What to Do If You Have Problems with Tracking a USPS International Package
The United States Postal Service (USPS), just like other national postal services, allows to track international packages using their unique identifiers (tracking numbers). Most times the tracking system works quite accurately, but people still experience problems with tracking their packages every now and then. What are the possible reasons for these problems and what should you do when you can’t track a USPS international package?
Let’s imagine a situation. You’ve made a purchase, say, on eBay, Amazon or another retail website and received a tracking number from the seller. However, when you try to track the location of the package using the USPS website or a third-party tracking service, there is no info about the current status of the package. What could be the reason?
First of all, let’s figure out what a tracking number looks like. The USPS uses a few different tracking number formats. Domestic parcels usually have a 22-character tracking number with no letters, but most international parcels would have a 13-character identifier consisting of a two letter service indicator code, an eight digit serial number, a single check-digit and a two-letter ISO country code (US). This is the Universal Postal Union S10 standard used by most postal operators in UPU member countries.
So, the first thing you should do is make sure that the number you use to track your package is indeed a S10 UPU standard tracking number consisting of two letters (the first of which is C, E, L or R), eight digits and the letters US. Pay special attention to its first letter. Tracking numbers starting with an L indicate the First-Class Mail International service, and First-Class Mail postcards, letters, and flats (retail large envelopes) are not eligible for tracking. This means that although they have an identifier, they cannot be tracked.
If everything seems okay with the tracking number (it contains all required character and doesn’t start with an L), maybe the sender just hasn’t shipped your package yet. Some retailers generate and print shipping labels in advance and thus reserve tracking numbers. Then they wait until there are enough packages to mail, because no retailer would go to the post office each time there’s an order.
So when the seller sends you a tracking number, this means that they have generated the shipping label, but this doesn’t mean that the package has been mailed. You won’t be able to properly track your package until it its bar code is scanned by the postal service. Usually the tracking status “Electronic Shipping Info Received” indicates that the info about the shipment has already been submitted to the system by the sender, but the package hasn’t been picked up and scanned yet.
Now let’s imagine another situation. Say, you could track the package but now you suddenly can’t; the tracking status simply won’t change. This usually happens when the parcel leaves the United States. While the parcel goes through sorting facilities in the United States, it is scanned at each sorting facility, and its status is updated promptly. But once the parcel leaves the country, its status may remain unchanged until it arrives in an intermediate country or the destination country.
If this is your case, don’t get anxious ahead of time. Wait for a while, taking into account the approximate delivery time of your shipment that depends on the destination country and the type of service. When this time is up, try to track the shipment using the website of your national postal service or a third-party service, such as PostageMaker. When the package arrives in the destination country and passes through the customs, they will provide you with more up-to-date information than the USPS website, since the package isn’t in the United States Postal Service’s responsibility anymore.
Depending on the destination and the type of service, it may take a parcel from a few days to a few weeks to arrive. If you have neither received nor can track your shipment after, say, a month and a half, it is most likely lost. In this case, you should contact the sender and file a report at your local post office. If the lost package was insured, you should be able to get a refund.
So, if you have problems with tracking a USPS international package, the most probable reasons for this are:
you’re using the wrong number;
the shipment is not eligible for tracking (the tracking number starts with an L);
the parcel hasn’t been scanned into the system yet;
the parcel has already left the United States, but hasn’t yet arrived in the destination country;
the parcel has been lost.
In any case, you shouldn’t worry if you can’t track your package. Before panicking that it’s lost, exclude all other possible reasons.
