In short
- For UK Facebook Marketplace shipping arranged by your business, connect 3 records before dispatch: the agreed order, the verified payment and the parcel sent to the correct address. Check the checkout available to your account; a delivery arrangement made in messages does not establish Facebook Purchase Protection.
- Meta distinguishes eligible purchases through Facebook checkout from person-to-person transactions; do not promise the same protection for both.
- If you use PayPal, its UK Seller Protection rules require shipment to the transaction address, and a later redirect can remove eligibility.
- A label or a payment screenshot is not the same as verifiable delivery evidence. Decide who records each event before someone packs the parcel.
- AirPost is a peer-to-peer fulfilment network: online shops have their orders packed and dropped at a parcel point by verified people near their customers, who earn a fee per parcel from home. No warehouse, no minimum order volume.
A buyer asks whether you can post a product instead of meeting locally. You agree on a price in Marketplace messages, but your business still needs a workable route from that conversation to a paid, identifiable order. This guide covers the delivery you organise yourself, rather than assuming a native Facebook shipping feature is available. The official sources and the AirPost route example were checked on 10 October 2026.
Does Facebook organise shipping for your UK listing?
Inspect the actual listing and payment process in your account before describing delivery to a customer. A tutorial showing a shipping button elsewhere does not confirm the options for your business. Establish whether the buyer is using a supported Facebook checkout or whether you are agreeing a separate sale and booking its transport. Your packing instructions must match the transaction that actually took place.
Meta’s own safety material links Purchase Protection to eligible items purchased using checkout on Facebook. It says person-to-person transactions do not receive Facebook refunds. Keep that distinction in your customer communication: accepting an order through messages and supplying tracking do not, by themselves, turn an external payment into a protected Facebook checkout purchase. Check the applicable payment terms before making a protection claim.
If delivery will be external, describe who takes the payment, who sells the product and who sends the parcel. Use your business order reference in the confirmation and in your parcel records. When a customer returns to the Marketplace conversation later, that reference should lead to the same sale in your own records, rather than forcing someone to reconstruct it from several messages.
What do you agree before taking payment?
GOV.UK requires distance sellers to provide delivery arrangements, costs and expected timing before the order, alongside the required business and product information. State whether postage is included and which destination the quote covers. If the product is collected from another stock location, confirm that it is available there before giving the buyer a dispatch date. A vague promise to post soon leaves both the buyer and packer guessing.
Send an order summary that identifies the product variant and quantity, the delivery address, the agreed total and the timing. Ask the customer to correct mistakes before payment and label creation. Keep the final version with your order reference. GOV.UK also requires a contract copy in a form the customer can retain, supplied no later than delivery; a saved business confirmation makes that part of the process easier to manage.
Separate a request to buy from an accepted order. If you have only one unit left, decide how you reserve it while the customer pays, and tell the person handling stock when that reservation ends. Do not issue two pack requests because two people asked about the same listing. Your order record should establish which buyer has actually completed the agreed purchase.
How do payment and shipping records stay connected?
| Record | What to match | What it cannot prove alone |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace conversation | Product, buyer request and business order reference | That payment has reached your account |
| Payment transaction | Paid status, order reference and required shipping address | That a parcel has been handed to a carrier |
| Parcel booking | Recipient, service and the order being packed | That the carrier has accepted the parcel |
| Carrier tracking | The parcel reference and verifiable events | Which product variant was packed inside |
| Packing record | Items and quantities assigned to that shipment | The final delivery event at the buyer’s address |
Open the payment provider directly to confirm the transaction instead of relying on an image sent in chat. Then compare the recipient details with the order before buying postage. Record the transaction reference beside the parcel reference so a customer service colleague can move between them. If a mismatch appears, resolve it while the parcel is still at the packer’s location.
Avoid sending a local helper a conversation without a clear instruction. Give them the product, quantity, recipient and approved shipment reference together. They should know which order to prepare and where to record completion. Leave payment decisions with the person responsible for the sale, so the packer does not infer that a friendly buyer message means the order is ready to leave.
Can you change the address after a PayPal payment?
PayPal’s UK Seller Protection terms, updated on 15 July 2026, require shipping to the address in the transaction details. They also say redirecting the parcel to a different address removes eligibility. If a buyer requests another destination, stop preparation and resolve the payment and address together before dispatch. The terms additionally require one payment from one PayPal account; instalments or partial payments are excluded from that protection.
Make address changes visible to the person doing the packing. A corrected business order and an old label must not coexist as competing instructions. Withdraw the superseded instruction, check whether postage can be corrected through the service you chose and release the parcel only when the records agree. Keep the original request and your resolution so you can explain why the destination changed.
What tracking evidence do you need after posting?
PayPal distinguishes shipment evidence from delivery evidence. Its physical-goods requirements include verifiable tracking, dates and recipient location; an Item Not Received claim requires proof of delivery, including delivered status. Eligibility remains subject to its full terms. Choose a service that can supply the required evidence before sending. A receipt for buying a label cannot substitute for the missing delivery event.
Keep the handover receipt and check that the carrier reference resolves to the right shipment. Send the buyer the reference and the expected next event after the parcel actually enters the carrier’s network. When tracking has not yet changed, describe the event you can verify. If you sell without tracking, read the separate guide to shipping with no tracking number before treating that service as suitable for this payment arrangement.
Packing evidence has another purpose: showing which item went into the parcel. Record the variant and quantity while packing, particularly when several listings use similar photographs. Store this with the order rather than posting customer addresses in a public comment. If the customer reports the wrong colour, a delivery scan helps locate the shipment, while the item record helps investigate the contents.
Which delivery time can you promise a Marketplace buyer?
GOV.UK says you must deliver within 30 days unless you agree otherwise with the customer. That is a legal default, not a useful estimate for a particular parcel. Base your advertised timing on when the correct item can be prepared, the available handover and the booked carrier service. Confirm a dispatch date separately from the expected arrival period, so the buyer understands where preparation ends and transport begins.
If your stock is held by someone else, ask when they can prepare that particular order. A nearby parcel point does not help if it closes before the packer can reach it. Check the practical handover before accepting a same-day request. If the buyer’s deadline cannot be supported by the chosen route, agree a realistic alternative before taking the order rather than making the delivery promise depend on an unconfirmed favour.
What does a UK parcel cost in a worked example?
The AirPost carrier-only index retrieved on 10 October 2026 showed €2.96 for GB to GB at 2 kg. Adding €0.85 platform fee and the recommended €2.25 preparation payment for a small parcel gives €6.06. If two separate qualifying orders each need that parcel, the illustrative total is €12.12. These are the index’s euro amounts, not a sterling quotation or an exchange-rate conversion.
This example assumes the goods are already at the UK preparation location. It excludes packaging, the cost of moving stock there and payment-processing charges. Check the available service, dimensions and actual preparation agreement before booking. A transport reference also does not establish that the service meets your payment provider’s proof requirements. Put the confirmed fulfilment cost into your order calculation, then decide what delivery amount the customer will see.
How do you hand the order to a local packer?
Release the paid order
Confirm payment and the permitted recipient address, then give the packer one current order reference with the exact item and quantity.
Match the label
Check that the booked parcel belongs to that order. Replace withdrawn address instructions before anyone seals the box.
Record the handover
Agree who retains the carrier receipt and supplies the parcel reference to the person handling customer messages.
Follow the delivery
Check the verifiable carrier events and investigate an exception using the same order and payment references.
AirPost lets a webshop work with a local person who stores products, prepares orders and hands parcels over for domestic shipping. That can support the physical part of this arrangement. You still need to establish your Marketplace sale and payment records and give the person usable instructions. Discuss the stock and preparation work through local fulfilment for webshops before advertising a delivery routine you cannot yet carry out.
Frequently asked questions
Does Facebook Marketplace shipping protection cover my external payment?
Do not assume it does. Meta connects Purchase Protection to eligible purchases through Facebook checkout and says person-to-person transactions do not receive Facebook refunds. Check the terms for the payment method actually used.
Can I send a parcel before the payment appears in my account?
Confirm the transaction in the payment provider before releasing the order. A screenshot in Marketplace messages does not establish the paid state in your own account.
Can my buyer arrange the courier?
Check whether that arrangement will provide the shipment and delivery evidence your payment terms require. Agree who books, who receives tracking and which recipient address the parcel must reach before packing.
Does a tracking number prove the right product was delivered?
It identifies the shipment and its carrier events. Keep a separate item and quantity record to investigate a contents dispute; a delivery scan does not describe the product variant inside the box.
What should I do if a Marketplace shipment is delayed?
Locate the carrier event using the parcel reference, compare it with the promised delivery timing and tell the buyer what you have verified. Keep your investigation connected to the original business order and payment.
Sources
Want someone in the UK to prepare and hand over your paid orders? Find a local AirPost partner and agree the stock, parcel instructions and handover records before offering delivery.
Arrange local order preparation