Every order on Zendrop follows the same path: your customer buys, you pay Zendrop to fulfill, Zendrop ships. Here's what actually happens at each stage, and what you need to do (or don't).
Stage 1: Customer places an order
Your customer buys a product from your store. Their payment goes directly to you, Zendrop never contacts your customer or appears anywhere in their experience. Your store handles the order confirmation notification.
The order syncs automatically to your Zendrop dashboard. In the Orders tab you'll see it appear with a Customer Order status of Received (payment collected) or Pending (payment not yet captured). Orders with a Shopify payment status of Pending won't auto-fulfill, identify and handle these manually.
Zendrop only imports unfulfilled orders from your store. If an order has already been marked as fulfilled in your store, it won't appear in Zendrop for fulfillment.
Stage 2: You trigger fulfillment
The order won't move until you pay Zendrop the wholesale cost and shipping fee. You have two ways to do this:
Manual fulfillment — go to the Orders tab, select the order, and click Fulfill Order. Your card on file is charged for the wholesale cost + shipping. See How Do I Fulfill an Order?
Auto-fulfillment — set it up once and Zendrop handles every new order automatically. Two modes are available: Auto-Fulfillment (processes each order immediately as it arrives) and Daily Fulfillment (batches all unfulfilled orders and processes them once per day at 7 PM EST). See How Do I Use Automated-Fulfillment?
Payment methods accepted: credit/debit card or bank transfer top-up (order credits). Once payment is confirmed, the Zendrop Payment column for the order updates to Paid and the Order Status moves to Processing.
Stage 3: Zendrop processes the order
Your order is now with Zendrop's fulfillment team. Here's what happens during Processing:
The supplier prepares, packs, and hands the order off to the shipping carrier.
Processing takes 1–3 business days typically, up to 5 business days during peak periods depending on product availability.
If anything needs confirming before the order can proceed, availability, missing address, or another issue, the status changes to In Review. Check your email and the Order Issues tab in your Zendrop dashboard for any action required; not all communications go via email.
Once the product arrives at Zendrop's warehouse and is handed to the carrier, a tracking number is issued and the status updates to Shipped.
Stage 4: The order ships
Once Shipped, Zendrop automatically syncs the tracking number back to your store via API. Your store then sends the tracking notification to your customer, Zendrop never appears in that email. Standard delivery to the U.S. takes 10–15 days after processing is complete.
Here's what your customer's package goes through in transit:
Tracking status | What it means |
Shipment Information Received | Label created; package not yet handed to carrier |
Accepted by Carrier | Package officially in the shipping network |
Departed from Country of Origin | Package has left China. Allow 2–3 days for the next update |
In Transit | Moving through carrier network between facilities |
Customs Clearance in Progress | Undergoing customs inspection at destination country |
Operation Completed | Reached local operations center; final delivery stage beginning |
Out for Delivery | With local courier, delivering today |
Delivered | Package confirmed delivered to recipient |
Tracking gaps at customs are normal, updates can pause for several days then resume. If there's been no movement for 60+ days from the shipping date (45 days for U.S. orders), the order is likely eligible for a refund or reshipment.
Stage 5: Delivery and what happens next
Once the order status hits Delivered, the order is complete. A few things to know:
If a customer says they haven't received their order despite a Delivered status, ask them to wait 24–48 hours, local logistics sometimes update the status before the package physically arrives. Also ask them to check with neighbors and any secure delivery locations (mailroom, front desk, parcel locker).
If the package is still missing after 48 hours, a non-delivery certificate from the customer is required to process a refund or reshipment request.
Cancellations must be done through your store, cancelling on Zendrop alone does not cancel the order in your store. Orders already shipped cannot be edited or canceled.
Order status reference
A quick reference for every status you'll see on the Orders tab:
Status | What it means | Action needed? |
Add Address | Customer address is missing | Yes — add the address |
Link or Source Product | Product not yet linked to Zendrop catalog | Yes — link or submit for sourcing |
Quoting | Team is getting a price quote (12–48 hours) | No — wait for email notification |
Fulfill Order | Order not yet paid on Zendrop | Yes — pay to trigger fulfillment |
Processing | Paid and being prepared by supplier (1–3 days, up to 5 at peak) | No — monitor dashboard |
In Review | Zendrop needs more info before proceeding | Yes — check email and Order Issues tab |
Shipped | Order dispatched; tracking number issued | No — tracking synced to your store |
Partially Shipped | Part of order shipped; multiple suppliers involved | No — remaining items still processing |
Fulfilled On Store | Marked as fulfilled in your store directly | Optional — can still fulfill on Zendrop if needed |
Refunded | Order refunded on Zendrop (5–10 business days to account) | No |
Canceled | Order canceled and will not ship | No — also cancel in your store separately |
For more detail on any status, see What Each Order Status Means on Your Zendrop Dashboard and What do Different Tracking Statuses Mean for My Order's Delivery Progress?