Every order from Amazon creates a bit of that “Christmas magic” where you just can’t wait to get your hands on whatever it is you’ve purchased. Most folks like to check the tracking information for their Amazon orders right after they place it, knowing in the back of their mind that there’s going to be nothing to see – but still checking it all the same.
Then we like to check (at least) once a day to see how our Amazon package is moving along. And for the most part we are pretty happy with the progress. After all, Amazon has a fantastic reputation for fast deliveries (especially if you’re using Prime). Every now and again, though, something behind the scenes goes a little bit sideways and our Amazon packages get lost in the shuffle. Most of the time that turbulence is fixed in a day or two (maybe three) and things are made right as rain without us having to intervene. Sometimes, though, our Amazon packages go missing completely – never arriving at our intended destination – and that’s going to be a stressful situation to deal with for sure.
Below we run through a couple of the ins and outs you’ll want to consider should you find yourself in this kind of situation. We highlight why Amazon packages may not arrive, how to know that your Amazon package is “lost in transit” somewhere, and what to do to remedy the situation as quickly as possible. Let’s get right into it!
My Amazon Package Never Arrived – What Do I Do Now?
One of the coolest little features of shopping on Amazon is that the website will tell you (even before you actually complete your order) when you are most likely to get that package delivered to you if you buy within a certain block of time.
With Amazon Prime, most customers have been conditioned to expect 2 to 3 day delivery – if not even faster – so they might not even look to see what that little message has to say. They’re going to be looking for their packages in two or three business days no matter what! Unfortunately, as we mentioned a moment ago, sometimes and Amazon package just doesn’t arrive when we expect – or doesn’t arrive at all. Here’s what you’ll need to do to navigate those kinds of situations.
Confirm Your Order Has Been Processed at Amazon
Right out of the gate you’re going to want to confirm that your Amazon order has been processed by the company in the first place. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of thinking that as soon as you hit the “buy” button and process your order that Amazon is going to process it instantly, too. That’s not really how things work. No, instead your order (and all of your order information) is going to move through a very complex and sophisticated administrative backend. Multiple people and multiple departments are going to have access to this information to fulfill your order, and there are a lot of moving parts to get this system to work as intended.
Truth be told, sometimes it takes a day (or even longer) for Amazon to actually hash out all of these details and get your order processed and dropped into the post. Most of the time this isn’t going to take any longer than 12 hours or so, but in the rare circumstance that it’s taking a little bit longer you’ll want to double check that your order has actually gone through on the Amazon platform and that it’s actually missing and not just awaiting processing.
Double Check Your Tracking Info
The next thing you’re going to want to do is double check that you are looking at the right tracking information. Lots of people order multiple things online on the same day (sometimes multiple Amazon orders, even) and it’s not hard to get tracking info confused across these multiple orders. You might be looking at a different order that you’ve placed on Amazon (or somewhere else online) without even realizing it, throwing off your expectations for when your Amazon order should arrive completely.
Jump on Amazon, pop into the RETURNS ; ORDERS section of your account, and just make sure that you are in fact tracking the right order. Your most recent orders are going to be listed at the top of this page and you’ll be provided a quick overview of the most up-to-date tracking information provided. See what the tracking details have to say for your order before you move any further in this process.
Contact Amazon for Help
If, however, you’re still having trouble either locating your Amazon package – or if your Amazon order hasn’t had any activity whatsoever in a couple of days – it’s not a bad idea to reach out directly to the folks at Amazon Customer Service and see how they might be able to help you.
As a general rule of thumb, Amazon recommends that you wait at least 48 hours after ordering a package to reach out to them with questions concerning that order specifically. This gives Amazon plenty of time to process the order, drop it in the post, and get the first bit of tracking info out to you – if not get the package to your doorstep within this block of time, even. After 48 hours have passed, though, and you’re not seeing any action on your Amazon package it’s a good idea to reach out to customer service directly.
To do this you’ll want to follow these steps:
- Login to your Amazon account
- Navigate to the HELP section
- Navigate to the BROWSE HELP TOPICS section
- Click the NEED MORE HELP button
- And then choose the CONTACT US option from there
You’ll be immediately provided with a couple of different contact options, including the opportunity to speak to live customer service, customer service bots, and even to reach out to Amazon customer support over the phone. Phone support is buried under a couple of options, though. Make sure that you dig to find the customer service number. From there you’ll want to reach out directly to Amazon, let them know that there’s a problem with your order or your package not arriving, and see how they can help you best move forward.
Contact the Shipping Partner for More Info
In some circumstances, Amazon is going to let you know that the issue with your package has nothing to do with them (they processed and fulfilled it correctly) but that it must have something to do with the actual shipping partner that is delivering the package itself. If that’s the case, you’re going to want to reach out to that shipping partner via their customer service and see how they can help you. The overwhelming majority of packages shipped via Amazon are either going to be fulfilled by the United States Postal Service (USPS), FedEx, or UPS.
Contacting all of these organizations through their customer service department is really simple and straightforward. Jump on Google, punch in “USPS/FedEx/USPS Customer Service” into the search bar, and then follow the links that have been provided from there. If your package is being sent via the USPS you can also pop down to your local post office and speak to someone directly. They may be able to shine a light on what’s happening with your package based off of behind the scenes information that wouldn’t show up in your tracking details (like broken down vehicles, inclement weather, a slowed down supply chain, etc.).
Why is My Package Marked Delivered If I Never Got It?
If your Amazon package tracking information is showing “Delivered” messages but you definitely haven’t received it you’re going to want to contact both Amazon and the shipping partner to get answers ASAP.
There are a couple of different things that could be responsible for this message popping up in your tracking info without you actually having your package, including:
- Your Amazon order being stolen from your porch or home by “porch pirates”
- Your Amazon order being marked “Delivered” by accident by the delivery driver
- Your Amazon order being marked “Delivery” as part of a bulk scan and not an individual scan
… And a host of other reasons that may have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with you.
Of course, it’s also not a bad idea to check a couple of different spots around your home to make sure that your package wasn’t dropped off somewhere that you weren’t expecting it to be. Sometimes new drivers place packages or deliveries in different spots than older drivers you may have become used to. Your package may really have been delivered on the back porch while you were expecting it on the front steps – but because you didn’t look there you didn’t notice it!
How Long Should I Wait to Report a Missing Amazon Package?
Again, Amazon likes to recommend that customers don’t reach out to them until 48 hours have passed from the time they’ve processed and order (or from the time that they’ve been told and Amazon order is out for delivery) to get customer support.
Obviously, you can contact Amazon anytime you like to let them know that something’s wrong with your package. Most people aren’t going to want to sit on their hands if they’ve been told that an Amazon package was dropped off and delivered that day but they can’t find it anywhere. Just know that Amazon may not be able to help you quite as much until the 48 hour block of time has passed. In those circumstances, it’s not a bad idea to reach out directly to the shipping company responsible for delivery to see how they might be able to assist you.
Will Amazon Replace a Missing Package?
If, after speaking to customer service, Amazon does determine that the package was either lost in transit or stolen the odds are very good that they are going to replace the missing package with a new one – and they will almost always provide expedited or premium shipping at their cost, too.
Amazon has an almost legendary reputation when it comes to their customer service and support, particularly with missing packages. You are definitely going to be well taken care of if something happens to your package before it actually gets to your doorstep and you take ownership of the items that you’ve purchased.
Will Amazon Refund a Missing Package?
Of course, if you don’t necessarily want Amazon to replace the items that you have purchased but instead would like them to refund your purchase instead you can definitely go down that road, too. Again, Amazon has fantastic customer service when it comes to packages or orders that have been misplaced, lost, or simply “disappeared”. This is a huge company that wants to make sure that their customers are taking care of. They know what the lifetime value of their customers are in the last thing they want to do is turn people off from using Amazon going forward.
Modernize Your Mailbox with US Global Mail
Of course, if Amazon packages keep getting lost or Amazon packages never arrive at your mailbox or your front step you’re probably going to get sick and tired of dealing with this company. But don’t give up on Amazon just yet! The answer might be to modernize your mailbox with the help of US Global Mail, the premier virtual mailbox service on the planet today. For more than 20+ years US Global Mail has been providing clients with safe, secure, and easy to use modern mailbox solutions that include full package acceptance from every major (and minor) shipping company out there.
Unlike PO boxes from the USPS, you can have orders from FedEx, UPS, DHL (and most everyone else) sent from Amazon directly to your US Global Mail virtual mailbox – using a permanent street address that provides an extra layer of safety, security, and anonymity, too. For more information about the rest of the benefits this virtual mailbox service offers, as well as how to sign up and how much an account will cost, check out the US Global Mail website today!
