How to DropShip on eBay

What is eBay?

eBay is an online auction and shopping website that facilitates auctions and customer-to-customer sales. (although in 2019, we’re not sure how you might not know that…!) There are eBay websites worldwide, which makes selling internationally straightforward, and it’s free to open an eBay seller account. You can also set up an eBay shop, so customers can see all of your products in one place too.

eBay by numbers

What can I sell on eBay?

There’s a whole world of things that you can sell on eBay – the first item ever sold was a broken laser pointer! Although you might think you can sell absolutely everything on eBay, that’s not strictly true – there is an extensive list of items you can’t sell. Although we doubt you want to sell things like human body parts, weeds or illegal drugs, there are restrictions on certain other items that you might not have thought of. Jewellery and perfumes, for example, both have restrictions when it comes to categories they need to be listed in. Before you start listing, it’s a good idea to check the prohibited and restricted items policy. By checking before you start listing, you can avoid wasting time because you accidentally miscategorised ‘fashion jewellery’ as ‘fine jewellery’, for example.

Your step-by-step guide to selling on eBay

Find your supplier(s)

This might be incredibly easy if you’re already set up on a DropShipping platform. With Avasam, once you’ve signed up as a seller, all you need to do is to request approval from the supplier(s) you want to work with, and away you go!

If you’re not using a platform, consider whether your DropShipping business will benefit from using one (it almost certainly will!) and consider your supplier options carefully. Your supplier should be open about the service level they are offering, (Amazon Prime standards are desirable!) and have great reviews.

Find great products

You might have identified what you want to sell before you find your suppliers. Whichever way round you do it, you’ll have done suitable research into what sells well, your niche and your target customers before you get started selling. This will help you with your marketing and so you know that you’re using the right sort of language – including keywords – to appeal to your target demographic.

Create your eBay seller account

This is pretty easy to do – simply visit eBay.co.uk and sign up! Be careful when choosing your username – if the username you pick could be offensive, you risk losing customers. Not only that, you might violate the eBay username policy – which means potential problems for you if listings get cancelled or your account gets suspended. To find out more about username restrictions, check the eBay Username Policy.

Start listing!

This is your time to shine! Get those products on eBay so you can start making sales. If you’re using an automated DropShipping platform with eBay integration like Avasam, it’s going to be pretty simple to do. Don’t forget to take into account eBay and supplier fees when you’re setting prices, and find information to help you determine the best way of selling – either via carefully chosen timed auctions or Buy It Now.

Carry on selling

Once your eBay listings are set up, you can start selling and marketing your products. You’ll also need to start building your reputation, so make sure your supplier is fulfilling your orders (your platform will make it easy), that discontinued or out-of-stock items are removed (your platform will make it easy) and you add new items regularly (again… your platform will make it easy!). Keep customers satisfied by replying to enquiries or complaints quickly and professionally, so they have a positive experience even if something has gone wrong. A review stating that ‘something went wrong but you dealt with it brilliantly’ is much better for your business than one that complains about lots of errors, poor communication and a negative outcome.

Sell on eBay worldwide

As you get the hang of selling on eBay in your home country, you’ll find it easy to sell on other eBay marketplaces worldwide. You might need to consult with your supplier to make sure they are able to fulfil orders to those countries, and if not, consider working with suppliers geographically closer to the countries you want to sell in. Don’t assume that what sells well in one country will sell well elsewhere. Make sure you’ve done suitable customer and product research before jumping in and potentially wasting your time. Find out more about requirements for selling internationally with eBay here.

Advantages of selling on eBay

eBay makes it easy to start selling

For some platforms, setting up an account and getting started is pretty complicated. For eBay, it really isn’t! All you need to do is visit the Registration page, enter your details and click register. Once you’ve got your account, you can start listing products for sale immediately. There’s no wait for approval, and no configuration required.

If you’re about to start DropShipping using a platform, we recommend making sure your platform directly integrates with eBay. That way, order information and tracking data gets pushed to eBay automatically – meaning less time spent on admin for you, and customers are happier because they know the status of their orders.

eBay has millions of users

You want your products in front of many potential customers as possible, so you can make as many sales as possible! There’s an estimated 182 million eBay users worldwide (as of 2019) – is that enough potential for you? By selling on eBay, you can spend less time and money on marketing, SEO and paid traffic. You’ll simply need to write great quality listings with plenty of information.

Disadvantages of selling on eBay

Listing fees

There’s a small fee per listing (although your first 50 listings are free) and 10% of your total sale price is taken as the ‘final value fee’. Since profit margins can be incredibly slim when DropShipping, it’s worth considering these fees before deciding whether eBay is the right marketplace for your business. If you’re in the first throes of starting your business, paying listing fees might end up coming out of your own pocket.

Few customisation options

Building a customer base that is loyal to your brand is important. Unfortunately, it’s also difficult to achieve, especially when marketplaces are relatively anonymous. eBay doesn’t allow for much customisation for your shop or listings, so it can be hard to build repeat custom or build brand loyalty.

eBay worldwide

There’s loads of things to think about when you’re considering selling internationally. Language, time zones, the exchange rate, shipping costs… It all adds up. However, selling internationally through eBay, can be easy – especially when you’ve got an automated DropShipping platform to handle your processes. With 23 international eBay websites, you really can take your pick and sell in the countries that customers want your products.

As all countries will have different rules when it comes to tax, customs and item restrictions, we strongly advise that you investigate the requirements before you start considering the country. Make sure you calculate shipping and supplier costs on top of any duties and taxes – even if there is customer demand for your products, there’s no point in selling there if you don’t make profits.

eBay Australia (ebay.com.au)

The world’s 13th largest economy spends a huge amount buying from overseas retailers – over £3.37 billion, actually! With a huge ex-pat community, and the fact that there are no language translations required means that there is huge potential for selling on eBay Australia. The biggest issue is delivery times. Since many Avasam sellers and suppliers are in the northern hemisphere, we’re looking at least 24 hours to transport products into the country. Trackability will be key for selling to keeping your Australian customers happy.

eBay Austria (ebay.at)

With a population of 8.7 million, and two-thirds being active online shoppers, Austria is a country that loves eCommerce. Buying from international sellers is routine for them, and customers there are more tolerant of slightly longer delivery times. However, you’ll need to provide customer service in German – remembering that there are variations in the language from region to region.

eBay Belgium (ebay.be)

Belgian shoppers regularly shop from international marketplaces, and there are plenty that are popular across the Benelux region (that’s Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – we had to check too!). With around 11 and a quarter million people, that’s a huge amount of potential sales. Currency exchange aside, the main issue you need to worry about when it comes to selling in Belgium is the issue of language. Officially, Dutch, French and German are all spoken, with local regional variations of Dutch. eBay offers two websites for Belgian customers – one in French and one in Dutch. Since you’ll need to provide listings, and customer service in these languages (no, Google Translate is not the answer – here’s why!) you’ll need to establish if selling in Belgium on eBay is the right move for your business.

eBay Canada (ebay.ca)

The population of Canada is over 36 million people, and almost 70% of eCommerce orders in Canada come from international retailers. That’s around $18 billion you could be taking a slice of! Like other countries, Canada has two official languages – so eBay offer an English Canadian site and French Canadian site. Can you speak French well enough to offer great customer service, or will you need to use a translation service? Canada has complicated tax structures too, so doing your research is essential before you start selling there.

eBay China (ebay.cn)

At first thought, you might think that selling good to China isn’t likely to be worth your time. Well, as ever, you’ll have to carefully weigh up the pros and cons. But over 200 million people purchase goods from overseas, spending on average just under $500 on each those purchases. So, there are opportunities if you want to sell to China – but you’ll need to consider whether you can make enough profit once you’ve factored shipping costs in, especially if you need to use a translation service. As always… Do your research and work out whether you can make it work for your business.

eBay France (ebay.fr)

Why do so many of us holiday in France? Apart from the wine and the cheese, it’s because it is geographically close by and easy to get there. Well, that applies to shipping products you’ve sold there too! France has an eCommerce market of over €70 billion, and 29% of the population shop from UK retailers, so there’s plenty of chance for you to make sales in France. Obviously, you’ll need to be able to provide listings in French, but you’ll also need to be able to provide different shipping options, so check with your supplier before you jump into selling on eBay.fr.

eBay Germany (ebay.de)

Like France, the German eCommerce market is booming – around €71 billion, and with around a third of customers buying from overseas. If you’re selling in Germany, and you can provide your listings and customer service in German, you will want to consider selling in other German-speaking countries to maximise the return on your time invested.

eBay Ireland (ebay.ie)

With over 80% of the Irish population ordering from international retailers, and geographicalproximity to UK and European suppliers makes DropShipping to customers there easy. Many Irish customers look for British retailers, so there’s plenty of opportunities to sell there by using UK suppliers, even if you’re based overseas.

eBay Italy (ebay.it)

Although Italian customers aren’t spending as much online as some other European countries, eCommerce there is growing. For sellers, growth means opportunities! Many customers are seeking products from international sellers that they can’t get from domestic sellers, so being careful with your research will pay off when selling in Italy. Another point of caution – 63% of Italian customers want free delivery when they make their purchase, so be sure to factor that in, as well as language translation costs.

eBay Hong Kong (ebay.com.hk)

From a population of less than 7.25 million, you might not think there’s much of an opportunity to sell to Hong Kong, especially considering the geographical proximity to China. But over 88% of consumers made at least one purchase online in the last year, and that number is rising. Don’t be fooled into thinking that selling in Hong Kong is the same as China though. Customer behaviour is dramatically different, as are the technicalities of selling there, so be careful when planning your strategy.

eBay Malaysia (ebay.com.my)

With a population of over 31 million, there’s a huge demand for cross-border eCommerce in Malaysia. At least 97% of consumers have previously shopped online, and around 40% of that is shipped from international sellers. Payment security is a concern for shoppers in Malaysia, which is why marketplaces like eBay are popular. You’ll need to think about translation services, although English is widely spoken.

eBay Netherlands (ebay.nl)

Being geographically close to the UK and much of Europe makes the Netherlands a great place to sell. Over a third of the population make purchases from outside the country, generally from the UK, the US, China, Germany and Belgium. eBay is particularly popular with customers there, so it’s a good choice to break into the market. However, if you want to be successful on eBay.nl, you’ll need to bear in mind that over 98% of the population speak Dutch, and generally prefer to shop from retailers who use Dutch for their listings. If you’re going to need translation services to make that happen, don’t forget you’ll need to factor that into your costs.

eBay Philippines (ebay.ph)

eCommerce in the Philippines is expected to reach around $19 billion by 2025. eCommerce sales have been slow growing compared with other countries, but that means there is a lot of potential to create customer loyalty. Over 60% of shoppers make purchases from overseas, but there are few secure payment facilities in the Philippines, so most shoppers head for marketplaces with inbuilt security like eBay. English is widely spoken, but you may need to consider translation services for your listings, and of course you’ll need to consider shipping costs when considering whether selling on eBay.ph is right for your business.

eBay Poland (ebay.pl)

Over a third of Polish consumers shop internationally, and Poland’s eCommerce market has grown exponentially over the last five years. Customers there spend around €10 billion currently, but that figure is expected to grow significantly over the next few years. There’s specific regulations for selling in Poland, and of course language and currency to consider when planning your marketing strategy for selling there, but selling on eBay.pl can be a good addition to your selling strategy.

eBay Singapore (ebay.com.sg)

Singapore’s eCommerce market is estimated to be around $3.3. billion. Alongside Malaysia, it’s the second biggest eCommerce market in south-east Asia. Well over half of the population purchase from retailers outside the country, so there is significant opportunity for making sales there. Not only that, Singapore uses English as a working language, so you can list on eBay.com.sg without needing translation services.

eBay Spain (ebay.es)

Spanish customers are fond of marketplaces such as eBay, which is where the majority of eCommerce sales are made. However, over 60% of customers purchase from overseas retailers, and the eCommerce market in Spain is currently over €18.2 billion. If you’re ready to jump in, you’ll need great listings and customer support in Spanish. Since Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages worldwide, it is worth investing, as you can use those translations in Latin American countries as your business grows.

eBay Switzerland (ebay.ch)

Swiss customers have high levels of income, and so they tend to make higher-value purchases. That means with the right products, you might be able to sell fewer items, but make more on each sale. Over 61% of customers shop with cross-border retailers, so eBay.ch is a good option. However, the challenge when selling in Switzerland is that there are four official languages – German, French, Italian and Romansh. eBay.ch uses German, but since not all Swiss customers are fluent, they might use a different eBay marketplace.

eBay Taiwan (eBay.com.tw)

With a population of over 23.5 million people, cross-border eCommerce is huge in Taiwan. Over 84% of Taiwanese customers say they would be happy to buy from international retailers – meaning there is a huge amount of potential sales available! Selling in Taiwan isn’t without challenge though – shipping to south-east Asia isn’t always fast or cheap. Further, since a number of languages are spoken in Taiwan, you’ll need to be able to translate your services and listings to make the most of the potential sales on offer there.

eBay Thailand (eBay.co.th)

Thai eCommerce is very much in it’s infancy – still valued at less than a billion. But over the next five years, that is expected to grow to $11.1 billion – presenting sellers with huge opportunities! Over two-thirds of customers that shop online have bought from cross-border retailers. Marketplaces are popular in Thailand, with Lazada leading the way. Thailand makes the most eBay sales in the south-east Asia region, so find yourself a translation service that can help you, and work with your suppliers to ensure great shipping rates to make the most of eBay.co.th.

eBay UK (eBay.co.uk)

As we said previously, for UK businesses that are considering marketplaces, the huge market share that eBay holds makes it almost a no-brainer. The UK has an enormous eCommerce market, with over 87% of consumers shopping online. Only US and China eCommerce sales outperform the UK! Since there are no translation services required, and shipping from UK suppliers is fast and often free, selling in the UK on eBay appears to be a logical choice – especially for new sellers. However, it’s important to do your research and ensure your target customers are actually using eBay – you might find other platforms are more fruitful.

eBay US (eBay.com)

How many customers would you like? eBay.com has over 107 million visitors every single month – that’s a lot of potential sales! Around a third of the US population (around 100 million) are prepared to shop with overseas retailers too. Since there are no language barriers, all you need to do is make sure you have the right products and that your supplier can provide fast shipping. Over half of online shoppers who order from international retailers want their products within 4-5 days, so manage your customer expectations and be transparent about expected shipping time when you’re creating your listings.

eBay Vietnam (eBay.vn)

Vietnam is almost certainly not going to be your first thought when it comes to selling overseas. In previous years, there has been barriers to the growth of the eCommerce industry that included poor infrastructure, expensive shipping and security of online payments. However, since a number of Free Trade Agreements were implemented in 2016, many experts have predicted that eCommerce in Vietnam will multiply quickly. Not only that, over 45% of Vietnamese customers have bought from international retailers, and more than a third make international purchases annually. Challenges today when selling on eBay Vietnam are mostly concerned with shipping and language translations, but there’s definitely opportunities, so don’t assume it isn’t worth your time.

DropShipping on eBay

Since you can sell such a huge range of products and the marketplace is so popular, there’s little wonder that eBay is one of the first places sellers think of when they’re starting out. Here’s a few tips for when you’re selling on eBay:

Automate as much as possible

It will come as no surprise to you when we say that eBay is a highly competitive marketplace. To really succeed on eBay, you’re looking at a high volume, low profit margin approach. In plain English, that means you need to sell absolutely loads of items, but each item will only make a small profit. Because of that, you’re not going to want to waste time on administrative tasks. Remember, each listing takes the same amount of effort, so consider selling higher value goods, or using multi-item listings – customers are happy that they are getting a good deal, and you can make more profits.

When you’re choosing your DropShipping platform, make sure it takes care of as many of your administrative processes as possible. Rather than spending time sending updates, use a platform that takes care of those admin tasks and connects directly with marketplaces such as eBay (like Avasam does!). You’ll find your time freed to focus on your marketing, so you can sell more.

Manage your pricing

Customers head for eBay because they’re looking for bargain deals. Makes sense, when you think that eBay started out as an online auction website that people could sell second-hand good on. That’s still true today, but the majority of items sold on eBay today are brand new.

With DropShipping, bargain hunters present a bit of a problem. Your suppliers set their price, and you’ve got to pay your eBay listing costs too – so if you lower the price of your products too much, your margins can become too thin, or worse, you end up out of pocket. Here’s a couple of things you can do to keep your profits consistent:

Make sure your products are available

This is a mistake that many sellers make when they’re using manual DropShipping setups. If you’re downloading inventory files from your suppliers and then manually adding listings to eBay, the chances of your product being out of stock when you actually sell it are a lot higher than you’d want. Your supplier being out of stock means you need to cancel orders, leading to customers being annoyed, leaving negative feedback and generally giving you a headache.

An obvious thing to do is to check stock daily to ensure you take down any listings that your supplier is out of stock with, but that’s time-consuming and you can’t guarantee you won’t make any errors.

The solution is to connect to your supplier using an automated DropShipping platform. The best platforms will automatically update your listings with numbers of items available at your supplier, but will also allow you to set a rule for minimum stock levels. That means the platform tells eBay that you’re out of stock when your supplier has a certain number of that item left in stock. By doing so, you’re further minimising the risk of having to cancel orders, or deal with frustrated customers.

Ensure prompt delivery

OK, so this is mostly out of your hands when you’re DropShipping. That’s why you should spend time ensuring your suppliers are reliable and worth working with. As a minimum, you’ll be checking reviews on Trustpilot, but by using a platform to manage your business, you can check ratings and reviews there. Some platforms have verification programmes for their suppliers, and tell you the service level they agree to provide. If it’s possible for you to meet your intended supplier, we recommend that you do, because building a good relationship with your supplier means they are likely to take better care of dispatching promptly for you.

Another reason to use a platform for your DropShipping is that updates get sent from suppliers to eBay (and other marketplaces) automatically. Keeping your customer up to date on the status of their order goes a long way to them being happy, and leaving good reviews.

If you find your supplier isn’t providing fast, reliable delivery (especially if they’re overseas suppliers, like some platforms primarily use) then it’s time to move on. Great DropShipping platforms have multiple suppliers, so you can adjust your suppliers accordingly – and work with more than one supplier, without having to use multiple setups.

Timing is everything

Setting up auction listings to finish at the best time is an art – you’ll need to think about your target customers, and what factors might cause them to be searching eBay at a certain time. Weekends between 4pm and 7pm are usually busy on eBay, so having auctions finishing then might be a good plan, but don’t assume that will be the case. As you make more sales, use your data to establish when customers bid on your items, and refine your strategy accordingly.

Is DropShipping allowed on eBay?

DropShipping is allowed on eBay, but it is restricted. You must be fulfilling orders from a wholesale supplier – which if you’re using Avasam, is absolutely no problem.

The restriction kicks in if you’re reselling items from other websites or marketplaces. You will almost certainly be penalised long term if you try and take this approach. We’re talking about your listings being removed, or lowered in the search results. You might even find eBay will lower your status, or disable your account altogether. Our recommendation is that it’s best not to risk it.

Is DropShipping on eBay worth it?

There’s a lot of people who are making money DropShipping on eBay. However, there is also a lot of people who will tell you it isn’t worth focusing your DropShipping sales on eBay, for a number of reasons.

eBay listing fees can end up being expensive. You’ll need to pay a listing fee as well as a final value fee, and if you want your own eBay shop, you’ll need to pay a subscription for that too. Because listing fees are non-refundable, if your item doesn’t sell, you’ll need to pay – and how much you pay depends on whether you have a shop subscription. And that’s as well as remembering that listing (and optional listing upgrade) fees will continue to be applied monthly until you cancel the items. That means that you need to be on top of your listings and really, only list what sells well on eBay.

In addition, you need to remember that when you’re selling on eBay, customers think they’re buying ‘from eBay’ rather than from a seller on eBay. That means you’re not increasing brand awareness, or encouraging repeat custom. There’s not much scope for marketing to customers, or building any kind of loyalty to you – customers who order from you through eBay are simply loyal to eBay.

So what does this all mean for sellers? Well, DropShipping on eBay can be profitable for sellers with the right demographic and the right products. However, because of the issues we’ve outlined here, we recommend not relying solely on eBay sales. Our recommendation is that sellers get themselves a great DropShipping platform that offers them plenty of automation and connections to marketplaces. With that in place, DropShipping on eBay can become part of a wider selling strategy – meaning that you can make sales on eBay, but eBay sales aren’t your sole focus. Your eBay sales simply add to your business success, alongside your sales on other marketplaces, such as Amazon, Groupon, Wish and so on.

Alternatives to DropShipping on eBay

If you aren’t sure that eBay is right for your business, you’ll be looking for the right options. Here’s a list of some of our favourite, tried-and-tested marketplaces that we know sellers make great sales on:

Amazon

We probably don’t even need to tell you about this one! Like eBay, there are lots of rules and regulations when it comes to selling on Amazon. We won’t replicate that here, but there’s definitely a lot to consider before jumping in and trying to sell on Amazon. And that’s before we even mention the enormous amount of competition already making huge amounts of sales! If you’d rather be a big fish in a small pond, then Amazon might not be for you, but it’s definitely worth considering, especially when it comes to selling overseas.

Wish

The Wish marketplace is predominantly populated with products from China that are super-cheap, but customers know they have to wait for. With some customers prepared to pay slightly more for faster shipping, if your suppliers are able to provide that then Wish might be for you. You can sell most product categories on Wish, and to most countries worldwide.

Groupon

Although Groupon started out as a ‘daily deals’ email service, it has rapidly grown a marketplace that sellers can list almost anything for sale. With a broad range of categories to sell on, customers turn to the Groupon app to browse when they are bored, or are looking for a fantastic deal. That means you need to be able to offer absolute bargains to make the best of selling on Groupon, or your margins may become too thin. Groupon offers websites all over the globe, so it’s worth looking into Groupon as an option if you’re looking to sell in other countries.

Wayfair

If you’re selling furniture or homewares, you will almost certainly be considering selling on Wayfair. It’s a marketplace that sellers can list their items – but there’s not just one marketplace. Wayfair continues to expand, and they offer international shipping from websites in the US, Canada, Germany and the UK. Make sure you know where your supplier is happy to ship to before you start listing your items.

Trade Me

Fancy making sales in New Zealand? It’s not as hard as you might think. Trade Me is the most popular eCommerce website in New Zealand, and has the same types of categories that eBay does. Clearly, if you’re in the northern hemisphere, you’ll need to consider shipping times and costs, and manage your customer expectations accordingly.

Fyndiq

Selling ‘small moments of joy’ to Swedish customers since 2010, Fyndiq is the ‘online bargain superstore’. To make the best of Fyndiq, you can sell almost anything (not food) as long as it’s low cost. Although Fyndiq is aimed primarily at Sweden, 7.3 million adults there spend around 8 billion online each year – so there’s plenty of potential to make sales, as long as your supplier can ship there promptly.

Coolshop

Coolshop are a marketplace website with a wide range of categories that primarily target northern Europe and Scandinavia. There’s specific websites for the UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands, so you can better target your Coolshop sales. Sellers in eCommerce recommend Coolshop for their seller support; you get access to a dedicated account manager, and access to the lowest rates of commission around.

Spartoo

One of the leading fashion websites, with a presence in 25 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, Spartoo has fantastic brand awareness across Europe. There’s strict criteria you’ll need to meet before you can list your products, and there’s a monthly fee and commission on the final sales price. You can try it free for three months using this link.

Linio

If you’re ready to sell across a number of categories to customers in Latin America, then Linio is where you need to be. With over 30 million monthly visitors, and no monthly or membership fees, (commission on each sale is between 7-15%) Linio is a great, low-risk option for sellers looking to scale up their operations internationally.

Ozon

One of the most popular marketplaces in Russia, Ozon helps sellers reach around a million visitors daily, and the mobile app has been downloaded over 7 million times. Much like Amazon, Ozon started as a bookstore, before diversifying – you can now sell across a wide range of categories. You may need to look at cash-on delivery options, as well as (of course) engaging with translation services to get the most out of selling on Ozon.

Bol.com

The most popular online retailer in the Netherlands and Belgium, over 55% of people across the region shop at bol.com. The website actually sells more items than Amazon in the region! Your listings content and support needs to be in Dutch, although you can outsource your support to third party suppliers. Not only that, if your supplier uses GTINs (barcodes) then you simply need to add that to your listing and the translation is taken care of. You’ll pay a commission on what you sell – but there’s no monthly fees.

Reverb

Reverb launched in 2013 as a marketplace for guitars and related equipment. Today, it has evolved and you can sell almost anything music related – from amps to DJ and lighting equipment to instruments and home audio. You can even sell music software on there! They partner with big-name artists such as Green Day and Ray Lamontagne – drawing large numbers of potential customers. With Reverb, you only pay a fee if your listing sells, so there’s no risk of losing money on subscriptions.

Tophatter

A fast-paced auction website might not be the first place you think of to make the most of your DropShipping sales, but used carefully as part of a wider strategy, it can be pretty lucrative. The bonus here is that customers don’t get long on each sale to think about whether they want to bid or not – so you can benefit from plenty of impulse purchases. Over 80% of customers rate Tophatter ‘Excellent’ or ‘Great’ on Trustpilot too, so there’s plenty of social proof to encourage new shoppers to make purchases.

Privalia

With over 16 million customers across Italy and Spain and many more customers registered across Brazil and Mexico, Privalia presents a great opportunity for sellers with the right products. Products that sell on Privalia are fashion items, but we’re talking mid-range to luxury brands – we’re talking about Levi’s, Fred Perry to Swarovski and Armani. There’s a few requirements, and one of those is needing to be able to offer customer service in Italian and Spanish. If you meet the requirements though, there’s no membership or subscription fees, just commission on each sale.

Mercado Libre

Mercado Libre is the largest eCommerce marketplace in Latin America. The site has over 600 million potential customers, in 18 countries across the region. You only need one account to sell in all those countries, and there are extensive partnership options available to help take care of shipping. Not only that, there is automatic translation available to Spanish and Portuguese. There’s no listing fees either – you’ll just pay a fee on the final product cost.

Flipkart

Flipkart is India’s biggest marketplace, and received more than 65% market share in many categories, including electronics and homewares. You can reach more than 1 billion customers by listing on Flipkart, and again, there’s no listing fees. You’ll need to carefully consider shipping and taxes, alongside potential translation requirements.

Elala

Elala is another Indian marketplace with a broad range of categories. With just under 1.4 billion people in India today, that’s a lot of potential exposure for your products. The marketplace tells your customers who they are buying from, and you’ll have a store page that contains just your products, so there’s potential to start building brand loyalty. You’ll only need to pay a small commission on your sales too – there’s no upfront subscription charges.

Tanga

Tanga is a marketplace for US customers looking for a great deal, and they aim to offer great deals to sellers too! They have two models for selling, so you can work however suits you best. Because of the emphasis on great deals, you’ll need to have great prices, however international shipping is expected, so customers are happy to wait a while for delivery. You will need to provide tracking information for shipping – but in most cases, if you’re using a DropShipping platform, that information will be automatically sent from your supplier’s carrier.

Shopclues

Shopclues is a slightly smaller Indian marketplace than Elala, but has a wide range of categories for you to list on. With so many customers buying online in India, even the smaller marketplaces can net you plenty of sales! Shopclues offers sellers a pay when you sell model, with no monthly subscription or listing fees, so if your DropShipping platform offers a direct integration and your supplier can provide shipping, there’s very little risk involved.

Yatego

Yatego is a European marketplace catering to over 3.4 million German-speaking customers every month. There’s a huge range of categories, and when you start selling you can work with a personal advisor in the first four weeks that you sell on Yatego. You’ll need to consider how well you can translate your listings, and whether the monthly fees suit your business.