How to handle damaged, lost, or delayed shipments

Shipping problems cannot be eliminated, but they can be handled well. The stores that come out of a damaged delivery or a lost package with a loyal customer are the ones that have a clear process ready before the problem arrives. This article gives you that process.

Shipping problems are inevitable

Carriers move enormous volumes of packages across complex networks, and some percentage will always be damaged, delayed, or lost. No carrier has a zero-failure rate. No packaging is completely indestructible. No logistics system is immune to the occasional address error or facility backup.

Accepting that reality is not resignation. It is the first step toward building a process that handles problems quickly and consistently. Stores that treat every damaged delivery as a unique crisis to be argued about spend far more time and money than stores that have a clear, practiced response ready to go. The goal is not to prevent every problem. The goal is to resolve them well, every time.

Your customers understand that things sometimes go wrong in shipping. What they do not forgive is a store that seems unbothered, takes too long to respond, or argues about who is at fault. The resolution is what they remember.

How do you handle a customer reporting a damaged item?

Damaged item reports require a fast response and a clear process. The customer is already disappointed. Every additional hour they wait makes the situation worse. Having a defined set of steps means your team responds with confidence rather than improvising under pressure.

Acknowledge immediately

Reply within a few hours of the report, ideally sooner. Do not wait until you have investigated or spoken to the carrier. Acknowledge that you have received the report, that you are sorry this happened, and that you are looking into it. This initial response does not need to offer a resolution yet. It just needs to confirm that the customer has been heard and that something is happening.

Ask for evidence

Ask the customer to send photos of the damaged product, the packaging, and if possible the shipping label. Do this in the same message as your initial acknowledgement. Most customers are prepared for this request and will respond quickly. The photos serve two purposes: they help you assess the damage accurately, and they provide documentation you will need if you file a carrier claim. Keep the request brief and do not make it feel like an interrogation.

Resolve quickly

Once you have the photos, move to resolution without delay. Do not leave the customer waiting while you go through a lengthy internal review. In most cases, the right answer is either a full replacement or a full refund, depending on what the customer prefers. Offer them the choice rather than deciding for them. Partial resolutions, like a small discount on a future order as compensation for a damaged product, typically create more frustration than they resolve. For guidance on the resolution tone and approach that keeps customers loyal, see our article on how to deliver great customer service for an online store.

How do you handle a lost or missing package?

A lost package situation is more complex than a damaged one because the situation is uncertain. The package may still be in transit, delayed at a facility, delivered to the wrong address, or lost entirely. Your first step is to establish which of these is true before acting.

Check tracking first

When a customer reports that their package has not arrived, start by checking the carrier tracking data. Look at the last scan point and the timestamp. A package that scanned at a facility two days ago and has not moved is different from one that was marked delivered yesterday. If tracking shows delivered but the customer says it has not arrived, ask them to check around the property and with neighbours. Carriers occasionally scan packages as delivered slightly before the actual drop-off, and packages sometimes end up at adjacent addresses.

Contact the carrier

If tracking shows the package has not moved for more than three business days and there is no delivery confirmation, contact the carrier to open an investigation. Most carriers have a formal process for this, typically called a trace or investigation request. The carrier will attempt to locate the package in their system and at relevant facilities. This process usually takes between five and ten business days. Keep the customer informed that an investigation is underway and give them a realistic timeline for when you expect to have more information.

Resolve for the customer without waiting for the carrier

Do not make the customer wait for the carrier investigation to conclude before you resolve their situation. Once it is clear the package is not going to arrive on time, offer a replacement or refund. You can still pursue the carrier investigation and insurance claim in parallel. The customer's resolution should not depend on the outcome of a claim process that takes weeks. Separating the customer resolution from the carrier claim keeps the customer experience clean and protects your relationship with them regardless of what the carrier decides.

How do you handle a delayed shipment?

Delays are the most common shipping problem and the easiest to mishandle, because the package is technically still moving. It is just not moving fast enough. The temptation is to say nothing and hope it arrives before the customer notices. That approach backfires when the customer checks tracking, sees no movement, and contacts you having already decided something is wrong.

Proactive communication during delays dramatically reduces how upset customers get. When you identify that an order is running late, reach out before the customer does. Acknowledge the delay, give an updated estimate if one is available, and apologise. A short, honest message sent before the customer asks is far better received than a defensive explanation sent after they have filed a complaint.

Setting up proactive delay notifications is covered in our article on how to set up order tracking and notifications for your customers. Having that system in place means delays are communicated automatically without relying on your team to catch every slow shipment manually.

How do you file a claim with a carrier?

Filing a carrier claim is separate from resolving the situation with your customer. You resolve the customer first, then pursue the carrier claim to recover the cost.

Most carriers require claims to be filed within a specific timeframe, typically 60 days for domestic shipments and shorter windows for some international routes. Filing late is the most common reason claims are denied, so start the process as soon as you have confirmed a loss or damage. Do not wait until the customer situation is fully closed.

You will need the original shipping receipt or tracking number, the invoice showing the item value, photos of the damage or documentation of the loss, and in some cases a copy of the communication with the customer. Submit all of this together. Incomplete claims are a common reason for delays or denials. Carriers have online portals for claims, and the process is more straightforward than many store owners expect. Most routine claims are processed within two to four weeks.

One important point: carriers distinguish between damage caused by inadequate packaging and damage caused by carrier mishandling. If your packaging is deemed insufficient, the claim may be partially or fully denied. Using appropriate protective materials and packaging that meets carrier guidelines protects both your products and your ability to make successful claims.

Should you refund or reship when something goes wrong?

The answer depends on a few factors: what the customer prefers, whether the item is still in stock, and whether the original problem was a carrier failure or a product issue.

When to reship

Reshipping makes sense when the item is readily available, the customer wants the product rather than their money back, and the original problem was clearly a transit issue rather than something wrong with the product itself. Reshipping signals to the customer that you want them to have what they ordered. Most customers who were happy with their purchase up until the shipping problem will prefer a replacement. For high-value items, consider using a tracked service with additional protection when reshipping.

When to refund

Refunds are the better choice when the item is out of stock, when the customer expresses doubt about ordering again, or when the nature of the problem suggests that a replacement might have the same issue. A full refund, processed promptly and without argument, is often the resolution that turns a disappointed customer into one who is willing to come back. A partial refund is rarely the right answer for a damaged or lost item. It leaves the customer feeling like they paid for something they did not receive.

How do you use shipping insurance and when is it worth it?

Carriers include a small amount of liability coverage in their base rates, typically around 100 dollars for standard shipments. For many products, that coverage is inadequate. If you sell items with a higher value, shipping insurance bridges the gap between what the carrier covers and the actual replacement cost.

Third-party shipping insurance is generally less expensive than the coverage offered by carriers directly. The cost is typically a small percentage of the declared value, often less than one percent for standard goods. For a store shipping items worth several hundred dollars each, that cost is modest compared to absorbing the full replacement cost on every damaged or lost shipment.

Insurance makes the most sense for orders above the carrier's liability threshold, for fragile or high-value items, and for shipments going to destinations with higher loss rates. If you ship products that rarely exceed fifty dollars in value and rarely get damaged, the administrative overhead of managing insurance claims may outweigh the benefit. For most stores selling goods above that range, some level of coverage is worth having.

How do you reduce the frequency of shipping problems?

Resolving problems well is essential, but reducing how often they happen is better. Most shipping damage is preventable. Most lost packages trace back to label errors or address issues. Most delays come from carrier selection or departure timing decisions that are within your control.

Packaging and protection

The single largest factor in damage rates is packaging quality. Products that move around inside a box during transit, products packed in boxes that are too large, and fragile items without adequate cushioning all have high damage rates regardless of which carrier handles them. Right-sizing your boxes, using appropriate void fill, and matching protection materials to your product type all reduce damage significantly. Our article on how to choose the right packaging for your products covers this in detail.

Carrier vetting

Not all carriers perform equally well for all types of shipments or all routes. Before committing to a carrier for a significant volume of orders, check their damage and loss rates for the specific routes you use most. Carriers that perform well on cross-country ground shipments may perform worse on same-day local routes, and vice versa. If you have access to shipping data, track your damage and loss rate by carrier and use that information to adjust your carrier mix.

Address verification and documentation

Address errors cause a disproportionate share of lost and delayed packages. Adding address verification at checkout catches errors before they cause problems. Double-check that your system captures apartment numbers, unit numbers, and business names for commercial deliveries. For high-value orders, requiring signature confirmation adds a layer of documentation that both reduces theft and gives you stronger standing if a claim is disputed.

How WEMASY helps

WEMASY's e-commerce system gives you access to full order history and status data, so when a customer reports a shipping problem, your team can pull up the order details, the tracking information, and the full timeline immediately. You are not searching across multiple tools to piece together what happened.

Order management in WEMASY includes the information needed to start a carrier claim quickly: order date, product details, shipping address, and fulfillment timestamps. Having that documentation in one place reduces the time it takes to file and follow up on claims.

See what is included in each plan at wemasy.com/pricing.

Frequently asked questions