Can i return items to my dropshipper ??

[Grifter]

I am looking into dropship and have read through all the T&C's for various dropshippers. Some accept returns (if unwanted) some dont (only if they are faulty) should all dropshippers accept non wanted returns ???

Are they under any legal obligation to ???

What you should look at is the law (although rarely looks like it in public view) will try to see the common sense. So there is no determinate answer as I see it. Because, there has been such a rapid growth in dropshipping and the genuine dropshippers of before and now.

So, if you go to an 'old school' wholesaler who offers dropshipping then he may have only ever have dealt with b2b terms and that would be all that should be applied.

If you go to some of the more modern dropshippers who act as middleman then I ain't got a clue.

If you have a dropshipper who you know has an active retail (sells to end users) department then here's the grey area. If they applied the DSR's to their own retail outlets but then when doing the exact same for you, i.e sending goods to an end user, but tried to negage responsibility to DSR's because you are acting as a middleman then there is room for debate.

A company would not be looked on favourably by any court if they had one rule for themselves and then another for their "agents". Even worse if they were a company that offered a whole package where you sign up to them for your own e-store and they populate it with their goods and they host the site and all the support is from them. If they then tried to give different terms to your customers compared to their retail end users then I'm sure they would have a problem because it looks like a deliberate attempt at negating rather than self protection. They hold the goods and send the goods to the end user. Self protection in a b2b relation therefore is very limited since really you are acting like an agent. If, for example, they were to say that they don't compy with the 7 day rule that someone can change their mind and return I cannot believe they would get away with that. It is an implied condition. They shouldn't send to an end user (even if they try and say "on someone's else's behalf") if they don't want to be mixed up with that.

Not really been tested though so sensible thing is to think as above and take it all literal. If they say they don't offer full customer rights yet they sell to end users and therefore do offer it, then should you be trading with them?

[Gothic Dropshipping]

if the dropshipper has a retail arm they're selling at retail, making large profits and dealing with retail customers as they should under DSRs, when selling as a dropshipper they are making minimal profits and selling B2B I don't get why you would expect them to trade under retail DSRs.

as an example you are a customer of a dropshipper, you sell 10 items with a retail price of £20 each item has cost to you of £10  you have made £100 profit, one item is returned to you because the end customer has decided they don't want it, you have to take a hit on the postage to them and the return postage back to you, let's say for the sake of giving it a figure the postage is £5 each way, a total of £10 - ok you've lost the profit of one item, you're still doing pretty ok a hit like this means little to you in the scheme of things.

Now lets look at the dropshipper, lets say they have sold the same 10 items at £10 through their dropshipping customer they are perhaps costing the dropshipper £9 each they've made £10 in TOTAL from the 10 transactions (their margins work on bulk selling not selling 4 or 5 items a day to provide a wage at the end of the week) if they handle retail DSRs for you their customer they have just lost the profit from 10 transactions because of 1 return from a 'change of mind' customer.

I think the problem here is so many people start dropshipping without really thinking about or taking on the responsibility of really running their own business, it's the "I sit back and make money without the work required to run a real retail business" mentality.

Just my thoughts, as I said before we don't accept returns for change of mind, our customers deal with them their selves and I'm not aware of any who aren't happy with this, although having also said before they are very rare if you're selling quality products and as I also said before I'm only talking about "change of mind" not breakages/faulty or not as described items as clearly any good dropshipper will accept them.

[scotserve]

If you have a dropshipper who you know has an active retail (sells to end users) department then here's the grey area. If they applied the DSR's to their own retail outlets but then when doing the exact same for you, i.e sending goods to an end user, but tried to negage responsibility to DSR's because you are acting as a middleman then there is room for debate.

They are not negating responsibility though, in one case they are selling to end users and must comply with the DSR's where as in the other they are NOT selling direct to the end user you are they are only posting the product on your behalf therefor it is you that must comply with the DSR's - it would be a total mess if you both were responsible under DSR, you as the dropshippee are the customers retailer. This is where many fall down in droppshipping in my view they take a simplistic look at dropshipping as a business when it is nothing more than a form of stock control, yes many companies "dress" it up as a "business package" but it is not

Many companies have both retail and wholesale arms of the same business but just because they sell retail they do not have to offer the same terms to wholesale customer, the price is different and so is the terms under law, consumers i.e. the end users are well protected under consumer laws, non consumers i.e. dropshippes are not covered under these laws of the land.

[Grifter]

Hmm I do come up with some rubbish when I have a drink lol

[scotserve]

Hmm I do come up with some rubbish when I have a drink lol

Thats why I stopped posting when pissed

[Rainee Bows]

Hmm I do come up with some rubbish when I have a drink lol

See i keep saying we need a Pan icon ..........

Vittu ....... 

Rain
xxxx

[Gothic Dropshipping]

Hmm I do come up with some rubbish when I have a drink lol

lol don't we all 

[scotserve]

Its the things I do when drunk that worries me more - like doing a tandem bungee jump off a 100ft crane 
Funny how lots of things sound better through an alcoholic haze.

[gordym75]

Its the things I do when drunk that worries me more - like doing a tandem bungee jump off a 100ft crane 
Funny how lots of things sound better through an alcoholic haze.

Yep. I climbed some scaffolding on a church once when drunk so I could ring the bell at the top. Seemed good at the time but when I seen the church the next day I was amazed I didn't end up in a sticky mess on the floor. Stupid alcohol thought processes!

[Dropshirt]

We drop Ship t-shirts and we do accept returns on garments ( excluding custom printed garments)  as long as it has not been worn and returned within 14 days. But its a different story for garment sellers as we need to offer exchanges for different sizes. 

[Gothic Dropshipping]

We drop Ship t-shirts and we do accept returns on garments ( excluding custom printed garments)  as long as it has not been worn and returned within 14 days. But its a different story for garment sellers as we need to offer exchanges for different sizes. 

I foolishly agreed to accept a return of a T-shirt just this week, customer said it was too small and they just tried it on, they were told it had to be returned with original packaging and in 'new' condition...

... what did I get... a t-shirt, no original bag, no card insert, covered in dog/cat hairs and stinking of perfume/deodorant.

[gordym75]

I foolishly agreed to accept a return of a T-shirt just this week, customer said it was too small and they just tried it on, they were told it had to be returned with original packaging and in 'new' condition...

... what did I get... a t-shirt, no original bag, no card insert, covered in dog/cat hairs and stinking of perfume/deodorant.

That's downright cheek. Had you already refunded them?

Had a customer trying to return a pair of boots a few weeks ago. They had had them for a fortnight so were well past the 7 working days I state in my T&Cs but I don't always refuse the return if I think their being genuine. They said I had sent them the wrong size but I pointed out that they were printed with American sizes and asked if they had tried them on. They then said they had bought them for a night out but couldn't wear them because "it was not safe to do so". I smelled a rat and refused to take them back unless they were faulty and never heard from them again. No doubt they had worn them on the night out then decided to try their luck. Bloody chancer.