How to Use Amazon as a Dropshipper

by Tara Cantore

Drop shipping companies are responsible for preparing, shipping and delivering orders to a buyer. Although Amazon is not a traditional drop shipping company, they often offer significantly lower prices on a wide variety of items than any of their competitors. Companies who market on auctions or offer offline catalog services can sometimes make a profit by using a lower-priced Amazon order to fulfill a client's purchase.

Step 1

Place your item for sale on your storefront and wait for a buyer to purchase it.

Step 2

Review the payment for fraud. Calling the client's phone number or waiting for payment to clear can be a good way of minimizing the risk of being cheated.

Step 3

Record the buyer's address and shipping address.

Step 4

Place a new order on Amazon.com using your account. Use your billing information only. Buying the item using your customer's credit card is considered fraud.

Step 5

Choose a "gift" shipment and designate your customer as the recipient, using their address as the delivery address.

Complete the checkout. You will receive a tracking number that you can pass along to your buyer to track their order.

Tip

If you are heavily involved in drop shipping through Amazon, consider an Amazon Prime account for unlimited 2-day shipping at a fixed yearly price.

Warnings

Wait until your payment has cleared and do careful fraud checking before sending a product. If your client charges back, issues a bad check or uses a stolen credit card you will lose the money and Amazon will not provide a refund.
Some customers may feel cheated if they know you purchased the product directly at a lower price. Make sure you ship the product as a gift to prevent your invoice from being delivered with the package.