Order protection is how your store makes things right when a delivery goes wrong: a package lost in transit, stolen from a porch, damaged on the way, or marked delivered but never received. It has two sides. For customers, it is often a small optional fee at checkout that guarantees a fix. For you, it is the process behind that promise.
This guide is the playbook for that process. To offer protection as a paid option at checkout, see our shipping protection guide.
What can go wrong with a delivery?
Most problems fall into five types. Each needs a different first step.
| Problem | How you know | First step |
|---|---|---|
| Lost in transit | Tracking stops updating | Open a carrier trace; set a reship date |
| Stolen after delivery | Delivered scan, customer reports theft | Check delivery photo and location; follow your theft rule |
| Damaged in transit | Customer sends photos | Ask for photos of item and box; reship or refund |
| Delivered but not received | Delivered scan, nothing found | Ask customer to check neighbors and mailroom; wait 1–2 days |
| Wrong or incomplete address | Returned to sender, or stuck | Confirm the address, then reship |
How should you handle a lost package?
Reply within a business day, share what tracking shows, and give a date. If tracking has not moved for several days past the expected delivery date, reship or refund without waiting for the carrier’s investigation. Recover your cost in parallel: USPS lets you submit a Missing Mail search from 7 days after mailing, and UPS takes claims within 60 days of the scheduled delivery date.
Our step-by-step SOP covers this in detail: what to do when a package is lost.
How should you handle a stolen package?
Theft after delivery is the hardest case, because the carrier did its job and rarely pays. Start with the evidence:
- Check the delivery scan for time and location, and any delivery photo.
- Confirm the address on the order matches the delivery.
- Ask the customer to check with neighbors, building staff and anyone else at the address.
- Check history: repeat theft claims from the same address are a warning sign.
Then follow your written rule. A common approach is to cover theft for customers who bought protection, and to offer a goodwill credit or a filing with the carrier for others. Our stolen package claims playbook covers this in more depth.
How should you handle a damaged package?
Ask for photos of the item, the box and the shipping label before you decide. Then:
- Reship if the item is in stock and the customer still wants it.
- Refund in full or in part if the item is still usable or out of stock.
- Offer store credit if the customer prefers it.
Keep the photos. They support a carrier or insurance claim, and they show you whether your packaging needs work. See damaged in transit: refund, reship or store credit.
What about “delivered but not received”?
These cases need patience and consistency. Packages often turn up with a neighbor or in a mailroom within a day or two. Ask the customer to check, wait briefly, then follow your policy. For protected orders, resolve the claim. For others, decide case by case and watch for patterns. Our guide to delivered but not received claims has message templates.
How do you write an order protection policy?
A short, clear policy saves hours of back-and-forth. Cover these points:
- What is covered: lost in transit, stolen after delivery, damaged on arrival.
- What is not: wrong addresses entered by the customer, store pick-up orders, items damaged by misuse.
- The filing window, for example 30 days from the expected delivery date.
- What customers must send: order number, email, photos of damage.
- How you resolve claims: refund, reship or store credit, and how fast.
- Limits: how many claims one customer can make, and your right to decline suspected fraud.
Link the policy from your protection widget and claims page. Our guide on how to write a lost and stolen package policy includes a template.
How do you run claims without inviting fraud?
A self-serve claims page keeps everything in one place. Customers enter their order email and number, pick the problem and upload photos. Then check before approving:
- Tracking and delivery photos for lost and stolen claims.
- Photos for damage claims.
- Claim history by customer and address.
- Order value and timing: a large first order followed by an instant theft claim deserves a closer look.
Most claims are honest. Clear rules let you approve those fast and spend time only on the unusual ones. See fraudulent shipping protection claims: red flags.
How do you prevent lost, stolen and damaged orders?
You cannot prevent every problem, but you can cut the common ones:
- Validate addresses at checkout to catch typos and missing apartment numbers.
- Use signature confirmation above an order value you choose.
- Offer pick-up points or lockers where your carriers support them.
- Improve packaging for fragile items and use tamper-evident packaging for valuable ones.
- Compare carriers and services by loss and damage rate on your own orders.
- Plan for peak season, when carriers are busiest.
Log every case with carrier, service, destination and cost. After a month, the patterns show you where to act first. The losses you cannot prevent are what a protection fee is for: run your numbers in the shipping protection calculator, or set it up with Sam Shipping Protection.
Frequently asked questions
What is order protection?
Order protection covers what happens when a delivery goes wrong: lost, stolen or damaged packages. For customers it usually means an optional fee at checkout that guarantees the store will fix the order under its published rules. For merchants it also means the process behind it: claims, carrier filings and prevention.
Is the store responsible for a stolen package?
Legally it depends on your terms and location, but customers will see it as your problem. A common approach is to cover theft for customers who bought protection and handle other cases case by case. Write the rule down so every customer gets the same answer.
What should I do when a package says delivered but the customer did not get it?
Ask the customer to check with neighbors, household members and the building's mailroom, and wait a day or two. If it does not turn up, follow your policy: resolve it for protected orders, and decide case by case for others, watching for repeat claims.
How do I stop customers abusing order protection?
Require the order email and number, ask for photos of damage, set a filing window, limit claims per customer, and check tracking and delivery photos before approving. Track repeat claims by address and customer.