Shipping time and arrival time make different promises

Read the promise from its endpoint

Copy the complete sentence a buyer sees, including the heading or shipping-method label beside it. Then ask what must have happened when its clock runs out: preparation finished, goods placed with the carrier, or goods delivered. Wording that merely says shipping time can leave that endpoint unclear. Identify the event before deciding whether the number is supported.

The FTC definition supplies a precise distinction for its shipment rule: shipment is placement with the carrier. It does not mean arrival. A packing entry or a label-creation record, by itself, establishes only the event it records; it does not establish carrier possession. Use a record of the actual handoff when evaluating a dispatch statement. This definition does not decide whether the rule applies to a particular order.

Give each clock a starting event and its own evidence

A duration is incomplete without a start. Read whether the public wording counts from order placement, an identified payment event, carrier handoff or another stated event. Compare that language with the actual operational instruction. If the team starts counting later than the website does, the same number of days describes a different promise.

Keep merchant preparation records separate from the carrier's transit estimate. Record the service, destination coverage, date of the estimate and any conditions actually stated in the source. Where business days or a cutoff matter, copy the definition and time zone your records support. Do not fill an absent condition from habit. A carrier estimate for one service or destination does not substantiate a sitewide arrival statement.

Do not simply add two durations and publish the sum as guaranteed arrival. First establish that they use compatible starting points, calendars and conditions. Even a correctly combined estimate remains an estimate unless the business has evidence for the stronger commitment it intends to make.

Correct the label where the buyer encounters the number

Use dispatch language for an evidenced carrier-handoff timeframe and arrival language only for a supported delivery timeframe. If the arrival information is a carrier estimate, identify that source and preserve the applicable conditions near the estimate. The FTC's advertising guidance calls for truthful, nonmisleading and substantiated claims; it does not approve a particular replacement sentence.

Compare the product page, checkout label, shipping policy and order message. A policy that accurately describes dispatch does not resolve a checkout label that presents the same number as arrival. Record each conflicting surface and the exact wording the responsible person approves. If the evidence supports only handoff, remove the unsupported arrival implication rather than quietly enlarging the timeframe.

An existing order needs its own dated record of what the buyer was shown. Editing today's page does not establish what yesterday's order promised or settle the response to a missed commitment. Keep those order questions separate from this wording correction.

Close the ambiguity before commissioning broader work

The worksheet should let the owner choose among three actions: retain a statement whose event and evidence match, relabel a timeframe that describes a different event, or withdraw an unsupported timing claim pending evidence. Mark a missing basis as unresolved. This exercise does not select a carrier, change shipping rates or determine a legal remedy.

For a scoped Prism website-review consultation, identify the public URLs, the research-only products involved and the dispatch-versus-arrival wording you want examined. Prism discusses scope, fees and terms before work. Legal applicability belongs with qualified counsel, and processing eligibility remains the provider's decision. The public inquiry receives email follow-up; it does not book an appointment, purchase a review or submit a processing application.

Timeframe wording map

Complete one copy for each distinct published timeframe, using real public text and records. In the final column, record the evidence or unresolved gap. Approve wording only after its starting point, ending event and conditions agree; approval here is the merchant's editorial decision, not legal clearance.

Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.

These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.