You clicked “buy,” paid for faster shipping and waited. And waited. Then the store emailed to say your order was still processing — or offered you store credit for your trouble.
Here’s what that store hoped you didn’t know: A federal rule has been on your side the whole time.
It’s called the Mail, Internet or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, and the Federal Trade Commission enforces it. It covers most goods you buy online, by phone or by mail.
The FTC recently announced it’s sending more than $100,000 to customers of the online marketplace GOAT, with checks or PayPal payments going to 6,205 people who hadn’t been paid yet.
That’s on top of the more than $736,000 GOAT refunded customers directly in 2025 under a settlement with the agency, according to the FTC’s announcement.
The FTC said GOAT didn’t send out some priority-processing orders as quickly as it promised and didn’t give buyers the choice to accept the delay or cancel for a prompt refund.
Separately, when customers sought the full refunds GOAT promised for fake, wrong or misdescribed items, the company often said no, paid partial refunds or handed out store credit.
I’ve been writing about money for more than 35 years, and in company-versus-customer fights, the script rarely changes. The company breaks the rule, the customer gives up and the company keeps the money. Here’s how not to give up.
One important limit first: This rule is about when the seller ships your order — that is, hands it to the carrier. If a store shipped on time and the package got stuck in transit, this rule isn’t your tool.
Everything below is about sellers that fail to ship when they said they would.
1. The seller has to ship when it promised — or within 30 days
If a seller says it’ll ship within a certain time, it has to ship within that time. If it says nothing about timing, the order has to ship within 30 days, according to the FTC’s consumer advice.
And a seller can’t just toss out a date to close the sale. The FTC’s business guide to the rule says it needs a reasonable basis for any shipping time it states or implies.
So screenshot the shipping promise at checkout. “Ships in 1-2 business days” isn’t marketing fluff. It’s a deadline.
2. A delay means you get a choice — not a shrug
A seller that can’t ship on time can’t just go silent. It has to tell you, no later than the promised shipping date, or day 30 if it never promised one. Email, phone or mail all work.
Per the FTC business guide, that notice must give you a definite new shipping date, or say the seller doesn’t know when it can ship. It must also tell you that you can cancel for a full, prompt refund, and give you a way to cancel at the seller’s expense.
Here’s the part sellers count on you missing. If the first notice gives a new date no more than 30 days past the original promise, your silence can count as agreeing to wait — but only until that new date.
If the seller blows that date too and asks for more time, silence no longer counts as a yes. Unless you’ve agreed to keep waiting, the order is supposed to be canceled automatically and your money refunded. The rule makes the seller ask permission, not forgiveness.
And even after you’ve agreed to a delay, you can still cancel any time before the order ships.
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3. Cancel means all your money back — shipping included
When an order is canceled under the rule, the refund has to be the real thing. The FTC business guide says sellers can’t swap in store credit, vouchers or scrip for your money.
Store credit is what the FTC said GOAT handed some customers who wanted refunds on items that weren’t as described. If a seller that missed its ship date offers a coupon instead of your money, that’s less than the law requires.
The refund also has to cover everything you paid, including shipping, handling and insurance. Paid an extra $25 for expedited shipping on an order that didn’t ship on time? That $25 comes back too.
And the clock is tight. If you paid by cash, check, money order or a credit card from a bank or other third party, the seller has seven working days after cancellation to refund you.
Only when the seller itself extended the credit does it get one billing cycle to credit your account instead.
4. If the seller stonewalls, go to your credit card company
Your best backup is the card in your wallet — if it’s a credit card. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, a charge for goods that weren’t delivered as agreed is a billing error you can dispute, according to the FTC’s guide to disputing credit card charges.
You can start a dispute online or by phone, but also put it in writing to the issuer’s billing-inquiries address, not the payment address.
The issuer has to receive your letter no more than 60 days after it sent you the first bill showing the charge.
The issuer then has 30 days to acknowledge it in writing and 90 days to resolve it. Meanwhile, you can withhold the disputed amount and related finance charges, but pay the rest of the bill.
Debit cards are another story. The FTC warns that debit card protections are different, and you may not get your money back when an order never shows up. Ask your bank whether it offers any voluntary protection.
That’s why I’d shop online with a credit card, paid in full every month. The FTC says no other payment type gives you more fraud protection than a credit card.
5. Report the seller — and get your state involved
If the seller won’t budge, don’t eat the loss. USA.gov recommends filing a complaint with your state’s consumer protection office and your state attorney general when contacting the seller doesn’t work.
You can find your state’s office in the USA.gov directory of state consumer protection offices. Those offices handle complaints against businesses and investigate scams and fraud.
The bottom line
Stores have every incentive to sit on your money while you wait. The rule takes that away: Ship on time, ask before delaying, and refund every cent — real money, not store credit — if the order is canceled.
If you’re a GOAT customer owed money, watch your mail and your PayPal account. The FTC says checks should be cashed within 90 days and PayPal payments redeemed within 30. Questions go to the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration, at 1-888-970-2410.
And next time a seller tells you to sit tight, remember: You don’t have to. While you’re at it, here are six ways to land free shipping, so you’re not paying extra for speed a store may not deliver.
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