Package Marked Delivered but Not Received: 4 Templates

When a customer says tracking shows delivered but nothing arrived, don’t reship or refund in the first reply. Check the scan details and the address on the order, ask the customer to look in a few specific places, then decide. If you sell print on demand, assume the supplier will not pay for a reship, so the decision is really about your own money.

This post is written from the seller’s side. Most pages ranking for this problem tell the buyer to check the porch and call the carrier. You need to know what to check, what to write, and when to give in.

What to check before you reply

Do these in order. It takes about five minutes per order.

Open the carrier’s tracking page, not just the Shopify status. Look at the time and location of the “Delivered” scan, and any note such as “left at front door,” “mailbox,” or “parcel locker.”
Compare the delivery location to the address on the order. Check the street, unit number and zip code. A missing apartment number is a common cause.
Check whether the customer edited the address or used a different shipping name. Mail rooms and front desks often sort by name.
Look at the date. A delivered scan that appears before the estimated delivery date deserves a closer look at the scan location.
Screenshot the tracking page and the order address. You want these saved before anyone asks for them.

If you use LzyReply, it pulls the Shopify order’s tracking and shipping address when the email comes in, so steps 1 and 2 are already on screen when you draft the reply. You still decide what happens next.

Template 1: first reply

Send this the same day. Be friendly and specific, and don’t accuse anyone of anything. It also starts a written record, which matters later.

Subject: Re: Order [Order Number], let’s find your package

Hi [First Name],

Sorry about this. I checked your order and the carrier shows it as delivered on [Date] at [Time], [Delivery Note, e.g. “left at the front door”], to [Address on Order].

A few quick things to check, since carriers sometimes scan a package as delivered before it actually arrives:

Look around the entrance, porch, garage, and any spot a driver might leave a parcel.

Ask neighbors, family members, or roommates, and check with your building’s front desk or mailroom if you have one.

Confirm the address above is correct, including apartment or unit number.

Please reply by [Date, e.g. 2 days from now] and tell me what you find. If it still hasn’t turned up, I’ll work out next steps with you.

[Your Name] [Store Name]

How long to wait before acting

In my stores, I give the customer about two days after my first reply before I put money into a reship. That is my own rule of thumb, not a carrier rule. Packages sometimes surface from a neighbor or a mailroom, and a reship you didn’t need is a full extra cost.

Two things shorten that wait: a wrong address on the order, or a scan location that clearly doesn’t match the address. In those cases, move to the carrier right away.

For USPS, the FAQ says a Missing Mail search for Priority Mail and Ground Advantage can be filed if “seven (7) or more days have passed since the date of mailing and the recipient has confirmed the item has not arrived”. Note that this counts from the mailing date, not the delivery date. Other carriers have their own procedures, so check the carrier’s own help pages before you promise the customer anything.

Template 2: follow-up when they still can’t find it

Subject: Re: Order [Order Number], next steps

Hi [First Name],

Thanks for checking. I’m sorry it hasn’t turned up.

Here’s what I’m doing on my end: [I’ve opened a missing mail search with the carrier / I’ve asked the carrier to review the delivery scan]. I’ll update you by [Date].

Two things would help me:

Is the address I have correct? [Address on Order]

Can you tell me if there’s anything unusual about your delivery spot (shared mailbox, parcel locker, front desk)?

If the carrier can’t locate it, I’ll [send a replacement / refund you], and you won’t need to argue the point with anyone.

[Your Name]

Only promise the last line if you mean it. If you haven’t decided, cut it.

Who pays for the reship: POD supplier policies

This is the part buyer-side articles skip. If you fulfill through a POD supplier, a “Delivered” scan usually leaves you holding the cost.

Supplier	What the published terms say
Printful (“Delivered” scan)	The help center says that once the carrier marks a package delivered, Printful has “no way to verify the claim that it wasn’t received.” As a result, it is unable to cover reshipping or refunding the order.
Printful (lost in transit)	A different case. Printful covers reprinting and reshipping only if the carrier considers the order lost and you report it within its reporting window. This does not apply to “Delivered” scans.
Printify	Its terms of service reserve the right to refuse a free reprint or refund and describe cases being investigated individually by Merchant Support. Treat a free reprint as something to ask for, not something to expect.

Two more details if you use Printful. Its help center says you are “welcome to place a new order at your own expense if you choose”. And if you ship to the EU, Printful’s policy updates page lists a September 15, 2026 revision to the Delivery section about when risk of loss transfers for EU orders, so read the current wording.

With Printify, timing matters. Its help center says it keeps customer data for 30 days after the order is delivered, and ties that period to notifying them of an issue and requesting a reprint. Treat 30 days after delivery as the real deadline for asking, and raise any support ticket inside that window.

Reship or refund?

The reship cost depends on the product, so I won’t give a figure. It is your base price plus shipping, and you won’t get the original sale price back on top of it. Run your own numbers.

My rough rules:

Reship when the address was wrong, the scan location doesn’t match, the customer is cooperative, or the item is low cost to replace. It keeps the customer and the sale.
Refund when the customer would rather have the money, the item was time-sensitive (an event or gift date that has passed), or a reship would take longer than they’ll wait.
Think harder when the customer is unresponsive, refuses to confirm the address, or has asked for multiple refunds. You are allowed to say no, but say it in writing and politely.

For a longer look at refund logic, see Handling Refund Requests on Shopify.

A reship goes through production again, and transit comes on top. Ask your supplier for current production times, and tell the customer a realistic window, not the optimistic one. If they will be waiting, these POD delay scripts help.

Template 3: reship

Subject: Re: Order [Order Number], replacement on the way

Hi [First Name],

Thanks for your patience. Since the package hasn’t turned up, I’m sending a replacement at no cost to you.

It’s being made now and should ship within [Production Time]. I’ll email the new tracking number as soon as I have it. Please confirm the address once more so it lands in the right place: [Address on Order].

If the original package does show up, you’re welcome to keep it.

[Your Name]

Whether you let them keep the original is your call. In my stores, I let them keep it, because paying for a return isn’t worth it to me.

Template 4: refund

Subject: Re: Order [Order Number], refund issued

Hi [First Name],

I’m sorry the package didn’t reach you. I’ve refunded [Amount] to your original payment method. Depending on your bank, it can take a few business days to show up.

If the package does arrive, let me know and we can sort it out. And if you’d like to reorder, I’m happy to help.

[Your Name]

Wording that lowers chargeback risk

Shopify lists “The tracking information confirms delivery, but the customer says they didn’t get it” as a common product-not-received dispute. I can’t promise any wording stops a dispute, but a few habits help.

Reply fast and by email. A prompt, helpful answer gives the customer somewhere to go besides their bank.
Contact the customer first. For these disputes, Shopify’s advice is to get in touch with the customer first to figure out the problem.
Keep the thread. Shopify recommends keeping communication records, including emails, chat logs, and support tickets. Keep the conversation in email so it can be exported. Don’t move it to DMs.
Save your evidence early. Keep the tracking screenshot, the order address, and the thread in one folder, so you can submit them quickly if a dispute ever arrives.
State facts, not suspicion. “The carrier shows delivery on [Date] to [Address]” reads well to a bank reviewer. “I think you’re lying” does not.

Where an AI draft helps, and where it stops

These emails are repetitive: look up the order, read the tracking, write a calm reply. That is the part LzyReply drafts for you in your brand voice, and by default you review and approve each reply before it sends. It does not issue refunds or cancel orders, and it can’t change supplier orders at Printful or Printify. Refunds and reships stay with you, which is where that decision belongs.

If you are building out your templates, Ecommerce Customer Service Email Templates and Customer Support for Print-on-Demand Stores cover the surrounding cases.

Quick checklist

Check the scan time, location and delivery note.
Compare it to the address on the order.
Send Template 1 the same day.
Wait about two days, sooner if the address was wrong.
Send Template 2, and start a carrier search if the carrier’s rules allow it.
Decide: reship or refund, knowing your POD supplier likely won’t pay.
Save screenshots and the email thread in case of a dispute.