I recently discovered that some of my accounting books are available for purchase on eBay.
Now, you may be thinking, well, it is quite common for second-hand items to be sold on eBay; in fact, that was its purpose when it started.
However, these aren’t second-hand, but new. This is due to what it known as dropshipping. An example can be seen here.
A seller advertises my book as new on their eBay account, but at a higher price than it is currently selling for on Amazon. When a buyer purchases from them, the seller orders the book from Amazon and has it delivered directly to the buyer’s address. The seller then pockets the difference between the price they charge and the price they pay, minus their postage, so they probably make about £3 on the sale.
The clue to the dropshipping method is often held in the text in their terms and conditions: “Please be informed that our stock is also held in Wholesale Fulfilment centres around the country; therefore, the order may come in the suppliers/fulfilment centre branded packaging. By buying this item, you agree to us communicating your name and address details with our suppliers to authorise us to complete your order as quickly as possible.” They also use exactly the same item description as is on Amazon.
In most ways, it doesn’t bother me; they are still buying it from Amazon, and I am still getting my royalty for the sale. The main issue is the lack of reviews, as it pushes reviews (which are good on eBay, from what I can see) away from Amazon, which slightly affects how many people Amazon will put my book in front of when they are searching.
The other issue it highlights is that I might be able to charge more for my books, since people seem willing to pay more. That would also reduce these sellers’ profit margins, which may make it less worthwhile for them to sell unless they raise their prices. I need to think about this price signalling and decide what to do about that.