Parcel Arrived Damaged? A Malaysian Seller's Claim Guide

8 October 2026

Short answer: when a buyer reports a damaged parcel, the first hour decides the claim. Reply in chat, ask for photos of the outer parcel, the inner wrap and the item, and tell the buyer to keep everything. Pull up your own before-and-after photos of that order. Then raise the courier claim the same day, because Shopee only processes a damage claim raised with all its evidence within one calendar day of the buyer’s return or refund request, EasyParcel asks for damage claims within two calendar days of delivery, and Pos Malaysia’s warranty gives five working days. A claim wins when the evidence shows two things: the item was undamaged before it shipped, and it was packed to the published guideline. If either is missing the courier does not pay and the seller refunds the buyer. This guide covers the first hour step by step, the evidence each platform and courier asks for, the deadlines side by side, the reasons claims get rejected, and the packing changes that stop the next one. Fragile orders ship safer in once-used Grade A cartons from RM1.10 with bubble wrap or PE foam inside and fragile tape on the outside.

Why the first hour matters more than the refund

A damage report arrives as a chat message, a return or refund request in Seller Centre, or an EasyParcel email, usually in the evening when the buyer opens the box. The instinct is to argue or to refund straight away. Both are wrong in the first hour, because the claim against the courier runs on a clock that the buyer’s message started, and everything the claim needs has to be collected before anyone throws the box away.

Shopee’s seller education hub states the rule plainly. A damage claim is processed only if the seller raises the request and submits all the necessary evidence within one calendar day from the time the buyer raised the return or refund request, or within two calendar days of the seller receiving a damaged return parcel. Claims submitted after that are not processed. Shopee also says it will not compensate if the item was damaged because it was not packed properly, or if it is on the non-claimable list. So the three things that decide the money are all time-sensitive: the buyer’s photos, your own photos, and the claim form.

Refunding the buyer and claiming from the courier are two separate decisions. You can, and often should, make the buyer whole quickly for the sake of the rating. But do the evidence work first, because once the box is in the bin the claim is gone.

The first hour, step by step

Reply in chat within the hour. One calm message: sorry this happened, we will sort it out, could you send photos of the outside of the parcel, the inside with the wrapping, and the item itself, and please keep the box and the packing until we have finished. Buyers who are asked for photos politely usually send them within minutes. Buyers who are met with “are you sure you did not drop it” send a one-star review instead.
Ask for the right photos. The outer parcel on all damaged sides with the airway bill readable. The parcel opened, showing the inner wrap and any filler as found. The damaged item close up. If the item is electronic or the damage is functional rather than visible, a short video. Lazada’s guidance, as summarised by seller tools, asks for the same three layers, outside, inside and item, and says a ruler or a hand in the shot for scale helps.
Open your own record of the order. The before photo of the bare item, the photo of the item wrapped, the photo of the sealed and labelled parcel. If you followed the routine in our packing station guide, these exist for every order and take a minute to find. If they do not exist, the claim is already weak, and the rest of this guide is about making sure that is never true again.
Raise the claim before you decide the refund. On Shopee the claim is raised in Seller Centre against the return or refund request, with your evidence attached. On Lazada the system often flags the parcel as damaged itself and the claim runs on the return. On EasyParcel it is Manage Parcel, the parcel, More Actions, Request Claim, Parcel Damaged, within two calendar days of delivery. For a courier booked directly, the courier’s own form or customer service, with the tracking number and the photos.
Then handle the buyer. Refund, replace, or a partial refund if the damage is cosmetic and the buyer is happy to keep it. On Shopee, the platform’s agents can amend the buyer’s reason and solution during review, and their own example is a shattered mirror changed from “scratches” to “shattered” with the solution changed to refund only, so the buyer is not asked to ship broken glass back. If the buyer keeps the item, say so in the claim.
Keep everything until the claim closes. Tell the buyer to hold the box and packing for a couple of weeks. EasyParcel says the damaged item and its packaging may be needed for further investigation; Pos Malaysia and the other couriers can ask to inspect. A claim that cannot produce the parcel on request is a claim that can be closed.

What the claim is actually checking

Every marketplace and courier phrases it differently, but a damage claim in Malaysia turns on two questions, and the evidence list is just the way they are answered.

Was the item undamaged before it shipped? This is what the before photo answers. Shopee says sellers need photo or video evidence that the items were not damaged prior to shipment. Without it, a claim that the courier broke the item cannot be told apart from a claim about a faulty item, and it is treated as the latter.

Was it packed to the guideline? This is what the inner-wrap photo and the sealed-parcel photo answer. Since 14 January 2026 every Shopee-supported courier in Malaysia follows one standardised packaging guideline, and Shopee’s damage policy says it will not be liable if the item was damaged because it was not packed properly. Pos Malaysia’s service warranty excludes loss or damage from inadequate or unsuitable packaging. EasyParcel’s help centre says claims may be rejected if the damage indicates insufficient packaging, and names the usual gaps: not enough cushioning, the wrong box, a seal that let go. The courier’s own rough handling is assumed; the guideline exists because parcels are, in EasyParcel’s words, handled, loaded and offloaded several times and stacked in transit.

A crushed outer box on its own does not win a claim. It proves the handling was rough, which nobody disputes. The claim is won by the photo of the open parcel showing two wraps of bubble wrap, filler on every side and nothing able to move, next to a photo of the same item in pieces. That pairing says the packing was right and the handling was beyond it. Our guide to packing fragile items for Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop sets out the two-layer method the guideline expects.

The deadlines, side by side

The windows below are the published ones as of October 2026, from each party’s own help pages or terms. They change, so confirm the current figure in the portal you use before relying on it.

Where the claim is raised	Damage claim window	Evidence named
Shopee Seller Centre (Shopee-supported courier)	Within 1 calendar day of the buyer’s return or refund request; within 2 calendar days of receiving a damaged return	Photo or video proving the item was packed properly and undamaged before shipment; fragile marking visible
Lazada (as described in current seller guides)	About 7 days from delivery	Outer packaging, inner packaging and close-up of the damage; compensation based on the expected seller payout
EasyParcel	Within 2 calendar days of receiving the damaged item	Packaging photos before collection and after delivery, damaged item photos, unit count and proof of value
Pos Malaysia service warranty	Within 5 working days of delivery for damage; 30 days for loss	Claim form and proof of value; excludes inadequate or unsuitable packaging; fragile and liquid items capped lower
Other couriers booked directly	Commonly 1 to 2 days after receipt for damage; check the terms on the consignment note	Photos, tracking number, proof of value; some ask to inspect the parcel

Two things stand out. The Shopee window is one day, not a week, and it runs from the buyer’s request, not from when you read it. And every window is shorter than the buyer’s own window to complain: Shopee’s guarantee period for buyers is now 15 days after delivery, which means a buyer can raise a damage request on day 12 and your courier claim still has to be in by day 13. The photos you took at the bench are the only evidence that does not depend on anyone else’s timing.

For a parcel sent outside a marketplace, the consumer side is set by the Postal Services Act 2012 and its regulations, under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. Consumer guidance published after the 2021 courier-handling cases gave the baseline compensation for a domestic item under 2 kg as the value of the damage or RM100, whichever is lower, with higher caps for heavier consignments, and most couriers set their own terms above that or sell extra cover. A damage claim on a RM900 monitor shipped with basic cover is not going to recover RM900, which is the reason to declare the value and buy the cover on anything you cannot afford to lose.

Why claims get rejected

No before photo. The most common reason, and the one that cannot be fixed after the fact.
No photo of the inner layer. A sealed-parcel photo shows the outside was right. Only the open-box photo shows the item could not move. Take it before you close the flaps.
Fragile item, no visible fragile marking. Shopee lists fragile or breakable items with improper packaging and insufficient warning labels as non-claimable, and its own example of an insufficient label is a handwritten “Fragile” that is not visible enough. Printed fragile tape or a printed sticker on two faces, not a marker pen on the flap.
Packing below the guideline. One wrap of bubble on a ceramic, a box with the item rattling, a flyer bag around a glass bottle. Honest sellers lose these claims every day because the packing was what they always did, not what the guideline says.
Filed late. One day on Shopee, two on EasyParcel. The claim was good and nobody read the window.
Non-claimable item. Shopee’s list includes living things, perishables that need temperature control, cash and cards, flammables and documents such as passports. Pos Malaysia caps fragile and liquid items lower than other goods. If you ship any of these, the claim was never available and the packing has to carry all the risk.
The box was thrown away. The buyer binned it, the courier asked to inspect, the claim closed.

Stopping the next one

A damage claim, won or lost, costs an hour of your evening and a rating. The cheaper fix is at the bench, and it is mostly about matching the packing to what the item is rather than spending more on every order.

Two layers, every breakable. An inner layer that stops the item moving and an outer layer that survives stacking. Shake the sealed parcel; if anything moves, open it and fill the gap. Our bubble wrap guide picks the bubble size and our PE foam thickness guide picks the sheet for flat items with a finish.
Double-box glass and ceramics. The wrapped item in a small carton, that carton floating in a bigger one with 3 to 5 cm of filler on every side. Once-used Grade A cartons are the economical outer box for this; the inner box takes the knocks and the outer takes the stacking. Our new versus used carton guide covers when a new box earns its price.
A box with no spare room. An oversized box lets the item build up speed before it hits the wall, and pays volumetric weight as well. Fit the box to the item plus filler.
Printed fragile marking on two faces. Fragile tape over the seams, or a printed sticker, where the sorter and the rider see it. The handwritten version is the one Shopee gives as an example of not enough.
A seal that holds in this climate. An H-seal in 48 mm tape on a clean, dry box. A seal that lets go at the hub turns a damage claim into a missing-content claim, which needs a different and harder set of evidence. Our packing tape guide covers why tape fails on a dusty or damp carton here.
The box itself in good condition. A carton stored on a tiled floor in a Malaysian store for a month is softer than it looks, and a soft box fails under a stack. Our guide to why cardboard goes soft in humidity covers storage. A once-used Grade A carton that has been kept flat and dry is stronger than a new one that has been left in the damp.
Three photos per order, as a habit. Bare item, wrapped item, sealed and labelled parcel. On a phone stand at the bench this is fifteen seconds, and it is the whole claim.
Declare the value and buy the cover on expensive items. Basic cover on a courier booking made through an aggregator is commonly around RM200 per parcel, and the courier’s own cover varies by service. For anything worth more than the cover, the extra protection costs a fraction of one lost claim.

A note on the buyer’s side

Sellers see the claim; buyers see a broken thing they paid for. The quickest way to keep the rating is to separate the two conversations. Tell the buyer what you are doing for them, refund or replacement and when, and keep the courier claim out of the chat. A buyer who hears “we are claiming from the courier, please wait” hears “your refund depends on someone else”. A buyer who hears “we will send a replacement tomorrow, could you keep the box for a week in case the courier wants to see it” hears a seller who has done this before.

If the buyer wants to return a damaged item, Shopee’s own review process may switch the solution to refund only for anything shattered, so neither of you pays to ship broken glass. For items that come back, a damaged return parcel is its own claim, with a two-day window from the day you receive it, and the same photo rules apply in reverse: photograph the return parcel before you open it.

Checklist

Reply to the buyer within the hour; ask for outer, inner and item photos; ask them to keep everything
Pull your own before, wrapped and sealed photos of the order
Raise the courier or platform claim the same day; on Shopee within one calendar day of the request
Attach every photo with the airway bill readable; describe the packing used
Decide the buyer’s refund or replacement separately, and say so plainly
Keep the parcel and packing available until the claim closes
After the claim: fix the packing that failed, not the courier

FAQ

A buyer says the item arrived broken. What should I do first?

Reply in chat within the hour, ask for photos of the outer parcel, the inner wrap and the item, and tell the buyer to keep everything. Then open your own before-and-after photos of that order and raise the courier claim the same day. On Shopee the claim and all its evidence must be in within one calendar day of the buyer’s return or refund request, so the order of work is evidence first, apology second, refund decision last.

What evidence does a damage claim need?

Four photos or videos, all with the airway bill readable. The bare item before packing, the item in its inner wrap, the sealed parcel with the label on, and the buyer’s photos of the parcel and item as received. The platform or courier is checking two things, that the item was undamaged before it shipped and that it was packed to the published guideline, so the photo of the open box with the wrap visible is the one that decides most claims.

How long do I have to file a damaged parcel claim in Malaysia?

Less than you expect. Shopee processes a seller’s damage claim only if it is raised with all evidence within one calendar day of the buyer’s return or refund request, or within two calendar days of receiving a damaged return parcel. EasyParcel asks for damage claims within two calendar days of delivery. Pos Malaysia’s service warranty gives five working days from delivery for damage. Treat every damage report as a same-day job.

Who pays when a parcel is damaged in transit, the seller or the courier?

If the parcel was packed to the guideline and the evidence shows it, the courier or platform compensates and the seller does not bear the loss. If the packing was inadequate, the claim is rejected and the seller refunds the buyer from their own pocket. Every courier’s terms and both marketplaces’ policies say the same thing in different words, so the packing is what decides who pays, not the damage.

Why was my claim rejected when the box clearly arrived crushed?

The usual reasons are no photo of the item before packing, no photo of the inner wrap, a fragile item with no visible fragile marking, packing that did not meet the guideline, or the claim filed after the window closed. A crushed box proves the courier handled it roughly, but the claim turns on whether the item should have survived that handling, which is why the inner-wrap photo and the fragile sticker matter more than the dent.

Where to get it

The packing that wins a claim is on the shop, with current prices on the product pages: once-used Grade A cartons from RM1.10 for the outer box and new cartons in small sizes for the inner one, bubble wrap and PE foam for the inner layer, and 48 mm packing tape, printed fragile tape and a metal tape cutter for the seal and the marking. Delivery across KL and Selangor is free on orders of RM300 and above, and a flat RM30 per trip below that.

Losing claims on a particular product and not sure which layer is failing? WhatsApp +60 16-891 6381 or contact us with a photo of how you pack it now, and we will suggest the wrap, box and marking that meets the guideline without over-packing. We are open Monday to Friday 8.30am–5pm and Saturday 8.30am–1pm, and closed on Sundays and public holidays.