All You Need to Know About Tracking USPS Shipments

USPS is one of the popular shipping carriers which provides shipping services at affordable rates. The main reason sellers opt for USPS is its convenience for shipping packages domestically and internationally without charging too much. Also, there are many shipping services available in USPS from which you can choose the most convenient one based on the cost and estimated delivery days with a shipping calculator.

Tracking is also an important part of the shipment process. It will help the sellers as well as the customers to check the status and location of shipments as and when they need it. So, in this article, let us discuss a USPS shipping calculator and all details you need to know about the tracking of USPS shipments.

Tracking of USPS Shipments

When it comes to tracking shipments, USPS provides tracking services for all its services. But for tracking the packages with some specific services, you have to pay an additional charge for the tracking facility. For other shipping services, the tracking cost will be added along with the shipping cost.

One of the main advantages of USPS is that it provides tracking information frequently and accurately to sellers and customers. So you can check the current location of the packages and the status of the shipment with details.

Do they provide tracking in international shipping?

Yes, as already mentioned before, USPS provides the tracking option for all its services. But, in some international shipping services, customers will not be able to track the shipments after the packages left from the US. This is because some countries do not allow monitoring and scanning in their countries.

Which USPS shipping services provide tracking by default?

As already mentioned in this write-up, some services charge their tracking cost along with the shipping cost. And, some services do not come with a default tracking option. In order to track the shipments of these services, you have to pay to USPS and get the option to track the packages.

Check few services of USPS that comes with tracking services by default:

• Priority Mail Express (Domestic)
• Priority Mail (Domestic)
• First Class Mail (Domestic)
• USPS Retail Ground (Domestic)
• Media Mail (Domestic)
• Priority Mail Express International
• Priority Mail International

You need to pay an additional tracking charge for tracking First Class Mail International and First Class Package International packages.

How to track your USPS packages?

It is quite easy to track your shipments with USPS. You will get a tracking number from USPS using which you can track your shipments from the USPS tracking tool. You can seamlessly track the shipments using this tracking number from your desktop as well as your mobile device. Also, you can use the Android or iOS app of USPS for tracking the shipments.

Check few samples of tracking numbers of USPS services:

• Priority Mail – 9205 5000 0000 0000 0000 00
• Priority Mail International – CP 000 000 000 US
• Global Express Guaranteed – 82 000 000 00
• Registered Mail – 9208 8000 0000 0000 0000 00

You can enter multiple tracking numbers separated by a comma, or you can even use the barcode numbers to track the shipments of multiple packages together.

Other options to track your shipments are as follows:

1. Dial to 1-800-222-1811
2. Send your tracking number to 28777 as an SMS.
3. Check it in your USPS mobile app.

Lost your tracking number?

It will be a bit tiring to track USPS packages without the tracking number. But, what would you do if you lost the tracking number?

If you have lost your tracking number, you need to contact the USPS service center via email or phone call. And, you need to provide the information such as:

1. The mail class of the USPS service you have chosen.
2. Where you need to deliver the packages like residence, a military outpost, etc.
3. The product you are shipping.
4. Information regarding the packages such as whether it is insured and registered.
5. Whether the package requires a signature.
6. The total value of the shipment.

If the package you are shipping has been stolen or lost, you need to explain the reason for it, like why you believe the package got lost, and share the details to the service center with photos and videos if possible.

Now, let us check the tracking statuses of USPS and what they mean.

USPS tracking statuses

1. Pre-shipment: This means the details of packages or the item itself passed to the mail service, but not yet processed to ship with USPS.
2. Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS, USPS Awaiting Item: This means USPS does not receive the package but will receive it soon to proceed with the shipment.
3. Arrival at Unit: This means the package has arrived at the local post office.
4. Arrived at USPS Facility or Departed USPS Facility: This means the package has been sorted by the processing facility based on the zip code and address.
5. Customs Clearance: Cleared the customs processing and ready to deliver to the final destination.
6. Received by U.S. Postal Service from U.S. Customs: Means, USPS received the package after customs clearance.
7. Accepted: This means the mailmen have picked up the package physically from the residence or the source location to ship.
8. In-transit: This status means that the package is on the way to its destination address. If it shows ‘In-Transit, Arriving On Time’, your package will be delivered at the exact time as expected. If it shows ‘In-Transit, Arriving Late’, that means the shipment will be delayed.
9. Alert: If it shows ‘Alert’ then probably there are some problems in the shipment. Sometimes this message will be displayed along with the reason. If the package is delivered to the destination safely and still showing the message, you can ignore it.
10. Delivered: This means your package has been delivered to the destination address.
11. Status not available: If you see this message, you might have entered the wrong tracking number, or there are no tracking details available due to some other reasons.

These are the USPS tracking status you will see while you track your packages.

Any third-party shipping calculator to track your USPS shipment?

You can also get your tracking links from other third-party tools like ReachShip. You can calculate the USPS shipping cost from ReachShip shipping calculator based on the source and destination addresses and the weight and dimensions of your packages. 

After choosing a shipping service of USPS, you can print the label and get the tracking links if required.

Hope this article helped you to know more about USPS shipment tracking.