If you run an eBay dropshipping business, your instinct is to target the US marketplace and buyers because of its expansive reach. However, you could miss out on the sales potential by not engaging in an eBay Australia dropshipping business.
It’s a hidden gem in the dropshipping industry, with the International Trade Administration (ITA) citing that it is now among the world’s top ten largest ecommerce markets. By 2024, the dropshipping industry in Australia is valued at a projected $32 billion!
Use this guide to learn how to embark on the eBay dropshipping Australia journey and reap the fruits of your labor!
Whether this is your first time with the eBay dropshipping business or you want to scale your eBay store by targeting Australian buyers, this guide is for you. You will get comprehensive information on setting up your dropshipping store on eBay Australia and special requirements or policies.
It’s your one-stop guide on a successful dropshipping business on eBay Australia, so keep reading!
Article Overview:
Brief Overview of eBay Dropshipping
Getting Started Dropshipping on eBay Australia
Essential Requirements When Dropshipping in Australia
Detailed Guide to Dropshipping on eBay Australia
Fees When Dropshipping on eBay Australia
How to Find Suppliers for Dropshipping on eBay Australia
Finding Top Products to Dropship on eBay Australia
Final Thoughts on Dropshipping on the Australian eBay platform
Brief Overview of eBay Dropshipping
The dropshipping business model is one of eBay’s fastest-growing ecommerce business models. You can find the information you need to get started with dropshipping on eBay in this guide.
Dropshipping involves three crucial steps. First, you must find dropshipping suppliers for your eBay business and list the products in your eBay store.
Second, you must forward your customer orders to your dropshipping supplier. And third, your drop shipping supplier will pack and ship the products to your customers, so you never see the product or manage the inventory!
These three steps form the crux of the dropshipping business model. However, it gets more complicated when you think about the different policies on the eBay marketplace, especially if you engage in eBay dropshipping Australia.
EBay Australia policies on dropshipping might differ, so your job is to identify those differences and ensure you comply with them for your dropshipping business.
Getting Started Dropshipping on eBay Australia
Dropshipping is a thriving business model. Dropshipping on eBay, in particular, brings in many ideas and lots of profit potential for eBay sellers and online store owners who can find the right products and reliable dropshipping suppliers.
eBay Australia is one of the regional branches of eBay worldwide. It is part of eBay’s global expansion to make the online marketplace accessible to more potential buyers.
Aside from Australia, there are also eBay marketplaces in the UK, Italy, France, Hong Kong, etc.
When buyers shop from eBay Australia, the products are sourced domestically by Australian eBay sellers. It is good news for buyers in the Australian market because it means they can get their items faster and cheaper (shipping-wise) than international transactions.
Therefore, instead of waiting weeks for a product to arrive from China or the US, buyers from Australia can expect their products to arrive in a few days.
It is part of eBay’s long-standing commitment to ensure customer satisfaction. They have expanded to global marketplaces, such as eBay Australia, to serve the Australian market better.
So, is eBay Australia dropshipping worth it?
You bet it is! Again, eBay Australia is emerging as one of the top ecommerce markets globally. Australians have a penchant for online shopping, which eBay dropshipping business owners must take advantage of.
Selling items on eBay Australia is profitable because there is less competition and high demand. While the US eBay marketplace is highly saturated, you can potentially boost profit using eBay Australia dropshipping.
Sure, there is a massive market in the US for sellers, given the high demand for dropshipping stores. However, you also get more competition.
To ensure you can boost sales from your eBay dropshipping store, you have to keep prices competitive. With eBay Australia dropshipping, the demand is high, but only a few Australian eBay sellers exist.
Thus, you can capitalize on this to set a higher average price tag and high profit margins on your dropshipping products.
In the next section, you will learn more about getting started on dropshipping on eBay Australia.
Essential Requirements When Dropshipping in Australia
If you’re tempted to start your eBay dropshipping Australia business, hold that excitement first. Important matters must be checked and taken care of to ensure you can do this legally.
To start an eBay dropshipping store via the eBay AU marketplace, you must register it as a business. It makes tracking your income from the dropshipping business easier than your assets.
Thus, you must create a name for your eBay dropshipping store and register for an ABN or Australian Business Number. The ABN is a unique 11-digit number that will distinguish your business entity from others.
The ABN data is available for public access via the Australian Business Register (ABR). It is different from your income tax or file number.
Registering for an ABN in Australia is free. You can do this by visiting the official Australian government website and registering your business name.
Make sure to provide other relevant tax registrations, which apply to your business. You can verify the required documents on the government website.
Detailed Guide to Dropshipping on eBay Australia
Follow this comprehensive guide on how to dropship on eBay Australia to ensure you can comply with policies and requirements.
Step 1: Register an account on eBay Australia
Set up your account on eBay Australia to start selling items on eBay or set up a dropshipping store.
Even if you have an account on the eBay US marketplace, you need to set up an account on eBay AU. The shipping policies on eBay Australia are different from those of other marketplaces.
Therefore, you must create an account to dropship on eBay Australia to ensure these policies apply to your store. In addition, Australian buyers will see your listings first before listings from other eBay sellers in other regions.
Step 2: Create eBay Dropshipping Business Policies
An essential step of eBay Australia dropshipping is configuring your business policies. Do this before listing dropshipping products to your online store.
Your business policies will cover your payment, shipping, and return policies.
You must opt-in to the eBay business policies to create one for your eBay dropshipping stores.
To create a payment policy, click ‘Create Policy’ and choose ‘Payment.’
Don’t forget to tick the box next to ‘Require immediate payment when buyer uses Buy It Now’ to ensure your items are paid before shipping them out to buyers.
Next, click ‘Create Policy’ and choose ‘Return’ to set up your returns policy. When you create your returns policy, ensure it aligns with your dropshipping supplier’s policies.
Otherwise, it could result in an unsatisfactory customer experience.
You can also tick on the ‘Domestic returns accepted’ option. Ideally, pick the 30-day return period and ensure the return shipping is covered by the seller (you).
Thus, it guarantees your buyers that they can get free returns on products, which makes them more likely to buy from a new store than your eBay store. As a bonus, Australian eBay sellers with a 30-day return period rank higher on eBay search engines versus those with 14-day return policies.
Finally, you must create a shipping policy on your eBay AU store. It covers the overall delivery time of the products ordered from your online store. For ‘Domestic Shipping,’ make sure to offer a flat rate for all buyers within Australia.
Therefore, no matter where the buyer is from in Australia, they will get the exact shipping rate.
Before you choose to offer free shipping to customers, make sure that you consider the cost and the type of courier service you use. In Australia, there is Australia Post.
But again, you have to coordinate this with your supplier to ensure consistency in the policies started in your eBay Australia store and what you can provide your buyers. Otherwise, they will have a negative buying experience, and you don’t want that to happen.
Fees When Dropshipping on eBay Australia
The fees are one of the primary considerations for online sellers in eBay Australia, as with any seller accounts on other eBay marketplace. Other sellers look for alternative marketplaces because of the steep fees on eBay.
However, you can leverage the popularity of the online marketplace to target more buyers from Australian markets and ensure you can get high profit margins.
You must calculate the selling fees on eBay Australia before listing your products. You must determine the product cost, selling fees, and potential profit. This step is crucial, or else you could lose money.
If you’re a new seller on eBay AU, you can get up to 40 free fixed-price listings. If you exceed the allowed listings, you must pay a $1.65 insertion fee per listing. Like the eBay store subscription in the US, you can subscribe to eBay Australia store plans according to how many listings you want per month. Choose the plan that corresponds with your goals and the number of listings per month.
In addition to the listing and insertion fees, eBay Australia will charge $10.9 for each transaction. Therefore, consider these fees when determining the price of your products.
Knowing the fees involved will help you to determine the break-even calculation before you dropship on eBay Australia. It will ensure you can maximize profits for each sale, allowing you to keep your dropshipping business thriving and profitable.
How to Find Suppliers for Dropshipping on eBay Australia
Once you decide that the dropshipping business model is right for you, the next task is finding a supplier in Australia. As mentioned, one of the perks of selling items on eBay in Australia is the ability to offer faster shipping and delivery times to buyers within Australia.
Therefore, you must find the best supplier from Australia that can offer similar products at a lesser price to allow you to gain high profit margins for your online store or business.
Thankfully, Australia offers many options for high-quality dropshipping suppliers. It’s filtering among these dropshipping suppliers where the challenge lies.
Use three methods to find a supplier when dropshipping in eBay Australia.
Method 1: Check local directories for dropshipping suppliers.
Local directories provide a one-stop shop for your dropshipping business’s most reliable suppliers in Australia. A few examples include the Australian Dropshippers and Australian Dropshippers Directory.
You have several options for dropshipping, regardless of your chosen niche.
Method 2: Find a product manufacturer in Australia.
Another great option when finding a supplier for your eBay Australia dropshipping store is to contact a manufacturer directly. First, you must determine which products you want to sell and then find the best manufacturer for these products.
Compare a few manufacturers to find the one supplier that would be suitable for your business. You can also partner with multiple manufacturers to ensure a steady stream of products for your eBay AU store and increase sales.
Diversifying your suppliers can help ensure you have products available to sell online.
Method 3: Check social media and online forums.
You can find dropshipping suppliers in Australia by checking social media groups and online forums. Some forums and groups specialize in specific niches, and they are excellent sources of ideas for finding suppliers for your online store.
It is an excellent channel to discover reliable suppliers, especially from other sellers who have worked with these ebay dropshipping suppliers before.
Method 4: Online dropshipping suppliers with local warehouses.
Finally, you can also find online dropshipping suppliers that have warehouses located within Australia. For example, online suppliers like Aliexpress and Banggood have local warehouses in Australia.
Even Amazon has a warehouse in Australia!
These supplier websites have expanded their global reach by investing in warehouses in various countries worldwide. Therefore, they are an excellent choice for accessing low-priced products without the longer shipping times.
When choosing these online dropshipping suppliers, double-check to ensure they have an Australian warehouse. It will simplify the ordering and delivery of products and handle returns in a speedy manner.
These factors combine to deliver a positive shopping experience for buyers, which could also boost your feedback score on eBay Australia.
Finding Top Products to Dropship on eBay Australia
Now that you have found the right supplier in Australia, product research is next. Product selection is the most critical factor influencing your store’s profitability.
After all, the amount of sales you make can also determine how much profit you generate for your business.
Focus on finding unique products that other dropshippers don’t offer. It will help distinguish your online business from the others.
However, you must also consider the demand for these products. If you list trending products, you can attract more customers from your eBay Australia dropshipping store.
So, how does product research work?
The first thing you must do is to scope out eBay Australia’s website. eBay has a section highlighting the best-selling product category and new releases.
Check out the trending products or those that make the most sales.
Once you find what products the customers are looking for online, find similar products to address the demand within a specific product category. If possible, look for new variations of the same product or find ones offering more features to gain a competitive edge over other dropshippers.
Let’s examine one example via ZIK Analytics to determine the demand and actual sales data for the product. Under the Toys section on eBay AU, action figures are one of the most coveted gift items right now.
In the last 30 days, there are 190 sold items in this category for a sell through rate of 190% for 100 active listings. The total sales earnings in the last 30 days is $4,409, for an average price of $24.47.
When we explore the top selling items in this category, we can find more top products and eBay sellers from Australia and other regions. One seller from Australia has sold one item 41 times in the last 30 days, with a total sold items of 1,346.
Another seller has sold the item 28 times in the last 30 days.
You can explore other products listed in the product research tool or check out what other products these sellers have listed in their stores.
This brings us to the next topic on this eBay dropshipping Australia guide: competitor analysis. No, it doesn’t mean you must copy precisely what your competitors are doing.
Instead, look at what they are doing that works well for them and find ways to incorporate those into your dropshipping strategy. Then, master that strategy and beat them in their own game!
Finally, when dropshipping on eBay Australia, you can use a product research tool to streamline your product research efforts. These market research tools provide detailed insights and sales data to give you a data-driven insight into specific products or categories.
Therefore, you’re not just guessing which products to add to your store. You are basing those decisions on actual sales performance.
Final Thoughts on Dropshipping on the Australian eBay platform
Dropshipping on eBay Australia is the same as when you dropship on any other eBay marketplace. However, there are unique requirements, such as the ABN and the tax requirements in Australia, that you must fulfil to operate your business legally.
Once that is taken care of, you can implement the tips above to boost your performance and increase sales to your online store.
Good luck on your Australian eBay dropshipping journey! There is no better time than now to get started while the market is rising.
