Purchases arrivng via Amazon

[astrocan]

A couple of times now I have bought stuff on ebay and it has arrived from Amazon. It's obvious that the sellers are placing the ad on ebay, when a purchase is made they buy from Geoff, use buyers address for the delivery and trouser the difference. The problem I have with this is that I conciously avoid using Amazon for all sorts of reasons which is why I am buying on ebay. I've been giving sellers that undermine my principle neutral feedback because I really can't see what else I could do. Discuss.

[*help_no_brakes*]

You could look at the feedback before buying.

It shows that the sellers are not to be trusted.

One has negs that show they ship from the River.

I'm not a fan of those that do this.

[plpmr]

if a seller places a listing on eBay and when a buyer purchases the seller then buys off Amazon for delivery to the buyer -

That seller is violating eBay rules, breaking the law [data law at least] and should [must] be a registered business seller.

[reservoir_dogs_74 · Accepted solution]

🤔I suppose it's all down to how much you require the item? I myself have been buying 6 cans of soup off eBay which hasn't been in UK shops for over a year & each purchase (different sellers) Have been fulfilled through Amazon and usually delivered within 24 hours of purchase. Shop price when the soup was available was £6.00 for 6 cans and the price I've been purchasing for delivered has been under £8.00 which the difference would have cost me more in fuel if it was available in the shops. So doubt sellers using Amazon to fulfil Ebay orders are making lots of profit.

[thesmokingrunner]

Buying on eBay and having the item delivered from Amazon is a result of the seller on eBay having an Amazon Prime account.

The account costs £69.99 annually but puchases are shipped post-free. The eBay seller will either increase the price shown on Amazon and/or charge p&p on eBay - that's their mark-up, effectively, as if you don't have a Prime account it will cost you more to purchase direct from Amazon when you factor in the postage cost.

Buy from eBay and the seller places an order with Amazon and has it sent as a gift, using the name and address supplied on the eBay order.

I've had it happen a couple of times and I dislike my data ending up on Amazon too, so when it's happened I have left appropriate feedback. I've also worked out that after the deduction of commission these sellers are making pennies on a sale. 

[ssilverpolo]

I don't know if this is what's happening in your case, but as a former Amazon seller, I know there is a third-party integration tool available between the two platforms. It's completely legitimate.

So, we would set up the tool to place a listing on eBay as an additional sales platform, but have the order fulfilled by Amazon, as they held the inventory and fulfilled all orders. Nobody is "trousering" any difference in this scenario. There was a small fee paid to the third-party integration service, but it's simply a way for the seller to offer goods via an additional marketplace. 

Now if your seller is accepting orders on eBay, then manually ordering the goods from Amazon, having them shipped to you directly and pocketing any difference in price, then surely that is what all businesses do: buy at one price, and sell it at a different price that's acceptable to the customer...? In exchange for their small margin, they are offering value, in making something available on eBay that wouldn't otherwise be there.  If you personally elect not to shop on Amazon though, I can understand how this would be upsetting.

[zoomingmouse]

A bit of a faff, but you could message the seller to ask if they have the stock or whether it will arrive via Amazon before purchasing.

[astrocan]

It's not the profit (if any) that the seller makes that is the issue. I choose not to use Amazon which is why I am looking to buy on Ebay. If sellers on Ebay are using Amazon to fulfil the order then my principle is holed below the waterline and I have no say in the matter. It looks like I will have to avoid ebay now.

[ssilverpolo]

Unless you message the seller first, as zoomingmouse has suggested above.

Sounds like there is a potential tension here between your principles or values and your need or desire for the products on sale. Only you can decide how to resolve that. 

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

Its only a problem if you make it one.

If your getting the item as described and on time then the contract was fulfilled.

[astrocan]

Not really. I have a problem buying from Amazon which I avoid by buying from Ebay. If sellers use Amazon to fulfill the contract I should know about that first.

[elitegiftsltd]

Some of us sell on ebay using stock we own that we store at amazon.

Its not just dropshipping from amazon, it can also be the seller selling their own goods and having a fulfilment company ship them.

If you have a problem with amazon then you'd best avoid any internet purchases at all, any one of which could be someone dropshipping from amazon or else using their own stock at amazon.

You could try emailing the seller before purchase to make sure but that may well slow the process down by a day or two. 

[ssilverpolo]

I don't agree that you have the right to know how the seller is sourcing the products in this instance. The only obligations on the eBay seller are to fulfil the contract of sale and to abide by all appropriate laws and regulations.

Of course, I understand that you don't want to buy from Amazon and I respect that decision. But if the eBay seller had sourced the products from Amazon first, before listing them on eBay, and had used a different order fulfilment service, you wouldn't know Amazon had been involved and then this issue wouldn't have arisen.

How far back along the supply chain do you want your investigations to go? I think this is the real issue here. 

There are product brands and sellers who're transparent about their politics,  environmental and ethical credentials, and the provenance of their products, but these are usually smaller, niche outlets. It seems to me that if you want to continue shopping on eBay, you will need to message every seller beforehand, to check that they're operating in a way that matches your principles.

[plpmr]

"Now if your seller is accepting orders on eBay, then manually ordering the goods from Amazon, having them shipped to you directly "

As I've already said - "That seller is violating eBay rules, breaking the law [data law at least] and should [must] be a registered business seller."

[elitegiftsltd]

---

@plpmr wrote:

"Now if your seller is accepting orders on eBay, then manually ordering the goods from Amazon, having them shipped to you directly "

As I've already said - "That seller is violating eBay rules, breaking the law [data law at least] and should [must] be a registered business seller."

---

Breaking data law?

Not sure of that, its relevant to get the item delivered to the buyer. Specific use of the data that the buyer agrees to. 

[ssilverpolo]

How are they violating eBay rules?  Or data protection laws? The customer does not become a customer of Amazon, so does not get added to Amazon's customers database. It's just an order fulfilment service - like when you buy a gift for someone on Amazon and have it dispatched to another address.
Are you saying that I, as a private seller, cannot accept an eBay order for my mum's old handbag, and have her wrap and post said handbag from her home? Or for me to go to her home and send it from there myself? Was it in fact illegal for me to list my brother-in-law's unused kitchen unit on eBay, and to direct the buyer to his address to collect it?
As for a registered business seller - they may already be one! If they are using Amazon for order fulfilment, that sounds quite likely to me. 

[tech-tonix]

i feel the same about Amazon, & haven't bought through them for maybe 10+ years. But if my sales on my other Ebay account don't pick up soon, I might have to eat my principles & go cap in hand, applying for an Amazon seller acount 😞

[plpmr]

they break data law by passing on your details [name, address etc] and eBay does not allow dropshipping of this kind - you buy off seller who then buys off Amazon and Amazon then sends the item to you.

[plpmr]

they break data law by passing on your details [name, address etc] and eBay does not allow dropshipping of this kind - you buy off seller who then buys off Amazon and Amazon then sends the item to you – that's not order fulfilment.

[gnosemalf]

It has happened to me a few times recently and hadn't really had any cause for concern until one purchase was not actually addressed to me but to a house about half a mile away which really confused me as my address is the same on eBay and Amazon and there was no reason to put a completely different address.

I didn't get the item until a week later because the person who lived at that address was away but drove to my house with the item when they returned. I contacted the seller about this but got no reply and I left neutral feedback, which I thought was fair, but then saw that lots of people had left negative feedback recently citing the Amazon Prime thing.

I'm curious what the situation would be if the buyer requested a return. Would eBay give a postage paid label back to the seller? I could be tempted to do that just to express my annoyance at what they are doing.