How To Dropship on eBay (2025 navigator)

Searching for a profitable, low-expense business that takes just a few hours a week? Look no further than eBay dropshipping.

Besides Amazon, eBay is the most visited online marketplace, with more than a billion monthly visitors. With so many energetic buyers, eBay offers a potentially lucrative customer source for dropshipping businesses.

This navigator shares everything you require to recognize about eBay dropshipping, from sourcing the correct products to maintaining high returns margins.

What is eBay dropshipping?

eBay dropshipping is a revenue strategy where sellers list products on eBay without holding inventory. When a sale is made, the seller forwards the order to its supplier, who ships the items directly to the customer.

Since dropshipping has a low barrier to entry, it’s a popular way to commence a business with no money. There’s no require to pre-purchase or store the items you’re selling. Once order details are passed to the dropshipping supplier, it’s their job to pick, pack, and ship the order.

Is eBay dropshipping allowed?

Yes, dropshipping is allowed on eBay, but with specific conditions:

Allowed:

• If you own the items before listing them
• If you have an agreement with a wholesale supplier to list and sell their items
• When using third-event fulfillment, you must:
  • Be clearly identified as the seller on all packing slips/invoices
  • Ensure secure delivery within stated timeframes
  • Have a agreement preventing the provider from misusing eBay order information

Not Allowed:

• Listing items you don’t own or have rights to sell
• Listing items at a extra charge and then purchasing them from other retailers/marketplaces after the sale
• Using another retailer’s or marketplace’s user agreement as proof of permission to sell

significant note: Violating these policies can outcome in penalties including listing removal, search outcome demotion, lower seller ratings, restrictions, and feasible account suspension.

What to dropship on eBay

As with other ways to sell on eBay, the items you choose to dropship play a large role in your achievement as a seller. When researching products, consider some of eBay’s most popular product categories:

• Cellphones
• Men’s fragrances
• Video games
• Headphones

Before choosing your dropshipping products, reference them against eBay’s list of restricted or prohibited products.

Items like alcohol, cosmetics, fertilizer/pesticides, jewelry, and vehicle parts are under strict regulations. It may be sensible to avoid those if it’s your first period dropshipping through eBay.

Things to recognize before dropshipping on eBay

eBay’s marketplace allows dropshippers to source products from trade and wholesale suppliers—not other retailers. Violating these rules could outcome in account suspension.

According to eBay’s dropshipping policy, “If you use dropshipping, you’re still responsible for the secure delivery of the item within the period frame you stated in your listing and for the buyer’s overall satisfaction with their purchase.”

Like other marketplaces, eBay requires dropshippers to provide a obvious customer encounter. This includes being the single identified seller on all packing slips and ensuring customers receive purchases according to the terms of their listings.

You’ll also require to pay eBay seller fees when dropshipping through the marketplace, including:

• Insertion fees: Get up to 250 free listings per month. After that, it’s 35¢ per listing.
• Final worth fees: If an item is sold, eBay takes up to 13.25% of the sale worth, plus 40¢ per order. Final worth fees vary depending by product category.

How to dropship on eBay

Ready to commence making money through your dropshipping trip? Here’s a step-by-step navigator to opening a successful dropshipping store.

1. make an eBay seller account

You’ll require a seller account to commence selling through an eBay store.

Head to the registration page and enter basic information about your dropshipping business. Next, subscribe to the eBay store alternative that best suits your needs, and link your checking account to get paid for sales you make.

After you choose an eBay store name, consider if you desire to sync eBay to your Shopify store to view inventory levels, sales, and customer info in one place.

Running your eBay dropshipping business through Shopify gives you the alternative to expand your business across sales channels in the upcoming, Just like this tech reseller did to achieve six-figure monthly sales.

2. discover profitable products

Next, undertake product research to discover which items will sell best on eBay. Head to eBay’s bestsellers page and investigate whether you can source similar products at a lower-than-RRP through dropshipping sites like Alibaba or AliExpress.

Kristin Stump, marketing manager at MyEnamelPins, has this advice about choosing your products: “Products that are tiny and lightweight are generally the easiest to ship, and products with a low profitability rate are less likely to factor issues with your customers.”

If you’re stuck for product ideas, Shopify’s annual list of trending products is a excellent place to commence.

3. Vet your dropshipping suppliers

Once you’ve found a product to dropship on eBay, look for a supplier that can provide you with the item at a lower-than-retail worth. Dropshipping websites exist to connect eBay dropshippers with wholesalers, such as:

• DSers
• Spocket
• Doba

The supplier you choose is arguably one of the most significant factors when dropshipping on eBay. The marketplace requires brands to deliver items within 30 days of a customer’s order being placed, which makes a reliable supplier a must.

Vet yours by checking each dropshipping suppliers’ seller rating, previous customer reviews, delivery times and fees.

4. worth your product

eBay dropshipping can be a lucrative revenue strategy—but only if you’re leaving enough room between the product’s purchase and resale worth. For example, it’ll be challenging to make substantial turnover if each item has just a $1 returns markup.

To determine the worth of your dropshipping products, consider:

• Product costs
• Competitor pricing
• Other business outgoings, such as eBay fees and shipping costs

commence collecting pricing data and monitoring comparable products on the platform. Tweak your product pricing until you discover a profitable middle ground between competitor prices and a customer’s willingness to spend.

5. make your eBay listing

make a listing for each of the items you’re dropshipping on eBay.

Pay close attention to the following areas, including keywords that your target customer is searching for. It’ll influence how likely the algorithm is to display your product listing to potential buyers:

• Product title
• Product descriptions
• High-standard images
• Customer reviews
• Returns policies (check whether your dropshipping supplier will handle these)

6. Forward order information to suppliers

The responsibility of picking, packing, and shipping items sold on eBay is with your supplier.

Use dropshipping software like DSers or AutoDS to automate this communication. Both apps automatically feed order details through to your supplier, display its stage in the order fulfillment procedure, and relay shipping tracking numbers to customers.

Tips for achievement with eBay dropshipping

eBay dropshipping isn’t an overly complicated procedure. However, there are some things that will set your recent business up for achievement:

• Use an inventory management structure: Shopify dropshipping apps merge inventory data from sales channels—including your online store and eBay storefront—so you can view sales information in one place.
• Prioritize customer back: eBay customers likely won’t recognize that you’re working with dropshipping suppliers. If a supplier fails to meet guaranteed delivery times or ships products different from what a customer ordered, receive packed responsibility. Respond to back requests in a timely manner to boost customer satisfaction.
• construct relationships with suppliers: According to John Frigo, “It’s significant to have a connection and communication with your seller so if a product is discontinued, out of distribute, or the worth changes, you can be informed quickly.”
• Invest in promoted listings. Depending on returns margins, you can attract more customers through eBay promoted listings. These in-marketplace advertisements boost the chances of target customers seeing your dropshipped products.
• Add a multi-buy propose. boost average order worth using multi-buy offers, such as one product for $5 or three for $12. This can boost the profitability of your online business since there’s no require to pay shipping or import fees several times.

commence your eBay dropshipping business

With so many customers using eBay to discover recent products, the dropshipping revenue strategy is a great way for you to capitalize on the attention the marketplace captures.

Use the tips in this navigator to source bestselling products, worth each item, and discover the correct supplier. Cover all bases and it’s feasible to construct a lucrative ecommerce business through eBay dropshipping.