Recognising and avoiding dropshipping

In the following image galleries, you will find some distinguishing features of dropshipping web shops. If you spot any of these, you should shop elsewhere for a variety of reasons! If you find any of these, we advise against placing an order – not least because of the ecological footprint that this leaves behind.

• The website and company name bear typically German-sounding names.
• However, the dropshipping retailer is very often based in the Netherlands.
• The suppliers are almost always located in the Far East/China and not in Germany or Austria.
• Photos on the site are often created using AI and often show a physical shop that does not actually exist.
• Naming, visual elements and emphasis on the high quality of the goods, as well as a fictional company history and similar elements, are intended to create trust in the reliability of the company and the quality of its products.
• Remain sceptical when a company claims to be "rich in tradition". You can check the activation date of the internet address on a Who-is page.

• According to the EU Directive on electronic commerce, an imprint must contain the name of the company, a geographical address of the actual place of business (an address suitable for official and legal notifications), as well as a telephone number and an email address so that customers can contact the company. If available, a VAT number must also be provided.
• Dropshipping sites often lack at least some of this mandatory information.

• If, despite the web shop appearing to be local or European, the company address is in the Far East, then it is dropshipping.
• Dropshipping has been booming in the Netherlands for years. Tech companies specialising in dropshipping (supplier intermediaries) recommend the Netherlands as a starting point for aspiring dropshippers. Excellent infrastructure for imports (Chinese container ships arriving in Rotterdam) meets a good distribution network with the best delivery times to the largest EU markets. In addition, Dutch e-commerce is the most developed in Europe (in 2023, 92% of Dutch households shopped at online stores, compared to 72% in Austria). The rapidly growing start-up scene around dropshipping and, last but not least, the unbureaucratic process of setting up a business also contribute to new dropshipping shops being established every day.
• Dropshippers want to avoid returns, so they often do not provide a European address. If they do provide one, it often comes with a note stating that nothing may be returned to that address.

• The vast majority of dropshipping sites are created using the Canadian global market leader Shopify .
• Shopify sells templates for easily creating a web shop with identical design elements.
• Dropshippers often operate several online shops and rarely change the template.
• The same layout: the login area at the top, a single-line discount banner below it, often a pop-up with an email query, the main area with a large main photo depending on the target group, click boxes for product categories superimposed on it, a single-colour block with business, payment and contact information at the bottom of the page.

• Is there a telephone number?
• Is the country code (+43 for Austria and +49 for Germany) different from the domain ending ('.at' for Austria and '.de' for Germany)?
• Is a telephone number in the Netherlands (+31) provided instead?
• Is there only a text input field in the online shop instead of an email address to contact the company?

• The page contains spelling mistakes or strange expressions, mostly in the subheadings.
• The Shopify template has been sloppily translated into German and other languages

• Relevant information (e.g. return postage costs, specific delivery times) is hidden.
• Misleading information (origin of goods, information about the company, etc.)
• Try to retrieve the customer's email immediately.
• Other psychological tricks to the detriment of visitors (e.g. pressure to make a purchase, false scarcity, etc. See our article on dark patterns )

• Reviews displayed on the shop page can be easily manipulated.
• On Trustpilot (or other objective review platforms), the overall picture of genuine customer experiences is often disastrously poor.

• Clauses in the terms and conditions of some dropshippers exclude returns, which is a clear violation of EU law on distance selling.
• EU law allows you to withdraw from the contract for internet orders within 14 days of receiving the goods, without giving any reason. Many dropshippers deliberately provide incorrect information and write about "approval after checking the return" in their terms and conditions. If you declare your withdrawal from the contract in writing (e.g. via email) and then return the goods, you must also get your money back!
• The terms and conditions of dropshipping companies must clearly and comprehensively state their return policy. "Service" is offered at the point where the return method should be explained.
• Above all, no return address is deliberately given at this point.
• Those wishing to return items should instead contact customer service.
• However, customer service does not offer a return option, but instead attempts to dissuade consumers from returning items by offering discounts on future orders or price reductions. Those who persist are given the option of returning the item to Asia as a last resort. We advise against this!

• A clause in the terms and conditions (return policy) regularly stipulates that consumers must bear the return costs.
• The transfer of return costs to consumers must be clearly and comprehensibly indicated before the contract is concluded. If this is not fulfilled, the company must bear these costs itself.
• Information on this is often hidden and (if available at all) can usually only be found by actively searching for it.
• The return shipping costs (e.g. to China) are usually disproportionate to the value of the goods.

• The online shop is listed on the Internet watch list and has been classified as problematic.
• This happens when there are a particularly large number of complaints. Avoid such shops at all costs!

• If the delivery is significantly overdue or if you have doubts and would like to cancel the undelivered goods, you have the right to cancel free of charge. To do so, download our sample letter "✉️ before delivery", fill it out and send it to the online shop.
• You can return the order within the 14-day cooling-off period from receipt of the goods. You do not need to give a reason for doing so, and the retailer must refund the purchase price. However, you must declare your withdrawal from the purchase contract in writing before returning the goods! Please use our sample letter "✉️ after delivery" for this purpose.
• Have you received a defective product? Or has the product broken within the warranty or guarantee period? In that case, the online shop must offer a solution and may not hide behind the supplier. Please use our sample letter ✉️ "Warranty" for this purpose.
• The online shop is not obliged to provide a domestic return address. It may also provide the supplier's address for parcel returns. However, it must have mentioned this at the time of sale. It must also specify the costs for the return shipment. Such costs and fees can be considerable! In dropshipping, the return policy is often not explained correctly when the order is placed. You are then expected to pay the expensive return postage to China yourself. Do not agree to this! Instead, first declare your withdrawal from the purchase using the sample letter ✉️ after delivery. In a second step, use the sample letter ✉️ Dropshipping return postage to refuse to pay for the expensive return shipment.

When you place an order with an online shop, you enter into a contract with that shop. It is irrelevant whether it uses dropshipping or not. The online shop is your contractual partner; it is responsible for delivering a faultless product and must comply with the statutory return and warranty rules.