Drop shippers

[ebikemom]

Hi all,

I was just reading an article in the NYT this morning about online stores that sell all sorts of products as drop-shippers--they don't have an actual warehouse, but order the items from another seller when they get an order. Some may order from China... others buy retail from another online seller and then re-sell at a higher retail price. This was all interesting because it was news to me.

Then I thought about ebikes--I wonder how many online stores are drop-shippers? What does this sort of store do for a customer that would make it advantageous to buy from the drop-shipper rather than directly from the manufacturer? How does a buyer know whether or not a storefront online is a store with personnel who can help them on the ground, or a person who then orders from someone else and ships to them? What value does a drop-shipper add, or not, to the process?

I know next to nothing about this topic--just curious to learn more.

 

[DDBB]

Good questions for sure. Anyone can make it appear that they have an actual store but are simply middlemen. It's not a free ride though. If you buy from a company that's actually just drop shipping your bike, they are still on the hook for warranty support, parts etc.

 

[LewSchiller]

Good questions for sure. Anyone can make it appear that they have an actual store but are simply middlemen. It's not a free ride though. If you buy from a company that's actually just drop shipping your bike, they are still on the hook for warranty support, parts etc.

Yeaaah...but...all they have to do is fold their tent and disappear. Once they get past the credit card chargeback window you have no recourse.

 

[pnop]

This was discussed concerning Wal Mart the other day. Search for nearly anything and Wal Mart will come up. It will note on the site order page
"Not for Pickup".

 

[LewSchiller]

Hi all,

I was just reading an article in the NYT this morning about online stores that sell all sorts of products as drop-shippers--they don't have an actual warehouse, but order the items from another seller when they get an order. Some may order from China... others buy retail from another online seller and then re-sell at a higher retail price. This was all interesting because it was news to me.

Then I thought about ebikes--I wonder how many online stores are drop-shippers? What does this sort of store do for a customer that would make it advantageous to buy from the drop-shipper rather than directly from the manufacturer? How does a buyer know whether or not a storefront online is a store with personnel who can help them on the ground, or a person who then orders from someone else and ships to them? What value does a drop-shipper add, or not, to the process?

I know next to nothing about this topic--just curious to learn more.

Drop shipping is ubiquitous in online sales. Web sellers take an order then have the maker or other reseller send it to you. People have been doing this for a long time. For example, in the dawn of the eBay people would - and probably still do - list items that Harbor Freight sells with Free Shipping on eBay. The small trailers for example. When you buy it from the eBay seller they go to the HF site and order it using your address as the ship-to. You paid more for the item on the eBay listing than if you'd gone to HF yourself. The seller makes a profit on the spread with little or no involvement.

Amazon takes a dim view of this.

Then there are listing hijackers. Our items appear on other sites at much higher prices. That seller takes our photos and verbiage and makes their own listing. If it sells they'd order it from us to send to the end buyer. Keeping up with that is like playing Whack-a-Mole.

 

[AHicks]

Amazon may be taking a dim view of the issue, but if you look closely, they are one of the biggest sinners there are. Anything sold as a 3rd party is suspicious.

I was recently re-educated....

I recently bought a part through them, and it was either not as advertised or defective. I thought no big deal, I'll return it for an exchange or credit. Problem was, when you go to print the return paper work, you find YOU'RE gong to be on the hook for the return shipping with no assurance the return shipping will be refunded. Totally contradictory to their normal policy, and if the return part needs to go to China, well, buyer beware!

 

[Mr. Coffee]

This thread discusses a drop-shipper and some issues pertaining thereto.

 

[LewSchiller]

Amazon may be taking a dim view of the issue, but if you look closely, they are one of the biggest sinners there are. Anything sold as a 3rd party is suspicious.

I was recently re-educated....

I recently bought a part through them, and it was either not as advertised or defective. I thought no big deal, I'll return it for an exchange or credit. Problem was, when you go to print the return paper work, you find YOU'RE gong to be on the hook for the return shipping with no assurance the return shipping will be refunded. Totally contradictory to their normal policy, and if the return part needs to go to China, well, buyer beware!

Hmmm...I don't doubt your experience but as an Amazon Seller I find it odd. If you requested a return for legit defective or not as advertised you should not be paying postage. I'd contact the seller about it and if you don't get satisfactory resolution open an A-Z Claim.
As for 3rd party sellers - well - I am one. Yes you need to watch for things that come straight from China - they should be clearly presented as such.

 

[AHicks]

Hmmm...I don't doubt your experience but as an Amazon Seller I find it odd. If you requested a return for legit defective or not as advertised you should not be paying postage. I'd contact the seller about it and if you don't get satisfactory resolution open an A-Z Claim.
As for 3rd party sellers - well - I am one. Yes you need to watch for things that come straight from China - they should be clearly presented as such.

Apparently all you have to do as a vendor is tell the purchaser you want the item returned for testing. It seems this absolves you of any responsibility for the return postage. Turns the customer into an idiot that has no idea what they are doing from a buyer's rights perspective. Amazon denies any responsibility - they didn't sell it.

My credit card company says they need a written statement from a shop qualified to test this component verifying my claim of defective or not as advertised. Try getting that done for a 60.00 e-bike motor controller (cruise control and regen functions are inop on a controller sold as having both) some time in a manner that might be worth my trouble and the trouble for a shop owner to type that note on company letterhead? You think he's going to do that for free for some stranger walking through the front door??

I'm not here to condemn all 3rd party vendors. My point is you have good cause to be suspicious as a buyer.

And there are now PLENTY of Chinese vendors with rented storage facilities (no store front) in the US who look very legitimate - until something gets sideways. Let me know how you might ID one of these prior to situations like the one I'm working with. -Al

 

[LewSchiller]

Apparently all you have to do as a vendor is tell the purchaser you want the item returned for testing. It seems this absolves you of any responsibility for the return postage. Turns the customer into an idiot that has no idea what they are doing from a buyer's rights perspective. Amazon denies any responsibility - they didn't sell it.

My credit card company says they need a written statement from a shop qualified to test this component verifying my claim of defective or not as advertised. Try getting that done for a 60.00 e-bike motor controller (cruise control and regen functions are inop on a controller sold as having both) some time in a manner that might be worth my trouble and the trouble for a shop owner to type that note on company letterhead? You think he's going to do that for free for some stranger walking through the front door??

I'm not here to condemn all 3rd party vendors. My point is you have good cause to be suspicious as a buyer.

And there are now PLENTY of Chinese vendors with rented storage facilities (no store front) in the US who look very legitimate - until something gets sideways. Let me know how you might ID one of these prior to situations like the one I'm working with. -Al

I don't think you could ferret out a Chinese local front business. But by opening the A-Z Claim with Amazon...stating that the item is defective and you request a return...that puts a fire under the seller. As sellers we have performance ratings from Amazon. Things like this is a ding on their rating. Sellers - good legit sellers - will do anything to avoid an A-Z. More than a few in a given period of time will get their account suspended or terminated. At the very least Amazon throttles their listings in Search which drops their sales like a rock.

 

[LimboJim]

Hi all,

I was just reading an article in the NYT this morning about online stores that sell all sorts of products as drop-shippers--they don't have an actual warehouse, but order the items from another seller when they get an order. Some may order from China... others buy retail from another online seller and then re-sell at a higher retail price. This was all interesting because it was news to me.

Then I thought about ebikes--I wonder how many online stores are drop-shippers? What does this sort of store do for a customer that would make it advantageous to buy from the drop-shipper rather than directly from the manufacturer? How does a buyer know whether or not a storefront online is a store with personnel who can help them on the ground, or a person who then orders from someone else and ships to them? What value does a drop-shipper add, or not, to the process?

I know next to nothing about this topic--just curious to learn more.

Back to ebikemom's original post about drop shipping ebikes, I've personally had a Haibike, which I bought online from physical store, shipped to my home directly from Haibike's warehouse in OH. I know that store also had a vast inventory of ebikes, but carrying 3-4 different sizes of every model just doesn't happen. This was before Haibike started selling direct to consumers...

It's not a new process in retail - I'm 6'3"+ and back in 1991 when I got my first MTB, the shop had a large Stumpjumper in stock, but had to order the XL for me. In that case, however, the seller did the assembly and subsequent service.

I'm also aware of a few online "stores" that carry very few- if any - models in any size, and act mostly as marketers and/or payment processors for a brand or two that will then ship directly to the consumer (or to a "participating" shop near them for assembly). My guess is that some of these places are small offices, or even home offices, in the quintessential "fly-by-night" vein.

I think one reason so many "major brand" ebike makers began selling direct to consumers last year was to cut out that middleman expense, especially when it's highly unlike those middlemen will ever deal with any warranty issues for their customers. Who's going to ship an ebike a thousand miles away to get warranty service?

In most cases it's cheaper to pay a local shop's labor - that's if the manufacturer will send them the parts! My nearest Haibike dealers now are 2+ hours away...

 

[Mikey-]

There's a lot of "me-too" sites that drop ship anything hot or trendy that makes money, and eBikes are in that category. So much so, that there are a grip of online dropshippers who "specialize" in eBikes, but in reality, they have 0 inventory, and only re-list bikes from companies that allow that kind of practice. Take a look at ebikejoy.com, you'll notice a lot of big name brands are not listed, since many of them insist the retailer have an actual store. It's common for them to use every single sales plug-in available from the site template, and in many cases offer discounts up the wazoo because they pass the buck for service. Normally, the actual company behind the facade has many different sites selling everything from tombstones, frisbees, log homes, stitching patters, or whatever. Bikes are another craze to cash-in on.

 

[Feliz]

Oh good, I've been looking for a stitching pattern, thanks.

 

[rich c]

This is what we do now:

You might want to invest in a better Chinese to English translator software.