What should I do if an Etsy buyer says items are missing from their delivered package?

Hi! Yes—ask for photos, and handle it calmly like a normal “order arrived incomplete” issue: request clear pictures of (1) the shipping label, (2) the outside of the package (all sides), (3) any damage/tampering, and (4) everything they received laid out. Then double-check whether you may have shipped in more than one package, mixed up two orders, or shorted a quantity/variant, and offer a straightforward fix (resend the missing items or do a partial refund) if it looks credible.

A few practical steps that usually keep this from turning into a messy Etsy case:

• Get the buyer’s photos + a quick written inventory. Ask them to list exactly what’s missing and confirm they’ve checked all packing paper/boxes. (It’s more common than you’d think for small items to get tossed with filler.)
• Compare against your own packing proof. If you use a packing checklist, batch sheet, photos of the packed order, or a packing slip—pull that up now. If you don’t yet, this is a great situation that shows why it helps.
• Use package weight as supporting info (but don’t rely on it as “proof”). Your shipping label/receipt shows the weight you entered (or the carrier accepted). That can support your story, but it usually won’t “win” an incomplete-contents dispute by itself because:
  • Carriers don’t always record a reliable “acceptance weight” that you can easily retrieve.
  • Even when a weight exists, it doesn’t prove what was inside—only that the package was around that weight at some point.
    If you shipped through Etsy labels, keep the label details and any receipt; if you used a third-party label, keep that receipt too.
• If the packaging looks tampered with, treat it like possible theft/damage-in-transit. You can encourage the buyer to contact their local post office/carrier location with the photos. You can also start a carrier inquiry/claim if you purchased insurance (or if your service includes limited coverage). Just be careful not to promise the buyer “the carrier will pay”—claims are hit-or-miss.

On the Etsy-case question: “Delivered” tracking helps a lot for non-delivery claims, but it doesn’t automatically protect you for “missing items” because the buyer is basically saying the order wasn’t received as ordered (an “item not as described / incomplete order” type situation). In those scenarios, Etsy can still require a refund if they decide the buyer’s claim is valid, and it may come from your funds if the order isn’t eligible for Etsy’s seller protection/Purchase Protection coverage for that type of issue. (That program is strongest for things like not received/lost, late, and certain damage-in-transit situations—an incomplete box often ends up treated differently.)

If you want the lowest-risk path: once you’ve reviewed the photos, either reship just the missing pieces with tracking (and let the buyer know you’re doing it), or refund only the missing items. And if you feel uneasy (photos don’t match, story changes, packaging looks perfectly intact but half the order is “gone”), keep everything in Etsy Messages, stay polite, and ask Etsy to review if a case is opened—just don’t stonewall or delay, because slow responses are what usually make these cases go sideways.