A lot of people dream of starting a dropshipping business with the desire to sell on top quality marketplaces or on the same boat with reliable suppliers. Recently, with the expansion and capabilities of many eCommerce marketplaces, dropshipping has become easier and more appealing. With many advantages for dropshipping and 180 million worldwide buyers, eBay has become a perfect launching pad for many entrepreneurs enthusiasts.
If you also want to become a drop shipper on eBay, this article will get you covered how dropshipping on eBay works and draw a step-by-step guide to help you get down to the right track.
Let’s get started!
How eBay dropshipping works?
eBay is arguably one of the best dropshipping suppliers in the USA out there. There are millions of products sold on eBay from clothes, household items, toys, jewelry, technology essentials, to healthcare products. You can also easily find out many different types of sellers on eBay, from large-scaled stores to small businesses or even first-time sellers.
Dig deeper into the world of eBay sellers, did you know that almost all of them do not really keep and handle any products they’re selling physically? There are many products listed in their store. However, it’s not the case when you place an order the seller will pick that item within their reach, pack it, and ship it to you.
eBay dropshippers take care of all online business transactions, like what you see in their store. They don’t have to keep an inventory, handle order fulfillment process, and shipping. Meanwhile, suppliers provide products and take responsibility for delivering orders to customers after receiving order information from sellers.
eBay product categories
So what exactly eBay sellers do?
They search for products from suppliers, choose the potential options, set an ideal price for each item, and start selling them on eBay. After orders passed to the suppliers, the suppliers will handle the rest and ship it directly to customers.
Dropship suppliers can provide all the product data, descriptions, or images. That’s what a drop shipper builds their business regardless of selling on any marketplace, and eBay is not an exception.
As an eBay drop shipper, you can source bulk products from suppliers with a wholesale price, then determine a retail price for your products that is higher but fair enough to satisfy buyers.
How to dropship on eBay: a step-by-step guide
Step 1: Choose the right product
In dropshipping, it’s fair to say that having the best products to dropship is 50% of success. If you’re not sure about what you’re going to sell, then don’t sell it. Research carefully about products on eBay and decide what you can help you earn profits.
Products with high demand and a competitive edge on the market are best. Type “best seller” on the search bar of eBay homepage, you’ll see thousands of best-selling items.
eBay
Besides, Amazon’s Best Sellers Page is a great source for your research. You’ll see what people are interested in the most with complete product details. You can also check out Google Trends to see what people are looking for online.
It helps you grab the trend, choose products with high search volume, and catch the audience’s attention easily. The key success factor is understanding customers’ needs and problems, and then your products would be the solutions.
Amazon Best Sellers
It would be best if you know current best-selling products on eBay. Based on some research and our personal experience on eBay, we’ve listed some products and categories with the highest purchase records:
- Mobile phone & Accessories
- Computers
- Health & Beauty products
- Home & Garden
- Video games
- Fashion
- Handmade crafts
- Bluetooth earphones
- Smartwatches
Step 2: Secure a supplier
After determining the right products, another important thing is to find a supplier. You’ll want to work with someone who meets your requirements about products, order processing, and the capability to scale up with your business when it grows.
It’s better if your supplier has large quantities of stock on hand and a high commitment to fulfillment. One more important consideration is choosing a supplier that you can trust and communicate with.
You can also find suppliers who dropship by asking for recommendations on eBay Community. Proactively do some in-depth researches on the Internet to reach the best supplier for you.
eBay Community
Step 3: Establish an eBay seller account
Create an eBay account
Next, it’s time to set up your eBay account. It’s easy to start and take only a few minutes to complete settings.
However, it’s still essential to look into eBay’s Seller Center to get useful guidelines for setting up your account. Through trending topics, you can access an A-to-Z guide on how to sell on eBay here and get to know all features, an instruction to find products, choose payment methods, and manage them effectively.
There are some crucial elements to pay special attention to when creating your eBay account. Your account name must not violate eBay’s policy or be offensive. A clever or catchy name can gain more attention and lead to better sales. It’s crucial to provide necessary information about your eBay stores, such as the products you sell, your location, return, and refund policies.
Because the availability of payment methods on eBay will depend on your country, remember to tell your customers about the applicable methods exactly. In fact, PayPal is the most popular option chosen by new eBay sellers.
Step 4: Create your product listings with price
A well-organized and appealing product listing will make it easier for you to earn your first sale, and many more later. Start from well-written descriptions, high quality, like-real looking, but attractive enough product images to a persuasive call-to-action. Provide information about your items and select the right categories for them.
When customers browse your store, some will look for products with features that solve their existing problems or outperform those features of your competitors’ products. Therefore, make sure you highlight all the outstanding features of your products in an accurate and easy-to-understand way.
Having a perfect list of worth-to-sell products is not enough if your pricing does not hold any profit margin. You need to set up the price for your products strategically, higher than wholesale prices, of course, but fair enough to be affordable to buyers.
With eBay’s unique pricing structure, you can set a particular starting bid, and then allow customers to bid on items they want to purchase. Make sure your starting bid covers all fixed costs, including shipping, product cost, and eBay’s listing fee. You can also refer to other seller’s pricing to create your own.
Step 5: Manage & maintain your dropshipping
When you start launching your eBay dropshipping store, it’s important to constantly keep an eye on your entire business to ensure everything is running smoothly. Once customers place orders, contact your suppliers and provide them with full details about the orders regarding product names, quantity, and shipping information.
Consider using drop shipping integration applications or software to automate some necessary tasks in the process. You can save time and effort to focus on growing your business.
Your customers should be at the heart of your business. It’s always imperative to put much thought into customer service. Your customers’ feedback are also valuable assets that help you know whether you’re doing good. Then, you’ll identify what needs tweaking and enhancing.
Final words
So, is eBay dropshipping worth it?
Honestly, eBay has both pros and cons when it comes to dropshipping. However, it remains an ideal marketplace for start-ups or newbies in this eCommerce landscape.
Research thoroughly the potential marketplaces, suppliers, and other critical factors before starting a dropshipping business. This ultimate guide will help you to tip your toe on eBay dropshipping right away if you already have an interest.
If you want to discuss this topic more or have any questions, let us know in the comments.
Author bio: Jade Nguyen is a marketing specialist with over four years of experience in the industry. She is working for Avada Commerce – a dedicated eCommerce solution provider. She consistently shares her knowledge and expertise through well-researched pieces of writing to bring useful solutions for eCommerce and marketing enthusiasts.
