Shipping policy

Shipping Policy

This Shipping Policy explains how Retail North Ltd ("Retail North", "we") despatches Products to End Customers and to wholesale account holders. It applies in addition to our Wholesale & Drop Ship Terms of Service and forms part of those Terms.

We ship from Northern Ireland to the UK, the European Union, and worldwide. Shipping is operated under the Windsor Framework, which means we can move goods to both UK and EU destinations efficiently from a single fulfilment base.

1. Where We Ship

We ship globally, including:

• United Kingdom — Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Republic of Ireland
• European Union — all member states
• EFTA — Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein
• Rest of World — most international destinations, subject to carrier coverage and any export restrictions

Some destinations or specific Products may be unavailable due to carrier restrictions, sanctions, or regulatory limits. We reserve the right to refuse or limit shipments to any destination at our discretion.

2. Despatch Times

Despatch timing depends on the type of Order.

Drop ship Orders (single-item or small parcels shipped direct to your End Customer)

Orders received and paid or authorised by 11:00 GMT/BST on a Business Day are despatched the same Business Day, subject to stock availability. Orders received after 11:00, or on non-Business Days, are despatched on the next Business Day.

We commit to a same-day / next-Business-Day despatch SLA of 90%, measured monthly, on in-stock drop ship Orders. The SLA does not apply where Products are out of stock; in that case we will notify you of expected availability within one (1) Business Day.

Wholesale (bulk) Orders (larger consolidated orders shipped to your warehouse or a single fulfilment address)

For bulk wholesale Orders we ask for 1 to 7 Business Days to despatch. We endeavour to despatch as quickly as we can — most wholesale Orders go out well within this window — but the 7-Business-Day allowance lets us pick, quality-check, consolidate, and pack larger Orders properly without compromising accuracy.

Split shipments

Where a wholesale Order includes some items that are in stock and some that are awaiting incoming stock, we may, at our discretion and to speed up delivery, split the Order and despatch the in-stock items first, with the balance following once the remaining items arrive. We will let you know in advance if we plan to split an Order.

Split shipments are made under the same terms as the original Order. Where a split is made for our operational convenience and is not separately requested by you, no additional carriage charge is applied to the second shipment beyond what was originally quoted. Where you specifically request a split for your own reasons, additional carriage may apply at the rates in our Shipping Rate Card.

A "Business Day" means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday in Northern Ireland.

3. Carriers

We use Royal Mail, DPD, Parcelforce, and UPS as our primary carriers. The specific carrier for each Order is selected based on service, destination, weight, and value, generally choosing the lower-cost option (shown as "Best" in our Shipping Rate Card) unless you specifically request an alternative service, in which case the carriage cost is the actual cost of that service.

4. Indicative Transit Times

Transit times below are estimates from despatch and are provided by the carriers. Final delivery is within the carrier's control, not ours.

Customs clearance, remote-area surcharges, and recipient unavailability may extend these times. Carrier delays alone do not entitle a refund of carriage charges.

5. Shipping Charges

Shipping charges are set out in our Shipping Rate Card, available on request to wholesale account holders. The Rate Card shows, for each destination country, the UPS zone, the Royal Mail base rate, the Royal Mail per-kg rate, and the Royal Mail and UPS charges at weight bands of 0.5kg, 1kg, 5kg, 10kg, 15kg, and 20kg, together with the lower-cost ("Best") option at each weight band.

Royal Mail prices in the Rate Card include a 6.5% fuel surcharge. UPS prices already include the carrier's fuel charge from its pricelist.

A Picking Fee of £1.30 per Product shipped is applied to each Order in addition to the carriage charge. The Picking Fee covers handling, packing, label generation, and per-item fulfilment cost.

We may pass through carrier rate changes on not less than four (4) weeks' written notice (or such longer period as we receive from our carriers).

6. Incoterms and VAT

The applicable Incoterm for all shipments is DAP (Delivered at Place) to the End Customer's address. DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) terms are available on request and by separate quotation.

VAT treatment of our invoice depends on the destination:

• United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland): UK VAT applies at the prevailing rate, as the goods remain within the UK VAT territory. An EU VAT registration on your account does not change this.
• European Union (under the Windsor Framework): Our invoice is zero-rated as an intra-community B2B supply, provided your EU VAT Number is valid on VIES and we hold satisfactory commercial evidence of dispatch to the EU. Destination-country VAT on your onward B2C sale (OSS / IOSS) is your responsibility as merchant of record.
• Switzerland, Norway, and other non-EU / non-UK destinations: Our invoice is zero-rated as an export, provided we hold satisfactory commercial evidence of export. The End Customer is the importer of record and is responsible for local import VAT, duties, and clearance charges, unless DDP is separately agreed.

You are solely responsible for any VAT, duty, or other tax arising on your onward sale to End Customers, including any obligation to register, collect, and remit destination-country VAT.

7. Risk and Title

Risk in the Products passes to you on despatch from our (or our nominated carrier's) premises. For drop-shipped Orders, delivery to the End Customer at your direction is deemed delivery to you.

Legal and beneficial title in the Products passes to the End Customer on physical delivery. As between you and us, title in the Products and in the proceeds of onward sale does not pass to you until we have received payment in full of the Price for those Products and all other sums then due.

8. Insurance

Shipments are insured up to £100 per parcel as standard. Higher insured value is available on request and at additional cost, payable by you. We recommend additional insurance for shipments above £100 in value, particularly to international destinations.

9. Address Accuracy

You warrant that all delivery information provided for each End Customer is complete and accurate. We accept no liability for delays, misdelivery, or additional carriage charges arising from incorrect or incomplete information you supply.

If a courier is unable to deliver due to an incorrect or incomplete address, or due to recipient unavailability, the parcel may be returned to us. If re-delivery is required, the cost of return shipping and re-sending will apply, plus a re-delivery fee where the return was caused by incorrect information at checkout.

If you notice an address error after placing an Order, contact us immediately at support@retail-north.com — we may be able to correct it before despatch.

10. Tracking

A tracking number is provided for every shipment that uses a tracked service. Tracking links are issued by email at the time of despatch and can also be retrieved from your wholesale account. We recommend forwarding tracking details to your End Customer at the point of despatch.

For split shipments, each part of the Order will have its own tracking number, issued at the point each part is despatched.

11. Damaged, Missing, or Lost Shipments

If your shipment arrives damaged, please email support@retail-north.com within 48 hours of delivery with clear photos of the item, the outer packaging, the packing slip, and the shipping label. We will arrange a replacement and may provide a prepaid return label if required.

Any claim for shortage, damage in transit, or non-delivery must be notified in writing to support@retail-north.com within five (5) Business Days of delivery or expected delivery. Claims for latent defects must be notified within a reasonable time of discovery.

Where an Order has been split into multiple shipments, claim windows run from the delivery (or expected delivery) date of each individual shipment, not the original Order date.

For lost shipments, we will work with the carrier to investigate and either deliver, replace, or refund the Order in line with our Returns process. Carrier investigation timeframes typically run from 10 to 21 Business Days depending on destination.

12. Customs and Restricted Goods

For shipments outside the UK and EU, the End Customer is the importer of record and is responsible for any import VAT, duties, and clearance charges, unless DDP terms have been separately agreed.

You are responsible for ensuring the Products you sell can be lawfully imported into the destination country and that any End Customer-facing listings include appropriate import-cost disclaimers. We do not refund Orders refused, abandoned, or returned by an End Customer for non-payment of import charges; standard return-shipping and re-delivery fees apply.

Some Products (including batteries and certain regulated goods) are subject to dangerous-goods or transport restrictions and may not be available to all destinations. We will notify you at point of Order if a destination cannot be served.

13. Service Disruption

We are not liable for delays caused by events outside our reasonable control, including carrier strikes, weather events, customs delays, public-health restrictions, or other force majeure events.

14. Contact

Operational support: support@retail-north.com Hours: Monday to Friday, 12:00–20:00 GMT/BST (excluding Northern Ireland public holidays) Target response: one (1) Business Day for initial acknowledgement; five (5) Business Days for resolution of standard queries.

Retail North Ltd · Company No. NI650267 · 54 Scarva Road, Banbridge, Northern Ireland, BT32 3AU