There is nothing quite as anxiety inducing as excitedly waiting for your package to arrive, stalking the tracking each step of the way, and then getting a notification that it has been delivered...and you don't have it.
Once the package is dropped off with the postal service, you and I both become customers of the shipping carrier. This means that I am limited to the same information that you have regarding the status of the shipment via the tracking number. And since I use whatever shipping carrier you selected when you check out, I do not personally offer any additional coverage or guarantees for the shipment past the point that it is dropped off and scanned in with the shipping company. You usually also have a much better idea than I do about which carriers in your area are known for being more reliable than others, delivery behaviors you've noticed from the delivery personnel previously, etc.
That doesn't mean that there isn't something we can do though!
If the item is showing as delivered
In this scenario, the item is marked as delivered but you don't have it. The most common causes when this happens are usually the package being left in an unusual spot or it being left with someone who personally received the mail on your behalf and so it wasn't in the mailbox when you looked. I've also had customers tell me that they never received a package and then later tell me that they had it all along but confused it with another shipment they received because they hadn't opened it yet.
It is almost always something simple so I strongly recommend starting here:
- Check with your neighbors to see if the package was left with them. Ask other members of your household as well.
- If you live in an apartment or housing development that has a mail room, check with the desk
- Speak with your mail carrier to ask where they left a bright purple poly-mailer. The sooner you can do this, the better while it is still fresh in their mind.
- If you are unsuccessful with these, go to your local post office and request the GPS information for where the package was delivered to. All mail carriers keep this data and will provide it upon request.
- If it shows it was delivered to your address and you don't have it, this is something that should be reported to the police and is out of our hands as postal customers.
- If it shows it was delivered to a different address, check with that location to see if they have your item. If not, please provide me with the GPS information so that I can help you file a claim with the shipping carrier.
Every now and then I've had items marked as delivered when it was being sorted at the post office the day before so sometimes just giving it a day or two helps. If it was delivered to the wrong address and returned to the postal service, this also gives them time to redeliver the package to the correct address.
From there, they will either locate the package or we can apply for whatever coverage they offer for lost mail. We are limited to whatever insurance and refund policies the carrier you selected provides so please me mindful of this if you have an issue with a specific carrier in your area.
If the item stops showing progress while shipping
This falls into two categories: Domestic shipments, and international shipments
Domestic
If you shipped with USPS, you can file help request with your local branch or as an online help request. I'm not sure how this works on their end, but sometimes just starting this process causes things to update within a few days. I was told by a postal worker that they usually wait until the shipment to at least 7 days past the expected delivery date before it is looked into so it's not something that you should expect an immediate response on.
If the inquiry doesn't produce any results, then at least 7 days after the help inquiry is filed, we can file a missing mail inquiry. They will require information from me on how it was shipped and packaged and product photos so I will file this for you. I will just need the date and reference number for your help request for the report.
From there, they will either locate the package or we can apply for whatever coverage they offer for lost mail. We are limited to whatever insurance and refund policies the carrier you selected provides so please me mindful of this if you have an issue with a specific carrier in your area.
For other shipping carriers, you can usually just contact your local branch and they facilitate the process with you directly.
International
International shipments are a little different in that they typically do not update while the package is transitioning from one country to another. It is not uncommon to see a package move to an export location, not update for several days, or even weeks, and then suddenly update with a bunch of information in the import country. This is because with many carriers, the customs process is not included in the tracking process. If an item sits in customs waiting to be cleared for a week, you will only see that it was last seen at the US export location (typically CA) and when it has cleared customs and has been scanned in by your local mail carrier then you will see an update of it leaving the US, arriving in your country, being scanned by your mail service, and progressing again.
If the item appears to be lost at a different point in the process, you can reach out to the mail service you used for shipping. I am unable to file an inquiry for international shipments if you selected USPS as they only handle the delivery to the export facility. Once it reaches your country it is handed off to whatever mail service is contracted for your location, typically government mail.