Order status: the four stages and what each one means

Once an order is placed, one question comes up more than any other: “Where is it now?” The app shows the order status, but what each stage actually means is not always obvious. Below are the four stages and what happens between them.

The four stages#

1. Preparing. The seller has accepted the order and is putting it together. The item is found in the warehouse, checked and packed. This stage varies the most: one seller is ready within an hour, another the next day.

2. Handed to the courier. The packed order has gone to the delivery service. From this point the goods have left the seller’s hands.

3. On the way. The order is moving towards your address.

4. Delivered. The order has been handed over to you.

The app sends a notification every time the stage changes, so there is no need to keep opening your phone to check.

Why there is no map tracking#

This question comes up often, so here is a straight answer: Dona has no real-time courier tracking on a map. There is no “arriving in 12 minutes” estimate either.

What you can see is the order status, that is, which stage it is at.

The reason: delivery is arranged by the seller through courier services. Different sellers use different services, and not all of them transmit GPS. Showing the exact status is more honest than showing something that does not exist.

What you can do at each stage#

This is the most useful part in practice:

• Preparing — the easiest stage to cancel at. The item has not gone anywhere yet.
• Handed to the courier — cancelling gets harder, because the goods are already on their way.
• On the way — from here you accept the parcel and then follow the returns process.
• Delivered — from this point the returns rules apply.

The takeaway is simple: if you change your mind, open the app sooner. What is settled quickly at stage one takes far longer at stage four.

When you order from several sellers#

This part often comes as a surprise. Goods on Dona are sold by independent sellers. If your basket holds items from two different sellers, they will not arrive as one box.

Each seller prepares their own order and delivers it separately. That means two statuses, two streams of notifications and possibly two different days.

This is not a flaw but a natural result of how the platform works: each seller is responsible for their own goods, packing and delivery. It is better to know this in advance, so that the first box does not leave you asking “where is the rest?”

A practical tip: if getting everything on the same day matters, try to fill the basket from a single seller. In a live stream the question does not come up at all, because you are in one specific seller’s stream.

Who is responsible for what#

The seller is responsible for the goods, their packing and arranging delivery. The platform coordinates the order flow, processes the payment, and shows the status and notifications in the app.

So if an order is late, contact the seller first. If that does not resolve it, contact the platform.

How an order from a live stream differs#

Technically it does not: an order placed from a stream goes through the same four stages.

The difference comes earlier. In a stream you saw the item in motion and asked your questions, so a “something else arrived” situation is less likely. Tracking works the same way in both cases.