Had to dropship an item from another ebayer

[alwaysthelowestprice]

Sold an item but could not locate it in storage. I found another seller on ebay with the same item and ordered it from them and put my buyers address. My problem is I am unable to add the tracking number to my sale since it is already being used for the one I purchased myself. I messaged my buyer and gave them the tracking and marked the order shipped. Is there anything I will need to do once the order is delivered? Can the buyer mark the item delivered on their end or will it not even matter? Didn't really want to dropship from someone else but also didn't want to cancel the order

[frodobagginskennedy]

I have had to do this on one or two occasions.  I have never found a way to get a tracking number into the system,  I have just messaged the customer the tracking number and had to eat an item not shipped ding.

[chevymontecarlo88]

I admire your dedication and professionalism. That decision involves risk, and hopefully, the buyer appreciates your efforts. However, with many bad sellers out there, I don't know if I could trust many with that task.

Kudos to you!

[ebooksdiva]

No way to get tracking for an order you didn't ship yourself. 
You may also get a couple of defects for doing that as well.

Tracking uploaded on time and validated and Late shipping. 

[bashort]

I have done this a few times in the past but it has been a while but I think that I just used the tracking # that the drop shipper gave me and never had a problem. I just make sure and pick out a seller who has great feedback and shipping metrics.

As far as getting defects, if you normally ship on time a once in a while late shipment will not hurt you, the worst ding to get is the canceled sale one.

[mr_lincoln · Accepted solution]

@alwaysthelowestprice 

Being in touch with your customer is important and keeping them involved is key.  However, you will get a late shipping defect on the sold transaction unless you shipped something with tracking on that transaction within your handling time.  You should at least mark that item as shipped.  

Hopefully, the other Seller packed the item securely and it will arrive without issue.  For myself I would have told the Buyer I needed to get the item from a different source and then took delivery of it and then ship it to the Buyer.  That way there is the opportunity to inspect it before the Buyer gets it.  It would mean two shipping costs BUT, that is a better scenario for the Seller and their protections. 

[stuff4divas]

@alwaysthelowestprice   as @mr_lincoln  posted, mark the item as shipped once u see it has been accepted by the post office. go to the item's drop down menu and click on 'mark as shipped'

and i would go by his suggestion to let the buyer know what is going on

then, if they are satisfied with the item, ask them to include they rec'd the item in good condition in both feedback and eBay message

[toysaver]

This is the downfall of drop shipping.  Buyer can still open INR case and possibly win.  The only way to avoid this is to have it shipped to yourself and then reship with valid tracking.  

[a_c_green]

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@bashort wrote:

I have done this a few times in the past but it has been a while but I think that I just used the tracking # that the drop shipper gave me and never had a problem.

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It depends on who uses the tracking number first. If the other seller (or drop shipper) bought their label on eBay (or another provider with automatic tracking uploading to eBay), then you cannot enter the same number as being your shipment. If the other seller/dropshipper does not upload the tracking number, eBay will accept it from you.

[gloryglorygifts]

I hope it all works out for you and you don't end up with an issue. It's always best to have the item shipped to you first and then send it to the customer. I've come up short, but don't order from a competitor on here; I order from a website that has the same item and have it come here. You pay retail price and shipping and then shipping again when you create your label, but at least you can see what they are getting and pack it yourself and will have your tracking. I just write it all off as an expense. Just fyi, what you did was against policy. You can't use another ebayer to dropship your order, even if your back is against the wall.

Good luck and happy sales to you.

[angelno9]

If a buyer really wants to scam a seller, he can do it regardless of whether there is accurate tracking in the eBay system or not. He just needs to scam the seller in a slightly different way. 

So your only real exposure is that it might count against your "shipped on time and verified" metric. 

[bashort]

I think this is being way overthought, using another ebay seller as a one time drop shipper is a viable option as far as I am concerned, I would weigh the amount of money it would cost against the metric damage. 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@toysaver wrote:

This is the downfall of drop shipping.  Buyer can still open INR case and possibly win.  The only way to avoid this is to have it shipped to yourself and then reship with valid tracking.  

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FWIW, this would have been my suggestion. 

You would have probably gotten a late shipping ding but it's less of an impact than INR if the buyer were to claim non-receipt.

[chapeau-noir]

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@gloryglorygifts wrote:

I hope it all works out for you and you don't end up with an issue. It's always best to have the item shipped to you first and then send it to the customer. I've come up short, but don't order from a competitor on here; I order from a website that has the same item and have it come here. You pay retail price and shipping and then shipping again when you create your label, but at least you can see what they are getting and pack it yourself and will have your tracking. I just write it all off as an expense. Just fyi, what you did was against policy. You can't use another ebayer to dropship your order, even if your back is against the wall.

Good luck and happy sales to you.

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I've had to do that, though - I'm willing to take a few risks. Very fortunately, I happened to know (online) the seller who had the exact item in the exact size and colourway I needed (it was eerie) and they cheerfully sent it to my buyer. I notified my buyer that it was coming from a different address and they were fine with it. I was also the 'pass through' for a guitar pickup going from the  midwest to England - that was in the old days of snail mail and the seller would only take money orders (!) so it involved me getting the money order, the British buyer Paypaling money, etc. Everyone ended up happy. I wouldn't want to do it a lot, though.

[albertabrightalberta]

Wrong thread

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