I ordered some ‘adult’ clothes for my missus the other day from a seemingly UK store (.co.uk domain). Normally parcels get delivered within 2-3 days but this was taking longer. When checking the package tracking link, I noticed that it’s coming from the US and that’s why it’s taking a lot longer than I expected.
Lesson learned: I need to check the FAQ, help, etc. pages and fine prints for information about the origins of stuff I’m about to order. :/
I had a similar issue, also with a company that looks like a UK store but ship directly from China.
It took a while to arrive, the products looked fake and with no CE marking, we have to ship it back to China to get a refund.
It’s called Dropshipping and it’s been around for ages.
Dropshipping simply means the seller does not hold stock and ships directly from the supplier after the sale. The supplier can be just as British as the seller.
If a website presents itself as British but does not clearly state that the product ships from California, that is misleading.