Local warehouse claims and dropshipping: what Google expects
No Google policy bans dropshipping, but claiming a local warehouse when orders ship from overseas misstates where they come from and how fast they arrive. Say where orders really ship from and how long they take, the same on every page and in Merchant Center. Honest delivery times cost a little swagger at checkout and spare you a pile of “where is my order?” emails.
Why this matters
Merchant Center's Misrepresentation policy rules out offers that represent you or your products in a way that's “not accurate, realistic, and truthful”. Among unacceptable business practices it lists “Offer products that you don't have or can't deliver, including not having the right licenses or qualifications”. “Ships from our UK warehouse in 24 hours” on goods that spend three weeks crossing the world is a false statement about the offer, and a delivery date you cannot hit is a promise you cannot keep. Google's “Building trust with your customers” page asks for the opposite habit: “Be transparent about your business model and how you operate.”
Merchant Center asks for the delivery numbers directly. In the shipping settings, for handling time you “enter the minimum and the maximum number of days that processing could take”, and for transit time you “specify the minimum and the maximum number of days that transit could take”. Those ranges become the delivery speed shown with your products, so they belong in step with your shipping policy, your product pages and what your supplier actually achieves.
Product Experts on Google's Merchant Center Community treat the origin question as part of your business model: “Clearly state your business model and how your business operates. For example, don't claim to be based in one country while operating predominantly in another.” That is community advice, and it matches what the policy asks.
The free scan reads your shipping page and product page for where orders ship from and quotes what it finds, so you can see whether every page tells the same story. It also flags dispatch and delivery times that contradict each other from one page to the next. It also flags a product page whose code references a dropshipping platform or supplier marketplace, so you can check the delivery times stated beside it; your tracking data and supplier records are yours to compare. The wider picture is in dropshipping and Merchant Center and handling time versus transit time, and the misrepresentation checker lists every delivery and identity check.
Typical evidence
A local promise needs to match the evidence
StoreVerifier can place public origin and delivery wording beside the shipping policy it captures. Compare that with your own delivery records before publishing a claim; the scan cannot verify fulfilment history.
The public signals this check looks for:
“Ships from our UK warehouse” or “dispatched within 24 hours” on goods that come from a su…
“Ships from our UK warehouse” or “dispatched within 24 hours” on goods that come from a supplier abroad.
A shipping policy that says 12–20 business days under a product page promising “fast UK de…
A shipping policy that says 12–20 business days under a product page promising “fast UK delivery”.
A local address, a national flag and a “family business” story on a store fulfilled entire…
A local address, a national flag and a “family business” story on a store fulfilled entirely from overseas.
Handling and transit times that differ between the product page, the shipping policy and M…
Handling and transit times that differ between the product page, the shipping policy and Merchant Center.
“Express” or “fast delivery” with no delivery window stated anywhere
“Express” or “fast delivery” with no delivery window stated anywhere.
Tracking numbers that start in another country for orders the site said were sent locally
Tracking numbers that start in another country for orders the site said were sent locally.
What it looks like once it is right
“Ships from our supplier's warehouse in China. Delivery 12–20 working days,” on every product page and in the shipping policy, with the same handling and transit ranges in Merchant Center.
Common mistakes
Common mistake
Fix checklist
One honest window, everywhere
State the real origin and a realistic window — then make the product page, the shipping policy and the feed all say the identical thing.
Questions merchants ask
Can I call my supplier’s stock a local warehouse?
Only if the goods really sit in, and ship from, a warehouse in that country. No Google policy bans dropshipping, but Google's Misrepresentation policy rules out offers that are not accurate, realistic and truthful. Name the country orders actually leave from, give a realistic delivery window, and keep both the same on your pages and in Merchant Center.
Can I say “ships from the UK” if my supplier is abroad?
Not unless the goods really leave from a UK address. A false origin misstates the offer, and Product Experts on the Merchant Center Community also warn against presenting a business as based in one country while it operates mainly in another.
What delivery times should I put in Merchant Center if I dropship?
Your real ones. Merchant Center's shipping settings ask for the minimum and maximum number of days for handling and for transit. Work them out from your own recent orders, and use the same ranges on your product pages and in your shipping policy.
Remediation
Risk signal
Similar cases
Sources
Community guidance
Written by Product Experts, the users Google recognises for their answers on its Merchant Center Community forum. Often stricter than Google’s help pages, and not Google policy.
Last reviewed 6 Oct 2026.
That is one issue. The library documents 134.
The free scan lists what it finds on your store. The paid report adds the affected pages, captured evidence and step-by-step fixes. Start free, with no account needed.