sir. I follow you all the time as your answers are always polite and helpful, plus I have friends who live in Hawaii.

[itsjustasprain]

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

Your buyers/resellers are using you as a dropshipper, a violation which should be reported. 

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That is not dropshipping (which is not a violation) - that is retail arbitrage (which IS a violation).

The OP has no contracted relationship with the buyer of his item. All that happened is that his buyer had been listing an item that he did not have (and may or may not have been copying the OP's listing as his own) and then when someone bought his listing he scrambled around and bought the item from the OP here. The name and address that the OP received was not that of his buyer - it was the name and address of his BUYER's buyer. That is retail arbitrage and not dropshipping.

Ebay does allow dropshipping - when you as a seller have a contracted supplier who fulfills your orders whenever you receive them. That is not what happened here.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@gooseislandcollectibles wrote:

I appreciate your answer. I will check and see what I need to do to report this. As for being competitive and raising my prices I feel I can be lower as almost everything I sell I received for free or at next to nothing at pennies on the dollar from radio stations I worked at it the past who are just dumping their vinyl inventory. I had a station call me with with 15 thousand CDs and 10 thousand records who told me just take it and I loaded up my truck at no cost. And being nearly 70 years old I just want to dump stuff to make a couple extra bucks. I don't depend on this to survive as I collect Social Security and still work full time.  It is just a fun past time that I enjoy doing. 

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I understand that you want to sell your items and give buyers the best prices but as you're seeing, your "buyers" are flipping for a profit. Not all your buyers are real buyers but rather, resellers. Obviously, they're able to sell the same item for enough to make their investment back and cover fees yet still make a profit. 

(There's nothing illegal (except per ebay rules) about buying low and reselling high but they're taking advantage of you and it can impact your seller account negatively.)

So there should be some happy medium at which you can still be one of the lowest prices but not so low that other sellers can make enough to use you as a dropshipper. 

[gooseislandcollectibles]

Thanks again everyone for responding. I actually put my store on time away mode this week until I resolve this as I am concerned. I understand about being competitive in pricing as I had a brick and mortar store back in the early 90's. My prices are in line with other sellers as I research every item before I price mine. Some are higher some are lower by maybe at most a buck or two. Please understand I have been was in a retail environment since 1984 so I understand fully how pricing structure can affect sales in running a business. My main concern in this post was to avoid losing my account because I am doing something wrong. The buyer that pointed this out to me has been a faithful buyer for years and wondered why I was sending him something he did not order from me. This could have been going on for quite some time and if it was not pointed out, I probably would not have even known about it. Again thanks to all of you for your contributions as it is appreciated.

[kensgiftshop]

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@itsjustasprain wrote:

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

Your buyers/resellers are using you as a dropshipper, a violation which should be reported. 

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That is not dropshipping (which is not a violation) - that is retail arbitrage (which IS a violation).

The OP has no contracted relationship with the buyer of his item. All that happened is that his buyer had been listing an item that he did not have (and may or may not have been copying the OP's listing as his own) and then when someone bought his listing he scrambled around and bought the item from the OP here. The name and address that the OP received was not that of his buyer - it was the name and address of his BUYER's buyer. That is retail arbitrage and not dropshipping.

Ebay does allow dropshipping - when you as a seller have a contracted supplier who fulfills your orders whenever you receive them. That is not what happened here.

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Unless the buyer is selling the item on Ebay, it's not a violation to buy an item on Ebay and have it shipped to another person.

[albertabrightalberta]

@itsjustasprain 

I used the wrong terminology. I was correct in how I described it -- as a violation perpetrated by the OP's buyer/reseller.

EDIT: Unless it's as @kensgiftshop describes it.

[nyr134]

I am sorry to see that you are taking a break - but I understand why you are doing so.

I am a few years older than you are and I know the extra dollars are helpful plus eBay is actually fun and interesting.

One of Alberta’s spot-on suggestions is to block these resellers.  You have been able to identify some of these.  Blocking them - and any future ones - will reduce this from happening going forward and maybe you can resume your old pastime with few worries.

[itsjustasprain]

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@kensgiftshop wrote:
Unless the buyer is selling the item on Ebay, it's not a violation to buy an item on Ebay and have it shipped to another person.

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The buyer is selling an item that he does not have. When he gets a buyer for his listing he then buys the item at retail himself from someplace else and has it sent directly to HIS buyer from the OP (who knows nothing about this). That is not dropshipping but retail arbitrage. The former is allowed (signing up with a wholesaler who will fulfill your orders for you) but the latter is not.

Yes it is not a violation to buy an item on Ebay and have it shipped to another person. The violation is in selling an item that you do not have.

[itsjustasprain]

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

@itsjustasprain 

I used the wrong terminology. I was correct in how I described it -- as a violation perpetrated by the OP's buyer/reseller.

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Right and right. 🙂

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

Your buyers/resellers are using you as a dropshipper, a violation which should be reported.

I disagree with those who think it can't come back to bite you.

Consider this: 

Your buyer (A) purchases and pays for item putting their buyer (B) as the ship to person.

Buyer (B) receives it and claims NAD. 

NAD claim goes to your buyer (A) but 

Buyer (A) accepts the return, provides a shipping label with  HIS address

Buyer (A) receives the return, refunds his buyer then opens NAD claim against YOU. 

You end up with your item being returned and a NAD claim on your record. 

If multiple sellers are able to buy from you and dropship, your prices are too low! 

Raise your prices, be competitive, block those resellers and prevent this from happening often. 

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That is NO LESS than what I already said- and probably a .001% chance of happening. For a $10, $20 CD, who cares? That 'drop shipping seller' is in it to make $$ and has alot more to risk that the original seller. Maybe you should provide Aluminum Hats with your analysis? 

[krazzykats]

I have purchased an item from another seller when an item I sold couldn't be located. 

I just called it customer satisfaction, not drop shipping.

And it can happen easily with 1000s of Hallmark ornaments.... (Or at least a couple of times...😁.)

[onefootflipper1]

There is nothing you can do to stop this, so fighting against it is pointless. You would not even know it was happening if you weren't using packing slips.  I don't use them, they are a waste of money in the longrun and they increase returns.

Also, sometimes a seller will be unable to fulfill an order and will order their customer the item from another source to avoid cancellation even if doing so at a loss. That is more likely the issue than anything else, your average record is $10 plus $6 shipping, for someone to even clear $4 drop shipping from you they would have to sell the same record for $18.34 plus $6 shipping. Seems like a pretty risky business model listing items and hoping come shipment time someone would have one available at half price.

[kensgiftshop]

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@itsjustasprain wrote:

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@kensgiftshop wrote:
Unless the buyer is selling the item on Ebay, it's not a violation to buy an item on Ebay and have it shipped to another person.

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The buyer is selling an item that he does not have. When he gets a buyer for his listing he then buys the item at retail himself from someplace else and has it sent directly to HIS buyer from the OP (who knows nothing about this). That is not dropshipping but retail arbitrage. The former is allowed (signing up with a wholesaler who will fulfill your orders for you) but the latter is not.

Yes it is not a violation to buy an item on Ebay and have it shipped to another person. The violation is in selling an item that you do not have.

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If the buyer is listing it on Ebay and selling it, then buying from another Ebay seller, yes, that would be a policy violation.

If they are selling it on another site, then buying it from an Ebay seller and having it shipped to their buyer, it's not a policy violation on Ebay.

[fern*wood]

I don't see you doing anything wrong, other than leaving enough meat on the bone for another to take advantage of.   I see no additional risk to you that you didn't face just by selling in the first place.   I see no reason for you to shut down your store, so you might want to raise your prices and reopen.

[itsjustasprain]

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@kensgiftshop wrote:
If they are selling it on another site, then buying it from an Ebay seller and having it shipped to their buyer, it's not a policy violation on Ebay.

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It is - the key fact is that they do not have the item themselves - they are listing someone elses item as their own and then trying to buy it someplace after they have made their sale. It is probably undetectable as you describe it (as their fake listing is on another site) unless perhaps they are using the OPs photos which could be detected via a Google Image search.

Again (for the people who keep using the wrong term in this thread) - none of this is dropshipping. The OPs buyer does not have an arrangement with the OP to fulfill orders collected by that other account.