Frequently Asked questions and answers

Last Updated 1st November 2020:

Firstly, we would like to thank our customers from around the world and the UK for their continued support and best wishes during this globally difficult time and we also hope you all stay safe and well too. 

Our warehouse operations will continue during the lock down period in the UK that re-starts from the 5th November.

We will try our best to ship your orders same day, but ask you to allow 1-3days for us to manage our capacity both in bound and out bound. Please also consider that the courier companies may also take longer than usual to deliver due to their own operational constraints.

Demand for thermometers and sterilising products remain high so we have to limit unit sales to ensure fair distribution of stock. Please limit orders of thermometers to 30 units and Milton sanitation lines to 480 units per line, per order, until fulfilled, before placing your next order for the same. Orders received outside of this will either be amended or cancelled.

If you have a physical retail shop or trading e-commerce website with commercial storage and distribution premises, then click on our 'register' tab and fill in our online application form with as much information as possible about your business.

You will need to upload a supplier invoice (your purchase of goods within the industry), this is to verify your business name, address, and that you are operating within this sector (feel free to block out prices etc).

If you have a physical shop please ensure you select the ‘physical shop’ (under about your business) and upload a picture of your store to ensure top tier access to all the products available within your country of registration.

If you are an E-commerce only retailer you must upload a picture of the warehouse from where you operate.

Applications that meet our trading requirements will be opened and an e-mail sent confirming the same. If not, you will be e-mailed either for further information or an explanation as to why your account application has been declined.

We supply a variety of trade customers operating in industries including baby, nursery, pharmacy, toy, healthcare, gift and more, with a physical shop and or e-commerce site with commercial trading premises. 

Customers will need to have a minimum of a website within a relevant business sector to the products we distribute, that is further owned and operated by them. It must be well presented and maintained with customer care number and address clearly shown and have products to purchase through a secure checkout. The dispatch and customer care service must be carried out by the same company in an appropriate commercial setting.

Some brands have restricted access to physical shops only so please be sure to note this in the registration form and upload a photo of your store if you have one.

No, we do not work with drop ship only businesses. However, account holders (that would have stock holdings) can access our drop ship service and may find it useful in the event of overselling and for high value or large items. Please note that we will only ever deliver your order within the country that you have stated your business is registered in and the UK. Carriage costs can be viewed here. 

As you are not currently trading in the baby and nursery industry, we are unable to provide you with trade access at this moment. However, if you register with us, then in order to facilitate your research and decision-making we would be willing to supply you the price list of ONE brand of products of your choice - providing that your businesses trading intentions conform to our trading terms point 4. We would also advise that our pricing structure is the same as buying direct from the manufacturer and that the key advantages of buying through us is the ability to mix and match your purchases of leading brands, one low minimum order value, next day delivery service and ease of ordering.

We are unable to make exceptions to this guideline given that we have a very strict supply chain with clear expectations of our customer profile. Our due diligence is regularly audited and we must therefore be able to document you route to market before we can open an account. 

There is no minimum order value once your account is opened, even on first orders. Most items are also available in single units and can be referenced from the 'pack size' mentioned in the price list. Where this is not 1, it indicates that the item comes in from the manufacturer in a mix assortment. Where possible the lowest dominator of the mix will be the pack size.

The trade prices are exclusive of VAT and applied at checkout for applicable customers. The U.K. SRPs (suggested retail prices) are inclusive of VAT.

The most common time for price changes is September and January, though we do see price adjustments throughout the year. If you have bought an item from us within a 2yr period and the cost price changes, we will automatically send you a price update notification e-mail to ensure you are aware.

Barcodes for all products can be found in our price list which can be downloaded in PDF or into Excel. This can be accessed when logged in via the 'price list' tab under information from the main menu drop down. The data can be tailored by applying a range of filters to suit before downloading it. Product barcode information is also available as part of the product data files that can be downloaded from the resource centre.

Account holders can go to the Resource Centre and select link 'product data files' (accessible from the account overview page when logged in) and select multiple products to download collated data in a tabular format with each row representing a product. The columns include product: code, name, brand, description, features, includes, part number, barcode, price, SRP, Commodity Code, Country of Origin, item weight, item length, item width, item height, carton barcode, carton weight grams, carton length, carton width, carton height and carton quantity. This can assist in bulk product uploads to websites.

However, to prevent web based stores uploading all distributed products without stock holdings, products available for selection will only be those that have been purchased from us and invoiced and also those in our new arrivals section.

When logged in you will be able to view a tab called ‘Specifications’ on each product page. This displays information including the manufacturer product number for the item, its barcode, Country of Origin, Commodity Code, retail unit size in centimeters and weight in grams. Also displayed here is the original manufacturer’s master carton quantity, carton barcode and its size in centimeters and weight in grams. The product information is also part of the product CSV files that are available to download by logged in retailers from the resource centre.

Account holders can go to the Resource Centre and select link 'image bank' (accessible from the account overview page when logged in) and download a zip file per product containing all the images available to us and exactly as shown on our website. The products available to download are those that have been purchased from us and invoiced and also those in our new arrivals section.

When you log into the website, from the account overview page, select the link ‘contact preference centre’ (shown on the left hand side within heading ‘Your Account’). From here you can choose which e-mail addresses receive e-mails pertaining to your account, finance, orders and marketing. You can also opt in and out of some types of e-mails such as notifications to do with stock status, product updates, price changes, quizzes and marketing. You can add multiple e-mail addresses by separating each with a comma (no spaces).

When you log into the website, from the account overview page, select the link ‘Account Information’ (shown on the left hand side within heading ‘Your Account’). From this screen you can change your billing address details (note if you have moved country you will need to contact us) and remember to press ‘save changes’ at the bottom of the screen.

When you log into the website, from the account overview page, select the link ‘Address Book’ (shown on the left hand side within heading ‘Your Account’). From this screen you can amend and add multiple delivery addresses within your registered country and the UK. These will then be available to select from at checkout via a drop down list.

Please be aware that products sold by our manufacturers under licensing agreements enable that manufacturer to use each respective property in respect of the licensed articles; such licensing agreements do not permit the adaptation or personalisation of licensed product.

Therefore before any such personalisation or adaptations you should seek your own permissions as necessary from the respective Licensor and ensure you have the appropriate product and public liability insurance and testing arrangements in place to cover your own activities.

If an item is received with a manufacturing fault or been reported as faulty by a consumer you will need to follow our online faulty product enquiries form which includes helpful information from the manufacturers. Your efforts here are much appreciated and will ensure the most appropriate and efficient course of action is taken. We will not process credits or replacements unless this form is completed.

You can access the form by logging into your account, pressing ‘My Account’ and then ‘log faulty item’, then select the brand, followed by the product name and follow the online questions. You will require your invoice number and if possible images or video clip of the issue which you will be prompted to uploaded. Once submitted through the system you can monitor the progress of the enquiry through your 'enquiries' tab.

Accounts are regularly deactivated if no order has been placed within 12months of opening an account or since the last order has been received. Please e-mail sales@babybrandsdirect.co.uk with your shop name and we will review your original application and contact you to re-open your account.

In line with our privacy policy if no order is received within 3 years of account opening your account will be deleted from our system and you will need to re-apply for an account.

Please log in and check our 'stock updates and deletions' page for the most up to date information that we have from our manufacturers. Alternatively you can go to the product on our website and if it is marked as out of stock an 'i' for information icon will appear which you can mouse over to obtain the next expect stock in date.

If you have received an order confirmation from us then you can check the progress of your order by pressing the 'order status' tab when logged in. Here you will see a list of all your orders and their status where 'outstanding' means that the order has been received and 'completed' indicates that it has been shipped in full. 'Part Dispatched' indicates the order has been sent but that there is a backorder associated with it. Press the 'view dispatch details' to see what items have been shipped and to also obtain the courier tracking number.

Please note if you have paid for your goods at checkout then you can expect delivery of your goods the following day (order cut off time 1pm to mainland UK). If you have not paid for goods at checkout then you will receive by e-mail a 'payment request' detailing the amount required to release the goods that are packed and ready for dispatch. We request your early payment co-operation to ensure prompt dispatch of goods.

Please login into the website and press the ‘order status’ tab. You will see an icon in the ‘view and amend’ column which you can press. This will open up a window for you to type the product codes and quantities you require. Please note you can only add up to £150 worth of stock. Your updated order will automatically be processed by the warehouse as soon as there is £50 worth of stock to ship or less if your entire backorder order can be completed.

If you prefer for all your backorders to be automatically cancelled please e-mail us your account number along with this request so that we can apply this to your account settings. Alternatively, please e-mail or phone through to us the order numbers for any individual orders that require cancelling. 

We do take the upmost care to ensure no goods or packaging are damaged in transit but in the event that it does we will need you to fill in our online faulty product form which includes a section for you to upload an image of the product. Your efforts here are much appreciated and will ensure our swift action which you will be able to monitor through the 'enquiries' tab accessible once logged in.

Stock order delivery to England, Scotland and Wales excluding the Scottish Highlands and Scottish Islands is FREE on all orders above £200 excluding VAT. For deliveries to the Scottish Highlands, Scottish Islands, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight and Scilly Isles please refer to our carriage cost table.

For export customers shipping to a U.K. based freight forwarder, the drop ship service fees will apply.

The following Scottish Highland postcodes are exempt from Free UK carriage on orders above £200:

AB36-38, AB55-56, FK17-21, IV1-39, IV52-54, IV63, KW1-14, PA21-40, PH19-26, PH30-41, PH49-50

The following Scottish Islands postcodes are exempt from Free UK carriage on orders above £200:

HS1-9, IV40-51, IV55-56, KA27-28, KW15-17, PA20, PA41-49, PA60-78, PH42-44, ZE1-3

We currently ship to 65 countries and offer bespoke freight quotations for those zones not listed in our carriage charge table. This is because air and sea rates vary each month and delivery cost is significantly affected by the size of an order. For customers within countries that are listed in the table, carriage is charged per box and the fixed rate will depend on the Zone your country falls in. One box charge will be automatically charged at checkout and we will contact you for payment on additional boxes (if applicable) once the order is packed.

For a no obligation quote, check out by ‘bank transfer’ and write in special instructions ‘freight quotation required before order processing’ and also advise the mode of transport required - road, air or sea and if you require box or pallet packing. We will then estimate the volume of the order, contact our freight forwarders and then send you a quote to review. If you agree to it, the order will be processed and all our terms will apply. Note, you will still be able to pay online for the order through both Card and Paypal should you wish to.

This will depend on the mode of transport and what goods have been purchased.

The standard boxes used are 60cm cubed (UK only). Items like play gyms will not all fit in this size box due to their length and in this case a box of approximately 77cm length by 47cm width by 57cm height will be used. This is also the main box used for European consignments. Items like liquid are particularly heavy and will need to be packed into much smaller boxes. 

Pallet bases are 100cm by 120cm and built to a maximum height of 150cm for air and 220 for road/sea transportation.

We operate on a transparent basis with all our customers and have made provision for different types of offers to suit different buying requirements and patterns. The range of incentives available include:

Volume Discounts – Lower prices (as much as 10% off trade price) can be achieved by taking large quantities of a single item. Quantities are calculated at the lowest price we can offer alongside our lowest viable quantity threshold. The tiers for both are non negotiable. These can be seen on the product pages as well as price list and are automatically applied at checkout.

Spend - the more you order in a single transaction the more you save! A discount of 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% or 5% will be automatically applied at checkout on orders above £10,000, £20,000, £30,000, £40,000 or £50,000 respectively. This can not be used in conjunction with any other voucher code and exempts you from use of the faulty product log aftercare service.

Promotions – these are mainly funded by the manufacturer for the independent sector and can be up to 30% off trade price. We work hard to negotiate these offers supported by the collective buying power we have from you, for your individual benefit. These can be found here and are applied automatically at checkout.

Sale – we have periodic sales with heavily discounted items that are often surplus stocks from the manufacturer, ends of lines, funded lines to compensate for online discounting and of course our own seasonal offers.

Loyalty Credit – this scheme was set up in 2009 to reward customers for regular orders with us and particularly for the benefit of stores unable to take advantage of volume incentives. It gives retailers a % back of their spend each year in the form of a credit note for a minimum of one invoiced order within every 6 weeks.

Voucher Codes – certain offers are redeemable by voucher code entered at checkout and are communicated via e-mail. These may pertain to a certain brand, country of operation or type of store and often motivated by manufacturers interested in increasing sales via your retail profile.

Quizzes – they are not only a fun way to test your own or staff’s product or brand knowledge but scoring correctly can also lead to great prizes such as discount codes and free stock!

Loyalty credit will be automatically credited to your account on the anniversary date of your first order with us. You can check how many days are remaining in your loyalty year and how much you need to spend to reach the next band of rewards by logging in and pressing tab 'my account' and looking under 'Loyalty Scheme'. Further information can be found in the Loyalty Credit section.

You can pay for your order securely at checkout by debit/credit card or paypal. You can also select bank transfer as the payment method and a screen will be displayed with our bank details and the proforma invoice e-mailed to you.

If you need to make a payment at dispatch point (having received a payment request e-mail), please log into your account, go to the order history screen, select the allocated orders you wish to pay for and press the make payment button to checkout securely.

A copy of your invoice is e-mailed to you when your order is dispatched. You can also obtain it by logging into the website and clicking on the tab 'Invoice and Credit notes'. Here you can select your required date range and download and print off the required documents.

Occasionally money you have paid will not exactly match an invoice value. This could be due to an item being put on backorder at the time of payment, or money on account being used towards another order that was dispatched first or items being added or removed from the order. Therefore, when you log into the website there is a tab called 'activity log' please check here to view all activity over a certain date range. This will clearly show you money paid, items added to or removed from orders, invoices, credit notes, and account balance updates. You can also print this off for your records.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer credit terms to any of our accounts. This is predominately down to the costs involved in managing and arranging such facilities, particularly given both the vast geographical location of our customers and company types. However, it allows us to keep prices down, offer loyalty credit and focus on a quick dispatch.

Below are links to important documents that you should read before trading with us:

• Trade Terms and Conditions
• Drop Ship Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Notice
• Cookie Policy

Thank-you for your interest in supplying us. At this time we are at maximum capacity both in terms of warehousing space and human resources and are therefore unable to consider taking on any new suppliers at this time.

You are still welcome to e-mail your company/brand presentation to sales@babybrandsdirect.co.uk which will be shared with the buyers to consider for the future.

Between 1 Fe‌br‌ua‌ry and 31 De‌ce‌mb‌er 2020, there will be an implementation period. There will be no changes to the terms of trade with the EU or the rest of the world during this time.