EBay and Returns Mediation — The Dropshipper’s Dilemma!

Many people opt for dropshipping because it carries none of the risk normally associated with selling a product. In ordinary retail outlets, the retailer can find good products and suppliers with sites like esources.co.uk. But, they also need to deal with the storage and handling of the product. If the product fails to sell, they need to figure out ways to move their unsold stock. In many cases, the task of housing the product itself can cost a lot of money and use up many resources. In dropshipping, that entire chunk of the retailing equation gets eliminated. The dropshipper doesn’t have to worry about renting warehouses or selling unsold stock. While this may have its benefits, the inability to actually handle stock does have its downside as well. Product returns can become a big headache for dropshippers, but they can be all the more harrowing on sites like eBay.

In the Spotlight

Ordinary retailers have the advantage of having full control over their return policies. They can find great suppliers to work with on esources.co.uk, and they don’t have to worry about the supplier’s returns policy. If a consumer purchases something and wants to return it, retailers can handle the entire transaction on their own. Best of all, the news of the transaction does not need to be advertised in public. In most cases, a consumer will return a product and not think twice about the process. But, things are very different on sites like eBay.

With eBay, a seller’s success hinges on the feedback score. Look at any successful eBay seller, and you’ll find someone who has an enviable feedback score. While finding good products and suppliers on sites like esources.co.uk can help to a certain extent, it is the dropshipper who is ultimately the one who deals with consumers. This means that, if customers want to return something, they will come to you, not the supplier. If you don’t deal with the situation in the right way, it could lead to negative feedback, which in turn can really hurt your eBay sales.

A Fine Balance

Many dropshippers who have used esources.co.uk to find suppliers have been very happy with the service and deals these suppliers have given them. So, when a customer raises a complaint about the product, does the dropshipper take the customer’s side and risk losing a great contact in the industry? Or do they side with the supplier and risk getting bad feedback? There is no easy answer to this — the dropshipper needs to know how to mediate effectively in these areas so that both sides are satisfied.

When dropshipping through eBay, working with reliable suppliers from sites like esources.co.uk can certainly be an asset. But, it’s also worth remembering that the return policy on eBay is very different from other retailing areas. Handling a return in a conventional setting may not affect your business in any way. But, handling a return the wrong way on eBay can really work against your business. This does not mean the dropshipper always has to give in to the customer. It simply means that dropshippers need to know how to mediate between the supplier and consumer in these situations.