USPS Tracking says delivered, but I didn't receive it, what to do now?

As a owner of a small family owned e-commerce company, I see a lot of cases first hand of missing packages. It might feel like a hopeless situation when your tracking says your package has been delivered, but you can't seem to find it. We've had great success in recovering lost packages, and here are my tips in finding them, and worst comes to worst, how to work with the company you brought from to make things right.

Double check your tracking information

This might seem like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how easy this is to overlook! Folks would usually see the green Delivered checkmark, and assume that the package is in a specific place, but sometimes, the courier might have left it in an unexpected place.

Always check the line right under the Delivered checkmark, and see what it says (in the red box in the example below). It will often mention if it was left on the porch, in a mail box, or left in the mail room. This is your first clue of what potentially went wrong, so don't always assume it was left where your packages are usually dropped off.

One of the rare locations that usually throws folks into a loop is when the package is actually being held at your local post office. This could happen when you request that your packages be held (either to prevent theft) or if there was something abnormal with your package that prevented delivery (oversized, damaged, etc). When this happens, you just need to visit the post office mentioned and pay them a visit with your tracking number to retrieve your package.

Find your local USPS office and Give them a call

This is by far one of the most effective ways of getting to the bottom of delivery issues with USPS. There is also a general support number to call, but calling your local office will usually put you in touch with someone who is familiar with your zip code, and can even talk to your courier directly about your issue. I've found USPS workers really care and take pride in their work, so if something is wrong, they really look into it since it is usually the same folks delivering packages to your home on a daily basis.

All you need is your Zip code that your package was delivered to, and then look up the nearest USPS office.

Using the example from above, you can see the details of the first result. It will tell you the local number to call (in the red box below), along with their operating hours.

Once on the phone with them, you'll need to provide your tracking number, and explain that you haven't received your package yet. They will be able to confirm via GPS if your package was dropped off at the right address or not, and if needed, talk to your courier for you to see if they can find it.

What I usually see happen here is several things.

One is that USPS confirms that the package was dropped off at the wrong location, and goes to retrieve it for redelivery (and I then breathe a sigh of relief!)
Second is that they confirm that the GPS location was correct. In this case, I remind the customer to check the location of drop-off in the tracking details, and have them confirm if any family or neighbors might have taken it in, especially if several days have passed. Luckily, many packages have been found this way.
Very rarely do these cases go unsolved. If in that case, we'll go to the last step

File a claim with your Seller

This is the worst comes to worst situation - no matter what, you can't get a hold of your package. You should reach out to the business you brought from, and explain the situation. They can file a lost claim on your package.

Unfortunately, if you are in a situation where USPS confirmed the GPS locations to your address, this claim might not lead to anything, and it would be likely that your package was stolen. It would be best to discuss and check the seller's shipping policies and see if they can replace/resend the package. It isn't a great situation for the seller and the customers when this happen - stolen packages hurt small businesses like ours through lost inventory and shipping fees (and potentially losing business), when customers have to deal with lost time to investigating and redeliveries.

We try to do our best to do all we can to recover our customer's missing packages. especially if they are trying to prepare for an upcoming trip! If you are one of our customers for our anti-theft travel bags & accessories, and find yourself in this exact situation, please don't hesitate to reach out for help. Hope the tips above help no matter who you are purchasing from.