Check the order
- Paid order comes inCustomer Service
For small online and wholesale sellers. Takes a paid order to delivery, with fraud holds, stock-outs, bad addresses and carrier claims.
Rules cited are US: the FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule and USPS claim rules. Other carriers and countries set their own terms.
- Note the promised ship dateCustomer Service
If your site, quote or ad states a shipping time, that is your deadline. If it states none, the FTC rule expects you to ship within 30 days of a complete order.
If the customer applies to you for credit to pay for the order, the default deadline is 50 days.
- Did the payment or fraud screen flag the order?Finance
Common flags: billing and shipping addresses far apart, rush shipping on a large first order, several cards tried, or a high risk score from your payment processor.
- Hold the order and review itFinance
Do not pick or pack a held order. Contact the buyer with details already on file, not details from the flagged order.
- Can you verify the buyer?Finance
- Release the hold and record whyFinance
Then go to step 8, Is the shipping address complete and deliverable?
- Cancel the order and refund the paymentFinance
Refund to the card or account that paid. Record the reason. Don't agree to ship to a new address the buyer suggests afterwards.
- Is the shipping address complete and deliverable?Customer Service
Run it through your carrier's address check. Look for a missing apartment or suite number, a ZIP code that doesn't match the city, and PO boxes your carrier can't deliver to.
- Yes: go to step 9, Address confirmed
- No: go to step 10, Ask the customer to confirm the address
- Address confirmedCustomer Service
Then go to step 13, Can you ship every item by the promised date?
- Ask the customer to confirm the addressCustomer Service
Hold the order until they reply. Keep a record of what you asked and when. The promised ship date doesn't move while you wait.
- Did the customer give a valid address in time?Customer Service
- Update the address on the orderCustomer Service
Check stock
- Can you ship every item by the promised date?Warehouse
Check stock on hand, not just the system count. Items already allocated to other orders don't count.
- Yes: go to step 14, Release the order for picking
- Only some items: go to step 15, Ask the customer how to handle the missing items
- No: go to step 19, Send a delay notice with a revised ship date
- Release the order for pickingWarehouse
- Ask the customer how to handle the missing itemsCustomer Service
Offer to ship what you have now and the rest later, cancel the missing items, or wait and ship everything together.
Don't substitute a different item unless the customer clearly agrees.
- What does the customer want?Customer Service
- Ship part now: go to step 17, Ship available items and backorder the rest
- Cancel missing items: go to step 18, Refund the missing items and ship the rest
- Wait for everything: go to step 19, Send a delay notice with a revised ship date
- Ship available items and backorder the restCustomer Service
Charge only for what you ship, or refund the difference. The backordered items still need a delay notice if they will be late.
- Refund the missing items and ship the restCustomer Service
Refund within 7 working days for cash, check, money order or a third-party credit card. Credit you extend yourself must be credited within one billing cycle.
- Send a delay notice with a revised ship dateWarehouse
Send it as soon as you know, and no later than the promised date. Offer two choices: accept the delay, or cancel for a prompt refund.
- How long is the delay?Warehouse
- 30 days or less: go to step 21, Silence counts as agreement
- Over 30 days or unknown: go to step 22, Get the customer's clear yes
- Silence counts as agreementWarehouse
If the customer doesn't reply before you ship, the FTC rule treats them as agreeing to the delay.
- Get the customer's clear yesWarehouse
Without the customer's specific consent, the order counts as cancelled and must be refunded.
- Did the customer agree to wait?Warehouse
- Wait for the stock to arriveWarehouse
- Cancel the order and refund within 7 working daysWarehouse
Seven working days applies to cash, check, money order and third-party credit cards. Store credit accounts you run get one billing cycle.
- Will stock arrive by the revised date?Warehouse
- No: go to step 27, Send a renewed delay notice
- Yes: go to step 14, Release the order for picking
- Send a renewed delay noticeWarehouse
In a renewed notice, silence counts as a no. Ship only if the customer says yes to the new date.
- Did the customer accept the new date?Warehouse
Pick and pack
- Pick the items against the pick listWarehouse
Match each SKU, size and quantity to the order. Check lot or expiry dates where they apply.
- Does a second check match the order?Warehouse
A second person, or a barcode scan at the pack station, confirms SKU and quantity before the box is sealed.
- Yes: go to step 31, Pack and weigh the box
- No: go to step 29, Pick the items against the pick list
- Pack and weigh the boxWarehouse
Use enough fill that nothing moves. Compare the weight to the expected weight. A big difference usually means a missing or extra item.
Print the label from the confirmed address. Add insurance or declared value on high-value orders. A carrier claim needs proof of insurance and proof of value.
Hand off and deliver
- Hand the parcel to the carrier and get a scanWarehouse
Under the FTC rule, shipment happens when the carrier takes physical possession. Check that the first carrier scan appears in tracking.
Send the customer the tracking number the same day.
- Did the parcel arrive in good condition?Warehouse
- Yes: go to step 34, Order delivered
- Damaged or items missing: go to step 35, Get photos and keep the packaging
- Not delivered: go to step 36, Check tracking and wait the carrier's minimum time
- Order deliveredWarehouse
- Get photos and keep the packagingWarehouse
Ask the customer for photos of the box, the label and the damage. Ask them to keep the box and everything in it until the claim is settled.
Then go to step 38, File a claim with the carrier
- Check tracking and wait the carrier's minimum timeWarehouse
USPS lets you file a lost-package claim after 7 days for Priority Mail Express, and after 15 days for Priority Mail, Ground Advantage and insured mail.
- Did it turn up?Warehouse
- Yes: go to step 34, Order delivered
- No: go to step 38, File a claim with the carrier
- File a claim with the carrierCustomer Service
USPS claims must be filed no later than 60 days after the mailing date. The sender or the recipient can file. Include proof of insurance, proof of value and photos.
Other carriers set their own windows. Check them before the deadline passes.
- How does the customer want it resolved?Customer Service
Most sellers resolve the customer first and wait for the carrier claim separately.
- Refund: go to step 40, Refund the order and close it
- Replacement: go to step 13, Can you ship every item by the promised date?
- Refund the order and close itCustomer Service
Refund the full amount paid for the lost or damaged items, including shipping if your policy says so.