An online order with no ship date is not a blank check for the seller. The Federal Trade Commission says a mail-order or online seller that gives no shipping date must have a reasonable basis to expect to ship within 30 days, and in some cases must cancel the order and refund the money in full.

The rule covers orders placed by mail, on the internet or by phone, and it applies whatever the buyer used to pay. It is a long-standing federal rule, and the FTC’s current guidance spells out what sellers owe when an order runs late.

What the 30-day default means

The FTC’s business guide to the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule says a seller that makes no shipment statement must have a reasonable basis for believing it can ship within 30 days. The clock runs from the day the seller receives a properly completed order.

A “reasonable basis” is not a loose promise. The guide defines it as information that would satisfy a reasonable, prudent businessperson acting in good faith, such as expected demand, enough supply and a fulfillment system that can handle every order.

If the buyer applies for credit to pay, the guide says the default stretches to 50 days. When a seller does state a date, it has to be able to meet it, and the guide says “most of the time” language about a short shipping time counts as a promise to ship in that time every time.

When a late order has to be flagged

This is the part that matters to a shopper whose order has no ship date and has not arrived. The FTC’s consumer guidance says that if a delay happens, the seller must notify the buyer and let the buyer either accept the delay or cancel for a full refund. The seller cannot simply stay silent.

The business guide adds the detail. A seller that cannot ship on time must decide whether it can ship later at all. If it cannot, it must cancel and refund promptly. If it can, it must tell the buyer quickly, and no later than the promised shipping time, or no later than 30 days when no time was promised.

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That first delay notice has three required parts. It must give a definite new shipping date or say the seller cannot provide one, explain that the buyer can cancel for a full, prompt refund, and offer a free way to cancel, such as a prepaid reply card, a toll-free number or a website.

If the new date is 30 days or less after the original time, the notice must say that silence will be treated as consent to the delay. If the new date is further out, or unknown, the notice must say that silence leads to automatic cancellation at the original promised time plus 30 days.

The cases where the seller must cancel and refund

The guide lists when cancellation is not optional for the seller. The seller must cancel and refund promptly if the buyer cancels before shipment, or if the seller determines it will never ship. It must also cancel if the buyer agrees to a new date and the seller misses it without getting further consent.

Two more cases follow a silent buyer. If the buyer does not respond to a notice with a new date 30 days or less away and the seller has not shipped by then, the order must be canceled. The same goes for a longer or open-ended delay when nothing has shipped within 30 days of the original date. A seller that misses the deadline to send a required delay notice must also cancel.

Renewed delays need new notices. Before a promised date passes, the seller must send another notice with a new date, and the guide says silence is not consent to a further delay. A buyer who agrees to an indefinite delay after a proper notice can still cancel any time before the item ships.

How fast the money has to come back

The guide sets refund timing by payment type. For cash, check, money order and most other methods, the refund is due within seven working days after cancellation. When the seller itself extended the credit, it must credit the account or confirm no charge will be made within one billing cycle.

The refund has to be the amount paid, including shipping, handling and insurance, if nothing ships. If some items ship, the seller refunds the difference. The guide says store credit, vouchers and scrip are not allowed substitutes for a refund the rule requires, and the FTC’s consumer page says a buyer who never gets the order is entitled to a cash-equivalent refund, not only a gift card.

The rule has limits. It does not cover services, and the guide lists exclusions, including serial subscriptions after the first shipment, seeds and growing plants, collect-on-delivery orders and sales on approval. Sellers who break it face civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation, a figure adjusted in January 2025, and the Postal Service and state agencies can also act.

The open question for a buyer is which clock applies to a specific order: the date the seller stated, 30 days, or 50 days for credit. The order confirmation and the payment date answer it.

Waiting on an order that never gave a ship date?

The cost of a late order is a refund that sits with the seller while the buyer waits. Many people never ask, and a seller that is not pressed on the date can let an order drift past 30 days.

The story’s money question is whether to wait or cancel, and the related job is the call that gets the refund. 101 Phone Scripts to Lower Your Bills is a 23-page set of short scripts that includes 101 calls, word for word, for every company you pay, with a section on credit cards and banks covering fee refunds. It also has a call log for who you spoke with, what you saved and the reference number.

Get the phone scripts and call log for chasing a late-order refund →

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.