Q: Is the trading concept of ‘drop shipping’ permissible? In ‘drop shipping’, the trader does not keep stock of any item. Instead, he accepts payment for the goods and then forwards the customer’s details to the supplier who will deliver directly to the customer. ‘Drop shipping’ is commonly found in online shopping. Is this permissible?
Q: I know a person who imports goods from China. He is offering to sell one of his containers to me. The problem is, I don’t know what goods are in the container, and if I buy it, I will have to sign a clause that I won’t be able to return it to him. Is this sale valid in Shari’ah?
Q:
1. Can I design products with logos of other brands and sell them online? Is that income halal for me? Especially if those brands are based in countries which are causing harm to Muslims and Islam?
2. Do I have to tell the buyers of these products that they are replicas, even if they are from a country which is harming Muslims and Islam?
Q: My neighbour wanted to buy a cooking pot for R100. I told her not to buy it as I will get one for her for just R70. She agreed because she was saving R30 on the same pot. However, my intention was that I will buy the pot for just R55 and tell her that it cost R70. In this way, I will make R15 without telling her. Is this permissible?
Q: Please advise if the following type of transactions are valid, not valid or improper:
A business has an agreement with a supplier to pay after 30 days from date of delivery with a limit of R50 000.00.
1. The business puts a condition on all purchase orders, that should the supplier request an earlier payment, it will incur a early settlement discount of x% on a daily basis.
2. At times the business goes over the limit of R50 000.00 , hence early payment now becomes binding in order for the supplier to deliver further orders, can the business in this situation claim the x% early settlement discounts.
Q: A person has an auto lot which sells cars. Before selling the cars, he informs the customers that he is selling the cars “voetstoets” i.e. the customer will not be able to return the car or claim any compensation if a defect or fault is found in it. Is it permissible to attach this condition before selling an item?
Q: I have employed a salesman who will be paid a commission. The commission is percentage based, but there is a different percentage stipulated based on the amount of the sales. For example, for sales between R1 and R5000, the commission is 5%, but from R5001 to R10 000, the commission is 7.5%. Is this permissible?
Q: I want to sell a piece of land. The total price is R1.5 million. The buyer will pay me a 33% deposit as an upfront payment and the rest within 6 months, and then only will I hand over the land papers and land to him. If the purchaser fails to give me 67% within these 6 months, the sale will be cancelled and the purchaser will lose the 33% deposit. Is this clause permissible (forfeiting the initial deposit)?
Q: I am standing at a stall in a madrasah and selling things for the madrasah such as sweets, etc. The items do not belong to me but to the madrasah. Can I purchase items for myself from the stalls, or would this be impermissible since I would, in essence, be the buyer and the seller at the same time?
Q: If I don’t have stock in my business, can I sell the goods? For example, a client comes and purchases a load of bricks and wants it delivered to his house. He pays us for the bricks and delivery, and though we don’t have it in stock, we accept the money. We then collect the bricks from the brick manufacturer and deliver it directly to the client’s house. Is this permissible?