From the FTC
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0221-billed-merchandise-you-never-received
Your Rights When Shopping by Phone, Mail or Online
The Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule applies to most goods you order by mail, phone, fax, or online. It requires sellers to have a reasonable basis for claiming they can ship an order within a certain time and details what sellers should do if there is a delay.
Ship Dates
By law, a seller should ship your order within the time stated in its ads or over the phone. If the seller doesn’t promise a time, you can expect it to ship your order within 30 days.
The shipment “clock” begins when the seller receives a “properly completed order.” That includes your name, address and payment (check, money order or authorization to charge an existing credit account — whether the account is charged at that time or not).
If the seller doesn’t promise a shipping time, and you are applying for credit to pay for your purchase, the seller has an additional 20 days (50 days total) to establish the account and ship the merchandise.
Delays
If the seller is unable to ship within the promised time, it must notify you, give a revised shipping date and give you the chance to cancel for a full refund or accept the new shipping date. The seller also must give you some way to exercise the cancellation option for free — for example, by supplying a prepaid reply card or staffing a toll-free telephone number.
If you don’t respond — and the delay is 30 days or less — it’s assumed that you accept the delay and are willing to wait for the merchandise.
If you don’t respond — and the delay is more than 30 days — the order must be canceled by the 30th day of the delay period and a full refund issued promptly.
If the seller can’t meet the revised shipping date, it must notify you again by mail, email or telephone and give you a new shipping date or cancel your order and give you a refund.
The order should be canceled and a refund issued promptly unless you indicate by the revised shipping date that you are willing to wait.
If you don’t respond to the second notice, the seller should assume that you are not willing to wait issue a full refund promptly.
Refunds
If you pay by cash, check or money order, or a non-seller credit card, the seller must give you a refund within seven working days after the order is canceled.
If you pay by credit card where the seller is the card issuer, the seller must credit your account within one billing cycle after the order is canceled.
Shopping Tips
Follow these tips for hassle-free shopping.
Consider your experience with the company or its general reputation before you order. If you’ve never heard of the seller, enter its name in a search engine with words like “complaint” or “scam,” and read about other people’s experiences with the company. In addition, contact your state Attorney General, and local consumer protection agency to see if any complaints are on file.
Check out the company’s refund and return policies, the item’s availability, and the total cost of your purchase before you place your order.
Get a shipment date.
Keep records of your order, like the website, ad or catalog from which you ordered; the company’s name, address and phone number; any promises the company made about shipping and when they were made; the date of your order; and a copy of the order form you sent to the company. If you’re ordering by phone, keep a list of the items, their stock codes, and the order confirmation code; your canceled check or the charge or debit statement showing the charge for your order; and any communications to or from the company.
Track your purchases. When you order online, keep printouts of the web pages with the details of the transaction, including the seller’s return policies, in case you’re not satisfied.
