Mercado Libre DropShipping

Based out of Argentina (where it was founded in 1999), Mercado Libre (‘free market’ in Spanish) operates in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Spain, Uraguay and Venezuela. eBay also operates branded stores on Mercado Libre in some territories, and cooperates in growing it and promoting it.

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How is Mercado Libre different from other shopping carts?

Mercado Libre offers its own payment platform and credit facilities, as well as its marketplace platform, making it robust and able to adapt to the needs of its customers and sellers. They work with more than 3,000 brands and stores across the South American market, giving them great visibility to their customers.

 

Why Dropship with Mercado Libre?

If your products can be shipped reliably in the South American market, then it’s an area with a lot of potential, though you should research the market and your competition thoroughly. Brazil is part of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) group of emerging countries which comprise 42% of the world’s population, 23% of the global GDP and 30% of its territory (Not to mention more than 18% of the total global trade).

 

Pros and Cons of Mercado Libre DropShipping

There are some really lucrative reasons to start DropShipping with Mercado Libre!

  • Large coverage geographically, and contains a large number of customers in developing economies with increasing amounts of spending power
  • Provides their own fulfilment centers that suppliers can take advantage of to enable access for dropshippers in the areas covered
  • Constantly investing in their own markets and development, showing confidence in the potential that the areas offer

As with all marketplaces, Mercado Libre presents some issues that you’ll need to be aware of ahead of selling on the platform:

  • You’ll need to do plenty of research ahead of time on potential customers and products
  • As an emerging market, there is lots of opportunity – but that means you’ll also face a lot of competition
  • Some delivery networks and other facilities may be inconsistent, so you may face issues around delivery and concerns on fraudulent claims