mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
@sapphire_studio wrote:I'm just curious how you know how eBay defines retail arbitrage. The only people I have heard Define Retail Arbitrage as you are explaining are some people on this forum. Everywhere else refers to Retail Arbitrage as actually possessing the retail items you buy and shipping them yourself.
I provided you a direct quote from Ebay's policy page and gave you a link to the policy.
With that said, for some reason Ebay dropped the words Retail Arbitrage from the policy page at some point. I'm not sure why, likely because some members were confused by it. But the definition is still on the policy page and I put that in my other post to you.
Enquiring minds will want to know. She even got up from her nap in the tomato box because she want's to know. 🙀
@mam98031 wrote:
That is not the definition of Retail Arbitrage and it isn't just selling stuff on Amazon. You took that definition off of Google and it isn't wholly accurate.
On Ebay, Retail Arbitrage means this per the policy: listing an item on eBay and then purchasing the item from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your customer is not allowed on eBay.
If you are buying inventory and bringing it in as your stock from anyone, then selling it and shipping it, you are fine. It is how most sellers get a great deal of their inventory.
I was surprised to see Amazon come up in that definition - I think a more accurate term would have been Online Venue or Sales Venue if referencing any place where sales can be done. I actually thought 'Amazon' was rather amusing... but I find I'm rather easier amused these days.
eBay's definition of Retail Arbitrage sounds more like Drop-shipping. Firm X sends you a list of products, pictures, and descriptions. You list them on however many online venues you care to. As purchases are made, you pass the details, along with payment, to the drop-ship firm for fulfillment, keeping the difference as your profits.
Until you start getting product damaged due to poor packaging, and your drop-shipper blames it on the carriers and won't refund you. Of they have some type of outage - power, internet, staffing - and can't ship for a couple of days, leaving you with late shipping dings, as well as irritated customers. Or they 'forget' to pass you back the tracking details for those shipments, which you need to maintain on-time shipping stats on your venues, and especially need when customers start asking "where's my widget".
My favorite inventory method is consignment. Companies bring me stuff, I sell it for a fee, and they get the rest. New 'stuff' all the time, keeps me from getting bored. 🙂
-Bob.
The definition I gave was Ebay's definition, Not Amazons. I did not go and look at Amazons since it doesn't really matter for the purposes of selling on this site.
And while you may think Retail Arbitrage sounds like drop shipping it is completely different. The seller has no agreement with those other retailers to act as the dropshipper for them. And when a seller does set up a proper dropshipping relationship with some company it is at Wholesale prices NOT retail prices.
Please stay with the topic. The shoes & the customers who are being ripped off. Political comments are not the topic. Thanks.
@nh_sales_lv wrote:Look up Sold for Preorders, Trump can sell almost anything. Amazing
Trump is NOT selling anything on Ebay. This money isn't going to Trump but to the individual sellers.
If you are looking at the sold items, you should look a bit closer. In a great number of them, if you click on the listing, you will find it went POOF. Which means Ebay reversed the sale.
@mam98031 wrote:
The definition I gave was Ebay's definition, Not Amazons. I did not go and look at Amazons since it doesn't really matter for the purposes of selling on this site.
And while you may think Retail Arbitrage sounds like drop shipping it is completely different. The seller has no agreement with those other retailers to act as the dropshipper for them. And when a seller does set up a proper dropshipping relationship with some company it is at Wholesale prices NOT retail prices.
As I've said many times -- I try to learn something new every day! And then try terribly hard to remember it the next day.... I can remember games my siblings and I used to play in the house when I was grade-school age, but can't seem to recall what I had for lunch yesterday. Which is actually OK -- the games were far more interesting and much more enjoyable to remember than which fast food joint I ate at. 🙂
-Bob.
OK, not sure why you posted that to me, but I'm not sure what inspired you to tell me about it.
@chapeau-noir wrote:It was a gentle joke. We all learn new things every day, and hope we remember them because at some point our brains are so stuffed with stuff that it's easy to forget.
Relax. We're all fighting the same battle.
Thank you for the explanation. Not sure why I need to "relax", if I were more relaxed I'd be asleep. Which I feel is coming soon.
