Common Issues Sellers Face DROP-SHIPPING on Amazon – High Order Defect Rates (ODR) & Listing Complaints

Drop-shipping & common issues we see from sellers who drop-ship on Amazon.

Drop-shipping is actually allowed by Amazon with a few rules:

First, you must be the seller of record.

Second, the package you shipped to customers must also identify you as the seller of record.

Third, you must be responsible for the returns and the processing of customer service regarding the sale of your product.

So that being said, there are various ways of running a legitimate drop-shipping business:

We have seen many clients who drop ship and we also have seen various ways of how that is done, but commonly, what sellers do is they will have a extended period of fulfillment in order to actually source the products after receiving an order on Amazon. Thus, the advantages are that you don’t have to hold a large inventory.

A common issue we see is during the busy seasons. If there’s an issue within the supply chain, even if you have an extended fulfillment period, you will encounter problems with sourcing the products and fulfilling the orders on time. This will contribute to negative reviews / feedback, but also it will contribute to a high order defect rate (ODR) which is enforceable by Amazon.

Another advantage of actually having a drop-shipping model is that you will be able to offer a much larger selection of products to customers. This is good because you’re able to diversify what you are trying to sell, but you also might encounter problems, and this is commonly seen in listing management. So what I mean by this, a lot of times having a large selection of listings means that you will have a higher chance of receiving various complaints / violations. A lot of times, due to the number of listings, a seller might not be able to evaluate all of the listings. This might contribute to restricted product listings, it might contribute to joining duplicate listings that receive IP complaints, or it might just cause the seller to actually join listings that’s not formatted property according to Amazon, and thus, you will receive listing complaints.

So there are many ways to receive complaints, and mainly it’s because of the large number of listings that people who drop-ship will have in their catalog.

So if you are having various issues with your drop-shipping business and you want some help addressing all of these issues that you find in your account health, you can always contact us here at Rosenbaum, Famularo & Segall, PC.

We are experienced in dealing with various issues / violations that people incur on their accounts, and we’re willing to help sellers who encountered those problems seven days a week.