Shein Agrees To Pay FTC $100 Million Over Delivery Delays; Check Expected To Arrive In 7 To 21 Business Days

WASHINGTON—Fast-fashion giant Shein has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a federal investigation into delivery delays and other customer complaints, according to a report Friday, with the payment expected to reach the Federal Trade Commission in 7 to 21 business days, depending on customs.

“We are pleased with this outcome, and we have been told the check is on its way,” said a regulatory staffer who asked not to be named because he was still refreshing a tracking page. “It has been ‘in transit’ since Tuesday. It was briefly in Memphis. We don’t know why it was in Memphis.”

The settlement, equal to roughly 44 percent of the company’s second-quarter profit, caps a difficult autumn for the retailer, whose shares have fallen 22 percent since their September listing and whose app downloads dropped 42 percent year over year in September, according to analysts. Consumer advocates called the deal an important reminder that ‘arrives soon’ is a promise, not a mood.

A nation of porches, waiting

1. 1
   Order placed$100 million settlement agreed
2. 2
   Processing“Your payment is being prepared with care”
3. 3
   Label createdNot yet received by carrier, for 9 days
4. 4
   In transitArrived at sorting facility named only ‘Facility’
5. 5
   Out for deliveryEvery day for two weeks
6. 6
   DeliveredTo a porch two streets over

Source: The Daily SKU Logistics Desk

Shoppers greeted the news with cautious optimism. “I ordered a cardigan in March,” said Lorraine Feltz, 58, of Shaker Heights, Ohio, who has since watched the seasons change twice from her front window. “It finally came this morning. It was very small and somehow older than me. I’m not mad. I’m just glad it’s home.”

“It was briefly in Memphis. We don’t know why it was in Memphis.”

Logistics experts said the payment faced the same journey as any package. “First, the label gets created, which feels like progress but is not,” said Desmond Okafor, a senior analyst at Parcelworth Research. “Then it enters a facility. Then it enters another facility. Then, for reasons no one fully understands, it is ‘out for delivery’ for eleven straight days.”

Okafor noted the FTC has taken similar action before, including a $9.3 million penalty against Fashion Nova in 2020 and a $1.95 million penalty against Hey Dude in 2023. “Regulators have learned a lot,” he said. “For instance, this time they asked for tracking.”

At press time, the FTC had received a notification that the check had been delivered, along with a photo of an unfamiliar doormat.