For e-commerce merchants, lost packages get most of the attention because they are the easiest to see. A customer reaches out, support scrambles, and the cost is immediate. But for growing brands, that is only one layer of post-purchase risk.  In the Merchant Risk Council’s 2024 Global eCommerce Payments & Fraud Report, merchants reported rising refund policy abose and first-party misuse disputes, and the report also estimates that this type of fraud accounts for more than 3% of total annual eCommerce revenue globally (source: 2024 Global Payments and Fraud Report 

The bigger issue is what happens when a merchant cannot see, control, or respond to problems across the full order lifecycle.  

That dynamic became clear in the experience of apparel brand Buru. As the company scaled across DTC, retail, pop-ups, and wholesale, the team discovered that shipping protection matters—but so do the digital tools that help operators resolve issues quickly, protect margin, and avoid preventable chargebacks. The full story of that evolution is explored in the Buru case study.  

Why are lost packages only one piece of the post-purchase problem? 

A lost, delayed, or damaged shipment is not just a logistics issue. It can quickly become a customer experience, margin, and operational issue all at once. 

As Buru grew, the team learned that post-purchase friction does not begin and end with whether a box arrives. Once an order ships, blind spots create downstream problems: customer service pressure, refund leakage, unclear claims status, replacement decisions made without inventory context, and slower recovery when something goes wrong. 

In Buru’s case, this risk was not hypothetical. The brand routinely shipped large quantities of merchandise to retail pop-ups across the country—sometimes moving more than $20,000 in a single shipment. Losing a package at that scale is more than an inconvenience; it can disrupt an entire sales event. 

In other words, the shipment itself is only the first exposure. The real cost shows up in how efficiently a brand can recover when something goes wrong. 

How does shipping insurance protect more than the package? 

The right shipping insurance should do more than reimburse a loss. It should help a merchant act decisively. 

That was one of the practical lessons in Buru’s experience. Before changing providers, the company’s claims workflow could consume 20–25 minutes of staff time per claim, often stretching over two to three days of back-and-forth before the issue even moved toward resolution. 

For an operations team handling growing order volume, that kind of delay compounds quickly. 

After implementing a new approach with stronger visibility and faster claims processing, Buru reports that claims are now typically filed in minutes and resolved within about 24 hours, allowing the team to move on the right customer resolution—whether that means refunding, replacing, or expediting a shipment.  These experiences are unique to Buru, and actual results may vary on the merchant and industry.

That kind of control matters because every post-purchase interaction is tied to larger internal goals. Fast, confident service helps retain customers. Better visibility reduces unnecessary losses. And protecting margin on small failures adds up over time as order volume grows. 

What is friendly fraud, and why is it so dangerous for merchants? 

Friendly fraud is one of the most expensive risks in commerce precisely because it often happens after delivery. 

The order looks legitimate. The item ships. Proof of delivery exists. And then the customer disputes the transaction anyway. 

For merchants, the damage extends beyond a single refund. Industry research estimates that the average chargeback value for U.S. merchants is around $110, with total chargeback losses in the United States projected to reach $15.3 billion by 2026. 

Buru’s experience highlights why this matters operationally. Even when the company had proof of delivery and submitted dispute responses, the team still lost roughly 75% of chargeback cases, illustrating how difficult these disputes can be to win. 

That is why the real post-purchase threat is not always a lost box. Sometimes, a delivered order still results in a financial loss. 

Shipping insurance cannot solve that problem on its own. Merchants also need order visibility and chargeback protection built for the realities of digital commerce. a

How can merchants reduce chargebacks without hurting good customers? 

This is where many risk strategies break down. 

Brands want to prevent fraud, but they also do not want to block legitimate customers who may become high-value repeat buyers. (source: 2024 Global Payments and Fraud Report)

Buru’s perspective clearly illustrates the tension. As co-founder Brett Hutchinson described, chargebacks can leave merchants feeling exposed: “It’s a scary naked position to feel as a retailer.” 

The problem is that not every risky-looking order should be treated the same way. 

Some transactions may trigger fraud signals yet still belong to legitimate customers who could become long-term buyers. That is why better visibility tools matter. They give operators clearer signals, stronger context, and more control over how risky orders are handled. 

Instead of treating fraud prevention as a blunt instrument, merchants can make smarter decisions about when to ship, when to review, and how to protect both revenue and customer relationships. 

What should growing brands look for in a post-purchase risk strategy? 

The strongest approach connects physical protection with digital intelligence. 

That means shipping insurance that supports fast resolution and keeps the merchant in control. It also means order visibility tools that help identify fraud risk, reduce exposure to friendly fraud, and support stronger chargeback decisions. 

In Buru’s case, better claims visibility changed how the company handled customer recovery. The team now reports that around 20% of affected orders can be replaced , something that was effectively impossible under its previous workflow. 

Together, those capabilities do more than clean up operational messes. They help brands protect margins, improve the customer experience, and grow with greater confidence. 

For merchants, that is the real takeaway: lost packages are only part of the problem. 

The larger challenge is protecting commerce after checkout, when risk becomes harder to see but more expensive to ignore. The brands that win are the ones that treat shipping insurance, order visibility, and chargeback protection not as back-office tools—but as growth infrastructure.

Statistics and performance figures cited in this article reflect the individual experience of the featured merchant and may not be representative of all customers. Individual results may vary. Claims processing data is based on information provided by the featured merchant. The chargeback statistics cited are derived from Mastercard and Datos.  
 
This article is based on an interview with Brett H., owner and co-founder of Buru, conducted by UPS Capital. Buru is a UPS Capital customer. The views expressed are the interviewee’s own and reflect Buru’s individual experience, which may not be representative of all customers.