Oh no!  The buyer insists you did not ship part of their purchase.  No need to panic.  Just follow these simple steps.  

Before you begin trying to resolve the issue, make sure you ask your buyer to open the packaging up completely.  It is not uncommon for the buyer to reach their hand inside the parcel and pull out the items without ever fully opening it!  If you ship in poly mailers like we do, items can often static-cling to the bag. We have had hundreds of people locate the missing panty simply by completely opening the package.  We even ask buyers to turn the packaging completely inside out because items can even get stuck in a corner. Surprisingly, it can also be an issue of items static-clinging to each other.  Asking the buyer to pick each item up, one at a time and count, can also resolve this issue.  If the buyer is counting them in a pile, they are likely missing an item because they simply do not see it in the pile. 

If the buyer insists "it's just not there!", then proceed:

The first step is to check tracking numbers. If the merchandise shipped in more than 1 parcel, it is possible for multi-piece shipments to arrive on different days even though they are shipped at the same time. If one of the parcels is still in transit, the issue is resolved; once the other parcel arrives the buyer will have all of their merchandise.

Tracking (all) shows a delivered: If the order shipped in multiple parcels, ask the buyer how many parcels they received. It is possible they do not realize there is another parcel sitting by their side door or at the front desk of their apartment complex. 

If the response is still "It's not here!", next check your inventory. If it’s sitting on your shelf, that absolutely explains why it’s missing. Problem solved.  If you do not track inventory, you really should start because the bigger your company grows the more valuable that data becomes.

If it’s not on your shelf and you are positive you didn't oversell it, it clearly shipped to someone. Either the buyer has it or it could have been shipped to a different buyer on the same day. If you’re not using a scanner system you’ll have to look at your postage. Here’s an example:

Buyer #1 ordered 2 pairs of mens jeans. Parcel weighs 1 pound and they claim 1 pair of jeans is missing.

Buyer #2 ordered 1 panty. Their parcel weighs 1.06 pounds. This doesn’t make sense because a panty does not weigh one pound, so this buyer was somehow shipped an extra item they did not order.

On the other hand, if the buyer bought three 8.4 ounce body mists and the parcel you shipped weighs 2.15 pounds (including box weight), it is virtually impossible that they did not receive one because we know two 8.4oz in a box would weigh 1.75 pounds, not 2.15 so there is no way to explain the additional weight unless you used an irregular box.

If you don’t actually weigh each parcel and you instead “guess”, invest in a good scale. It will pay for itself!

If everything seems to checkout and looks 100% accurate, ask the buyer if the parcel looks “Tampered with / Damaged”. If the buyer claims it did arrive opened or resealed, or arrived with a puncture hole in the bottom or severely damaged packaging, ask for photos. You can proceed to file a claim with the carrier for this. If you shipped through USPS you can file a claim here. The TYPE of claim you want to file is “Missing Contents”. HERE’S WHERE IT GETS TRICKY… USPS may want to physically examine the actual packaging at the local USPS location, so make sure your buyer saves it and is willing to cooperate with you. If the buyer claims they already threw out the package and there is no way they can get it, you might be stuck just issuing a refund with no way to get reimbursed by USPS.

If you are beyond positive that you shipped the correct items and it shows as Delivered but buyer claims the merchandise is missing, it’s possible the carrier could have mis-delivered the parcel to the wrong address OR the parcel is still sitting outside their residence. We have an entire USPS guide explaining “What to Do if Tracking Shows as Delivered but Buyer Claims it’s Not There”. Our guide is 100% free and will walk you through the process of locating the delivery address through USPS.

On the other hand, if the buyer insists it’s not there, but it shows as Delivered and you’re absolutely positive it was correctly delivered (buyer signed for the parcel or USPS confirmed delivery was correct when you followed our Mis-Delivery Guide) then there’s only a couple reasons the buyer could be claiming it isn’t present

• It really is in the package and they didn’t feel like truly checking.  Unfortunately this does happen.
• They are trying to scam you.
• They broke it or don’t like it and they know they can’t return it or you charge a restocking fee or would make them pay for return shipping. It’s easier for them to lie and claim it isn’t there.
• They Lost it - We once had a lady who didn’t realize some of the jewelry she bought fell behind her couch. She found it months later when she was cleaning but prior to this she absolutely insisted we never shipped it. We had a guy who forgot that he hung up the ADIDAS hoodies in his closet to prevent wrinkling and found them days later. It does happen. We have even had a situation where a husband moved the wives clothing inventory to the laundry hamper. Our buyer was positive we made a mistake until she emptied the hamper… then screamed at hubby. These people aren’t malicious or liars, they just didn’t realize that the mistake is totally on their end. Sometimes it helps to ask the buyer if they are willing to give it a week and see if it “turns up”.

If the buyer is 100% uncooperative, there isn’t much you can do. You can offer to ship a replacement, give a store credit or give a refund unless you are absolutely positive they have it and you want to wage war and stand your ground.  If the buyer in question contently claim merchandise is missing from every order, yet continues to order, chances are they are scamming you. The best thing you can do is, for their next order, take photographs OR VIDEO all of the merchandise in the box.  Double count everything.  When they make their claim that items are missing, ask them specifically what is not present then show them the evidence that you shipped it. Most likely they will stop making bogus claims after this.