The consumer model does not require a brick-and-mortar store for a dropshipping business. It can be eliminated entirely, or combined with a dropshipped order fulfillment business model. A physical retailer might display shipped items, provide details on mail-order items through a catalog, or maintain a website with information only available online. A virtual retailer has only one website.[citation needed]

Drop shipping retailers are not required to disclose the practice, nor, like any other retailer, the wholesale source of the products they offer. This can be “blind shipping” (shipping the goods without a return address specified by the seller), “private label shipping” (customizing the goods shipped from the wholesaler with a return address to the retailer) or Can be achieved by using complementary home. The final order fulfillment may also include a customized packing slip, including the retailer’s company name, logo, and contact information.

In rare circumstances drop shipping may occur when a small retailer (who typically sells small quantities to the general public) receives a single large order for a product. The retailer may arrange for the goods to be shipped directly from the manufacturer or distributor to the customer.

Sellers on online auction sites like eBay also use drop shipping to distribute products without storing the sold items. A seller will list an item as new, and buy items that are shipped directly from the wholesaler to the customer. The seller’s profit is the difference between the selling and wholesale prices, minus any related sales, merchant, or shipping fees accrued to them. However, some drop shipping methods used by sellers are not permitted under the eBay Terms of Service. This includes drop shipping methods in which the seller fulfills the order by purchasing the item from another online marketplace and shipping the item to the customer. Sellers using this method may be suspended from eBay.

Products may be listed as available by a dropshipping retailer but are actually backordered with the item’s wholesaler or manufacturer. Such potential delays in order fulfillment are not always known to Seller, or when known. They may also be extended beyond the seller’s control. Similarly, delays in order fulfillment and shipping are beyond the seller’s control, yet can adversely affect the buyer’s ultimate satisfaction with their transaction. It places a premium on the provision of timely and accurate information by the seller before and after the purchase.