Keeping the paperwork for an online order
Save the three pieces of an order you may need months later.
Every online order produces a small pile of mail. Most of it can be ignored. Three things cannot.
The order number, because it is how any person you talk to finds your order. The confirmation email, because it shows what you paid and when. And the return window, because it is a date that quietly expires.
The reliable way to keep all three is to leave the confirmation email in your mail and give it a star. Do not delete it when the item arrives. Delete it when the return window has passed and you are keeping the item.
A store account also keeps an order history. That is useful, but it belongs to the store. If the store closes or your account has trouble, your own mail still has the copy.
Key points
- Three things matter: order number, confirmation, return window.
- Star the confirmation email the day it arrives.
- Delete it when the return window has passed, not sooner.
- The store account history is useful but is not yours.
- The order number is what a person on the phone needs.
What to remember
- A starred confirmation email is your own copy of the record.
- Keep the confirmation until the return window closes, not until the box opens.
- Have the order number in front of you before you pick up the phone.
Try this
Open your mail, search for the word confirmation, and star the two most recent orders you have not yet returned or finished with.
Practice: Keeping the paperwork for an online order. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.