Is eBay Dropshipping dead?

When you think of drop shipping, eBay probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. You’re more inclined to think about selling on Amazon or, better yet, launching your own dropshipping Shopify store. That makes sense because this is where the actual money is made.

Despite its low visibility (and a tumultuous past with drop shipping), eBay drop shipping still has a lot going for it. It’s ideal to think of it as a stepping stone to a career as an e-commerce entrepreneur. Drop shipping on eBay may not provide a six-figure income, but it may certainly provide a four- or five-figure income. Furthermore, when compared to selling on Amazon or opening your own e-commerce store, eBay has several advantages in terms of ease and affordability.

So, here’s all you need to know about dropshipping on eBay:

Is eBay dropshipping dead? 

A couple of years ago, there was a lot of chatter about dropshipping on eBay being dead. The truth, on the other hand, is a little more complicated.

“Dropshipping” on eBay is not all it seems

Back in the mid-2020s, a lot of so-called “drop shippers” started doing something pretty unfair:

• They found products on retail sites like Amazon and Walmart.
• They advertised these products on their eBay store, just at a higher price.
• When a customer purchased from them, they ordered the product to be delivered to the customer from Amazon or Walmart and pocketed the difference in price.

EBay customers were even receiving their products in Amazon-branded boxes sometimes, with receipts showing the real amount the “drop shipper” had paid. Unsurprisingly, the customers were unhappy. And so was eBay. Their brand was being damaged.

EBay says enough is enough

So, a couple of years ago, eBay drastically changed its rules for what drop shippers on eBay were allowed to do.

This is when lots of articles and videos popped up saying “Dropshipping on eBay is dead.”

In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. That’s because what was going on before was not genuine drop shipping. It was pretty much a scam.

EBay is very much alive for real drop shippers

For real drop shippers, eBay is still a good place to be. It sees huge volumes of commerce going through its marketplace. In the last 3 months of 2022, goods worth $22 billion were bought and sold on eBay.

This is a market that’s simply too big to miss out on. Sure, the long-term growth potential is smaller than on other marketplaces. But on the other hand, eBay is pretty straightforward to get started on and it’s low risk.

You can make a decent living drop shipping on eBay for sure. There are just a few things you’ll need to understand, starting with eBay’s drop shipping policy.