A fulfilled order is one the seller has prepared and recorded as ready to go. A shipped order is with the carrier. A delivered order has reached the customer. These are three different facts, and each one needs its own evidence.
The confusion starts because platforms draw the lines in different places. Some stores use “fulfilled” to mean “shipped”. Others, including Runner, keep the two apart. Before you answer a customer, check which definition your store uses.
Fulfilled vs. shipped vs. delivered at a glance
| Status | What happened | Who records it | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulfilled | The seller prepared the items and recorded a fulfillment. | The merchant or a fulfillment service | That a carrier has the parcel |
| Shipped | The parcel was handed to a carrier. | The merchant, usually with a carrier and tracking number | That the parcel arrived |
| Delivered | The parcel reached the delivery address. | The carrier, the supplier, or the merchant after a check | That the customer is satisfied, or that every parcel arrived |
Read the table from top to bottom as a timeline. An order moves down it one step at a time. It can stop at any step for days.
Does fulfilled mean shipped?
It depends on the platform.
Shopify joins the two ideas. Its order-status reference (checked October 12, 2026) describes Fulfilled as when you “fulfill and ship all of the items in an order”. But the status can come before the handoff. Shopify’s fulfillment guide says that an order is marked as fulfilled after you buy and print a shipping label. Check tracking before you say that a parcel has left.
Runner separates them. The order page has three actions, and each one records a different step:
- Mark as fulfilled records that all unfulfilled items are prepared. It applies at once.
- Mark as Shipped asks for the carrier and, if you have one, a tracking number.
- Mark as Delivered asks you to confirm, then records the delivery.
All three are records that you make. None of them is a carrier scan, and Mark as Delivered does not ask for proof of delivery.
So on a Runner store, Fulfilled alone means “packed, not yet with the carrier”. The order’s Activity list shows each step as its own entry: items fulfilled, items shipped, items delivered.
Neither approach is wrong. The risk is reading one platform’s badge with another platform’s meaning. If a customer asks where a parcel is, a Fulfilled badge is not enough to answer. Look for a carrier and a tracking event.
Fulfillment statuses in the Runner admin
These labels describe the fulfillment of an order in the Runner admin.
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Unfulfilled | No item has been fulfilled yet. A new order usually starts here. |
| Partially fulfilled | Some items are fulfilled. Others still need work. |
| Fulfilled | All items are fulfilled. No shipment is recorded yet. |
| Partially shipped | Some fulfillments are with a carrier. Others are not. |
| Shipped | All fulfillments are with a carrier. |
| Partially delivered | At least one parcel arrived. At least one did not. |
| Delivered | Every parcel arrived. |
| Partially returned / Returned | Some or all items came back. |
| Canceled | The fulfillment was stopped. |
The “partially” labels matter most when one order becomes two parcels. One parcel can arrive while the other waits for stock. The order is not delivered until the last parcel arrives. Our guide to partially fulfilled orders covers how to check what is still owed.
Two rules from the Runner Orders guide are worth knowing before you act:
- You can cancel an order only after every fulfillment on it is canceled.
- A timeout is not proof that an action failed. Refresh the order before you try again.
Payment status is a separate track
Fulfillment tells you about the goods. Payment tells you about the money. One can move while the other stands still.
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Awaiting | The payment has not completed yet. |
| Authorized | The payment provider approved the amount and holds it. You have not collected it. |
| Partially authorized | Only part of the order total is authorized. |
| Paid | The payment was captured. The money is collected. |
| Partially paid | Only part of the total was captured. |
| Partially refunded | Some of the captured money went back to the customer. |
| Refunded | All of the captured money went back. |
| Requires action | The payment needs another step before it can complete. |
| Canceled | The payment was canceled before capture. |
| Not paid | No completed payment is recorded. |
Watch the gap between Authorized and Paid. An authorization is a hold, and holds expire. If you ship an order that is only authorized and the hold then lapses, you have sent goods without collecting money. On Runner, Capture Payment turns an eligible authorized payment into a paid one.
Because the two tracks are separate, these combinations are all normal:
- Paid and Unfulfilled: the customer paid, and you still need to pack.
- Authorized and Fulfilled: the parcel is ready, but the money is not collected. Capture before you ship.
- Paid and Partially delivered: part of the order has not arrived yet.
- Refunded and Delivered: the customer has the goods and the money. A refund does not recall a parcel. See our order-level refund explainer.
Statuses that only some orders have
Not every order is a parcel that you pack yourself. Three order types add a second status next to the standard ones.
Dropshipping orders
A dropshipped order has a linked supplier order with its own status. On Runner, the labels include Pending Creation, Created, Unpaid, Processing, Shipped, Delivered, Cancelled, Failed, and Manual review required.
The supplier status and the store order status are two records. The supplier status does not update the store order for you. Runner’s dropshipping guide gives the sequence. When every supplier order shows Shipped, mark the store order fulfilled and shipped, and enter the carrier and tracking number. When every supplier order shows Delivered, select Mark as Delivered. The store order is the record your customer sees, so it stays behind until you do.
Print-on-demand orders
A print-on-demand order follows the print provider. On Runner, a Printful order moves through Draft ready, Submitted, In production, then Partially fulfilled or Fulfilled. Here Fulfilled means the provider shipped the items. That is closer to the Shopify meaning than to the standard Runner one, so read the label in its own section.
Bookings
A booking has no parcel at all. Its statuses are Confirmed, Completed, No Show, and Canceled. They appear only on orders that include a supported booking item.
Digital products
A digital order has nothing to ship. Delivered in the digital section means the access email reached the buyer, or the buyer opened the access link. Link ready and Sending come before it. Neither one is proof that the buyer downloaded the file. If you sell files or access, see how to sell digital downloads.
What to tell a customer at each status
Match the promise to the evidence you have.
| Status | Safe to say | Do not say |
|---|---|---|
| Unfulfilled | “We have your order and are preparing it.” | A ship date you have not confirmed |
| Fulfilled | “Your order is packed and waiting for the carrier.” | “It is on its way.” |
| Shipped | “Your parcel is with the carrier.” Add the tracking link if you recorded one. | A guaranteed arrival day |
| Partially delivered | “Part of your order arrived. We are checking the rest.” | “Your order is complete.” or “The rest is on its way.” before you check |
| Delivered | “Tracking shows delivery on this date.” Say it only when a carrier or supplier event shows it. | That the customer must have it |
When tracking says delivered and the customer says nothing arrived, both can be true. Ask the customer to check with neighbors and the building, then open a carrier trace. Our ecommerce customer-support playbook covers the handoff.
How to read an order in five steps
- Read the payment status. Confirm the money is captured, not only authorized.
- Read the fulfillment status. Note any “partially” label.
- Open each fulfillment. Check its items, carrier, and tracking number.
- Look for a second status: supplier, print provider, booking, or digital delivery.
- Refresh the order if another person or service could have changed it.
Only then choose an action or write to the customer.
Order status FAQ
What does fulfilled mean on an order?
It means the seller has finished preparing the items and recorded that work. On many platforms it also means the parcel has shipped. On Runner it means prepared, with shipment recorded as a separate step. It never means the customer has received the parcel.
What does unfulfilled mean?
The store has the order, and nobody has fulfilled any item yet. It is the usual starting status of a new order. It says nothing about payment. An unfulfilled order can be fully paid.
Is shipped the same as delivered?
No. Shipped means the parcel was handed to the carrier. Delivered means the parcel is recorded as arrived. Look for a carrier event before you rely on either one. The time between them is the transit time.
Can an order be paid but not fulfilled?
Yes. That is the normal state right after checkout. Payment and fulfillment are separate tracks. The reverse also happens: an order can be fulfilled while the payment is only authorized.
Why does my order say partially delivered?
The order went out in more than one parcel, and at least one has not arrived. Compare the delivered parcel’s items with the full order before you send anything else.
What does awaiting fulfillment mean?
Some platforms use it for an order that is received, and often paid, and waiting to be picked and packed. Runner shows the same stage as Unfulfilled.
Read each status for what it proves
A status is a short record of one event. Fulfilled records preparation. Shipped records a handoff. Delivered records an arrival. Paid records collected money. Check the record that matches the question in front of you, and do not let one badge answer for another. To see how Runner tracks all of them on one order page, read about order management on Runner.