Key Points:
- Dropshippers can earn more than 50% profit than those who keep their own stock inventory
- Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method where a store doesn’t keep all the products it sells in stock
- Easyship can help power your dropshipping business model with shipping discounts up to 91% off
Dropshippers can earn more than 50% more profit than those who keep their own stock inventory. With dropshipping, eCommerce merchants sell goods by direct delivery from the manufacturer to the retailer or customer.
eBay is a platform that makes this possible and it has availed many merchants the opportunity of selling products to buyers around the world without having to handle inventory. This sounds promising, especially to newcomers who might want to explore the feasibility of online retailing.
However, retailers should be aware of the downsides of dropshipping. Dropshippers bear the liability of a shipment, even if the supplier messes up the delivery process. Plus, there is a low level of control because the supplier handles and ships the products, which gives no room for personalized branding.
Despite the downsides, dropshipping is still a great way to sell products. eBay dropshipping is a great way to sell a variety of products at a lost cost. You have more time to develop and scale your business globally. Also, there are fewer overhead costs for using dropshipping.
This blog post will go over everything you need to know about how to drop on eBay. This way, you can decide if this fulfillment method is right for your online store.
Table of Contents
What Is eBay Dropshipping? Can You Dropship on eBay?
Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method where a store doesn’t keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, the store purchases the item from a wholesale supplier, where it is then shipped to the customer.
More specifically, eBay dropshipping involves selling items on eBay, then working with your supplier to ship them directly to your customers. Some common products that utilize dropshipping include:
- Bluetooth headphones
- Organic tea
- Vaporizers
- E-cigarettes
- Waterproof bags
Dropshippers serve as the bridge between manufacturers and customers – and they do this successfully online, almost with no capital or a physical store. So, just as you're thinking, dropshipping is a profitable business model for sellers. Plus, listing an item on eBay is easy to set up.
Can you dropship on eBay?
Yes, eBay dropshipping is legal unless eBay sellers advertise a different product than the one that ships. It’s essential to work with a trusted manufacturer so that eBay sellers can avoid this issue. To avoid account suspension, make sure you do your research when selling an item from another retailer.
Also, be sure to visit eBay's dropshipping policy via their website to keep up to date with any unanswered questions.
Benefits of eBay Dropshipping
By now, you must have learned some advantages of eBay dropshipping. This section will highlight some of the other key benefits of using this fulfillment method.
Lowers product costs
eBay dropshipping sellers pay wholesale pricing for products since they’re selling a manufacturer’s product instead of their own. This benefit dramatically makes the cost of the product low, which can be a crucial advantage for small businesses looking to save money.
Save time
eBay dropshippers can focus more on marketing and customer service since they don’t have to worry about time-consuming tasks like packaging and shipping products. Plus, eBay sellers don’t need to worry about sorting and organizing products with dropshipping.
Your location can be flexible
This benefit is one advantage that has endeared a lot of eBay dropshippers - you can operate from anywhere in the world! All you need is a good network connection and access to the internet to reach your eBay customers.
You don’t have to manage inventory
Dropshipping on eBay saves you the stress of managing inventory. This benefit is possible because you don't need to stock products, and all you need to do is sell available products from various suppliers.
Easy to set up eBay listings
eBay dropshipping is easy to set up – and requires no expertise for eBay sellers. First, you want to identify the products you want to sell in your store. Then, link up with a good supplier, set up your online eBay store, and list your products for sale.
Choose from millions of products
eBay dropshippers can choose from millions of products to add to their store. Sellers can look through product marketplaces and add any product of their choice, rather than creating and manufacturing their products.
Related post: How to Ship on eBay For Cheap
How to Dropship on eBay
Now that you've known the benefits of dropshipping on eBay, we’ll go over how to use dropshipping as your fulfillment method, so you can sell on eBay seamlessly.
1. Set up an eBay seller account
The first step is to open a seller account. When you do this, you will be required to pay listing fees. Also, remember that different countries have their eBay sites, so be sure you sign up on the right one depending on your target audience or country.
2. Choose your products and dropshipping supplier
Often, it's best to decide the products you want to sell before opening an account. However, you can take your time to research the products you want to sell and the supplier of the products.
3. Choose your payment provider
You want to make sure everything is in place when you're setting up, including choosing your payment provider. Paypal and Stripe are two payment providers that eBay first-timers use, mainly because of the benefits they offer.
4. Create your product listings
This step is essential, especially for attracting customers on eBay. Write and structure your product listings so that they have high rankings on the search engines. Also, make sure you use good image quality with top-notch descriptions for the products you sell.
5. Manage and maintain your brand
Once you have completed the steps above, you need to manage and maintain your brand to remain competitive. To achieve this, work on keeping your customers as your priority and attend to them as promptly as you can. Remember, good customer service helps a business thrive.
Dropshipping Fees: eBay Dropshipping Policy
Setting up your eBay seller account is free. However, there are a couple of costs to deal with when dropshipping on eBay, such as:
- Insertion Fees: eBay sellers are charged $0.35 per listing. However, eBay sellers receive 200 free listings per month, and most dropshippers don’t exceed 200.
- Final Value Fees: eBay sellers are charged just 10% of an item’s total sales price. Final value fees are not immediately required following a sale. Instead, eBay charges the final value fee at the end of every month.
Despite the few fees for eBay sellers, you’ll ultimately save money because of not needing to pay for managing inventory.
How to Dropship on eBay with Easyship
eBay dropshipping has proven to be a reliable source of income for first-time online retailers – and even experienced merchants who are looking out to try new niches. This factor is made possible through the abundance of benefits eBay offers, from being easy to set up to its flexibility.
With Easyship, eBay dropshipping is made easy and seamless through the following features:
- Free Shipping Rates Calculator: Access high-volume discounts from major couriers. Plus, get instant access to delivery lead times from premium shipping couriers
- Shipping Dashboard: Manage dropshipping orders and create shipments instantly in the Shipping Dashboard. Plus, keep track of all your delivery lead times in one place
- Rates at Checkout: Improve conversion rates by showing available couriers directly to customers at checkout
Ready to ship? Connect your eBay account to Easyship and learn how you can access the best available shipping rates today when it comes to how to dropship on eBay
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