Amazon Dropshippers On eBay – How It Impacts American Consumers

Have you purchased from an eBay seller only to have the order fulfilled by Amazon? When eBay was at its highest, the online marketplace had millions of sellers and buyers. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Some blame it on Amazon, while others believe it was of its own accord. Whatever the case may be, eBay, the once-thriving online marketplace is no longer a viable place to buy or sell.

One way or another, much of that has to do with Amazon. We’ll explain below.

What Is Amazon Dropshipping?

Amazon dropshipping is a process that allows eBay sellers to list, sell, and ship products they do not own outright. How does this process work? It starts with an eBay account listing thousands of items being sold on Amazon. The process moves forward when an eBay buyer purchases one of these items. This pushes the eBay seller into action. An order is placed via the eBay seller’s Amazon account. The seller purchases the item as a gift for a friend, family member, or other. In order for the order to be processed, the eBay seller (Amazon account holder) must supply Amazon with the eBay buyer’s personal information, such as name and address. Amazon fulfills the order without question, shipping it to the eBay buyer’s physical address.

Oftentimes, these items are shipped using Amazon Prime which means it gets to the buyer quicker.

What Is Wrong With Amazon Dropshipping On eBay?

If you ask some people, they will say there is nothing wrong with it. But, in all actuality, it is very wrong. The eBay seller is sharing the buyer’s personal information with a third-party, in this case, Amazon. Now, some consumers may not have an issue with the eBay seller sharing their information with a third-party.

The Gramm-Leach-Billey Act of 1999 was established specifically to protect the consumer’s personal information. The law allows consumers to have a say in how their personal information is shared among financial institutions, including retailers, banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and dealerships.

There is also an unfair advantage for the Amazon dropshipper but we’ll get into below.

Ebay’s Take On Amazon Dropshipping

In 2019, eBay made an oath to ban Amazon and Walmart dropshipping. Did the company stand up to its promise to do away with this type of arbitrage? Just look for yourself, there are hundreds of active Amazon dropshipping accounts on eBay right now. How can you determine which sellers are dropshipping from Amazon? It is as simple as doing a bit of research.

It is unclear why eBay refuses to ban Amazon dropshippers but it might be afraid of the outcome.

What Red Flags Point To An eBay Amazon Dropshipper?

The first red flag is product stock pictures. The seller’s store or account will consist of nothing but stock pictures of products varying from electronics to toys to attire. You can compare the images to those on Amazon as well.

In most cases, Amazon dropshippers will not touch items sold by third-parties. The sellers want their orders to be delivered to their buyers ASAP to ensure their satisfaction. And, this is not always possible when buying through Amazon third-party sellers. So, dropshippers tend to avoid these sellers.

Another red flag is negative feedback. All Amazon dropshippers will obtain negative feedback at some point. If you are determined to avoid being caught up in the dropshipping scam, you should always check out the seller’s feedback. With that said, some eBay buyers are hesitant to leave bad feedback even if they feel wronged by the seller. Instead, they will leave neutral feedback, so be sure to check this out as well.

If you wish to complain about an eBay seller without recourse, we recommend doing so on the NayZayerz forums!

Unfair Advantage Over Other Sellers

If you ask most eBay sellers how they feel about Amazon dropshippers, unfair advantage will definitely come to mind. What does this mean? Well, these Amazon dropshippers are getting their cake and eating too. The risks they take are minimal at best.

For starters, they have little to no overhead. Once they’ve bought an Amazon Prime account, they don’t have to buy anything else. Shipping costs are handled by Amazon despite many Amazon to eBay dropshippers charging shipping fees.

Simultaneously, they never have to worry about buying an item and holding onto it. They don’t buy the item until it is actually sold. This is a massive disadvantage for legitimate, honest eBay sellers since they often have to buy the item at retail price, store it, package it, and ship it.

For a legitimate eBay seller, the best hope is that eBay will one day wake up and ban these individuals but that doesn’t seem likely. Since they have no overhead costs, their prices are often lower than everyone else even though they’re significantly higher than what you’ll find on Amazon.

Shipping isn’t cheap and these dropshippers have found a way to abuse the system.

Why Should You Avoid eBay Dropshippers?

Buying from an eBay dropshipper might seem like a good idea. After all, you get Prime shipping without the Prime costs. Well, you are mistaken. Buying from an eBay dropshipper is scary. First and foremost, most of the funds will be funneled overseas since most people partaking in these activities are internationally located.

Second, these individuals have access to your private information. If they’re willing to commit this fraud, there is a good chance they’ll be happy to do something even worse. There is always a risk that you’ll never get your item or it’ll come damaged.

Good luck with that. Most of these individuals will not respond to your inquiries. They simply do not care and they know that eBay is too weak to do anything about it. Since Amazon frowns upon repeat returners, these Amazon dropshippers try to avoid returning items to them.

If you buy from an eBay dropshipper, you take the risk of receiving something cheap than you bought, nothing at all, or a damaged item. How will the eBay seller know since they never packaged the item to begin with? It is hilarious that Amazon is allowing people like this to abuse consumer’s information.

Yet, the company won’t allow its 3rd party sellers to email or phone a customer when there is a problem with their order. Amazon may hold its 3rd party sellers to a higher stand due to a lack of trust, but it is letting these criminals do whatever they want with your private information.

What If I Got An Item From Amazon I Bought On eBay?

Unfortunately, there is little you can do. If you intend on returning the item, you will likely have to pay out of pocket for shipping. These dropshippers rarely communicate with the buyer. When they do, they’ll make a snide comment and insult your intelligence.

You’ll most likely have to wait for eBay to handle part of it. You may get a refund but the scammer will live to scam another day. If you return the item to the address provided by eBay, it’ll probably go to someone not involved. In a future article, we will discuss stealth accounts and similar topics.

Ask for a refund and wait for eBay to handle it.

How To Fix Amazon To eBay Dropshipping?

The problem is easy to solve. If you visit eBay and look at any seller’s feedback, you will find lots of complaints from buyers. They’re not happy with sellers dropshipping from Amazon and they’ll complain about it. If we’re able to spot thousands of these bad comments, why can’t eBay?

We suspect eBay is shielding these bad characters to keep its platform competitive with Amazon and to keep money flowing in. As for Amazon, the company is obviously aware of the issue and they’re complicit in it. These criminals use Amazon’s gifting service to dropship the items.

Amazon has to be aware of a single Prime member dropshipping 1000s of items to 1000 different addresses. There is no way the company is that incompetent. It is easier for them to ignore it so they can keep their stock at all time highs.

In other words, it is a win-win for both companies until problems occur. So, what is the solution? Angry consumers should file complaints with Amazon, eBay, BBB, and FTC. Until enough people speak out, American consumers will continue getting ripped off on eBay thanks to Amazon.

The solution for Amazon is easy. Either limit or completely eliminate the gifting service. Five or ten gifted packages a month would suffice for most and it would prevent the American consumer from being scammed time and time again. Furthermore, eBay must step up and ban users who are committing these atrocious acts.