Ebay using Amazon prime

[Blue Collar Guy]

I ordered a bath/shower mat for mom from Ebay. I got it in like 36 hours. It had amazon prime tape all over it. I got a bit worried that I somehow signed up for the Amazon Prime thing. When I went to my purchase history no mat. I went to ebay and boom , thats where i bought it. Ebay seller used amazon prime to ship me something. I dont know how he made any money on this. Im happy with the fast service.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I ordered a bath/shower mat for mom from Ebay. I got it in like 36 hours. It had amazon prime tape all over it. I got a bit worried that I somehow signed up for the Amazon Prime thing. When I went to my purchase history no mat. I went to ebay and boom , thats where i bought it. Ebay seller used amazon prime to ship me something. I dont know how he made any money on this. Im happy with the fast service.

Which now brings me to a second question, how do they make money shipping me things from China when sometimes I pay 10 cents for something?

 

[braumeister]

Amazon seems to put that Prime tape on most packages these days. I think it's a subliminal thing to keep you thinking about Prime.

As for the shipping, all I know is that it only costs a few hundred dollars to ship a whole container from China to the west coast of North America, no matter what is in it. A container holds so much stuff that getting a small item across the Pacific Ocean is basically just about free.

 

[Aerides]

It's probably a drop shipper type seller on eBay... and you may well have paid more for it that it was listed on Amazon.

eBay sellers do this a lot. Put things up for $20, then the order comes in, they order it from Amazon prime where it's $12, and have it shipped to you.

Or, eBay seller accidentally ran out of stock, and ordered it from amazon vs. pissing you off by having to cancel the order.

Or it's the same seller on eBay and Amazon, and he uses Amazon's multi-channel-fulfillment as his warehousing regardless of where he sells.

Re the 10c/china thing, who knows. They aren't making money, unless they are charging you $8 for shipping and it only cost them $3. It's a common tactic for new sellers to sell for nothing to get started.

 

[Senator]

Which now brings me to a second question, how do they make money shipping me things from China when sometimes I pay 10 cents for something?

I bought an item (12V USB) shipped from China. It was 0.37, which includes free shipping. I cannot mail myself a post card for that price.

There are a lot of subsidies out there. I think the US Postal Service gives free shipping to the USA on items originating from China. The Chinese pay the China fee, and it's a reciprocity thing maybe?

 

[MichaelB]

There are a lot of subsidies out there. I think the US Postal Service gives free shipping to the USA on items originating from China. The Chinese pay the China fee, and it's a reciprocity thing maybe?

You must be referring to the Universal Postal Union. It's not a subsidy, it is an agreement among all member countries, which are most of the UN members, to abide by a series of standards and agreements between national postal organizations around the world. This includes low cost shipping rates for low weight items.

 

[easysurfer]

Sure the seller didn't just re-use an Amazon box?

 

[aja8888]

Sure the seller didn't just re-use an Amazon box?

That's what I think. When we send stuff to relatives, we re-use amazon boxes too. We just tape them closed with clear tape and put on a Click & Ship USPS label.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

That's what I think. When we send stuff to relatives, we re-use amazon boxes too. We just tape them closed with clear tape and put on a Click & Ship USPS label.

Im going to go down to the recycling pail , I need to check this out.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

OK, I googled the return address , its an amazon fulfillment center. It has the ebay sellers name, but amazon address.

 

[aja8888]

OK, I googled the return address , its an amazon fulfillment center. It has the ebay sellers name, but amazon address.

So it looks like an eBay seller is linked to Amazon for filling orders. Interesting!

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

So it looks like an eBay seller is linked to Amazon for filling orders. Interesting!

Yeah, I was worried when I saw the tape, figured I pressed get the amazon prime special.

 

[brucethebroker]

Sure the seller didn't just re-use an Amazon box?

My guess also.....

 

[redshift]

I recently ordered something on Amazon and received it from Walmart. The invoice copy in the box showed that it was cheaper than what I paid. Could have checked Walmart, but don't shop there much...

 

[freedomatlast]

Could have checked Walmart, but don't shop there much...

Walmart.com many times has items cheaper than Amazon. You don't necessarily need to go to a Walmart store to pick it up although many times that's an option.

 

[orangehairfella]

This is really common. Planet Money did a show about it:

Episode 724: Cat Scam : Planet Money : NPR

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I recently ordered something on Amazon and received it from Walmart. The invoice copy in the box showed that it was cheaper than what I paid. Could have checked Walmart, but don't shop there much...

After clearing up my confusion of whether I actually ordered it from amazon or ebay, I went on amazons website. The mat I paid $8.11 for was $6.52 on amazon but shipping was 9 dollars. So I saved money, however the seller has amazon prime so he made $1.59 on my purchase. Now I have to look at walmart, hahah I never thought to check them.

 

[dixonge]

OK, I googled the return address , its an amazon fulfillment center. It has the ebay sellers name, but amazon address.

Amazon will ship for you no matter where you actually sell the product. I'm betting a LOT of eBay sellers use Amazon.

https://services.amazon.com/fulfillment-by-amazon/multi-channel.htm/ref=asus_fba_ben_multi

 

[NgineER]

Amazon will ship for you no matter where you actually sell the product. I'm betting a LOT of eBay sellers use Amazon.

https://services.amazon.com/fulfillment-by-amazon/multi-channel.htm/ref=asus_fba_ben_multi

+1
You beat me to it, nice way to sell stuff if you have acquired a pallet of stuff at a good deal.

 

[cathy63]

After clearing up my confusion of whether I actually ordered it from amazon or ebay, I went on amazons website. The mat I paid $8.11 for was $6.52 on amazon but shipping was 9 dollars. So I saved money, however the seller has amazon prime so he made $1.59 on my purchase. Now I have to look at walmart, hahah I never thought to check them.

If the guy used Amazon Prime to ship the mat to you, then he's in violation of the Amazon Prime Ts & Cs and is likely to get his Amazon account suspended.

I don't think you can tell whether he actually has Amazon Prime by looking at the packing material though. The "Prime" tape shows up on every box, even if you don't have Prime.

eta: It's perfectly legal to use standard Amazon orders for drop shipping, you just can't use the Prime free shipping for resale purchases.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

If the guy used Amazon Prime to ship the mat to you, then he's in violation of the Amazon Prime Ts & Cs and is likely to get his Amazon account suspended.

I don't think you can tell whether he actually has Amazon Prime by looking at the packing material though. The "Prime" tape shows up on every box, even if you don't have Prime.

eta: It's perfectly legal to use standard Amazon orders for drop shipping, you just can't use the Prime free shipping for resale purchases.

Ok, Yeah I have no idea if he has prime, I went by the tape on the box. But he some how got it to me cheaper than if I bought it