‘Consumers run the risk of bringing home unsafe products through dropshipping’

Dropshipping involves a seller who delivers directly to the customer through the producer; the seller has no stock. This makes it difficult to monitor safety.

Because we order more and more online, it is important that consumers become more aware of what they order and where they do it. Sometimes a webshop seems European, but the products still come from countries outside Europe via dropshipping. The purchased products therefore fall outside all safety guarantees (established in the EU and the Netherlands). For example, it may contain substances that we do not allow here in the Netherlands, such as hormone-disrupting substances, or that the sound of toys is much too loud and causes hearing damage in small children. Supervision of the safety and quality of these products purchased online is only possible to a very limited extent.

When purchasing online, consumers are mainly concerned about whether the product will arrive on time or will be delivered at all. Only 11 percent of people who order electronic items or toys online wonder whether the product is safe, according to research by VeiligNL.

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