The courier service in the United States is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. But that doesn’t mean there are no times that people face one challenge or the other while making international shipments. Common among them is “Origin Post is preparing shipment.”
If you regularly send mail internationally, then chances are that you must have seen this term before while tracking your shipment. But what does ‘Origin Post is preparing shipment means’? What is USPS trying to let you know about your shipment?
In this post, we will be showing you what this term exactly means and what you should do when you see it. We will also answer some related questions about the origin post is preparing shipment, such as why it happens, etc. So, keep reading to know all you need to know about this shipment tracking term.
Origin Post Is Preparing Shipment – What Exactly Does This Mean?
This phrase is a U.S. Postal System tracking status that is often used for international mail shipments. When you see it on your tracking details, it means that the parcel you are trying to ship via the USPS has had tracking information created for it; it’s been scanned into the system and is ready to be shipped through the USPS infrastructure to your doorstep.
That means the term can be used to describe different stages of your parcel. This usually gets people worried as they can’t precisely tell what the status of their mail is. Unfortunately, USPS also doesn’t want you to know what exactly is happening to your parcel, so they use the term. When you see it, just stay calm and know that your parcel will soon be on its way to you.
Why Is My Package Listed As ‘Origin Post Is Preparing Shipment?’ Does It Mean It’s Awaiting Customs Clearance?
Like we said, ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ usually appears on international shipments. So, it is not uncommon to see people ask if it means their package is at the customs awaiting clearance. Well, that is not necessarily the case.
Once your package has been accepted by the postal service of the shipping country and before it passes through U.S. customs, the ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ can be used to describe a variety of situations that can happen to your package from there. Below are some instances that can call for your package to be labeled ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’:
- When the airport is still screening your package
- When your package is just being moved out of the warehouse and onto pallets to be taken to a mail sorting facility for shipment.
- When the pallet taking your package is yet to be full enough to be loaded onto the plane that is going to make the delivery to a mail sorting facility
- Your package has arrived at the mail sorting facility and is waiting to be processed.
These are some of the situations your package maybe that makes the ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ show up on your tracking details.
How Long Does ‘Origin Post Is Preparing Shipment’ Take?
Are you getting worried already that your package is stuck somewhere? Well, the ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ status usually remains the same for about 3 to 5 days. However, you may be lucky to have your package delivered in 2 to 3 days after seeing the notice. And sometimes, this can last up to a week or even a month – but those situations aren’t common at all.
So when you see your shipment tracking details read ‘Origin post is preparing shipment,’ you should expect your package to get to you in less than 5 days at most.
How Long Does It Take for International Mail to Be Delivered?
There is no specific answer to this because time can be dependent on a couple of factors. Some of such variables that can influence how quickly your international mail gets delivered to you include:
- The country from which the package is being shipped from
- The efficiency of the mail system in each country
- The type of mail service you use for the shipment – whether international express or first class
- The volume of mail being processed
- Customs forms filled incorrectly or improper forms filled
- The time of the year – delivery can be slow during the peak seasons like Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.
- Customs exceptions – when the package is held up by customs for looking suspicious
- Destroyed or unreadable shipment labels
These are some of the things that can affect your estimated delivery time. Nevertheless, during the time of paying for your shipment, most mail postal systems will already provide you with an approximation of when you should expect your package to be delivered.
What Are Some Major Reasons Packages Got Stuck at ‘Origin Post Is Preparing Shipment’ Status for a Long Time?
It does happen that package recipients complain that their packages got stuck at ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ for weeks. And most of the time, these people get worried because they don’t know what’s really happening to their package.
Well, there are a couple of reasons this could be happening, and having an idea of them can mean a lot in helping you calm down when it happens to you. Plus, before we end this post, we will also suggest things you could do when your package is stuck at ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ status for too long. So, let’s see some reasons that may be behind the delay.
#1: There is an overflow of packages
This is usually one of the most common reasons behind ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ taking too long. That is when there is an excessive package awaiting shipment. It usually happens in special seasons like Christmas time. At that time, USPS may not have enough logistics to handle the influx of deliveries they need to make. Therefore they put ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ on some packages for a longer time than required.
#2: When the arrival scan of the package is not done
This is another reason, and it happens when the USPS facility forgets to run the arrival scan for your package. When the arrival scan is not being done, even when your package is moving through the system, there wouldn’t be an update on the status of the package.
Until the scan is done, you may not see any changes in the ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ status on your tracking update. So, many times when this happens, customers don’t get any update until their package arrives at their doorstep.
#3: The pallet of your package might have been removed
Once your package arrives at the USPS facility, it will be most times packed together with some other packages in a single pallet. This allows for easy movement of the packages around the facility. Now, the kind of pallet your package is on can determine how fast things go with your package.
For instance, if anything happens to the pallet – perhaps it popped open or did not get full fast enough, all packages on the pallet will have to wait. And this can result in delay, but when things are back on track with the pallet, your status will immediately be updated from ‘Origin post is preparing shipment.’
#4: Problems with transportation
Lastly, another thing that can cause the ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ message to linger on your status is issues with transportation. This may not in any way directly affect your package. Transport issues may include weather issues like tornados, lightning storms, snowstorms, etc. The issue may also be related to aircraft maintenance. This may cause your delivery to be delayed for a couple of days in most cases.
Is ‘Origin Post Is Preparing Shipment’ Only For International Shipments?
Yes, this shipment status is only applicable to international shipments. If you are shipping locally, you may not experience this at all. For the ‘Origin post is preparing shipment’ message to show up on your tracking status, the source of the package will have to be from a different country. At the same time, the destination will also have to be somewhere in the United States.
What Should You Do About ‘Origin Post Is Preparing Shipment’ Issue?
You should know that getting this message on your tracking status doesn’t mean your package is not moving. Remember that the term is being used for a variety of stages of your shipment. So when you get it, you might just need to relax and keep your fingers crossed because very soon, your package will arrive at your address.
However, when things are getting too delayed, you might get curious and want to know the situation of your shipment. In that situation, it is okay to contact USPS customer service directly to know what’s happening to your package. This will allow you to get more clarity about the situation.
There is a couple of ways to reach the USPS customer service team. You can call them on the toll-free number, 1-800-275-8777, to speak with an agent. You can also use any of the online chat tools that you can find on their website to reach them.
