Postal Letter

USPS Lost my PMI package.?

First off I'd like to start with something funny I read online. "USPS.com is magically updated with the status of your shipment but you've tracked it right into a black hole (e.g., USPS lost it)." That was funny wasn't it? Now onto the meat of the problem. I ordered from and online merchant who shipped my package via USPS on December 20th 2010. Heres what USPS has to say about my package on their website. Your item left the United States from ISC LOS ANGELES CA (USPS) at 12:29 am on December 23, 2010. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later. Detailed Results: International Dispatch, December 23, 2010, 12:29 am, ISC LOS ANGELES CA (USPS) Arrival Electronic Shipping Info Received, December 20, 2010 Now doesn't that look funny? it seems to appear as if my package left the United States (In a rather fast manner) I'd say they used a rocket ship. Which would explain how it ended up in a black hole. Theres been no tracking updates since December 23rd and I contacted both Canada Post and USPS. Canada Post told me that they were notified on December 23rd by USPS to expect a package; but haven't yet. I contacted the merchant who then contacted USPS and was told that they had to wait 30 days after shipping to open a "Trace" on the package. I contacted USPS today and they told me to contact the merchant (which I had already done) and that they merchant could open a "Trace" on the package 7 days after shipping. (Strange lots of info seems to be floating about). Earlier today I contacted USPS and they told me that priority mail international doesn't offer tracking (plain and simple) even though on their website it says quote ‎"Online Tracking - Put our delivery information to work for you. Track PMI package shipments. Note: Tracking is not available for Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelopes or Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate Boxes." I know for a fact my items are not coming in an envelope or "Small flat rate box". So where is my package? if it had entered customs it would be updated on the tracking and if Canada Post had it they would have done the same. So where did my package go when it (supposedly) left the United States? did the mail truck break down or crash on the way to driving it to Canada Customs and somewhere that poor post man is rotting in a ditch in a smoldering pile of twisted steel... with my package? Did he try to clamber from the wreckage to deliver my goods until his last breath but collapsed somewhere on a road side? or was he torn limb from limb by rabid wolves and now my package is waiting somewhere in a wolfs den near the border crossing. I think not. Someone help me out? Heres how my logic sees this problem. If my item left the United States 11 days ago (December 23rd) and hasn't entered customs and hasn't even been received by Canada Post then where the hell is it? The only answer I can conclude is that it was lost or stolen I meant the joke about my package disappearing into a black hole, I read someone else posted that online lol. That was what was supposed to be funny. Anyways thank you I've been posting about this for days and so far your answer seems the most helpful.

Public Comments

1. There are only a few places where packages will enter customs to Canada from the US. As I understand it, just because something shows up at the doorstep in Customs, it is not immediately scanned to show arrival. If there is some sort of backlog, a scan can be missed or it just hasn't entered Customs yet. Would seem that it should have done so by now. Priority Mail International does indeed offer tracking as well as built in Indemnity Coveraqge based on the cost of postage. You may try opening a claim for Indemnity on the package at usps.com, sometimes the threat of having to pay out a claim magically causes packages to fall from the sky. I also don't get what is funny about the package leaving the US three days after the label was printed.