When you order something, one of the carriers that might pick it up is the USPS.
After receiving the tracking information, you may notice that it says pre-shipment.
You may not even get a notification about your tracking because it’s in pre-shipment.
While pre-shipment is a normal part of the shipping process, you may wonder why yours is taking so long.
Here’s what you need to know about why your USPS package seems to be stuck in pre-shipment.
Why Is My USPS Package Stuck In Pre-Shipment? (7 Reasons)
There are a variety of reasons your USPS package may appear to be stuck in pre-shipment.
Knowing the reason can help you understand what steps to take next or if you even need to take any.
From slow sellers to problems with technology, here are some reasons your USPS package might be stuck in pre-shipment.
1. Packing The Order
When you get a notification that your package is in pre-shipment, it sometimes means that the seller is packing the order.
A seller will print the shipping label, and then they’ll go about packing the actual order.
Depending on who the seller is, it may take them a bit of time to pack everything.
For example, if you’re buying from an independent seller with a small business, then they might not have the packing supplies on hand.
As such, they need to wait for their supplies to arrive if they ordered them online to start packing your order.
However, since they printed out a shipping label, USPS has it in their system that the package is in pre-shipment at the moment.
They don’t have their hands on it because the seller hasn’t finished packing it up yet.
This can also happen if the seller needs to make the product.
If they don’t have it ready to order because it’s a custom piece, then you need to wait for them to make it.
Sometimes a seller will print a shipping label while they’re making the product to let their buyer know that they’re working on it.
Your package may seem as though it’s stuck in pre-shipment because the seller is working on it and hasn’t packaged it up yet.
2. Not In Stock
Another reason your USPS package may seem as though it’s stuck in pre-shipment is that it’s not actually in stock.
Some sellers will try and sell their items even if they don’t have anything in stock.
That’s because they may be expecting a resupply soon.
It could be as early as the next day.
However, because they don’t have the product, they’re unable to hand it off to the USPS.
Instead, they’ll print a shipping label in preparation for getting the product.
Once the label gets printed, the USPS receives a notification that the item is in pre-shipment.
Since they don’t have it, they have nothing to scan and update the tracking.
Some sellers will do this when they make handmade items.
Because the materials to make those items may cost a lot, they might not order anything until someone places an order with them.
Only then will they buy what they need to start making the product.
Since you’re waiting for them to finish making the order, it can seem as though your USPS package isn’t moving beyond the pre-shipment stage.
It won’t move until the seller packages your order and puts it in the hands of the USPS.
Otherwise, if the item isn’t in stock, then you might notice that your tracking won’t move from pre-shipment.
3. Seller Hasn’t Dropped Off The Package
If you see that your USPS package is stuck in pre-shipment, then it might be because the seller simply hasn’t dropped it off yet.
In order for the USPS to update tracking, they need a product to scan.
That changes the information from pre-shipment to arrived or in transit.
There are many reasons the seller hasn’t dropped off your package at the USPS office yet.
They may be extremely busy.
If they’re working on several orders at once, then they might be trying to get them all done.
Then they can take all the packages to the USPS in bulk.
This saves them time and money since they don’t need to make multiple trips to the post office.
Other sellers may simply have busy lives.
They might be a single parent who is also attending college.
While they’re going to do their best to get your item to the USPS as soon as possible, they might have a lot on their plate at the time you submit an order to them.
There might also be circumstances that prevent the seller from reaching the USPS office.
For example, they might not have transportation to the USPS office.
They may need to wait until they can get a ride.
They may be waiting on others before they can get to the USPS.
Of course, there’s also always the chance that the seller doesn’t have great customer service.
They’re unprofessional and drag their feet.
Any of these reasons might delay a seller from dropping off the package at the USPS office.
As such, your tracking information remains at pre-shipment.
4. Busy Office
It isn’t just the seller who could be causing the problem.
You may find that your USPS package appears stuck in pre-shipment because the USPS office, itself is quite busy.
The USPS office can become an extremely busy place in certain situations.
During the holidays, it’s at its busiest.
If you happen to order something during the holidays, then you may notice some delays with your tracking.
That’s because there are only so many people manning the desk in the office.
The USPS is notoriously underfunded.
They rarely have enough funds to hire the number of people that they need to hire or buy the number of trucks that they need to buy.
As such, there are sometimes skeleton crews running the post office.
They have to keep going back and forth to put packages away or get packages from storage for people.
If your seller is in a long line, then they might choose to come back another day.
The office is too busy, and they don’t have time to stand around and wait.
Busy post offices also mean it takes longer for the postal clerks to scan everything.
They end up having a mountain of packages that they need to scan and send for sorting.
There’s also always a possibility that a clerk might miss your package during scanning.
If they’re trying to go as fast as possible, then they’re likely going to make a mistake.
That mistake might be forgetting to scan your package.
Since they forgot to scan it, your tracking information won’t get updated until the package arrives at its next destination.
Busy offices can make the process of sorting and processing packages slower.
Since it’s slower, it takes longer for clerks to reach your package, scan it, and update its tracking.
As such, you may notice that your USPS package seems like it’s staying at pre-shipment for a long time.
5. Faulty Barcode
If the barcode on the package is failing or faulty, that might also be why your USPS package seems stuck at pre-shipment.
A clerk needs a legible barcode to scan and update the tracking.
If the barcode isn’t scannable, then it’s never going to update the tracking.
A barcode can become faulty in several ways.
There may be a problem with the printer that printed the label and barcode out.
The seller might not even notice until a clerk tries to scan it.
They might also accidentally smear the ink when it comes out of the printer.
Because the ink is fresh, it’s easy to accidentally wipe it and smear it.
When barcodes have a large smear, it can make it difficult to scan.
It’s also possible to damage the barcode.
Since the barcode is on a paper label, any number of things can damage it.
The seller might stack other boxes on yours.
The friction between the boxes might tear off the barcode portion of the label.
If the label isn’t properly adhered to the box, then even just carrying the package could cause the label and barcode to rip off.
There’s also a problem with water.
Since labels are made of paper, they don’t do well when exposed to water.
The water can make them fade and start to peel away from the box.
This makes it easier to lose a portion of the label which might include the barcode.
Water can also rehydrate the ink and cause it to smear.
At the very least, it might make the ink fade since it washes it away.
Any of these things can damage the barcode and make it impossible to scan it.
Since the clerk is never able to scan it, your package will never have its tracking updated.
It will remain at pre-shipment and make you think that it’s stuck there.
Your package may be on its way to you, but because the barcode isn’t working, you’ll never get an update on your tracking.
6. Software Problems
While problems with your barcode may be more of a hardware or physical problem, it’s also possible that there’s a software problem.
Since USPS handles tons of mail and packages, their software systems have to process tons of things in a short amount of time.
It only makes sense that the computer is going to glitch at some point.
You may just be the unlucky one that it chooses to have a glitch on.
A software might glitch out and think that it updated your tracking when, in fact, it didn’t.
As a result, your USPS package says it’s in pre-shipment, but it might actually be on its way to you.
The problem should fix itself when another scanner and piece of software handles it.
Software might also skip your package.
If it’s trying to process hundreds of things at once, then it might experience a moment when it freezes.
When it unfreezes, it might skip ahead and end up forgetting to change the tracking information of your package.
Any number of small glitches can occur which can impact your tracking information.
You may find that your USPS package is stuck on pre-shipment because of a glitch in the software handling tracking.
7. Lost
A final but unfortunate reason your USPS package says it’s stuck in pre-shipment is that it got lost.
There are many reasons your package might have become lost.
One has to do with the package drop-off from the seller to USPS.
If the seller just drops their package off at the desk without waiting for a clerk, then they’re leaving a package there unattended.
If someone else comes in before the clerk returns, then they have a chance to steal that package.
That’s true when it’s busy, too.
Because the clerk has to keep moving from the back of the office to the front, there are plenty of opportunities for people to steal packages.
If someone stole your package, then it’s never going to receive an update on its tracking because the USPS doesn’t have it.
The seller might also have lost your package or thought that they had already sent it to the USPS.
If that isn’t the case, then they may not even realize that your package never made it to the USPS.
If they leave their packages at the front door of their home for USPS to pick up, for example, then they’re also leaving themselves open to theft.
Thieves might spot the packages and quickly steal them before the mail carrier arrives to pick them up.
Your USPS package may seem as though it’s stuck on pre-shipment because it’s lost or stolen.
How Long Does A Package Remain In Pre-Shipment?
If you’ve been waiting for your USPS tracking to update past pre-shipment, then you may wonder how long you have to wait.
In many cases, the pre-shipment phase ends after 24 hours or 48 hours.
It really comes down to the seller, however.
If the seller takes their time submitting the package to the post office, then it’s going to take longer.
It’s always worth checking the seller’s website for information about how long it takes for them to ship products.
That can give you a good idea of when you should expect your package to leave the pre-shipment phase.
Conclusion
There are several reasons your USPS package seems as though it’s stuck in pre-shipment.
It usually means that the seller hasn’t taken it to the USPS yet, but they did print a shipping label for it.
Since it can take the pre-shipment 24 to 48 hours to move on to the next phase, you won’t want to call the USPS until that time period passes to ensure you’re not calling about a false alarm.
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