Shipping Policy 

As the world shifts from dropping by a store to packages dropped on your doorstep, clear and concise standards around shipping, in the form of a shipping policy, are becoming a necessity for web vendors of all forms. A shipping policy is simply a clear statement of how your company ships goods. It can include:

• Costs
• Methods and how long each method will take
• Handling times
• Times orders must be placed for certain guarantees such as same-day shipping
• Restrictions on delivery, such as no P.O. boxes
• Any other useful information for the customer

In this article we'll discuss why you need a policy, where it should go, what should be contained in the policy, and how it interacts with other documentation such as your terms of service.

Why Have A Shipping Policy?

Shipping policies are not required by law, but they are useful to your customers and can help explain relevant laws and policies quickly and clearly. Fundamentally, a shipping policy is part of the overall implied contract between you and your customer that forms the basis of an exchange. It's in the interest of both parties that this contract be as clear and detailed as possible.

In some circumstances, a shipping policy is also useful to explain two different legal systems to your customers, in the case of importing goods, or to explain interstate shipping restrictions, such as with chemicals.

In many cases it's important to have these concerns fully documented in your policy, even if they only detail the relevant laws. Do not copy and paste these laws into your shipping policy; instead, include links to the necessary statute so customers can refer to their own counsel as needed.

Shipping policies also may be a part of your other policies. For example, as part of your website's terms of service, you can make clear that all customer orders and requests must abide by your shipping policy.

This allows you to add important options to the contract between yourself and a customer, such as the ability to cancel orders if proper permits have not been obtained, to issue or deny refunds over shipping problems, and to explain what authorities you may be expected to provide inventories, bills of lading, and other information to and at which points in the shipping process.