Drop shipping is defined as a supply management method in which sellers do not keep products in stock. Instead, they partner with a manufacturer or a wholesaler and simply transfer orders to them. Then the manufacturer or wholesaler ships the goods directly to the customer. As in any other retail business, sellers usually make their profit on the difference between the wholesale and retail price, though it is possible for them to work on a commission.

Many ecommerce sites rely on drop shipping. How does bidorbuy view this practice?

Strictly speaking, drop shipping is not allowed on bidorbuy. Sell what you have at hand is one of our basic tenets and our Listing Policy stipulates that it is prohibited to list an item as a pre-order, or an item that has not been yet been delivered to the seller.

However, some exceptions to the rule were originally allowed. Our Listing Policy goes on to state: This excludes sellers operating on a drop ship or consignment basis where the seller has a proven track record and an established relationship with suppliers that ship directly to their buyers. Permission needs to be obtained from bidorbuy and approval is entirely at the discretion of bidorbuy.

(By the way, if a seller sells an item, uses that money to buy the item from his supplier, has the item shipped to himself and then sends it on to his customer… that is not drop shipping. That is something akin to obtaining funds under false pretences and is strictly forbidden on bidorbuy.)

In the past, bidorbuy has granted permission to drop ship to some sellers. The list of the sellers can be found on this page.

Those sellers are still allowed to drop ship, providing, of course, that they state delivery times clearly in their listings and that they maintain good ratings on the site.

As for the rest… Well, we have decided not to grant any more drop shipping permissions, because there were simply too many misunderstandings and issues between sellers and buyers. The problems include, but are not limited to: delivery delays, customs issues, returns and non-compliance with the Customer Protection Act.

So, in short, new applications for drop shipping will not even be even considered.

It goes without saying that sellers who are still allowed to use the drop ship method are the ones responsible for the fulfilment of orders. Should any major problems arise, bidorbuy can revoke the permission to drop ship for any seller, at any time.