Who Files a Shipping Claim, Shipper or Receiver? By Carrier

FedEx's Service Guide updated September 11, 2026 gives 90 calendar days from delivery to file a domestic loss or damage claim; the edition updated July 20 gave nine months. A seller whose buyer just sent a photo of a crushed carton now has about three months on a FedEx label, sixty days from the mailing date on a USPS one, and an argument to settle before either clock matters: which of the two of you is supposed to file.

The marketplace and the carrier answer that question separately. The marketplace decides who refunds the buyer. The carrier decides who it will take a claim from and who it will pay. A seller who treats those as one question tends to refund on day 2, tell the buyer "you file with UPS," and find out on day 50 that UPS sends the money to the shipper anyway and the box went into the recycling a month ago.

Policy as of 2026-10-15, verify at: USPS DMM 609, Filing Indemnity Claims, UPS Tariff/Terms and Conditions of Service – United States (effective April 17, 2026), the UPS File a Claim page, the FedEx Service Guide (effective January 5, 2026, updated September 11, 2026), the FedEx Claims page, and eBay's Shipping insurance help page. Carrier terms sit on this site's 180-day recheck cycle, and FedEx has updated its guide at least twice since it took effect in January.

Two questions that look like one

Start with the refund, because the marketplace clock is shorter than any carrier clock and it does not wait for your claim.

eBay. The Money Back Guarantee lists "The item arrives broken, damaged, or faulty" under items that don't match the listing, and says that a buyer who receives such an item is "entitled to return it for a refund, even if the seller doesn't offer returns." eBay also tells buyers that if a package "was damaged in transit, the buyer should accept the delivery and report that the item doesn't match the listing." Once that return request exists, the seller has until 3 business days after the request date to respond, and eBay says that "in some cases, eBay may automatically accept the return on the seller's behalf." Damage counts even on Authenticity Guarantee final-sale items: returns for those are covered when "The item was damaged during shipping."

Amazon. On seller-fulfilled orders, the A-to-z Guarantee page tells buyers they are eligible when "The item you received is damaged, defective, or not as described" and they "requested a return more than 48 hours ago and the seller hasn't authorized your return request." Amazon's refund table gives the buyer product cost, original shipping, and return shipping when the item is damaged. The 2026 refund-decision timetable that runs after the return arrives is set out in the SAFE-T windows article.

Etsy. Item arrived damaged is one of Etsy's three case types, and when this site read Etsy's Purchase Protection policy in September, Etsy's own coverage of damage cases was limited to one per calendar year. The details are in Item Not as Described: Who Pays. Etsy's policy pages refused every automated read on 2026-10-15, so nothing about Etsy here has been rechecked today.

None of those three pages mentions a carrier claim. That is the point: on all three marketplaces, the money goes back to the buyer on the marketplace's schedule, and the carrier claim is how the seller tries to get it back afterwards. The carrier side is where "who files" has an actual rulebook, and it differs by carrier.

USPS takes a claim from either of you, then pays whoever got there first

DMM 609.1.3, "Who May File," opens with the case sellers care about: a claim may be filed by "Either the mailer or addressee, for damaged articles or articles with some or all of the contents missing." Lost parcels are narrower (whoever holds the original retail receipt or the online label record, which is usually you), but damage is open to both.

Openness has a catch, and it is in DMM 609.5.5, "Dual Claim": "If the mailer and the addressee both claim insurance, any payment due is made to the party who submits the claim first and whose claim is approved for payment." The rule does not ask whose money it really was. If the buyer files first and is paid, and you have already refunded them on eBay, the buyer has been paid twice and you have been paid nothing, and 609.5.5 offers no way to redirect it.

The timing rule for damage is in DMM 609.1.4: "customers should file a claim immediately but must file no later than 60 days from the date of mailing." From the mailing date, not the delivery date. A parcel that spent nine days in transit and sat on a porch for three more has already used twelve of those sixty days before the buyer opens it.

Then the evidence rule, DMM 609.2.0, which binds the buyer even when the seller files: "the addressee must retain the mailing container, including any damaged articles, all packaging, and any contents received." On written request the addressee has to bring that proof to the local Post Office, and "Failure to do so will result in denial of the claim." Waiting periods, coverage limits, and the appeal route are in the USPS claim guide. For this question: you can file on a damaged USPS parcel, you should file before the buyer does if you are refunding them, and the box stays in the buyer's house until USPS has decided.

One exception in the same list is worth checking against your label: "Only the mailer, for insured or collect on delivery (COD) parcels paid using USPS Ship under 705.2.6." If your insurance was bought that way, the buyer cannot file at all.

UPS will start a claim from the receiver and still pay the shipper

The UPS claims page is friendly to recipients. It tells them "If you are a recipient or third party shipper, it's faster to file as a guest," and it has a "File as a Guest" button. A buyer can start a damage claim without a UPS account and without asking you.

The Tariff is less flexible about money. Section 55.1 of the April 17, 2026 edition: "No claims will be voluntarily paid unless UPS receives notice of the claims and they are filed in writing and transmitted electronically by or on behalf of the Shipper in accordance with these provisions." The claims page says the same thing in plain words under Receiving Payment: "Claims payments will be sent to the shipper approximately within 3 days, once we have received and validated your payment documents." When a claim is approved, "paperwork was sent to the shipper of record," and "If you are the shipper, payment documents are required."

Read together, a claim the buyer starts is treated as made on the shipper's behalf: the approval paperwork goes to the shipper of record, and the payment comes to you. UPS also lets shippers switch that off. If a recipient gets the message that "The shipper of your package has a restriction on the account, which doesn't allow recipients or third parties to begin the claim process," the claim has to come from you.

What UPS asks for on a damage claim is concrete. The claims page lists three photos: "A photo showing the damaged item and how it was packaged inside the box," "A close-up photo of the shipping label with tracking number (generally starts with 1Z)," and "One photo of the outside of the package (showing any damage)," plus the box's height, length, and width. Section 55.4 adds proof of value (the invoice, or a certified statement of price or cost), evidence that the shipping and any declared value charges were paid, and, for a claim of $1,000 or more on a package handed to a driver, a copy of the signed high-value shipment summary. The buyer has the box and the damage. You have the invoice, the label record, and the payment proof. A UPS damage claim needs both halves, whoever presses the button.

The UPS clocks run from delivery. Under Section 55.3, notice must reach UPS "within sixty days after Delivery," the claim must be filed within nine months, and suits are due within two years of a denial. Under Section 55.6, UPS will "pay, decline, or make a firm compromise settlement offer in writing to the claimant within 120 days after UPS receives the claim," with written status updates every 60 days after that if it runs long. How much any of that pays is a separate fight, covered in Declared Value vs Insurance.

Section 55.5 matters for the refund decision. When UPS pays actual cost, purchase price, or replacement cost, title to the property passes to UPS, and "Payment of a claim in such circumstances shall be contingent on UPS's receipt of the damaged property in the same condition as on the date the damage was incurred." A buyer who glues the broken item back together, or bins it, can cost you that payment.

FedEx asks for a waiver, accepts one claim, and now gives 90 days

FedEx's Claims page tells recipients to "Contact the merchant to request a replacement, ask them to file a claim for you, or file a claim on your own." The Service Guide puts a condition on the last of those. Item A.7 of the U.S. Claims section: "If the party filing the claim is not the shipper or the payor of transportation charges to FedEx, customers must obtain and provide a claim filing waiver from the shipper (on company letterhead if the shipper is a company)."

On a marketplace order you bought the label, so you are both the shipper and the payer. A buyer who wants to file needs a letter from you. Two sentences later comes the rule that makes the choice final: "Only one claim can be filed in connection with a shipment. Acceptance of payment of a claim shall extinguish any right to recover in connection with that shipment." Whoever files and accepts payment, that's the end of it. If a buyer files with your waiver and takes a settlement, you have no second claim to make.

Then the deadline change. The guide updated July 20, 2026 said U.S. claims "must be filed in writing with FedEx within nine months from the date of delivery," and suits "within two years and one day from the date FedEx gives written notice that FedEx has disallowed any part of the claim." The guide updated September 11, 2026 says claims "must be filed in writing with FedEx within 90 calendar days from the date of delivery," or within 90 calendar days after tender if FedEx never delivered, and "Suits against FedEx must be instituted within 275 calendar days from the date the package or packaging envelope/bag was tendered to FedEx for shipment." The suit clock no longer waits for a denial. It starts at drop-off. A claim that FedEx sits on can now run out the lawsuit window on its own, and any summary written before September will still say nine months.

Two FedEx rules stayed the same. For concealed damage, "the sender or recipient must notify FedEx as promptly as possible after the discovery of the damage, and in any event no later than 60 days after the date of delivery," and notification is not the same thing as filing. And "receipt of the shipment by the recipient without written notice of damage on the delivery record is prima facie evidence that the shipment was delivered in good condition," so a crushed box that the buyer signed for without comment starts the claim behind.

FedEx Ground Economy, the service that hands off to USPS for final delivery, has its own rules, and eBay's help page summarises them for eBay labels: "Only sellers can file claims," claims "must be filed within 90 calendar days from when FedEx receives the package," coverage runs from FedEx's first scan until the package is delivered to a USPS facility, and the maximum is "$100 plus transportation costs." The claim takes about 4 to 6 weeks to resolve, and approved claims are paid by check.

The return label is usually what sinks the claim

All three carriers want the damaged box, and all three say so in a way that interacts badly with a marketplace return.

• UPS, Section 55.4: "In the event that a claim is made for damage to a Shipment, the original packaging materials must be made available to UPS or its designee for inspection prior to reshipment." UPS "reserves the right to refuse to pay any claim for damage to property if, having requested the original packaging materials, they are not made available for inspection."
• USPS, DMM 609.2.0: the retention rule quoted above, with denial if the addressee cannot produce the box on request.
• FedEx, Claims A.1: "Package and contents must be retained by the claimant until the claim is resolved." FedEx also reserves "the right to inspect a damaged shipment on customer premises" and, on repairs, says they "are not authorized under this provision and should not be made until FedEx has inspected the damaged package or expressly waived its right to inspect the damaged package."

Now look at what the marketplace return does. eBay gives you 3 business days to respond to a damaged-item return request, and Amazon lets the buyer escalate 48 hours after an unanswered return request. The fastest way to stop either clock is a return label. The buyer then repacks the item, often into a new box because the old one is wrecked, and ships it back to you. The original packaging, the thing UPS says must be available "prior to reshipment," is now in the buyer's recycling or on a truck.

The marketplaces do leave room for another answer. eBay says "Buyers and sellers may agree to another solution, such as a full or partial refund while the buyer keeps the item." A refund without return, or a refund with a return held until the carrier has inspected or waived inspection, keeps the evidence where the carrier expects to find it. Whether that is worth it depends on the item's value against the carrier's likely payout, and on whether you trust the buyer to keep a broken box in the hallway for a few weeks. The rule to take from the carrier pages: decide about the claim before you send the return label, not after.

If the box is already gone, say so honestly on the claim. FedEx's guide warns that "FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ANY OF THE ABOVE CONDITIONS WILL RESULT IN THE DENIAL OF A CLAIM," and UPS treats false information as an automatic denial: "The submission of false information as part of the claims process will result in automatic denial of a claim." Neither outcome improves by saying the box still exists when it doesn't.

Labels bought through eBay add a third party

Buying the label through a marketplace can change who the carrier thinks the shipper is, and who the insurer is.

ShipCover. If you added eBay's ShipCover when buying the label, the claim does not go to the carrier at all. eBay says ShipCover is offered "through Parcel Insurance Plan (PIP), which is underwritten by Arch Specialty Insurance Company." You file from Shipping labels in My eBay or Seller Hub, choose Create claim under More actions, and the conditions are specific: "You'll need to wait at least 7 days after the date the transaction ends to file a claim for a damaged item," and "If you shipped multiple items but only one arrived damaged, you may only file a claim for that one item." The buyer still features. If they opened a return request because the item was damaged in shipping, eBay uses that to verify the claim; if they didn't, PIP emails them, and if they don't respond within 15 days PIP reminds you to ask them. ShipCover starts at $1.70 per $100 of domestic coverage, up to $15,000.

UPS labels from eBay. eBay tells sellers filing UPS claims that "It's important the email address associated with your UPS account is the same as the email address associated with your eBay account," and adds a tip that answers the payment question directly: "Be sure to select and complete 'Add Alternate Payment Recipient' using your name/company name and address to ensure the claim payout is sent directly to you." Read the other way, without that step the payout may not reach you directly. If a buyer files a UPS claim on an eBay label, check who is listed to receive the money.

USPS and FedEx labels from eBay. eBay's page sends USPS claims to usps.com and FedEx claims (other than Ground Economy) to FedEx's online claims portal. USPS Priority Mail and Ground Advantage include coverage up to $100, and eBay notes that the declared value for purchased USPS coverage "cannot exceed the price of the item."

The rules side by side

Every row above comes from a page read on 2026-10-15. The Ground Economy and ShipCover columns come from eBay's summary, not the carrier's or insurer's own terms; double-check at the ShipCover terms of coverage and FedEx's Ground Economy claim form before a large claim.

The message that goes to the buyer the day the photo arrives

The carrier rules above turn into one short reply, sent before any refund or return label:

1. Ask them to keep everything. The outer box, the inner packing, the item, and any loose pieces, until you confirm the claim is closed. Quote the carrier's requirement if they push back; it is easier to accept from UPS than from you.
2. Ask for the photos the carrier will ask for. For UPS that is the item in its packing, the label close-up, and the outside of the box, plus box dimensions. The same set works for USPS and FedEx. If you photograph orders before they ship, you have the other half of the comparison already (Proof of Shipment).
3. Tell them who is filing. On a USPS parcel, say you are filing so the two of you don't race each other under 609.5.5. On FedEx, a buyer cannot file without your waiver, so say whether you will provide one. On UPS, the money comes to you either way.
4. Resolve the marketplace side inside its clock. On eBay that means a response within 3 business days, and the response can be a refund with the item kept or a return that waits for inspection. On Amazon, authorize or resolve within 48 hours of the return request.
5. Write the carrier's deadline on the order. Sixty days from mailing for USPS. Sixty days from delivery for UPS notice. Ninety calendar days from delivery for FedEx, and 275 days from drop-off for any FedEx lawsuit.

The question this article started with has a short answer for most marketplace sellers. You bought the label and you are refunding the buyer, so the claim money is meant for you, and the carriers' terms already lean that way. What the buyer controls is the box, which is why the first message asks them to keep it.