What are the requirements for shipping?

Seller Protection covers orders that are shipped within the time-frame indicated on the product, receive a valid Acceptance scan within 2 days of shipment, and are shipped using a carrier that provides last-mile tracking with a Delivery scan confirming delivery to the buyer's address.

  • Sellers must mark items as shipped, enter a valid tracking number, choose a Supported Carrier, and select a Service Type. Tophatter will automatically send the tracking information to the buyer so they can follow the package’s progress. Sellers are responsible for making sure the carrier scans their items upon acceptance. Only orders shipped with valid last-mile tracking will be eligible for Seller Protection if a buyer reports non-receipt.
  • If an item is not scanned accepted by the shipping carrier within 2 calendar days of marking the item shipped, the item status will be considered untrackable. Having too many untrackable orders may impact the ability to sell additional items, and can delay payout until the shipping status has been resolved. Untrackable orders may be refunded as part of our Buyer Protection.
  • Sellers are not permitted to change tracking numbers, and reshipment is not supported. In the event that a tracking number needs to be changed, sellers will need to contact support.
  • On Tophatter, the order status will show as “Preparing to Ship” before the package has been scanned as accepted by the shipping carrier. The status will change to “In Transit” after the package has been officially accepted by the carrier. When the package is confirmed as delivered by the carrier, its status will update to “Delivered” on Tophatter. If the carrier shows an update over 24 hours ago and Tophatter order status has not changed, please contact support with the order number and tracking number so we may assist.
  • Hand delivery or local pick-up of items is not supported. All items must be shipped with valid tracking numbers through a supported carrier.

Service Types

By default, seller accounts have access to a selection of supported carriers that offer Full Tracking, and alternate service types Partial Tracking, and No Last-Mile Tracking. Service types and examples are defined below:

Full Tracking Carrier services which get valid Acceptance and Delivered scans through Aftership, and the tracking number can be copied and pasted into the postal service website for delivery confirmation.
Examples: USPS to US, Wise Express to US
Partial Tracking Carrier services which get a valid Acceptance scan through Aftership, then track to a point, usually just before departing the origin country, or just after receipt into the destination country, then there are no further updates.
Examples: China Post to US, Yun Express to US
No Last-Mile Tracking Carrier services which get valid Acceptance and Delivered scans through Aftership,  but where the carrier tracking number itself cannot be copied and pasted into the postal service website for delivery confirmation. 
  • No Last-mile Tracking may or may not receive a Delivered status at the time the package is handed over to the postal service for final delivery rather than upon actual delivery.
  • No Last-mile Tracking may or may not include a secondary last-mile tracking number at the shipping carrier tracking site, or in one or more tracking status updates on Aftership, which can be copied and pasted into the postal service website for delivery confirmation.
 Examples: SF Express to US, Wanbang Logistics to US
*No Tracking   No acceptance, milestone, or delivery scans, a reference number links to a status page. N/A
*Subscription   No tracking, status is marked as shipped and fulfillment is completed. N/A
*Electronic Delivery No tracking, status is marked as shipped and fulfillment is completed. N/A

Additional services denoted with a * above may be available to sellers only through an application and approval process prior to sale.

Requirements

  • If multiple service types are available for a carrier, when marking as shipped, sellers must choose the correct service type being used. Repeated selection of incorrect service types will result in Policy Violation fees.
  • When using alternate service types, sellers will be expected to maintain an incident rate above a minimum threshold for these service types. Access to carriers with alternate service types may be removed if the threshold is not met.
  • Sellers will receive Policy Violation fees if access to an alternate service type has been removed and an incorrect service type is selected to fulfill orders.

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