The thirty-day delivery period

The main rule

Article 7:9(4) of the Dutch Civil Code: in a consumer sale the seller delivers the goods without delay and in any event within thirty days of the contract being concluded. The parties may agree a different period.

Two things stand out. Without delay comes first: thirty days is the outer limit and not a default. And the period runs from the conclusion of the sale, so from your order, not from the moment the retailer decides to start processing it.

Agreeing a different period is allowed; hiding one is not

A retailer may agree a longer delivery time, for instance on a pre-order or a bespoke item. But that has to be an agreement: clearly communicated before you order, as part of the pre-contractual information required by article 6:230m(1). A delivery time that only surfaces after the order on a status page, or "8 to 12 weeks" in small print at the bottom of the terms, is not an agreed period.

When default arises

Here lies the difference with refunds. Where a refund fails to arrive, default runs by operation of law. Where delivery fails, usually it does not. Article 7:19a(1) first requires a demand setting a reasonable period. If delivery still fails after that, the seller is in default.

Paragraph 2 provides three exceptions in which you can skip that step:

• the seller has refused to deliver;
• delivery within the agreed period was essential, having regard to all the circumstances at the conclusion of the sale;
• you stated before the sale was concluded that delivery on or before a particular date was essential.

That third point is more usable than it looks. An order demonstrably intended for a birthday or a travel date, where you said so in advance, falls within it.

What counts as a reasonable period

The statute names no figure. In files where the product is said to be in stock, we use seven days. For demonstrably bespoke items or international shipping it is longer. What matters is that the period is concrete, set in writing, and demonstrably expired afterwards. An email saying "please could you hurry" is not a notice of default.

After rescission

If you rescind for non-delivery, article 7:19a(3) requires the seller to reimburse all payments received from you without delay. Not fourteen days, no processing period: without delay. That is a stricter standard than on withdrawal and in practice it is almost never met.

Track and trace without a parcel

A recurring case: the retailer shows a dispatch confirmation and sometimes even a status of "delivered", but nothing has arrived. What matters then is who has to prove what. Delivery means putting the buyer in possession, article 7:9(2). Until the seller demonstrates that the parcel reached you, it has not delivered. A scan at a neighbour's or a photograph of a doorway is not automatically sufficient for that.

What to record

1. The order confirmation with the date and the promised delivery time, as it appeared on the site at the moment you ordered.
2. Your demand with the period you set, in writing and dated.
3. The tracking, including where it shows "delivered". Especially then.