What to Do When an Online Order Is Late

If a seller can’t ship when it promised, federal rules say it has to tell you and give you the choice to cancel.

What to remember

1. Sellers must ship within the time they state, or within 30 days if they don’t state one.
2. If they can’t, they must offer you the choice of agreeing to a delay or canceling for a full refund.
3. Refunds are due within seven working days of cancellation for most payment methods.
4. The rule covers orders placed online, by phone or by mail, with a few exceptions.

Waiting for a package that never ships is frustrating, especially when it’s a birthday present or something your kids need for school. The Federal Trade Commission’s Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule sets clear duties for sellers in this situation.

Step 1: Find the shipping promise

Look at the product page, your order confirmation and any emails. The rule works like this:

• If the seller stated a time, such as “ships in 2 to 3 days,” it must have a reasonable basis to expect it can meet that time.
• If no time was stated, the seller must ship within 30 days of receiving your completed order.
• If you applied to the seller for credit to pay and no time was stated, it has 50 days.

The clock is about shipping, meaning the moment the seller hands the item to the carrier, not when it arrives at your door.

Parent tip: Take a screenshot of the delivery promise on the product page or at checkout when you order. If the seller misses it, you’ll have the evidence.

Step 2: Read the delay notice

When a seller realizes it can’t ship on time, it must tell you before the deadline passes and give you a choice: agree to the delay or cancel for a full refund. The notice has to include a new shipping date, or say why it can’t give one, and offer a free way to cancel, such as a link or a toll-free number.

What happens if you don’t reply depends on the delay:

• New date within 30 days of the original: saying nothing counts as agreeing to wait.
• Longer delays, or no new date: the seller needs your consent. If you don’t give it, the order should be canceled automatically.

You can cancel at any time before the item ships, even after agreeing to a delay.

Step 3: Get your refund

If the order is canceled, the refund must be the money you paid, not store credit. For payments by cash, check, money order or a credit card from a bank, the seller has seven working days. If the seller itself extended the credit, it must credit your account within one billing cycle.

Orders the rule doesn’t cover

• magazine and other subscriptions, after the first shipment
• seeds and plants
• cash-on-delivery orders
• services, as opposed to goods
• book and music clubs, which fall under a different FTC rule

Step 4: If the seller goes quiet

1. Contact the seller in writing and keep a copy.
2. If you paid by credit card, dispute the charge with your card issuer.
3. Report the seller to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.

For returns after an order does arrive, see store return policies and the law. If you paid with a gift card, our guide to gift card rules explains your protections.

Parents also ask

Does the rule cover delivery, or only shipping?

It’s about shipping. The deadline is met when the seller hands the item to the carrier. Problems in transit are usually handled through the seller’s or the carrier’s own process.

What if I applied for credit with the seller to pay for the order?

If the seller didn’t state a shipping time and you applied to it for credit to pay, it has 50 days to ship instead of 30.

Can I dispute the charge with my credit card company?

If goods you paid for by credit card never arrived, the Fair Credit Billing Act lets you dispute the charge. Write to the card issuer within 60 days of the first statement that showed it.