Dropshippers selling directly on ebay- Is this ethical?

My question is would there not be so many drop shippers selling on ebay themselves these days, which makes the middle man "you or I" irrelevant?

That's an issue that is most definitely impacting on sellers these days, Drop Shipper and Wholesalers alike are using online platforms to increase their own turnover.

It's something that as a seller you need to be aware of, and not always easy as some of these will use a completely different online id to hide their trading identity from customers they are in essence then competing against.

Is it ethical?

Well I guess most sellers wouldn't consider it ethical, however these people are in business to make money, not friends!

Does it mean that just because a supplier sells on the same online platform as you want to sell their products on that there will be no margin at all top do so?

Not at all, but it does depend on the supplier and the product they are selling, but even then you may be able to develop strategies to negate their own marketing techniques.

Bundling is one for example, where a supplier may well be listing several items individually, you may well find two or more items that all work together so far as being able to offer them as a package deal, making your margin one one or two of the products, and selling one or two at cost.

This bundling strategy can then provide a buyer with far more value by buying the bundled option from you, rather that buying each individual item separately from your own actual supplier.

Going against your own supplier isn't the best scenario, but as the world of online retail just gets increasingly more difficult to compete in, it's a scenario that many are going to find themselves in the middle of unfortunately.

Hi rollwithit16,

Although it's true that there are many wholesalers, dropshippers, and even manufacturers who sell their products directly on eBay, sometimes you can compete successfully with them by being smarter about how you list your items.

In my experience, many of these larger businesses don't take much time to consider the best format in which to list particular products, nor the best keywords to use in their titles, best categories, or the best dates and times that research has historically shown to be the most successful to list those particular products.

By being thorough and methodical with your market research, you can sometimes gain an edge on your competition by complying strictly with what has worked well for past listings of those products.

You can also separate yourself from these larger sellers by having a more intimate, personal approach, which many buyers like. You can share a personal anecdote or two in your item description, or create a more conversational listing, and by doing so cause buyers to remember you and buy products from you because they like you and trust the fact that you're a real person, not a huge corporation.

I hope that helps!

Erika G.
Theauctionguru