Listing Items from Teespring (And Question about Tracked Shipping)

[wing-juli]

Hello, I wanted to sell t-shirts from my teespring store through ebay. I do not have much experience selling so I want to make sure if I do this I start off on the proper foot.

Essentially, I was hoping to list my shirts from teespring on ebay, and once one is purchased, I would place an order on teespring to have the shirt made and shipped to the buyers address. 

My main area of concern is shipping. Teespring gives a tracking number for the orders, and you can track it through the teespring website., but I was wondering if this would be a valid tracking number that would work on ebay as well?

[lookng2015]

Well one things for sure....if they're not your own unique designs, you won't ever get any repeat buyers once they get the parcel from teespring.

[dtexley3]

You have no control over when the item is shipped and it sounds like the tracking is not one that eBay or Paypal accepts.  What happens when the customer is unhappy with the shirt and files an Item Not as Described claim?  Do this at your own risk.

[chrysylys]

---

@wing-juli wrote:

I want to make sure if I do this I start off on the proper foot.

---

Order a few, have them shipped to YOU.  Inspect them for quality, THEN list them for sale here.

I'm not familiar with that company, but I used CP for a  while.  Their stuff is not the best of quality and I would not be comfortable reselling them.

[clee1325]

i personally wouldn't sell anything that i do not have possession of i would be too paranoid it would not arrive on time ...also i want to be able to inspect each item with my own eyes before even listing...what if its defective? soooo many possibilities....maybe i'm just too paranoid though?

[ltsg4899]

I have ordered several items from Teespring and most of their products are of very high quality! The only item that I found disappointing was the women's flowy longsleeve shirt. The sleeves are too tight, which causes the back of the shirt to hang funny.

[jumart8800]

What company does that site use to ship?

[goldguy22k]

As long as teespring is using one of the three shippers and the shipper provides a valid tracking number, that part should be fine.  However, sounds like one would have to manually enter the tracking number into the ebay order, and do so within the listings stated handling times or face a mark with ebay. Also one wants that tracking number in the ebay system as defense for an "Item Not Received" (INR) claim.

What you propose sounds a lot like "drop shipping."  IF that can work for you is one thing, as others have noted.  

So another thing, make sure that your listing correctly shows the location the t-shirt is located and will be shipped from.  That is an ebay policy that one agrees to follow when they sign up to sell.   Savvy buyers will note your location as stated in your profile and also note the item is located elsewhere and draw their own conclusions.

I think there are bunch or youtubers out there promoting drop shipping as a "no investment," easy way to make a pile of money.  This is retail and the winds are changing with the changing buyer demographics and one needs to consider how their "operation" provides a positive "buyer experience" and not just how it generates profits.

How is one going to "manage" buyer expectations of the item being shipped right away, if an order has to be placed with the manufacturer, then produced and shipped out?  Are you going to get buyers screaming, "Why hasn't my item shipped!" after a couple of days after paying?  There is a current thread (one of many one can find) where sellers are noting complaints from buyers because an item hasn't shipped by the time the buyer thinks it should.

How are returns handled?  Wouldn't your ebay address be the address the item gets returned to if ebay issues a label?  In clothes, there is a company that now advertises; order it, try it on and if you don't like it, just return it on us.  How does one compete with that?  How does one manage buyer expectations that if it doesn't fit, they can just return it?

Just a few things to consider.  Good for you, for asking questions upfront before diving it!  That style should serve you well.  Good luck!