Partial Damage Claims: One Item in a Larger Order

When one item in a larger order arrives damaged, fix that item and leave the rest of the order alone. Get photos of the broken item, the box and the items that arrived fine, then either reship the damaged item or refund what the customer paid for it. Do not refund the whole order or the shipping by default, and keep everything until any carrier claim is settled.

This guide covers the partial case: one broken mug in a set of four, one crushed jar in a mixed box. For a whole order that arrives broken, read refund, reship or store credit. Both are part of the order protection guide.

What counts as a partial damage claim?

A partial damage claim is a claim where only part of a delivered order is damaged. The parcel arrived and most of the contents are fine, but one item, or one unit of an item, is broken, crushed, leaking or scratched.

That sounds simple, but it brings questions a full-order claim doesn’t:

• How much to refund. The item’s list price, the price after a discount, or something in between?
• Whether shipping comes back. The parcel was delivered, so the shipping mostly did its job.
• What happens to the rest. Does one broken item affect the others in the box?
• What the carrier needs. Carriers often want to see the whole package, not just the broken piece.

What should you ask the customer for?

Ask for the same evidence as any damage claim, plus proof of what arrived fine:

1. Photos of the damaged item showing the damage clearly.
2. Photos of the box, outside and inside, with the packing material.
3. A photo of the shipping label.
4. A photo of the undamaged items from the same box. This confirms which item was hit and helps you see whether packing was the cause.
5. A short note: which item is damaged, how many units, and whether it still works.

Ask for all of it in your first reply, so the customer doesn’t have to send photos twice. The lost and damaged order email templates include a damage reply you can adapt.

Should you refund, reship or let them keep it?

The right fix depends on the item, your stock and what the customer wants. Here are the common cases:

Let the customer choose where you can. Some prefer a refund to waiting for a replacement, and a reship of one small item often costs you less than the refund. See reship and store credit for how each option works.

When does one broken item affect the whole order?

When the other items can’t be used without it. A dinner set with one cracked plate is still a set of five plates, which may be fine. A pair of matching lamps with one broken, or a kit missing one essential part, is not. In that case, replace or refund the whole set, not just the broken piece.

How much should the partial refund be?

Refund what the customer actually paid for the damaged item, not its list price. Work it out in this order:

1. Start with the item’s price on the order.
2. Take off any discount applied to it. If the order had a 20% discount, the customer paid 80% of the item price.
3. For bundles, use the item’s share of the bundle price. If you sell sets, see how bundle pricing splits the price across items.
4. Multiply by the number of damaged units. One broken glass out of four is one unit, not the line total.

For example, a customer orders four glasses at $15 each with a 10% discount. One breaks. The refund is $13.50 for that glass, not $60 for the line and not $15 for the list price.

For a cosmetic flaw where the customer keeps the item, the amount is a judgment call. Offer an amount, explain it, and let the customer pick a replacement instead if they prefer.

Should you refund the shipping too?

Not by default. The rest of the order arrived, so the shipping served those items. If you reship the damaged item, the new shipping cost is yours, which already covers the problem. Refund shipping only if your policy says so, or if the damaged item was the main reason for the order.

What about the protection fee?

If the customer paid for shipping protection, the claim is what the fee pays for, so the fee itself isn’t refunded on top. The protection fee refund guide covers when it is.

How do you handle a partial damage claim in Sam Shipping Protection?

If you run your own protection program with Sam Shipping Protection, partial claims go through the same flow as any other claim. The customer files it on the claim page on your store, and you resolve it in the app.

What the customer does

1. Enters the email and order number from their confirmation. The order must be protected and fulfilled.
2. Sees the items on the order, then writes the reason, for example “1 of the 4 glasses arrived broken.”
3. Uploads photos. At least one photo is required, and they can add up to 10.

The claim arrives in Claims in the app with the status Requested. If a customer emails you instead, click Create claim request, find the order and attach the photos they sent.

What you do

1. In Claims, click Action on the claim. It moves to In Progress.
2. Read the note, check the photos, and compare them with the order’s products.
3. Click Fulfill claim and choose one outcome:
   • Refund: enter the amount for the damaged item only. The dialog shows how much is available for refund; the protection product is not included.
   • Refund by store credit: enter the same amount as Shopify store credit, if the customer agreed to it.
   • Reorder: create a replacement order for the customer. Before you fulfill it, open the new order in Shopify and check that it ships only the damaged units, not the whole original order.
4. Add a reason, such as “Refunded 1 glass, $13.50, photo shows breakage,” and click Save.

A refund marks the claim Partially refunded, so partial refunds are easy to find later with the status filter. Each claim gets one outcome, so if the customer has two problems (one item broken, one missing), decide on the full resolution before you save.

If claim emails are on, the customer gets a refund or replacement-order email automatically. Full steps are in review and resolve claims.

Can you claim one damaged item from the carrier?

Often, yes, if the parcel was insured with the carrier and the carrier caused the damage. The rules for partial damage are stricter than many merchants expect. USPS, for example, says on its claims page:

• Filing window: for damaged items or missing contents, you can file right away but no later than 60 days after the mailing date.
• Evidence: proof of insurance, proof of value and photos of the damage. For damaged items, USPS also asks for a repair cost estimate from a reputable dealer.
• Keep everything: save the original packaging and everything in the package, including the items that weren’t damaged, and don’t reship the undamaged items. USPS may ask to inspect the whole package.
• Payout: USPS can approve a claim in full or in part, and doesn’t pay more than the item’s actual value. It can’t pay for uninsured mail.

The last point about undamaged items matters for partial claims. If your customer already used or gave away the rest of the order, the carrier claim may be harder to support. Ask customers to keep everything, as in the tip above, and send a prepaid return label if you need the package back. Other carriers have their own windows and rules, so check them before you promise a customer anything.

For low-value items, a carrier claim is often not worth the time. Resolve it with the customer, log it, and spend the effort on packaging instead.

What should your policy say about partial damage?

Put the partial case into your written policy, so every customer gets the same answer:

• Scope: “If part of your order arrives damaged, we’ll replace or refund the damaged items.”
• Refund amount: “Refunds are for the price you paid for the damaged items, after discounts.”
• Shipping: whether shipping is refunded when only part of the order is damaged.
• Sets: “If a damaged item makes a set unusable, we’ll treat the whole set as damaged.”
• Evidence and window: photos of the damaged item, the box and the rest of the order, sent within your filing window.
• Keep the items: ask customers to keep everything until the claim is closed.

The free claim policy generator writes the main sections; add the lines above for partial damage.

How do you stop the same item breaking again?

Partial damage tells you more than a crushed box does. If only one item broke, look at where it sat and what it touched:

• Separate fragile items from heavy ones in mixed orders. A jar of honey loose next to a candle is a common pattern.
• Wrap each unit in multipacks so units don’t hit each other.
• Fill the gaps so items can’t shift, and use dividers for glass.
• Track partial claims by product. If the same item keeps breaking in mixed boxes, change how you pack it or ship it separately.

More packing advice is in shipping fragile items. If a partial claim looks wrong, for example photos that don’t match the order, see fraudulent shipping protection claims before you decide.