Free course · Lesson 6 of 8

Your first order, start to finish

The first sale is exciting and slightly terrifying. Here's the sequence that keeps it calm.

The checklist

1. Confirm the order. Check the item, quantity, variant (size/color) and the shipping address on the eBay order.
2. Re-check Amazon. Is it in stock? Is the price still within your margin? If not, decide now whether to buy at a thinner margin or cancel (and expect a mark against you).
3. Buy on Amazon with the buyer's address as the ship-to. Use a gift option so the invoice doesn't show prices, where that is available.
4. Save the confirmation and, when it arrives, the tracking number.
5. Upload tracking to eBay as soon as you have it, well within your handling time.
6. Watch it to delivery. Answer any buyer message the same day.

Tracking is where beginners stumble

Amazon sometimes uses its own delivery network, whose tracking numbers eBay may not recognize. Uploading an unrecognized number can show up as a tracking defect. The practical fix is to upload a carrier-trackable number once it exists. This is exactly the kind of detail our late shipment guide covers.

What to do when something goes wrong

• Amazon delays: message the buyer early with a real date. Silence is what generates cases.
• Wrong item: apologize, offer a replacement or refund quickly. See item not as described.
• Return request: here's the returns playbook.

Synked helps here: orders are placed, tracking is uploaded in a carrier-trackable form, and you get an alert only when something needs a human.

Next: Lesson 7: Customer service and account health.