Editing Drop shipping (section)

==Procedure==
A drop shipping business to consumer model does not require a [[brick and mortar]] store.  It may be eliminated, or combined with a drop shipped [[order fulfillment]] business model. A [[Brick and mortar|physical]] [[retail]]er may keep potential drop shipped items on display, provide details on [[mail order]] items via a catalogue, or maintain a [[website]] with information available only [[online]].  A virtual retailer only has a website.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Drop shipping retailers are not required to disclose the practice, nor, as with any other retailer, the wholesale source of the products they offer. This can be achieved by "blind shipping" (shipping [[Merchandising|merchandise]] without a return address corresponding to the seller), "[[private label]] shipping" (having merchandise shipped from the wholesaler with a return address customised to the retailer), or utilising a [[fulfillment house]].  The ultimate order fulfiller might also include a customised [[packing slip]], including details such as the retailer's company name, logo, and contact information.

Sellers on [[online auction]] sites such as [[eBay]] also use drop shipping as way of distributing products without stocking the items sold. A seller will list an item as new, and have purchased items shipped directly from the wholesaler to the customer. The seller's profit is the difference between the selling and the wholesale prices, minus any pertinent selling, [[merchant]], or shipping fees accruing to them. However, some of the drop shipping methods used by sellers are not allowed under the eBay [[terms of service]]. This includes drop shipping methods in which a seller fulfills an order by purchasing the item from another online marketplace and having the item shipped to the customer. Sellers who use this method can be suspended from [[eBay]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/drop-shipping?id=4176 |title=Drop shipping | work=[[eBay]] }}</ref>

Products may be listed by a drop shipping retailer as available but actually be back-ordered either with the wholesaler or the item's manufacturer.  Such potential delays in order fulfilment are not always known, or even when known disclosed, by a seller.  They also can be extended, beyond the control of the seller.  Likewise order fulfilment and shipping delays are beyond the seller's control, yet can reflect badly on the purchaser's ultimate satisfaction with their transaction.  This puts a premium on timely and accurate information provision by the seller on both sides of the purchase, both before and after it is made.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}