When participating in an exchange, you have the option to prove shipping of your gift, but what exactly does that mean? We wanted to give a quick rundown of the shipping proof process and what makes a good shipping proof.

Why should I submit shipping proof?

On the off-chance your gift gets lost in transit or your giftee fails to post the gift, we will know not to fault you so you can still get credit for the exchange. We don't share your shipping proof with anyone. And if you prove shipping, you can also get partial credit back for your exchange earlier. It is not required, but it can be a good idea to make sure you don't encounter any issues.

I submitted proof of shipping, but it hasn't been accepted. Why?

Shipping proofs are manually reviewed by our staff. Different times in the exchange cycle cause ebbs and flows in our general workload, and reviewing shipping proofs sometimes gets put aside for a couple of days while we focus on something else. If we have a problem with your submitted proof, we will reach out to you for more information.

To emphasize: Providing shipping proof is only required when your giftee reports no gift.

For those of you who decide to provide proof of shipping, we thought it would be helpful to give some examples of what constitutes good and bad shipping proof. When providing pictures for shipping proof, keep this in mind: If you had to convince a total stranger that you've shipped your gift, would what you're providing stand up on its own?

Good: Screenshot of tracking showing delivered Tracking will show the date and location the package was delivered to. We can use that to compare to your giftee's address. Bad: A picture of your tracking number We already have access to your tracking number if we really need it. "I promised I shipped" is why we took away the ability to submit proofs that were only text. Good: Shipping receipt Most shipping receipts will show the date, the destination city and postal code. We can use that to compare to your giftee's address. Bad: Collection of items There is no indication this is for your giftee, nor that it made it off your kitchen table. Good: Shows tracking status *and* destination address We know your giftee's address, so we can easily cross reference. Bad: Order confirmation This demonstrates that you ordered something, not that it was shipped. Hilariously Good: Picture of postal employee holding the outgoing package In the original picture, we can see the address (covered for privacy reasons in this picture). We can use that to compare to your giftee's address. Thanks to /u/FlaxwenchPromise for the photo, and the USPS clerk who was willing to model. Bad: Order with all pertinent information blacked out We can see it was delivered, but that's it. We can't even see where it was shipped to. We don't share this with your giftee, so blacking out the products and prices is unnecessary.