Returned Parcel Never Reached You? How to Claim It from the Marketplace

A customer returns an order. The tracking says it was delivered to you. But the parcel is not in your hands. You have lost the product and, often, the money too. It happens more than sellers realise, and most of it is never claimed, because nobody can say which returns are missing.

Why returns go missing

• The courier marks the parcel as delivered, but it was handed over to the wrong person, or never arrived.
• The parcel arrives, but empty, opened, or with a different or damaged product.
• The parcel arrives but is lost inside your own office or warehouse because nobody recorded it.

Only the first two can be claimed, and you can claim them only if you can show what really reached you.

Step 1: Scan every return when it arrives

Make it a rule. Every returned parcel is scanned or noted (order ID or AWB number) on the day it arrives, before it is opened. Then you have a list of what you received and when.

Step 2: Open the parcel on video

For each return, record a short video from the sealed packet to the product. It should show the label, the condition of the packet, what is inside and the state of the product. This is your strongest proof when the product is wrong, damaged or missing. Keep the video for a few months, named with the order ID.

Step 3: Compare with the marketplace list

Every week, take the list of returns that the marketplace shows as delivered to you, and compare it with your list of scanned parcels. Any order on the first list but not on yours is a missing return.

Step 4: Raise the claim in time

1. Open the claim or support section of the seller panel for that marketplace.
2. Give the order ID, the return AWB, the return delivery date shown, and the reason (not received, empty, wrong product, damaged).
3. Attach proof: your scan log, the unboxing video, photos of the label and packet.
4. Write in simple, short sentences. Keep a copy of what you sent.
5. Note the ticket number and follow up if you do not hear back.

Step 5: Learn from the pattern

If many missing returns come from the same courier, pincode or SKU, tell the marketplace and look at the packing and labelling. A pattern is stronger than a single claim.

Seller Book keeps the scan log, compares it with the marketplace's returns and lists the returns that were marked delivered to you but are not scanned, with the order and amount, so you can claim them on time.