This is a one-tap setting that quietly decides how often you are late. It is worth two minutes of thought before a big show, because changing it afterwards does nothing for the orders already taken.
Where it lives
Seller settings → Shipping & delivery → Dispatch time.
The two choices
Ship within 24 hours—Courier orders are due 24 hours after paymentShip within 48 hours—Courier orders are due 48 hours after payment (the most time allowed)
That is the entire choice. There is no 72-hour option and no per-item override: 48 hours is the most time any store can take.
What it actually promises
The clock starts when the buyer pays, not when you see the order. A win paid at 11pm on a Saturday under a 24-hour deadline is due by 11pm on Sunday, whether or not you looked at your phone.
That is the detail that catches people out after a show. Forty orders paid between 9pm and 10pm all come due at the same hour the next day.
Which to pick
Pick 48 if you sell in shows. A show produces a burst of orders at one time, and the honest question is not "can I pack one parcel in a day" but "can I pack forty in a day, having been live until 10pm". Almost nobody can.
Pick 24 if you sell steadily from buy-now listings and you have packaging ready. It is a real selling advantage — buyers do read it — but only if you keep it.
The mistake is choosing 24 because it looks better. A store with a 48-hour promise it always keeps outranks a store with a 24-hour promise it misses a third of the time, because late shipping is measured and the promise is not.
What being late costs
Late shipment rate is one of six measured store-health standards. The tip on that screen names the rule exactly: ship courier orders inside your dispatch window, and deliver or have pickups ready by the time you promised, and mark each step in Orders straight away.
That last clause matters. An order you posted on time but marked shipped two days later counts as late, because marking it is the only evidence there is.
What it does not cover
- Pickup orders run on your
Collect withintime instead — see how to offer pickup. - Made-to-order items run on
Days to make it, which is a separate and usually much longer promise. - Your closed days. The dispatch clock respects
Working days & holidays, so a deadline never lands on a day your store is shut. Keep that calendar honest and this setting takes care of itself.
Change it before, not after
Changing the setting applies to orders from then on. It does not move the deadline on an order already paid for.
So the time to set this is the day before a show, alongside checking you have boxes. Not the morning after, when you already have forty parcels and a clock running.
Questions people ask
Can I get longer than 48 hours?
Not for courier orders. If you genuinely need longer, the item is made to order — set Days to make it and sell it that way, which is an honest promise rather than a missed one.
Does the clock stop on a Sunday?
It respects the closed days and holidays you set in Working days & holidays. A store that has not set those has no closed days to respect.
What if the courier does not collect?
Mark the order shipped when you hand it over or when it is collected, and add the tracking number. How to mark an order sent.
Does it change what buyers see?
Yes — the delivery estimate on your listings is built from it. A shorter dispatch window shows a sooner arrival date.
More: how to set up pickup, how delivery is charged, how to cap your day.