Drop Ship Scam? (EBay)

[sailorstitch]

I desperately need a travel case for my Switch games. I've been wanting this one, but Game Stop has been out of stock for well over a month. None of the stores near me have any kind of cases. Not even cheap knock offs. 

https://www.gamestop.com/video-games/switch/accessories/cases-storage/products/nintendo-switch-deluxe-24-game-case/10140257.html

I found this one on eBay and bought it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hard-Case-for-Nintendo-Switch-Game-Cartridge-Box-Card-Holder-Storage-Organizer/352744362310?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&redirect=mobile

It arrived this morning in an Amazon Prime mailer with an Amazon packing slip inside. 

Now here's my problem.  I've been looking for a case since September! I know the ethical thing to do would be to return this one and buy another one elsewhere. But that seems so... I don't know... redundant? I would literally return this and turn around and re-buy the exact same case. Not to mention online returns are a pain. And I'm going to need a case for a short road trip I'm taking in a couple weeks. I don't even know who I would contact about this. Amazon,  eBay or both?

UGHHHHHH!!!!!!! Why does this have to be so difficult? The Switch has been out over a year. You would think that these cases would be everywhere.

[Pokeyonekenobie]

Maybe they also sell these on Amazon and just use the same packing materials?

Although it looks like it would have been cheaper on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Switch-Deluxe-Game-Case-games/dp/B01N7RYYKK/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=nintendo+switch+hard+game+case&qid=1578024385&sr=8-2

[Artemesia's Garden]

I'm probably being really dumb here, but I can't work out what happened...

[tikibirds]

I am also confused..

[Carrehz]

-blink- I don't get what the problem is? I know lots of people sell on Amazon and eBay and use the same packaging for both, maybe that's what happened here?

[EnaRocketQueen]

I have worked in a Post Office and lots of people re-use packaging from sites like Amazon, especially if they are independent sellers

[sailorstitch]

The item was packaged and shipped by Amazon. It includes an Amazon packing slip and an Amazon gift receipt. This was not packed up in somebody's home.

I believe after I bought the item on eBay, the seller used a stolen credit card to buy one on Amazon. They get to keep the money I sent them through PayPal without paying for the product I was shipped.

I've been looking for a case for so long that I recruited a friend in PA to help me search. One of the first places he looked was Amazon and found only, as he put it, "cheap Amazon junk". I'm not sure why it didn't turn up for him when he looked before Christmas.

I didn't look on Amazon myself. I rarely shop on their site. I don't like how they've taken over the world. I prefer to spread my money around. I did find the listing on Amazon yesterday after the case arrived by Amazon. It wouldn't have been cheaper for me to buy it from Amazon in the first place. I don't have a Prime account. I would've had to pay $6-7 for shipping.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Dropshipping like that doesn't necessarily mean it was bought with a stolen credit card, just that you could have saved money perhaps by buying it directly from amazon (if you had a prime account). Dropshipping is a big "hustle" now, I see Reddit posts for it all the time. It's not ethical exactly for the seller to do this, but you are not obligated to return it. It's just an easy way for someone to make a little bit of money without having to keep their own inventory or taking the risk of keeping product that might not sell.

[Barnacle_lady]

Amazon does have a gift option where the buyer (your seller in this case) gives your address to ship the item to. Even in wrapping paper if wanted. So it doesn't mean this was bought with a stolen credit card.

[Galactica]

I wouldn't assume fraud either.

[Taffeta]

Also, if you would have had to pay amazon shipping, but they had prime and thus had it shipped to you via that method, they've taken care of that potential shipping cost too. Prime is expensive. They have to pay a fair whack for that annually unless they are a student. Of course, if your theory is correct they could have used a stolen card to set up a membership with a prime trial but the question there is, how many feedback does your seller have and how long have they been selling?

If a long time and a lot of feedback, seems much more likely this is their account and their business model. I don't see any reason to assume fraud unless there's other evidence to point that way. I don't particularly like this way of doing sales either, but at the end of the day they provided you with the item you paid for and they did so through a legitimate company and shipping method. They've fulfilled their obligation as the seller.

[LadyMoondancer]

Dropshipping is legal on eBay.  I admit I do get annoyed when people dropship to me.  I don't leave them negative (or neutral) feedback because, as I said, it's within eBay's rules.

I believe after I bought the item on eBay, the seller used a stolen credit card to buy one on Amazon. They get to keep the money I sent them through PayPal without paying for the product I was shipped.

Uh, no.  They legally bought it off Amazon and entered your address as a "gift recipient", instructing Amazon to directly mail you the item.

If you look at the link Pokeyonekenobie provided and compare it to the eBay one, the eBay listing costs $9.13, while the Amazon one costs $6.99.  So that is where the seller is making a profit.  $2.14 profit minus eBay fees and Paypal fees.  Not much. But the little bit of profit they DO make comes with almost no effort since they don't have to acquire stock or keep it on hand.  They just put in Amazon orders and that's it.  That's drop-shipping in a nutshell.

It cost you less than you would've paid on Amazon since you don't have an Amazon Prime account, so it seems like it was a net win for you in this case.

[sailorstitch]

I guess I won't worry about it....