Jeff Bezos’ former online bookstore has evolved into the world’s largest e-store in the 21 years that have elapsed since it was first founded. And with that popularity come responsibility and customer expectations, especially when it comes to Amazon package tracking. Today’s post explores the many options offered by Amazon package tracking services, as well as some ideas on what to do if your order appears to have gone AWOL.
The Seattle-based company now sells in several countries around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Mexico, India, Japan, China, and numerous others. Its latest official plans for expansion target Sweden and Poland among others. Aside from its commercial platform, Amazon is the largest provider of cloud computing services in the world and has also branched out into manufacturing electronic consumer goods. Arguably its most successful product, the Kindle ebook reader, is accompanied by the Fire brand of TVs, telephones, and tablets.
Publicly traded as AMZN, and with over 151,000 employees worldwide, as of late 2014, Amazon also offers a wide range of other services, both online and off-. Some of the best known include BookDepository.com, Audible, Game Studios, and the Amazon Appstore. In 2014, the enterprise also improved its revenue (up to US$88.98 billion), slashed its operating income (to US$178 million) and increased its assets to US$54.5 billion.
Amazon official site: www.amazon.com
Amazon Package Tracking Options
By and large, Amazon offers complete tracking solutions, which are especially easy to access for buyers in the United States and other major Western countries. The company works with several shipping carriers, including UPS and USPS. Bear in mind that tracking an order placed with Amazon may sometimes be affected by weather conditions, high order volume, or if the order was placed via certain marketplace sellers, which don’t offer tracking information. Also, tracking info may sometimes not appear until the package arrives at a hub near the destination, or even after it has been delivered. For all other situations, here are your options:
- Amazon Package Tracking via Amazon.com. All you need to do to find the tracking info on-site is to log in, access Your Orders, and then check out the order details. Bear in mind that some multiple-item orders can be delivered in separate packages, with different delivery dates and tracking numbers. Unfortunately, standard international shipping cannot be tracked.
- Amazon Package Tracking via USPS. As of November 2013, Amazon.com teamed up with the US Postal Service, in order to improve its delivery turnaround time and to better handle the high volume of deliveries in large metropolitan areas in and around Los Angeles and New York. The website now delivers on Sundays too to those areas and is soon planning to expand this service to Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and other locations. Tracking your Amazon order via USPS only requires the order number, as provided by Amazon. Registered My USPS users can also set delivery alerts, hold mail services, and opt for other perks.
- Amazon Package Tracking via mobile. Even if you placed your Amazon order off a different device, you can still track it via the mobile App. Go to ‘More’ on iPhone/iPad, or to ‘Your Orders’ on Windows Phone, or to the three bars in the upper left corner of your Android device app screen. Tap ‘Your Orders’, select the desired one, then select ‘View, change, or track order’ in the mobile app. In a mobile browser, choose ‘Track Item’.
Screenshots of the Amazon mobile app.
Amazon Package Delivery Estimate
Estimated times of delivery will largely depend on where you, the buyer, are located, your proximity to an Amazon automated fulfillment facility, and the type of shipping you’ve opted for. Here is the essential information regarding shipping times:
- For the contiguous United States:
- Standard shipping: 4 to 5 business days
- 2-day shipping (business days)
- 1-day shipping (business day)
In some areas of the contiguous US, Amazon also provides weekend delivery and informs eligible buyers about this during checkout. Free Prime 2-day shipping to locations where weekend delivery is not available entails business days.
- For global shipping (regional average times):
- Standard shipping: 18 to 32 business days for Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe; 7 to 12 for Canada; 9 to 12 for Australia
- Expedited shipping: 8 to 16 business days for Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe; 5 to 9 for Canada; 7 to 11 for Australia
- Priority shipping: 3 to 7 business days for Africa; 2 to 4 for Europe, Asia and the Pacific Islands; 1 to 3 for Canada; 2 to 6 for Latin America; 2 to 5 for Australia
Amazon also provides various shipping services for different types of sellers, such as Amazon Light & Fast, which entails free shipping for small items. Here are the average seller shipping times, as provided by Amazon:
- For the US:
- Standard shipping: 4 to 14 business days, up to 21 business days
- Expedited shipping: 2 to 6 business days
- 2-day shipping (business days)
- 1-day shipping (business day)
- For international locations:
- Standard shipping: 3 to 6 weeks (up to 8 to 12 weeks, if custom delays occur)
- Expedited shipping: 3 to 7 business days
Extra Amazon Package Tracking Features
Amazon also offers package tracking via an agreement with mobile carriers; the service is called Text Trace. Selected mobile phone service providers will inform you of the location of your order via SMS. All you need to do is sign up for the service and then receive tracking updates directly to your mobile device. You can find out if your service provider is included via the Text Trace information page.
What Can You Do If the Amazon Package Doesn’t Arrive on Time?
First off, because Amazon offers a wide range of delivery options, including Amazon Prime and ‘Want it delivered by…?’ services, it’s important to check out the estimated delivery time charts available on the company website. If you’re absolutely sure that it’s far past that ETA and your order still hasn’t been fulfilled, or if it shows up as delivered in your tracking information, refer to the visual guide below.
The process of identifying a missing package from Amazon.com.
If it’s been less than 36 hours since the package should have been delivered, check to see if the shipping address is correct, look for an attempted delivery notice, check to see if maybe a neighbor or someone else accepted the delivery for you, and try to backtrack all the possible carriers that may have handled your order. Also, wait for the 36 hours to be up; it doesn’t happen all too often, but sometimes packages will show as delivered up to 36 hours before actually being handed over to the recipient. If the 36 hours have elapsed and your package is still missing, go to My Orders and select “I can’t find it”. Amazon will then offer you the option to ask for a refund or to have the item replaced. Alternatively, they will contact the third-party seller on your behalf.
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