eBay retailers who want to minimize inventory and increase their product range opt for drop shipping. So what happens is you list a product that you don’t actually have on your eBay site. When a customer buys the item, you place an order to the product’s supplier and pay the wholesale price of the item. The supplier or drop shipper will then ship the item to your customer and you will earn profit from the difference between your listing and the wholesaler’s price.

This is a perfect set-up for eBay sellers with minimum capital and no storage space to keep inventories. If everything works well you will earn without worrying about shipping, inventory and other overhead cost.

So if you are en eBay seller who uses drop shipping it is very important that you avoid committing basic mistakes that might lead to failure not only on your drop shipping technique but also your eBay business as a whole. In order to be successful in your eBay drop shipping business you need to keep tabs on the following things:

Keep yourself up to date on the delivery fulfillment. Ask your buyers for feedback regarding deliveries. If orders are always being delivered late, discuss it with your drop shipper on how to avoid this issue. Let your customers know in advance in case of late deliveries so as not to give false expectations. You don’t want to receive negative feed backs so it is important that you keep track of deliveries.

Always ask your drop shipper for stocks availability. As an eBay seller, you are expected to deliver promptly what is sold or you might end up receiving a seller non-performance violation. Receiving this a few times may lead to cancellation of your account. So it is very important that you keep tabs of the product current inventory and ask your drop shipper to provide you this information.

Product quality is another important thing that you should overlook. eBay buyers expect to receive exactly the same item you list on your website. So it is important that your drop shipper delivers the same product you have on your list and not a mere substitute. So be careful in choosing your wholesaler. Make sure that they deliver what has been agreed upon.

Since you are the seller and buyers contact you directly, it is expected that you are ready for any customer returns, exchanges and complains. It is important that you deal with issues like this properly; otherwise you will receive negative feed backs that will affect your eBay business. Make sure that you have a clear policy regarding returns and ensure that you do as you promise.

Since eBay is an auction site, there will be a time when the closing price for a bid item is lower than the cost. If that is the case, you need to accept that payment from your customer even if it will mean a loss on your end. So it is safe to have a fixed price for your items if you are using drop shipping to fulfill orders.