Is there a way to dropship safely and for the long run?

[inneedofhelp]

Is it possible to do dropshipping in a way that ebay won't take away some privileges from you (like not appearing in the searches) or even ban you in the end?
Especially now in the days of Managed Payments where stealthing is becoming very difficult or even impossible and you have to protect your accounts, you can't afford to waste them...
Is using other websites completely not allowed? Obviously I would never use amazon, but what about more obscure websites?
Is it better to mix at the beginning? Like real personal items with items to dropship? So that you won't get ebay's attention?
Thank you.

[phaz0rz]

IMO the only way to really make it work is to establish a business relationship with whoever is filling your orders so you can communicate with them. Easier said than done but it's possible. Then it becomes no different than having your orders shipped from an off-site warehouse. You get orders, you email orders to fulfiller, they email back tracking and a bill. Dropshipping from websites who will take however long to ship orders is a recipe for disaster.

Just my take as someone who fills orders for other people. I'm sure others will chime in though.

[inneedofhelp]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

IMO the only way to really make it work is to establish a business relationship with whoever is filling your orders so you can communicate with them. Easier said than done but it's possible. Then it becomes no different than having your orders shipped from an off-site warehouse. You get orders, you email orders to fulfiller, they email back tracking and a bill. Dropshipping from websites who will take however long to ship orders is a recipe for disaster.

Just my take as someone who fills orders for other people. I'm sure others will chime in though.

What if you use (and specify in your listing) longer delivery times, if that is the main concern, just to be completely safe?

"Establishing a business relationship with whoever is filling your oder" You mean contacting a business/a website/or whoever and ask if you can dropship their products?

[muzzie]

There are many reshipping services out there. Like through Netherlands or Belgium. That way you can just claim you have a warehouse in Europe, so while you sell China crap, it looks like you send from EU. Not good for cheap stuff, but works perfectly for something worth 20 bucks. Be a bit creative with the source of items - create some story abut EURO supplier, show euro trackings and be happy.

[inneedofhelp]

Originally Posted by muzzie

There are many reshipping services out there. Like through Netherlands or Belgium. That way you can just claim you have a warehouse in Europe, so while you sell China crap, it looks like you send from EU. Not good for cheap stuff, but works perfectly for something worth 20 bucks. Be a bit creative with the source of items - create some story abut EURO supplier, show euro trackings and be happy.

And what about taxes for products coming from the EU? Don't you have to pay an extra 20% once they reach the UK...or under a certain value there's no additional cost?

[ebaystealth1974]

Originally Posted by inneedofhelp

Is it possible to do dropshipping in a way that ebay won't take away some privileges from you (like not appearing in the searches) or even ban you in the end?

100% possible. The only problem is that what you are describing is retail arbitrage, not dropshipping. Retail arbitrage will never be long term(99.9% chance). Proper dropshipping CAN BE.

[muzzie]

Originally Posted by inneedofhelp

And what about taxes for products coming from the EU? Don't you have to pay an extra 20% once they reach the UK...or under a certain value there's no additional cost?

There is certain limit under which items are tax-free.

[inneedofhelp]

Originally Posted by ebaystealth1974

100% possible. The only problem is that what you are describing is retail arbitrage, not dropshipping. Retail arbitrage will never be long term(99.9% chance). Proper dropshipping CAN BE.

Can you please explain why retail arbitrage (more like online arbitrage?) will never be long term and dropshipping can be?
Cheers!

[Bigblackdog]

Originally Posted by muzzie

There is certain limit under which items are tax-free.

Not any longer

[Bigblackdog]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

IMO the only way to really make it work is to establish a business relationship with whoever is filling your orders so you can communicate with them. Easier said than done but it's possible. Then it becomes no different than having your orders shipped from an off-site warehouse. You get orders, you email orders to fulfiller, they email back tracking and a bill. Dropshipping from websites who will take however long to ship orders is a recipe for disaster.

Just my take as someone who fills orders for other people. I'm sure others will chime in though.

This is IMO the only way to successfully dropship. Try buying stock - it's a lot less hassle

[DENDEN76]

Dropshipping margins on ebay suck. Theres so many market players and you'll probably find at least 20 sellers selling the same items. Focus on smaller market places that nobody cares about, bulk list 1000s of products and you'll make double if not triple margins. I'm eyeing ebid next...

[agent006140]

Some local brick and mortar shops may be willing to work with you,they will give you a 20% discount/

[Bigblackdog]

Originally Posted by DENDEN76

I'm eyeing ebid next...

LOL - good luck with that

[justsomerandomdude]

This all highly depends on how you define 'safe'. However, whether It be from a data privacy and security standpoint to a financial perspective, there really is no 100% reassurance that you'll be saved from getting banned, suffering a profit loss, and etc.

Here's a blog post by Payoneer that discuss VAT and other taxes in-depth with regards to dropshipping to and fro Europe: https://blog.payoneer.com/e-sellers/...ng-2021-eu-uk/

If you're really serious about getting your dropshipping store done though, there are a few steps you can try to secure yourself.

1. Quality control products & Go local
->try and get products that are in demand, of high quality, and have relatively low competition in your local market.

2. Establish chat support (this is applicable if you're outsourcing from a really faraway place
->reviews will be your downfall if you leave everything in the hands of your supplier, when i was starting out i manned the chat support and was responsive most of the time. this helped me avoid glaring negative feedbacks, and once my store got a little bigger i hired someone to do it for me.

3. marketing
->you've probably heard of this word thousands of times, but it will never be irrelevant, especially when talking about e-commerce in general. Setting up your store to gain organic traffic really gets the ball rolling with generating income. I strongly suggest reading up on guides like this one to get you started.

4. analytics is your best friend
->if you weren't a big fan of math and statistics in high school and uni, I'm sorry mate but you have to get over that trauma because those will be your best buddies when running a dropshipping business. it'll help you get a gauge of what direction your business is taking, how many visitors your getting, where they're coming from (ads, direct search, organic leads, etc). so you have an idea of the weakest and strongest points of your business.

hope this helps~

[rsot]

Originally Posted by agent006140

Some local brick and mortar shops may be willing to work with you,they will give you a 20% discount/

Probably volume related, at best...