Do you have any questions?
- Help & support
- Selling on Avasam
- Post-sale support
- Supplier related
- Products
- Shipping
- Account & subscription
- Finance
Our team are here to support you Mondays to Fridays 0900 - 1800 (excluding USA bank holidays), or Saturdays 1100 - 1700, via live-chat, email ([email protected]), telephone (+44 330 113 7788), or via our ticket system accessible within the platform.
Our help articles are available in our help center accessible here, via the question mark symbol in the top right corner within the platform, or by clicking ‘Resources’ and ‘Help center’ on the Avasam website.
Yes you can contact your suppliers directly but only by opening a ticket related to the order for which you have a query. This is accessed directly via your orders screen as explained here. All communications with suppliers must be via our ticket system so that we can step in and help when asked to do so.
We built Avasam to make DropShipping simple, secure and reliable. Whether you are just getting started in your online journey or are an established eCommerce business, we are here for you. We provide access to trusted USA-based suppliers that have been vetted by us, automation of the core order flow process so you can focus on your front end, and most importantly, we are here to support you - we are not perfect and we cannot promise things will not go wrong from time to time, but we will be here to guide you and if we do let you down, we will do our best to make it right.
An automated product listing tool takes the pain away from listing our products on your sales channel. We don’t yet support automated product listing tools on all our sales channels (we’re working on it) but where we do, it means that you can push our products (titles, descriptions, images and attributes) directly to your sales channel in just a few clicks. No more copying and pasting, simply click and list.
Yes, we can facilitate this on a case by case basis. Bulk purchase orders are subject to minimum order quantities. Please contact our customer support team should you wish to discuss this further.
Each product’s shipping cost is displayed within the product listing page. Our suppliers offer three standardised shipping services:
1) Expedited tracked (1-2 days);
2) Standard tracked (2-4 days);
3) Standard (3-5 days).
All items are dispatched from USA-based warehouses.
Sellers are free to choose which services they offer their customers or can bundle the shipping cost within the final sales price in order to offer ‘free shipping’.
1) Expedited tracked (1-2 days);
2) Standard tracked (2-4 days);
3) Standard (3-5 days).
All items are dispatched from USA-based warehouses.
Sellers are free to choose which services they offer their customers or can bundle the shipping cost within the final sales price in order to offer ‘free shipping’.
Avasam is integrated and compatible with the USA’s largest order management system provider, Linnworks. We will be releasing integrations with other leading order management system providers in the future.
Orders must be paid before they will be dispatched by your suppliers. We do not provide for manual payments on a per order basis as this is not efficient when automating a large volume of orders.
Sellers are required to register a payment card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express) before they start selling in order to ensure their orders flow seamlessly to suppliers. More details are available here.
Please be aware that some marketplaces may not disburse funds to your account in time to pay the cost of your Avasam order. It is up to you as a seller to manage any time difference between the payment of your order ahead of dispatch and receipt of funds from the sales channel you are selling on.
Sellers are required to register a payment card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express) before they start selling in order to ensure their orders flow seamlessly to suppliers. More details are available here.
Please be aware that some marketplaces may not disburse funds to your account in time to pay the cost of your Avasam order. It is up to you as a seller to manage any time difference between the payment of your order ahead of dispatch and receipt of funds from the sales channel you are selling on.
Yes, you can list products from your Avasam account to the following sales channels in just a few clicks, either individually or in bulk: BigCommerce, Shopify, WooCommerce and OnBuy.
Once you have integrated your online sales channel, registered your payment card and mapped the products you wish to sell, we will automate your entire order flow including product order details, payment, shipping instructions, dispatch confirmations, and synchronisation of your inventory levels between you, your suppliers and your sales channels.
No, unfortunately we are not able to provide a facility for single item product negotiations. We do appreciate that not all of our prices will meet your needs depending on your own operating cost base and channels via which you sell. We work tirelessly everyday to improve our product prices but cannot offer bespoke individual pricing. Please see below for further detail in relation to bulk purchases.
At present we do not, but this is something we will be offering in the future.
If an item is lost during shipping and the supplier cannot provide proof that it was delivered then the seller will be refunded in full.
If an item is damaged during shipping, it is treated the same as a Faulty Item, as explained below.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of a lost or damaged item, or if there is a problem with your customer’s order, then you can raise a query with the supplier via Avasam’s ticket system as explained here.
For more information, see our T&Cs available here.
If an item is damaged during shipping, it is treated the same as a Faulty Item, as explained below.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of a lost or damaged item, or if there is a problem with your customer’s order, then you can raise a query with the supplier via Avasam’s ticket system as explained here.
For more information, see our T&Cs available here.
Our suppliers are required to accept faulty item returns up to 60 days after the order is delivered. Beyond 60 days, the seller is required to defer to the manufacturer’s warranty and liaise with the manufacturer directly. For more information, see our T&Cs available here.
The supplier is responsible (subject to reasonable cost) to cover the cost of shipping a faulty or incorrect Item back to them from the customer. For more information, see our T&Cs available here.
The amount will be as per the original purchase invoice inclusive of shipping and VAT and as according to USA Distance Selling Regulations. For more information, see our T&Cs available here.
We require that all communications between sellers and suppliers take place within the Avasam ticket system. This enables us to intervene should a dispute occur and arbitrate in a fair manner as according to our dispute resolution policy. For more information, see our T&Cs available here.
Our suppliers are required to accept return items up to 30 days after the order is delivered. This covers any reason including ‘change of mind’ so long as the item is in ‘as new’, unused condition, with original packaging and labels. For more information, see our T&Cs available here.
Yes refunds are granted in relation to qualifying returns, lost items and faulty items as appropriate and as according to our T&Cs available here.
The customer is responsible to cover the shipping costs of general return items. You as a seller are of course free to cover this cost or offer a contribution if you chose to do so as part of your own customer support framework. For more information, see our T&Cs available here.
You can cancel an order up until the item is dispatched although we cannot always guarantee the instruction will reach the supplier in time. For example, you may request a cancellation once a supplier has already picked and packed the item and it is sitting amongst hundreds of other orders in the warehouse awaiting collection. In such circumstances, we will not be able to action the cancellation and you will be requested to follow the return item procedure. For more information, see our T&Cs available here.
All of our suppliers are based in the USA and all products are dispatched from USA-based warehouses.
All of our verified suppliers are personally vetted by us and can only join our marketplace upon invitation and approval. To verify suppliers we meet with their management (usually multiple times), review their product range and supply chain, undertake site visits, verify core details against their company registration and filings, and review their online footprint. All of our verified suppliers are registered USA companies, operating out of USA warehouses, and are VAT registered. Each verified supplier is assigned a dedicated supplier account manager who then manages and oversees the relationship.
Suppliers are permitted to increase prices and sometimes they have to in order to react to changes in their own costs.
The best way to protect yourself against price changes is to utilise our Pricing Rules functionality in order to set automated price rules (margin or GBP based) so that you can protect yourself without having to manually update your selling prices. More information on this is available here.
If you do not use the Pricing Rules functionality, we also apply a 3-day delay before price changes are applied, meaning you have time to react and update prices on your own sales channels. You will receive a notification of prices changes via the notification bell in the platform (top right hand corner) and can also access a log of price changes for the products you have sourced within the platform by clicking settings/inventory logs.
The best way to protect yourself against price changes is to utilise our Pricing Rules functionality in order to set automated price rules (margin or GBP based) so that you can protect yourself without having to manually update your selling prices. More information on this is available here.
If you do not use the Pricing Rules functionality, we also apply a 3-day delay before price changes are applied, meaning you have time to react and update prices on your own sales channels. You will receive a notification of prices changes via the notification bell in the platform (top right hand corner) and can also access a log of price changes for the products you have sourced within the platform by clicking settings/inventory logs.
Our suppliers are a mix of brand owners, manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers. All of our suppliers are registered limited companies and all are vetted by us during our onboarding process. Each of our suppliers is assigned an account manager meaning we are in regular communications with all of our suppliers.
We synchronise inventory levels every 30 minutes across your integrated sales channels. If a product goes out of stock (and your products listings are mapped correctly) we will update your listings and mark them as being out of stock to avoid overselling. We cannot guarantee that items will not go out of stock as our suppliers operate different models. Some offer a narrow range of products that they restock regularly while others focus on a wide range that may not be restocked.
When suppliers are away, or otherwise unable to fulfill orders, we will mark their products as unavailable for the time they are unable to ship orders. We will also notify you of such from the message ‘buzzboard’ on our home page.
We have a wide range of products across 15+ core categories. The quickest way to find out if we have a product you’re seeking is to sign up for a free account and browse our product catalogue and utilise our search filters. More information is available here.
Some suppliers do not authorise their products to be sold on certain sales channels, most typically specific marketplaces. Any products impacted by such restrictions are flagged with red text advising of such on both the product search page and within the product description page. Sellers are strongly advised not to sell products on channels the supplier does not authorise as they will not be willing to support sellers with product documentation if called upon.
We ask our suppliers to provide products with gross margins of at least 25% but we are aware this is not always applied. Some products have better margins and others worse, depending on your own sales channel and cost base.
We appreciate the frustration of scrolling through low margin products to find the hidden gems but if we strip out all of the low margin products, our sellers will gravitate towards the same products which will then erode the margins for all. We aim to strike the right balance and undertake periodic price reviews to remove products that are off-market, but we cannot capture them all.
Many of our sellers are successfully selling products on private branded websites at prices above those seen on certain leading marketplaces. This is possible because not everyone shops on marketplaces and people will often pay more for a good shopping experience on a professional and attractive looking website.
We appreciate the frustration of scrolling through low margin products to find the hidden gems but if we strip out all of the low margin products, our sellers will gravitate towards the same products which will then erode the margins for all. We aim to strike the right balance and undertake periodic price reviews to remove products that are off-market, but we cannot capture them all.
Many of our sellers are successfully selling products on private branded websites at prices above those seen on certain leading marketplaces. This is possible because not everyone shops on marketplaces and people will often pay more for a good shopping experience on a professional and attractive looking website.
We regularly offer information and advice about product opportunities via emails, our WhatsApp group, preset search filters and the buzzboard on our home page. However, we do not share specific products being sold successfully by sellers with other sellers. This would be a breach of trust and no seller would wish us to share their best selling lines with any other seller.
We run extensive checks on all of our supplier partners before accepting them onto the platform. We have a zero tolerance against counterfeit items as according to our Prohibited Items policy that all suppliers must accept when signing up to our T&Cs.
Each supplier has a different strategy with regards to restocking. Some have limited lines and restock frequently while others carry wider ranges but may not restock all of them.
We ask suppliers to only list products onto the platform for which there are good inventory levels. However this does not mean that all products on the platform carry good stock levels as lines may have sold down over time or may be part of a wider range, for example, different size and colour variations of the same item where some have better stock levels than others.
We ask suppliers to only list products onto the platform for which there are good inventory levels. However this does not mean that all products on the platform carry good stock levels as lines may have sold down over time or may be part of a wider range, for example, different size and colour variations of the same item where some have better stock levels than others.
All of our products are added to the catalogue with attributes, descriptions and images provided. Should you feel there is an issue with the product information you can report it directly within the product description page and our catalogue team will work with the supplier to evaluate and address it.
Avasam supports variation products, meaning that we group the variation products under one product listing. This means you can source all sizes and colours of an item in one selection and list them together on your webstore or marketplace.
At the time of writing (March 2021), this is relatively new functionality on the platform and so not all variation products will have data to support being listed as variation products. We are working on correcting the data for each of our suppliers to achieve this during the course of 2021, so please do bear with us if you locate variation products still listed as individual products.
At the time of writing (March 2021), this is relatively new functionality on the platform and so not all variation products will have data to support being listed as variation products. We are working on correcting the data for each of our suppliers to achieve this during the course of 2021, so please do bear with us if you locate variation products still listed as individual products.
Our suppliers are required to dispatch orders within 24 hours of payment on business days (excludes weekends and bank holidays).
We ask our suppliers to offer at least 1 tracked shipping service on all products. Tracking details are automatically uploaded from our suppliers to Avasam and onto your end customer.
Shipping prices are defined by our suppliers, but we work with them to keep these costs reasonable and Avasam enforces price bands for each of our 3 shipping levels. You can view the shipping costs for each item within the product listing page.
Our suppliers use plain packaging to ship your orders except where they are the brand owner for that product, when they may ship the product using their branded packaging. We require our suppliers to not include any marketing materials or invoices within their packages. This is respected 99% of the time but we have seen occasional instances where invoices have slipped into the packages by accident. In such circumstances we remind the suppliers of our policy whenever we are made aware of such by our sellers.
Most suppliers list the product price and shipping price separately. Some suppliers however do offer free standard shipping with an option to upgrade for an additional cost. You as a seller can chose whether or not to aggregate the shipping prices within your sales price in order to offer ‘free shipping’.
Our suppliers offer upto three standardised shipping services
1) Expedited tracked (1-2 days);
2) Standard tracked (2-4 days);
3) Standard (3-5 days).
All items are dispatched from USA-based warehouses.
As at the time of writing (March 2021) we only offer shipping within the USA, but our international shipping module will be launched later in the year.
1) Expedited tracked (1-2 days);
2) Standard tracked (2-4 days);
3) Standard (3-5 days).
All items are dispatched from USA-based warehouses.
As at the time of writing (March 2021) we only offer shipping within the USA, but our international shipping module will be launched later in the year.
Avasam integrates with a number of leading shipping providers, but most of our suppliers use their own preferred providers. The most commonly used are Hermes and Royal Mail.
At the time of writing (March 2021), Avasam only supports shipping within the USA, but we do support eBay’s Global Shipping Programme so our eBay sellers are able to take advantage of international selling. Our international shipping module will be launched during H2 2021.
We do not currently offer this functionality. Products are shipped in plain packaging though brand owners may ship in their own branded packaging. We have received requests for this functionality and will look at developing it at a future date.
Yes, we offer a free account where you can browse our extensive catalogue of USA-based DropShipping products and explore our platform functionality.
Once you are ready to start sourcing products for listing and sale in your online store, you will need to move to one of our paid subscriptions starting from just £19.99 + VAT per month, as set out here.
Once you are ready to start sourcing products for listing and sale in your online store, you will need to move to one of our paid subscriptions starting from just £19.99 + VAT per month, as set out here.
You can upgrade your account at any time. In the month you upgrade, you will be charged pro rata for the remainder of your subscription period at the new applicable rate.
Simply go to the top right-hand menu within the platform and click ‘Subscription’. Then click ‘Upgrade’ on the package you want to change to. Thereafter you’ll be billed monthly at the new rate.
Simply go to the top right-hand menu within the platform and click ‘Subscription’. Then click ‘Upgrade’ on the package you want to change to. Thereafter you’ll be billed monthly at the new rate.
We are always sorry to see any partner of ours leave but we understand that circumstances can dictate or that we may not be the right fit for you. Either way, we will not stand in your way and you are welcome back anytime!
If you wish to cancel your account you may first wish to consider downgrading to our free subscription level (kindly refer to above guidance on downgrading).
Or, if you wish to completely cancel, then simply go to the top right hand menu within the platform and select ‘Subscription’.
If your cancellation request is within 25 days of your last billing date, it will take effect on the next billing date.
If your cancellation request is beyond 25 days since your last billing date, you will need to pay for another month before your cancellation will take effect.
If you wish to cancel your account you may first wish to consider downgrading to our free subscription level (kindly refer to above guidance on downgrading).
Or, if you wish to completely cancel, then simply go to the top right hand menu within the platform and select ‘Subscription’.
If your cancellation request is within 25 days of your last billing date, it will take effect on the next billing date.
If your cancellation request is beyond 25 days since your last billing date, you will need to pay for another month before your cancellation will take effect.
We accept payment using most major credit cards including Visa, Mastercard and American Express. We don’t currently accept payment via PayPal but hope to offer this in the future.
If you wish to downgrade your subscription, simply go to the top right hand menu, select ‘Subscription’ and click ‘Downgrade’ on the package best suited to you.
If your downgrade request is within 25 days of your last billing date, it will take effect on the next billing date. Going forward, you will be invoiced at the lower rate and your monthly order processing allowance will be reduced accordingly.
If your downgrade request is beyond 25 days of your last billing date, you will need to pay for another month at the current rate before you are downgraded to your new package level.
If you have any problems, please reach out to our customer support team.
If your downgrade request is within 25 days of your last billing date, it will take effect on the next billing date. Going forward, you will be invoiced at the lower rate and your monthly order processing allowance will be reduced accordingly.
If your downgrade request is beyond 25 days of your last billing date, you will need to pay for another month at the current rate before you are downgraded to your new package level.
If you have any problems, please reach out to our customer support team.
Invoices are available to download from within the platform at any time. To access your invoices, click ‘Invoices’ in the left hand menu.
Sellers purchase the goods they sell directly from our suppliers. Avasam is not a party to the transaction. Avasam provides the automation technology, governance framework and customer support, but is not party to the sale and purchase of goods between the supplier and seller.
Once a new supplier partner has been approved, our aim is to complete the onboarding process within 2 weeks. The most common cause for delay is product data so the more complete data you can provide us, the quicker the process will be. We will of course explain what is required when we kick-off the process.
We are looking for supplier partners who are willing to work with us over the long-term sharing a common goal of growing the sales made via our platform. We are looking for a willingness to provide strong customer support to our sellers, accurate and complete product data, and of course attractive product margins that our sellers can work with, allowing for their own marketing and operating costs.
We will provide you with the full list of our prohibited items during your onboarding.
We will work with you to evaluate the commercial fit between us and if agreed we will proceed to create your account, import your products, evaluate your product data, integrate your system (or provide alternative means to support the automated order flow), and also provide training in advance of going live.
Yes we do, and we will provide guidance and training on this during your onboarding.
Within 24 hours on business days (excluding weekends and bank holidays).
Within the Avasam ticket system only so that there is a record of all communications and we can step in to assist if required.
Sellers or end-consumers can return items up to 30 days after the order is delivered. This covers any reason including ‘change of mind’ so long as the item is in ‘as new’, unused condition, with original packaging and labels. More information is available within our T&Cs.
The amount will be as per the original purchase invoice inclusive of shipping and VAT and as according to USA Distance Selling Regulations. More information is available within our T&Cs.
Yes, suppliers are required to respond to inbound queries from sellers within 24 hours on business days (excluding weekends and bank holidays). The reason for this is that your sellers will in turn be fronting the end-consumer customer support and so from time to time will require timely information from you.
It should be noted though that you will receive fewer inbound requests than if you were fronting all the end-consumer queries yourselves, as most can be dealt with by the seller without having to bother you.
It should be noted though that you will receive fewer inbound requests than if you were fronting all the end-consumer queries yourselves, as most can be dealt with by the seller without having to bother you.
Yes you can. At the time of writing (March 2021) simply inform your account manager and we will manage this in our back-end. Later in 2021 we plan to introduce a ‘holiday mode’ feature where you will be able to manage this directly in your admin panel.
Sellers or end-consumers can return faulty or ‘not-as-described’ items up to 60 days after the order is delivered. Beyond 60 days, the seller is required to defer to the manufacturer’s warranty and liaise with the manufacturer directly. More information is available within our T&Cs.
Yes you can and we provide functionality to facilitate this.
We request that suppliers provide at least one tracked shipping service for orders in excess of £20 in value. This is to protect both you and the sellers in case of a lost or delayed item claim.
Suppliers are required to use plain packaging to ship orders except where you are the brand owner for a product, in which case you may of course use the branding specifically related to the product. We require our suppliers to not include any marketing materials or invoices within the packages being shipped.
The supplier is responsible (subject to reasonable cost) to cover the cost of return shipping for a faulty, incorrect or ‘not-as-described’ item. More information is available within our T&Cs.
Shipping costs are a critical component of the overall price competitiveness of an item when selling online. Avasam has prescribed pricing bands that we require suppliers to meet based on the shipping service being offered - we can provide more detail upon request. You can charge a fixed amount per service, or we can also support weight-based or value-based charges for one or more services.
As at the time of writing (March 2021) we only offer shipping within the USA, but our international shipping module will be launched later in the year.
The end-consumer or seller is responsible to cover the shipping cost of returning an item as a result of the end-consumer changing their mind or ordering the wrong item. More information is available within our T&Cs.
We have 1,000+ active sellers with new sellers joining us every month.
Our sellers are diverse and many adopt a multi-channel sales strategy. They sell across the channels we support and are integrated with, that is to say those listed here.
Yes, you can stipulate whether or not your products are authorised on specific sales channels and we will make this clear on the platform, both within the product search and product listing pages.
We disburse funds every 15 days subject to bank holidays and weekends. This typically occurs at the beginning and middle of each month.
Where a refund has been approved by you, it will be subtracted from the balance on your account. In rare instances where we have been requested to step in and arbitrate a dispute between supplier and seller, we shall evaluate all the evidence presented and if ruled in favour of the seller, the applicable funds shall be deducted from your next disbursement.
We apply a one-time set-up fee of £999 + VAT in order to partially cover the costs of onboarding and integrating you as a new supplier partner. We are open to discuss rebates based on sales performance or reductions for suppliers bringing new product ranges to the platform.
We do not charge a fixed monthly subscription fee meaning you do not pay if you are not selling. We apply a 6% + VAT fee to all sales made via our platform. This includes payment processing fees and there are no other hidden costs.
Our team are here to support you Mondays to Fridays 0900 - 1800 (excluding USA bank holidays), or Saturdays 1100 - 1700, via live-chat, email ([email protected]), telephone (+44 330 113 7788), or via our ticket system accessible within the platform.
Yes, all of our supplier partners will be assigned a dedicated account manager.