Your Online Order Never Arrived? Here’s What to Do Next

We’re getting into the holiday shopping season, and that means that you’re probably buying at least some things online. Online shopping can be great for many reasons. It’s convenient if you’re not able or don’t have time to go to stores. It’s a great way to find things that aren’t easy to get in stores. And it’s perfect for getting a gift for that one person who’s hard to buy for. But it also comes with risks, like counterfeits, scammers, and regular old shipping delays and store issues. There are steps you can take to shop safer this holiday season. But what do you do if something goes wrong and your online order never arrived? Be prepared to take action.

Why Your Online Order Might Never Arrive

There are a ton of reasons why your online order might never make its way to your doorstep. And not all of them are malicious. In fact, there are plenty of things that can go wrong with legitimate, trustworthy businesses that could result in your online order never arriving. The website could have let you order before the system realized the product was out of stock. The shipping department could have lost or misplaced your order, or the mail carrier bringing your package could have done the same thing. And there are also more dramatic options, like a natural disaster, cyberattack, or bankruptcy that interrupts normal shipping.

But there are also malicious reasons that could also keep your online order from arriving. You could have ordered from a fake store that just wanted to get your card information and never had any intention of shipping you anything. Or if you were dealing with an individual seller, they may have never had the product in the first place, instead intending to take your money and disappear.

Whatever the reason you online order never arrived, you don’t have to just accept the loss. There are steps you can take to deal with the situation. You are much more likely to get a refund or replacement when dealing with a legitimate store. But even if it was a scam, there are still things you can do.

Step 1: Contact the Seller

If your online order never arrived, your first step is to contact the seller. If you haven’t received a shipment notification, ask if it has been shipped. They should be able to provide a tracking number and shipping company if it has.

If they haven’t shipped it yet, consider how long it’s been since you placed the order. According to the Federal Trade Commission, sellers have 30 days from order to ship your item. If they can’t ship it in 30 days, they have to give you the opportunity to cancel for a refund. The FTC doesn’t look kindly on sellers who ignore this rule to take advantage of customers. So if they don’t give you this option, tell the FTC!

Most legitimate stores are willing to work with you to come to a resolution. Ask what options are available. Private individuals are also often willing to work with you to find something that works for both of you.

If you can’t reach the seller or the online store seems to have disappeared, you’ve probably encountered a scammer. Skip ahead to step two.

Step 2: Dispute the Charge

You should always try to work with the seller first. Once you start disputing charges, most stores will stop negotiating with you, which means a refund that may have only taken you a few phone calls will now take multiple weeks or months and a lot of paperwork, plus has the potential to be denied. But if the company isn’t being helpful – or you bought something from a scammer – it’s time to move on to disputes.

Most people think of disputing charges on your cards or accounts as something you do for fraud or unauthorized charges. But if your online order never arrived but you got charged for it anyway, that’s disputable. Don’t wait too long, though. You must dispute within 60 days of the date a charge first appeared on a statement.

Every bank or credit card’s dispute process is a little different. Check out this FTC guide or contact your bank, credit card company, or other financial institution for more information.

Step 3: Report It

Depending on the situation, this may be optional. If your problem was resolved in step one by talking with the company, there’s nothing to report. But in other circumstances, it can be helpful to report to the right place.

If the company is a legitimate business but they’re not offering you a refund when you’re owed one (with that 30-day rule or against their own refund policies), you can report them. Reportfraud.ftc.gov lets you report both fraud and bad business practices to the FTC for investigation. You can also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org/file-a-complaint. If it’s a scam, report it to the FTC’s FraudWatch, and also to the FBI through ic3.gov.

And if you suspect the reason your online order never is a problem with the shipping company, most of them have the option to file a claim. FedEx, UPS, USPS, and DHL all have processes for if your package goes missing, but the specific options vary. Hold onto as much documentation as you can for the incident. That includes tracking information, shipping receipts, emails about the order, and any other documentation you may have. And don’t delay, because many of them have short time frames for you to report your undelivered package.

Avoid Online Orders that Never Arrive

It’s important to know what you can do in situations where your online order never arrived. But it’s even better if you can avoid these situations in the first place. There are limited options when it comes to avoiding issues with a shipping company or with a legitimate store. But fortunately, those issues are often the easiest to resolve. What you can take steps to avoid is getting involved in an online shopping scam – or at least set yourself up for an easier resolution if it happens.

Pay by Credit Card

Our best consumer protection tip for any online shopping is to pay for everything by credit card. Credit cards have strong consumer protections by law. The dispute process is generally easier and more likely to go in your favor. Debit cards have minimal protections by default, and most of it is up to your bank’s discretion.

Be very cautious when paying with peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo, CashApp, and Zelle. Sometimes legitimate private sellers will accept them. But because they’re difficult to trace and nearly impossible to reverse, scammers love them. If someone wants you to pay with one of these methods, look very closely to make sure it’s not a scam first.

Finally, never pay with cryptocurrency or another store’s gift cards. If any store wants you to use another company’s gift card to pay them, run away. No legitimate online store that isn’t Google Play will accept a Google Play gift card, for example. And while some extremely tech-forward shops may accept cryptocurrency as an option, if crypto is the only option, it’s a scam. Again, always pay with credit card if you can.

Do Your Homework

The best option is to only buy from known, established, and trusted online stores. But sometimes that just isn’t realistic, especially if you’re looking for something rare or specific. So if you’re looking at an online store you’re not familiar with, do some research first. Search the store’s name on the BBB Scam Tracker, or Google the name along with words like “complaint” or “scam.” Also check the reviews on third-party sites. The BBB is another good resource here. TrustPilot, their Google Business profile, or just searching for the store name with the word “review” are also good places to check. If it has no reviews or doesn’t show up in any of those places, that’s just as suspicious as bad reviews. It’s safer not to buy.

If you’re buying on a peer-to-peer selling marketplace, such as Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, or eBay, your best bet is always to meet the seller in person and pay cash. But sometimes that’s not an option. Some of these marketplaces allow you to pay with a card, and using a credit card is a great choice. If you have to send money to a stranger, use PayPal and select the “purchase” option. PayPal has some consumer protections, unlike similar apps, and selecting “purchase” means you can dispute the charge if your online order never arrives.

Watch for Red Flags

Check any online store or listing for warning signs before you buy. Beware of grammar issues or typos on online stores. Also check for domain issues that might mean the site is imitating a real one. (See our full list of things to check to see if a website is suspicious here.) Also check any online store for a refund policy. A legitimate store will have one somewhere. Fake ones do sometimes as well, so that’s not a sign that a site is genuine. But if there’s no refund policy, it’s almost guaranteed to be fake.

Any time the deal is really good, stop and think first. This goes for online stores and for private sellers. One of the tactics scammers often use is offering a really good deal on something expensive or hard-to-find. The normal reaction is to get excited that you found it for sale and so cheap. And you might just be lucky. But take that time to double-check before you act.

Also be aware of suspicious payment methods. No legitimate online store will ask for payments in another store’s gift cards or as a wire transfer. Peer-to-peer payment apps and cryptocurrency aren’t impossible for online stores, but they definitely mean you should dig a little deeper. (Although if those are the only options, it’s almost guaranteed to be a scam.) Any individual seller who asks for crypto, wire transfers, or gift cards is also a scammer. Individual sellers are much more likely to ask for you to use a payment app, so while that’s not necessarily a red flag, it does mean you should be cautious. With online stores, your best bet is to pay with a credit card. For individual sellers, pay with cash in person if you can, or with PayPal marked as a purchase if you can’t.

Avoid Online Orders that Never Arrive this Holiday Season

As you do your holiday shopping, know your rights and your options. Be aware of what sellers are allowed and are not allowed to do. And keep your eyes open for scams. It’s always better to miss out on a good deal than to get scammed. If it seems suspicious in any way – or even if it doesn’t seem suspicious on the surface but your gut says something’s weird – walk away.

And if your online order never arrives after you purchase, be ready to take action. You may be able to get your money back in some circumstances. But you need to know what to do and be prepared to do it. Using the tips in this article will help you deal with this issue if you ever encounter it.