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Home > Guides > Photograph your package?
Yes. Three timestamped photos take about a minute and are the strongest evidence you can have if a damage or loss claim ever comes up: the item before packing, the packed box before sealing, and the sealed box with the shipping label visible. Carriers and insurers both ask for proof of the item's condition and your packaging, and photos answer both questions at once.
| Photo | What it proves | Tips |
|---|---|---|
| The item, unpacked | Condition before shipping; serial numbers and existing marks | Shoot close enough to read serial numbers; capture any existing scratches so they cannot be blamed on transit |
| The packed box, open | That you used adequate cushioning and a sound box | Show the padding around the item; insurers deny claims for packaging they judge inadequate, and this is your rebuttal |
| The sealed box with the label | That the right label went on the right box, sealed and addressed | Make the tracking number readable; one shot of the full label is enough |
Your phone timestamps every photo automatically, which settles the timing question. If you want to be thorough, include a tape measure or ruler in the packed-box shot; it documents the box dimensions if a dimensional-weight dispute ever arises.
Because inadequate packaging is the most common reason damage claims get denied. Every carrier and third-party insurer excludes damage they attribute to poor packing, and without photos the judgment call goes to their adjuster looking at a crushed box weeks later. Your photo of a snug, well-cushioned pack shifts that call.
The photos pull double duty on loss claims too. If a parcel vanishes, the sealed-box photo with a readable label proves you tendered the right parcel to the carrier, and the weight on your shipping receipt backs it up. For marketplace sellers, these photos also settle buyer disputes fast.
Until the claim window closes, not just until delivery. Carriers give you a set period after delivery (or after a parcel is declared lost) to file, and damage sometimes surfaces days later when the buyer finally opens the box. A practical rule: keep the photos for at least a month past confirmed delivery, longer for high-value items.
Storage is the easy part. Make an album per shipment on your phone, or drop the three photos in a cloud folder named with the tracking number. When you need them, you will need them fast: claim forms ask for evidence uploads, and digging through a camera roll from six weeks ago is how evidence goes missing.
They should, and you can ask them to. The most useful recipient photo is of the box as received, before opening, if the outside shows damage. A crushed corner photographed at the doorstep plus your photo of a pristine sealed box tells the whole story of what happened in between. For valuable shipments, put the request in a note inside the box: if the outside looks damaged, photograph it first, then open.
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