Label created or no movement
Check whether the parcel has been packed, handed to the carrier or received its first physical scan. These are different milestones.
Read the tracking-handoff guide →Order Issue Centre
Start with the parcel's physical stage, the evidence available and the next carrier or supplier deadline. A tracking number, delivered scan or complaint is a starting point; the remedy depends on what can still be changed and what the evidence supports.
For a live order: send the safe order reference and current tracking on WhatsApp. Do not post a full address, telephone number or store login in a broad group.
Choose the situation
Address or telephone problem
Send the corrected field and ask whether the order is still editable. After carrier acceptance, a change may fail, cost extra or require pickup.
Prevent address failures →Change or cancel before dispatch
What is still possible depends on where the parcel is, not on how the request is made. Ask for the cut-off hour and weekend rule in writing before you need them.
See what each stage allows →Self-pickup or failed delivery
Record the pickup location or carrier contact route, the deadline, and any redelivery instruction. The first move is the recipient contacting the local carrier with the contact details we supply; a first-attempt failure often resolves within a day, so re-read the scan before escalating. Missing the deadline can lead to return or disposal.
What happens after a failed delivery →Returned or returning
Confirm why the return started, where the parcel is going, whether another attempt is possible and which charges or evidence apply. A returned parcel goes to the carrier's overseas return hub, not to China; a resend needs a corrected full address plus a reachable phone number and carries a fee, and the hub holds the parcel only for a limited time before disposal.
Compare remedy paths →Delivered but not received
Check the address, household or reception, local carrier path, timestamp and any delivery certificate. A scan is evidence, not automatic proof of handover to the recipient.
Understand the investigation →Damaged, wrong, incomplete or defective
Keep the packaging and send a focused photo or video pack that shows identity, condition, context and the requested outcome.
Build the evidence pack →What a useful first report contains
- A safe order or case reference and the affected product category and variant.
- The current tracking event, date received, or date the problem was first observed.
- What was expected, what happened instead and whether the parcel or packaging is still available.
- Clear photos or one short continuous video where the problem is physical or functional.
- The outcome requested and any known carrier, supplier or marketplace deadline.
How the next decision is made
| Stage | What we check | Possible next step |
|---|---|---|
| Before dispatch | Editable order, stock, address, product and packing status | Correct, hold, cancel, repack or release |
| In carrier network | Physical scans, route, address options and trace eligibility | Wait for next event, request trace, arrange pickup or attempt redelivery |
| Delivered or returned | Carrier evidence, local checks, return reason and deadlines | Carrier review, recovery, reship, refund or another evidence-based outcome |
| Product complaint | Approved version, parcel condition, evidence and repeat pattern | Troubleshoot, replace, refund, hold related stock or open supplier corrective action |
Carrier investigations, proof availability, reporting windows and after-sales terms vary by route. Confirm the terms for your order. We will state the current stage, owner, next update and closure evidence rather than treating an acknowledgement as a resolution.
What can still be changed
Most change requests are refused for one reason: the parcel has already moved past the point where that change is possible. This is the window, stage by stage.
| Stage | Still changeable | No longer changeable |
|---|---|---|
| Received, not yet purchased | Product, variant, quantity, destination, packing, cancel at no cost | Nothing |
| Purchased, not yet received | Address, packing treatment; cancellation possible, sometimes with a supplier deduction | Product and variant, in practice |
| Received, not yet packed | Address, packing, inserts, consolidation; variant subject to stock | Nothing purchased-specific |
| Packed and labelled | Address, by unpacking and relabelling — the last inexpensive moment | Product, variant, consolidation |
| Handed to the carrier | Refusal, return, redelivery at a cost, after-sales remedy | Recall, address change, cancellation |
Ask for your account cut-off in writing — the processing day, the hour after which a batch stops being editable, and the weekend rule — so you can publish it in your own store policy instead of requesting an exception each time.
Continue with
Sellers ask
What should I do when my orders keep coming back to sender before reaching my customer?
Check the address on every returned order against what your customer typed, because a missing flat number or postcode is a common reason a carrier sends a parcel back. Ask your supplier for the return reason the carrier recorded before the order ships again, so the same fault is not repeated.
From our FAQ, under “What if the customer gave a wrong address, or a parcel is returned to sender?”: If it's already in transit or comes back to sender, we check with the carrier whether redelivery is possible; if not, we confirm the resend options and costs with you before doing anything. Read more
What can I do when orders from my supplier keep arriving damaged because of weak packing?
Request photos of a packed order before it ships, so you can see the inner protection and box your customer will actually receive. Request a sample sent in the same packing your customers receive, because a sample packed with extra care can hide a weak standard pack.
From our FAQ, under “What happens if a package is lost or damaged?”: Ask your customer to photograph the parcel and the product on receipt and to tell you straight away. Read more
Why do my customers keep getting the wrong variant from my supplier?
Check that every variant in your store maps to the matching supplier variant code, because a single mapping error repeats on every order for that variant. Ask each customer to photograph the wrong item next to its packing label, so you can show your supplier a pattern rather than isolated complaints. Request a stock count from your supplier for the affected variants, because a wrong item can mean the shelf record and the real stock no longer match.
Written with AI help from public seller questions. WhatsApp us if anything is unclear.