Late online orders: what the FTC's shipping rule makes sellers do, and when you are owed a refund

Order a TV, a soundbar or a stand mixer online and the checkout page may say when it will ship. A Federal Trade Commission rule first issued in 1975 decides what that promise has to rest on, and what the seller owes you when the date slips. Since amendments in 2014 it has been called the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, and the FTC says it covers most goods bought by mail, phone, fax or online, however you pay.

The 30-day default, and the promise that replaces it

A seller may only advertise a shipping time it has a reasonable basis to meet. If it states no time, it must have a reasonable basis to expect to ship within 30 days, which is why direct marketers sometimes call this the 30-day rule. The FTC's business guide says that basis rests on evidence such as anticipated demand, supply, and whether the fulfillment system can handle the season's orders.

Two details change the count. If you apply to the seller itself for credit to pay for the order, and it has made no shipping statement, it has 50 days instead of 30. And a newer promise overrides an older one: in the FTC staff's example, an ad gave no time but a sales representative said 72 hours, so compliance is judged against the 72 hours. The same goes for updated shipping information given online when you order. Staff also say a seller that promises shipping in 48 hours “most of the time” has to ship, or send a delay notice, within 48 hours every time.

The clock starts when the seller receives a properly completed order: your payment plus everything it needs to fill the order. It does not wait for a check to clear. The rule defines shipment as the act of physically placing the goods in the carrier's possession. As we read that definition, the deadline is met at the handover, and the rule sets no delivery date.

When an order is going to be late

Once a seller finds it cannot ship on time, it can either cancel and refund you or ask you to accept the delay. The offer has to be made within the original shipping time, or 30 days if none was promised, early enough for a meaningful decision, with a way to cancel at the seller's expense, such as a toll-free number, a prepaid reply card or a website. FTC staff accept email. A notice posted only on your order-status page is not enough if you do not see it before the deadline.

A notice that gives no new date must also explain the reason for the hold-up, in enough detail for you to judge how long it might last. A seller that neither ships nor sends the required notices in time must cancel and refund.

Refunds: how fast, and how much

The deadline for a refund the rule requires depends on how you paid. For cash, a check, a money order, a credit card from a third-party issuer and most other methods, the seller has seven working days after the order is cancelled. Where the seller itself is the creditor, it has one billing cycle to credit the account or to tell you that you will not be charged.

When nothing ships, you get back everything you paid, including shipping, handling and insurance. When part of an order ships, a flat shipping fee can stay, but charges set by the number of items or the order value have to be scaled to what was sent. The rule does not let a seller replace the refund with store credit, vouchers or scrip.

Substitutes, pre-orders and third-party shipping

A backorder does not let a seller send a different model. Unless you agreed beforehand, it may not substitute goods that are materially different from what it advertised, and FTC staff treat any feature the advertising states or shows as material. On that reading, a screen size or a port listed for a TV would count.

The business that took your order stays responsible when a fulfillment house or drop shipper sends the goods, FTC staff say, because it controls the shipping promise and picks who fulfills the order. For a product that is not yet available, an FTC advisory opinion let a publisher “dry-test” it only if, among other conditions, its promotions disclosed that the item is only planned and may not be shipped.

What the rule does not cover

The rule exempts cash-on-delivery orders, seeds and growing plants, subscriptions after the first delivery, and plans covered by the FTC's negative option rule, and it does not cover services. FTC staff add that goods shipped with an invoice payable on receipt, and sales on approval, fall outside it. State and local laws that give buyers equal or greater rights still apply.

If the refund does not come

The FTC can sue sellers that break the rule for court orders, consumer redress and civil penalties. Its business guide, last edited in January 2025, gives penalties of up to $53,088 per violation, the maximum the FTC's penalty regulation, 16 CFR 1.98, still lists. In a notice effective September 15, 2026, the FTC said it would keep its 2025 penalty levels this year because the 2026 inflation adjustment was cancelled.

For a single order paid by card, the FTC's consumer advice describes the Fair Credit Billing Act's dispute process, which covers charges for things that were not delivered as agreed. It applies to credit cards and other revolving credit, not to loans for cars or major appliances. The FTC says your letter should reach the issuer's billing-inquiries address within 60 days after the first bill with the charge was sent. The issuer must acknowledge it within 30 days, unless the problem has been resolved, and resolve it within 90, and you may withhold payment on the disputed amount and related charges meanwhile, while paying the rest of the bill. If that fails, the FTC asks consumers to report the problem at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Once the box arrives, a different federal law governs any written warranty, as our guide to product warranties explains.