Dropshipping is a very advantageous business model and it allows a lot of possibilities. One of these possibilities is selling Amazon products on eBay, at a higher price. It’s called Amazon to eBay arbitrage and some may wonder if there are any legal or ethical problems with it. With this article, we’d like to explain every detail of Amazon to eBay arbitrage, and how to exploit this possibility.
What is Amazon to eBay arbitrage?
Amazon to eBay arbitrage is a selling business model that consists in selling products on eBay. The seller doesn’t own the products, and when a customer places their order, the seller purchases the product on Amazon - at a lower price - and sells it at a higher one. It’s a dropshipping business model where Amazon is used as a dropshipping provider and eBay is the marketplace.
The other way round, dropshipping from eBay to Amazon is also possible.
Is Amazon to eBay dropshipping UK legal?
When you buy products on one platform and sell them on another you are not breaking any law, in the UK or any part of the world. Buying and selling at a higher price is the basis of business and commerce.
However, Amazon has terms and conditions that you are supposed to accept when you register an Amazon account. If you go against those terms and conditions, you won’t end up in jail, but you can have your account closed.
What should you know about Amazon's terms and conditions?
We should make a distinction between Regular Amazon users and Prime Users. arbitrage sellers that use a regular account are considered by Amazon as common customers. Just like any other common buyer, arbitrage sellers buy their products, and they are free to do anything they like with them, including selling them on eBay.
Prime users, however, accept other terms and conditions. In particular, those conditions of use say that Prime members aren’t allowed to purchase products for selling them, shipping them to other customers using Prime benefits. Arbitrage sellers aren’t allowed to use Prime memberships on Amazon. You can, however, use a regular membership: you need to renounce Prime benefits (like fast delivery) but you are certain you are not breaking any rule.
What about eBay?
eBay doesn’t support arbitrage. Their policy says that they may suspend or restrict your account on the platform, but there are no signs that eBay is enforcing this policy yet.
How to sell Amazon products on eBay?
1. Select the products you want to sell
The first step is to understand what kind of products you are going to sell. You should base your choice on:
- Your targeted audience and your niche of choice;
- The best selling items on eBay;
- The items that show a lower level of competition (there are not many sellers that are providing that item to eBay customers);
- The items you can find on Amazon. These items should be at a lower price than the ones - of the same category - that are being sold on eBay. This is highly important because it sets your profit margin.
2. Browse through Amazon
Once you know what kind of products you want to sell, you need to find them on Amazon. As we’ve mentioned, make sure you select items that are available on Amazon at a lower price than on eBay.
3. eBay listing
Now it’s time to create your eBay listing. It means that you are going to add all the selected products to your eBay selling account.
You can do it manually or you can transfer your list from Amazon to eBay with an Amazon to eBay lister. This is a tool that allows you to monitor all your items on different platforms so that you don’t have to do it manually or with an Excel file.
4. Fulfill your orders
When a customer places an order on eBay, you need to fulfill it on the Amazon platform and have it sent to your client. The great advantage of using Amazon is that they can take care of the order fulfillment process with Amazon FBA.
But how to use amazon fba to fulfill eBay orders?
When an order is placed, simply purchase the ordered item on the Amazon marketplace and have it sent to your client's address. This is how you can exploit Amazon’s expertise and logistic resources to provide a high-quality service to your customer.
Is Amazon to eBay arbitrage my best choice?
Despite there being almost nothing that can prevent you from doing Amazon to eBay arbitrage, you should in any case consider if this is the best choice for you and your business’ success.
What are the limits of this formula?
The main limit is that if the customers realize that the products you are selling on eBay come from Amazon and that they are available on Amazon at a lower price than what they paid, you’ll have betrayed your customers’ trust. As a consequence, there is a risk that you’ll lose clients, you’ll lose profits, and your business won’t become successful.
Is there a better solution?
If you’ve opted for a dropshipping business model, there are drop shipping service providers that can offer a better service for you and a better shopping experience for your customers. In particular, SaleYee is one of the most known and reliable dropshipping providers.
By using this service, you can exploit every known marketplace, Amazon, eBay, and even your digital store, and sell SaleYees products on those platforms. Once the order is placed, SaleYee will take care of everything: shipping and after-sale care.
You won’t risk your clients that their product is available somewhere else at a lower price, because it won’t be. Saleyee is a dropshipping service, and you need to be registered as a seller, not a common customer.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve discussed the possibilities and limits of Amazon to eBay arbitrage. We’ve also suggested a better option if you want to create a successful selling business exploiting the dropshipping business model.
