BackToMe est l'infrastructure de conformité au droit de rétractation (obligation européenne, directive (UE) 2023/2673, en vigueur depuis le 19 juin 2026 ; en France, l'article L.221-21). Installée avec une ligne de code, elle reçoit la demande du client, lui envoie un accusé de réception par e-mail qu'il garde, et l'archive datée et impossible à modifier après coup pendant 5 ans. Installer le bouton couvre ce que la loi exige et donne une preuve solide pour chaque demande.

Who is responsible for the withdrawal button in dropshipping: me or the supplier?

You, the reseller. The sales contract is formed between your site and the end customer. AliExpress, Oberlo, Spocket, Doba or any other supplier is not a party to the contract with the consumer. The customer buys on your site, you invoice, you are the trader within the meaning of the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU). The button obligation falls directly on you.

How do I handle withdrawal when the parcel comes from China with 20 days in transit?

The 14-day withdrawal period runs from actual delivery to the consumer, not from the order. If the parcel takes 20 days to arrive, the customer has 14 days after that date to withdraw. On the refund side, you have 14 days from the withdrawal (or from proof of dispatch of the return), regardless of whether you have recovered the parcel from your supplier.

Can I refuse a refund if my supplier will not take the goods back?

No. Your obligation towards the consumer is independent of your commercial relationship with your supplier. You must refund in full within 14 days, even if AliExpress refuses to take the goods back. The commercial risk of dropshipping includes this asymmetry: you are bound by the law of your customer's country (Rome I, Regulation (EC) No 593/2008; for a customer in Ireland, Irish law), your foreign supplier is not.

My dropshipping site is in English and in dollars: am I concerned?

If you target an EU country (delivery accepted, payments in euros, local language available, geo-targeted marketing), yes. Rome I Regulation Article 6 considers that you are directing your activity towards that country and imposes the consumer's country-of-residence law (for example Irish law for a customer in Ireland). The nationality or location of your company matters little; what counts is the direction of the commercial activity.

How do you become compliant when you hold no physical stock?

The withdrawal button is purely a digital tool. No stock required, no logistics to manage on the BackToMe side. You install it in five minutes: on Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Wix or any platform, a single tag is enough. The form, the acknowledgement of receipt and the archiving are handled automatically. The only real piece of work left is your refund process on the Stripe side.

Dropshipping sector

Withdrawal button and dropshipping: who is really responsible?

Last reviewed on July 22, 2026

In dropshipping, many e-commerce sellers think compliance rests on the supplier (AliExpress, Oberlo, Spocket, Doba, CJDropshipping). That is wrong. For the regulator as for the judge, the trader responsible for the withdrawal button (European obligation, Directive (EU) 2023/2673, since 19 June 2026) is you, the reseller.

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The withdrawal button on your store, whatever your supplier.

The contract is between you and the customer

Dropshipping rests on a commercial reality: your supplier ships on your behalf. Legally, that changes nothing. The end customer sees your site, pays on your Stripe, receives your invoice. Under the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU), the trader is the one who contracts. That is you.

This classification has three direct consequences:

•You must install the button on your store, regardless of whether the supplier offers a similar tool.
•You must send the acknowledgement of receipt to the customer, by an email they keep, from your own address.
•You must refund within 14 days, even if your supplier is slow to take back or refuses the goods.

The trap of commercial asymmetry

Your refund obligation is owed to the consumer within 14 days. Your relationship with AliExpress or Oberlo is governed by other rules, usually Chinese or American law, and includes much longer return windows (30 to 60 days), sometimes prohibitive return fees, and refusals to take back orders that exceed a certain time limit.

In practice, you may have to refund 50 € to an Irish customer on the 15th day, and have no recourse to recover that amount from your Chinese supplier. This differential is a hidden cost of dropshipping, to factor into your pricing.

The "start date" rule for long-transit parcels

The customer's 14-day period begins at actual delivery, not at the order. For a parcel that takes 20 days to arrive from China, your customer has 14 days after receipt to withdraw. Common practice: record the delivery date from the parcel tracking and calculate the period from there.

On the refund side, you have 14 days from the withdrawal to refund, OR 14 days from proof of dispatch of the return if you have chosen that option in your terms and conditions. That is generally shorter than the full return cycle with your supplier. Be prepared to refund before you have recovered the goods.

Site in English, payment in dollars: are you concerned?

Many dropshippers host their store in English with payment in dollars to target the United States or international markets. If you accept orders from an EU country (for example Ireland), Rome I Regulation Article 6 applies: you are directing your activity towards that country, and its law imposes the withdrawal button.

Criteria that characterise the direction of activity

Delivery to Ireland accepted, prices displayable in euros, an English (Ireland) version available, advertising targeted at an Irish audience (geo-targeted Facebook Ads), a .ie or .eu domain, customer reviews from Irish buyers. Three or more criteria are enough to establish targeting. Details in the article Selling to EU consumers from abroad.

Quick installation in dropshipping

The withdrawal button is purely digital. No stock, no logistics to manage on the BackToMe side. Allow five minutes: on Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, PrestaShop or any platform, you just paste a single line of code onto your store. Most dropshipping stores run on Shopify: see our dedicated page withdrawal button for Shopify.

The only real piece of work in dropshipping is your refund process on the Stripe or PayPal side, which must be able to run within 14 days even when the parcel is still in transit back to your supplier.

Your sector has its own rules

The withdrawal right applies differently depending on what you sell. See also:

Marketplaces and third-party sellers: who is responsible for the button.
Fashion and textiles: try-ons, made-to-measure, sealed items.
The 13 exceptions to the withdrawal right.

Your sector is concerned: the proof that protects you, set up in five minutes

The withdrawal button is a European obligation (Directive (EU) 2023/2673) since 19 June 2026. BackToMe sets it up, proves every request and applies the law of each EU country. 7-day free trial, 0 € today.

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