What Does the FTC Require When Your Listing Promises a Shipping Time?

Published 2026-10-30

If you sell online, the shipping time in your listing is a promise that the law covers. Under the Federal Trade Commission's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, you must have a reasonable basis for any shipping time you state. If you state no time, you must have a reasonable basis to expect you can ship within 30 days of a completed order. If you later learn you cannot ship on time, you must ask the buyer to consent to the delay or refund them promptly. (FTC rule summary)

What the rule covers

The FTC's business guide says the rule applies to most goods a customer orders by mail, telephone, fax or on the Internet. It does not matter how the item is advertised, how the customer pays, or who started the contact. (FTC business guide)

Before you write a shipping time in a listing

• Only state a time you can support. The rule requires a "reasonable basis" for any express or implied shipping claim, so base it on how quickly you actually pack and ship today, not on your best day.
• If you say nothing, the default still applies. With no clear shipping statement, you need a reasonable basis to ship within 30 days of receiving a completed order. If the buyer applies to you for credit to pay for the order, the regulation allows 50 days instead. (16 CFR 435.2)
• Updated information overrides the ad. The FTC guide explains that updated shipping information you give by phone or online replaces what your earlier advertising said, and it needs a reasonable basis too.

What to do when an order will ship late

1. Decide whether you can ship at all. If you cannot, the FTC guide says to cancel the order promptly and give a full refund.
2. If you can ship later, ask for consent. Tell the buyer about the delay reasonably quickly, by any means such as email or phone, and give them enough notice to choose between waiting and cancelling.
3. Give a definite revised date, or say why you can't. The regulation only lets you say you do not know when you can ship if you have a reasonable basis for that and you tell the buyer the reasons for the delay. (16 CFR 435.2)
4. Refund without being asked when consent is missing. If the buyer refuses the delay, or has not consented in a situation where silence does not count as consent, you must promptly refund everything they paid for the unshipped item.

Example

Example: a seller's listing says "ships in three business days." A supplier problem means the item cannot go out on time. The seller emails the buyer with a definite new ship date and a clear option to cancel for a full refund. The buyer cancels, and the seller refunds the full amount promptly without waiting for a second request.

Sources

• Federal Trade Commission, Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule
• Federal Trade Commission, Business Guide to the FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule
• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 16 CFR 435.2