eBay’s dropshipping policy for US sellers: what is and is not allowed

Last checked 10 October 2026 against eBay US’s own dropshipping page. This guide explains it in plain English and then, separately, gives our own readings of the situations it does not spell out. It is not legal advice, and eBay’s current wording always wins.

The short version

That is the whole policy in four lines. The rest of this page explains what each line means in practice, how to tell whether a supplier is on the right side of it, what to ask a supplier before you rely on them, and the traps that catch new sellers.

What eBay UK’s policy actually says

eBay calls this practice dropshipping, also known as product sourcing: selling items without handling them yourself. Its page makes three points and gives no examples, no list of named companies and no number of days:

1. Dropshipping from a wholesale supplier is allowed. eBay’s own words: dropshipping, “where you fulfill orders directly from a wholesale supplier, is allowed on eBay.”
2. One model is not allowed: listing an item on eBay and then purchasing it from another retailer or marketplace that ships it directly to the customer.
3. You stay responsible. You remain responsible for the safe delivery of the item within the time frame you stated in your listing, and for the buyer’s overall satisfaction with the purchase.

It also says your activity must follow the policy, eBay’s User Agreement, the law and other people’s rights. Because the page is this short, how it applies to real situations is partly a matter of judgment, which is why the rest of this guide separates what eBay says from what we think follows from it.

What is allowed

• Buying from a wholesaler, manufacturer or distributor that agrees to send items to your buyers on your behalf. This is the model the policy describes.
• Selling stock you have bought and hold, or that a supplier holds for you under an arrangement you have with them.
• Selling items you make, or have made to order, yourself.
• Using a supplier’s own product data and photographs where their terms allow you to.

What is not allowed

The clearest example is the one the policy itself describes. You list an item, a buyer pays, and you then order that item through another shop’s ordinary checkout with your buyer’s address on it. In that model the other shop is a retailer selling to a consumer, not a supplier working for you, and eBay does not permit it. The same applies when that retailer is a marketplace: the policy says “another retailer or marketplace”.

Which kinds of supplier are on the right side of the line?

The table below is our reading of how the policy applies to common supplier types. It is a guide to your own judgment, not eBay’s ruling.

How to tell a wholesaler from a retailer

Many shops look alike. These are the signs, from the strongest:

• They sell to businesses. There is a wholesale or reseller application, a minimum order or account number, and prices that differ from the public shop.
• They offer to send to your customers. They have a process for it, usually called dropship, blind shipping or direct delivery, and they ask for your customer’s address as a normal part of an order.
• Plain packaging is standard. No invoice with prices, no shop branding and no marketing inserts go to your buyer.
• They have written terms for resellers. Look for a wholesale terms page or an agreement covering resale, returns and delivery times.
• A named contact answers. A real person at a real business address replies to an email.

If the “supplier” is simply a shop whose public basket you use with your own account and card, it is a retailer, however cheap it is.

The grey areas

The policy is short, so some situations need judgment. These are our readings, not eBay’s rulings. If a situation matters to your business, ask eBay directly.

• A retailer that also sells trade. A business selling to wholesale customers on a wholesale account, under terms that let you resell and send on, is a very different thing from its public shop checkout. Get the arrangement in writing.
• Buying to your own address first. Ordering an item to yourself and then sending it on is holding stock, not shipping directly from another retailer. It is not the model eBay describes, but it adds days, so your stated shipping time must still be true. It also changes the economics, because you pay shipping twice.
• A marketplace seller. A “supplier” who sells through another marketplace is still that marketplace’s seller. Treat the rule as applying to it unless the supplier confirms in writing that they will ship for you as a wholesaler.
• Print-on-demand and made-to-order services. The maker produces the item for your order. We read this as a supplier relationship rather than a retailer’s checkout, but check the service’s own terms about your trademark and branding obligations.
• A very long handling time. Promising a long delivery time does not change which model you are in. It only means you are honest about how long it takes. The rule is about where the item comes from, not how long you say it takes.

Delivery time: the part that applies to everyone

Whatever your model, the policy requires you to deliver within the time frame you stated in your listing. eBay sets no number of days of its own, so the time is whatever your listing says, and you are held to it. The safe method:

If a delivery is going to be late, tell the buyer first. Most problems are manageable when the buyer hears from you before they ask.

What to ask a supplier before you rely on them

A short email now saves a suspended listing later. You can send something like this, and keep the reply:

The answers to those five questions are your evidence that the supplier is a genuine wholesaler. If they cannot or will not answer, treat that as an answer.

Keep your evidence

• The email or agreement confirming the supplier will ship for you.
• The supplier’s own stated shipping and delivery times, saved with the date.
• Invoices showing you bought as a business, and tracking numbers for every order you send.
• Your listing wording, so you can show what you promised.

If eBay or a buyer ever questions an order, a short folder of evidence turns a worry into a five-minute reply.

What you are responsible for, whoever ships

• Delivering within the time your listing states, and being honest about where the item ships from and how long it takes.
• The item being as described, and safe and lawful to sell.
• Handling returns and refunds under eBay’s rules, including its Money Back Guarantee, whether or not your supplier reimburses you.
• Not infringing brands, photographs or text, and not putting another shop’s name on your listing or in the parcel.
• Following the rules for businesses selling online, including tax.

Other eBay rules that catch dropshippers

• Brand and trademark rules (VeRO). Branded items can be removed on a rights owner’s complaint, and repeated takedowns count against you. Do not use a brand name you have no right to use.
• Photographs and text. They belong to someone. Use ones you may use, remove other shops’ watermarks, and write your own descriptions where terms do not allow reuse.
• Prohibited and restricted items. Some goods cannot be sold or need conditions. Check the category rules before you list.
• Product safety and labelling. As the seller you carry the duty, not only the manufacturer.
• Seller performance. Late shipping, cancellations for out-of-stock items and unresolved cases all count, and dropshipping makes the first two easy to rack up.

What happens if you break the policy

eBay’s page says it may act in line with the law and its User Agreement, and lists the possible actions: removing the listing or other content, issuing a warning, restricting activity or account suspension. Those are cheap to avoid and expensive to suffer, because an account is your whole business. If your supplier model is in doubt, change it before you build a shop on it, not after.

Common misunderstandings

• “Dropshipping is banned on eBay.” No. Dropshipping from a wholesale supplier is allowed.
• “If a supplier is cheap and reliable it must be fine.” The test is what kind of supplier it is, not its price or speed.
• “A long handling time makes it compliant.” It does not change the model; see the grey areas above.
• “The software I use makes it compliant (or not).” No software decides this. Whether a supplier is acceptable is your responsibility.
• “Everyone does it, so it’s safe.” Other sellers’ listings tell you nothing about their arrangements, and you carry your own account’s risk.

Where software fits

Tools that read supplier pages and update your listings, ours included, do not decide whether a supplier is acceptable under eBay’s rules. That is your responsibility, and Sellhelm’s terms say so in plain words: you follow eBay’s rules and each supplier’s terms of use. What software can do is the repetitive part that makes a compliant shop easy to run.

• It keeps stock and prices current so you do not sell what the supplier no longer has.
• It makes sure a listing never names the supplier, and it shows each supplier’s read method so you know how reliable its stock figure is.
• It reads your eBay shipping, returns and payment policies so handling times and wording match what you promise.
• It shows the ship-by date on every order, takes the tracking number and sends it to eBay.

Sellhelm can also read Amazon and AliExpress pages, and says so openly. Whether to source from them is a decision about the model above, and it is yours. If you want the whole process in order, with every screen, read how to dropship on eBay US with Sellhelm.

Questions people ask