That is already exactly what the article says.
> All this is legal and often done well. But the anonymity it confers means there is also abuse.
> Dropshipping: Hustlers making millions from goods they never handle
And who are you quoting? The article doesn't include the word 'poisons' at all.
Most people view arbitrage as kind of scummy unless there's some actual value-add. In many cases, there is some, like using domain expertise to find cheaper or more reliable versions of the same product, or the time-cost of finding sales. Those are things that people are often fine paying a nominal markup for as long as it still presents a better deal for them. But that's not always the case, obviously. There's a reason why "cutting out the middleman" is a popular phrase.
I put "poisons the well" in quotes to indicate it's a stock phrase: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_the_well
What you see with the "hustler" dropshippers now is that they are buying from an additional middleman, who is the equivalent of a bucket salesman in a gold rush. Dropshipping existed before Amazon, but Amazon took over fullfilment, and these other middlemen became the suppliers for the people trying to get rich quick with dropshipping.
The original concept of dropshipping was that you'd get a product manufactured (or would sell a white-label product, or would be a reseller for a large company), but the product would go straight from the manufacturer to the consumer without having to stop at your own warehouse.
It makes a lot of sense in lots of businesses and has no reason to yield counterfeits, it avoids having to hold stock (so your costs are lower which means you can sell for less, or can leave more to the manufacturer) yet the product doesn't have to stop by your warehouse so the buyer waits less.
Many sellers or designers don't manufacture their products, they contract the manufacturing to a company with those capabilities (often in SEA), they might QA every piece initially to make sure everything's ship shape, but once every kink has been worked out they only need to sample to ensure the product conforms to expectations (or separately contract on-site QA at the manufacturer), they don't need to personally inspect every product.
At that point, if the manufacturer can drop-ship, chances are it's a win for everyone.
It's apparent that dropshippers know they are being dishonest and simply don't care, in a similar manner how fraudsters don't care if their victims get the shaft.
My front page of saved searches on ebay is over 50% counterfeits, I complain to eBay relentlessly. Also try hitting amazon.fr and search Balmain. At least 60% counterfeit, just one example.
If the governments will do NOTHING to set an example on the largest dropshippers in the world, why on earth would the small fry hesitate to compete in this space? Why should ebay and amazon reap all the profits from stolen intellectual propery?
Clickbait means deliberately withholding a key piece of information from a headline ("you'll never believe what this area woman found in her piano" etc) - this headline doesn't do that.
It's a decent interview with someone who expresses a view of the industry as sketchy. I don't get the disdain.
Edit: thanks for all the answers.
Wait, what you're describing above isn't dropshipping.
This is why trade creates wealth!
Isn't that fraud?
The reason why "dropshipping" exists is: there are lots of factories in China who make stuff and either don't want to distribute or can't distribute. More recently, Amazon fba exists too so you don't need physical space at all.
Also: this is part of this modern meme where a new term is invented that totally obfuscates actual meaning. The point of "dropshipping" is just to give people something they want...it is just a business. But the term has been imputed with all kinds of odd ideas about what activities are legitimate for a business to perform. It is really very unhelpful if you want to understand business.
The most consistent source of surface-level, near clickbait articles that make it to the top of HN is the BBC.
What is the article you wanted to see? "Some fraction of cheap goods from China are fake; some buyers displeased."