Ryan Dube · May 22, 2020 · 9 min read You’ve ordered something on Amazon and wait excitedly for your package to arrive. Weeks go by with your Amazon order not received. What do you do?
Amazon has an excellent track record with getting orders to customers in record time. But problems always happen. And when they do, you need to know how to quickly resolve the issue.
Thankfully, Amazon offers lots of resources to help out in this situation.
Research Your Amazon Order Status
If you’ve ordered something on Amazon but haven’t received it yet, it can be nerve-racking. You spent your hard earned money on something online and the last thing you want to happen is not receiving what you bought?
If you’re at all concerned about the status of your order, you can always see what’s going on with the shipment by logging into your Amazon account and selecting Returns & Orders in the menu.
In this section, under the Orders link, you’ll see all of your orders sorted by how recent the order took place.
Each order shows the status. If it was delivered already, it’ll show the date the item was delivered. Under the delivery date, you’ll also see a note as to where exactly the item was delivered.
If it was delivered at your door or inside your mailbox, this status will say so.
If the status is delivered by your Amazon order was not received, you can select Track package to get more details.
On the details page, you’ll see the delivery address, and more importantly the tracking ID with whatever shipping service was used to track the package.
You can use this Tracking ID on the USPS or UPS website (depending which was used) to get more details about the delivery.
The tracking details on the UPS or USPS website will detail any delivery issues.
If you select the See all updates link under the Delivered address, you’ll see a more detailed timeline of the delivery process for this package.
Often, if the initial delivery attempt has failed, this detailed shipping update list will provide the date that the issue occurred and a brief reason for the failure.
Again, you can get more details by using the Tracking ID at the postal service’s website.
Amazon Order Not Shipped
If your Amazon order has been in a processing status for a long time and not delivered, there could be several reasons.
3rd Party Seller Delivery Times
One of the most common reasons a delivery can take longer than usual is if you’ve bought an item where delivery isn’t fulfilled by Amazon.
If a 3rd party seller (an Amazon Marketplace seller) is fulfilling the order, you may experience extended shipping time.
This shouldn’t be a surprise since when you place your order, since the estimated arrival date appears just under the price.
If the delivery date goes beyond the estimated date, you can select Contact Seller on your order detail page and ask about the status of your shipment.
If the order is eligible for Amazon Prime (again it would have stated this on the order page), then you can contact Amazon Customer Service to ask about why your Amazon order hasn’t been received yet.
Amazon Is Prioritizing Certain Items
In times of national crisis where Amazon’s delivery services are stretched thin, you may notice that your orders stay in “Pending” status longer than expected.
This was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, when Amazon experienced a dramatic increase in online shopping orders. During that time period, Amazon prioritized items like household staples, medical supplies, or other critical items.
This led to other items experiencing extended delivery times.
Natural Events Preventing Delivery
Another issue that can affect Amazon deliveries is during a regional crisis. For example hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, and ice storms can all impact the ability of delivery services to bring packages to your doorstep.
Amazon recommends estimating an increase of 2 to 3 business days if you live in an area expecting these kinds of service delays. You should see this new delivery date on your order status page if this is the case. If not, contact Amazon Customer Service to confirm.
Amazon Order Delivered But Not Received
If your Amazon order status states “Delivered” but you haven’t received the package, there could be a number of legitimate reasons for this. Items can be returned back to Amazon as undeliverable under the following circumstances.
- Small P.O. Box: Your delivery address is a P.O. box that’s too small for the package.
- Incorrect Address: If the delivery address is missing an important piece of information, like apartment number.
- Previous Address: You mistakenly chose your old address as the delivery address.
- Insecure Location: Your house or apartment isn’t a safe place to leave a package, either facing threat of weather or a hidden location where the package is easy to steal.
- Unable to Access: If delivery requires going through a buzzer or security gate and the delivery driver can’t access your apartment or house to make the delivery.
- Penitentiary: Penitentiary restrictions don’t allow the delivery to complete.
- Failed Delivery Attempts: Packages worth more than $1300 require a signature and after three failed attempts, the delivery driver was not able to obtain one.
- Transportation Problems: Sorting issues or label damage could cause the delivery to fail.
- Refused by Recipient: If someone at the address wasn’t expecting a package and refused delivery.
Any one of these situations could have caused the delivery to fail. In these situations, the package will be delivered to Amazon and you’d be issued a refund.
Usually you’ll see one of the above statuses on your order status page, and you’ll need to wait for the package to arrive back to the Amazon location to get your refund.
Actions To Take With Amazon Or The Seller
What do you do if your Amazon order was not received? You aren’t out of luck. There are several actions you can take to find out where your package is.
Click Seller Link And Ask a Question
On your order status page, you can see a link to the seller page next to “Sold by” under the item title.
On the seller page, you’ll see a number of options. You can select Ask a question and post a question about your item directly to the seller.
You can also select Returns & Refunds, Shipping, Policies, or Help links to get more information about shipping, refund, and return policies. You may also find some additional customer service links to contact the seller.
Cancel Or Change Shipping Speed
If you don’t want to deal with all of the hassle at all, you can just go back to the order status page and select Cancel items to cancel your order.
This is only possible if the order status doesn’t show “Delivered” yet.
You can also Change shipping speed to get the item sooner. However, this will only work if the status doesn’t show Delivered, and if the item hasn’t already been shipped by the seller. This is usually the case if the status still shows Pending.
Why Is Buying “Fulfilled By Amazon” Safer?
One of the best ways to protect yourself is by trying to buy items on Amazon where the delivery is “fulfilled by Amazon”.
On a third party seller page, you will see this under the Shipping tab. The information here should report that “This item is Fulfilled by Amazon.com”.
What does this mean?
If an item delivery is fulfilled by Amazon, that means third party sellers store their products at the Amazon fulfillment centers. Amazon staff handles packing and shipping the item to you.
This also means that the shipments are guaranteed by Amazon to be delivered on the date listed on the order page. It also means Amazon Prime customers can get free shipping.
How do you know if an item is fulfilled by Amazon when you’re buying? You’ll see this under the Add to Cart section. This shows who the seller is and whether shipment is going to be Fulfilled by Amazon.
If you see this status, then all of Amazon’s delivery guarantees and protections apply to the order.
Amazon Guarantees And Protections
There are two varieties of protections you get when Amazon fulfills the order. The A-to-Z Guarantee and Guarantee Delivery.
A-to-Z Guarantee
This guarantee means that you’ll receive the produce within the date range specified on the order page. It also guarantees that the products will be in good condition when you receive it.
If either of these aren’t the case, you can report the issue to Amazon and get a refund. Amazon provides refunds under this guarantee for the following situations:
- You didn’t receive your package over three days after the maximum estimated delivery date.
- Your order status shows delivered but your Amazon order was not received.
- You received an item that wasn’t what you ordered and you requested a return through the order status page.
- You returned the item but the seller didn’t send you a refund.
Under this guarantee, you have 90 days after the maximum estimated delivery date to request your refund.
You’ll see the estimated delivery date when you complete your purchase of your item or items from the cart.
What this means is that so long as the item was fulfilled by Amazon, you can always trust that you’ll be protected.
Note: Digital products aren’t covered under this guarantee so use special caution and buy directly from Amazon when purchasing electronics.
Guaranteed Delivery
Amazon’s Guaranteed Delivery means that your shipping fees could be refunded if Amazon delivers the item after the maximum estimated delivery date.
There are a few conditions to get your shipping fees refunded.
- The shipping method you chose matched the shipping option provided on the produce page.
- You entered an eligible, real address.
- You placed your order before the “order within” countdown on the checkout page was done.
- The confirmed delivery date is in your email confirmation from Amazon after you ordered.
Keep in mind that if Amazon missed the delivery because of a natural disaster or some other event out of Amazon’s control, the Guaranteed Delivery fee refund doesn’t apply.
To get a refund, visit the Amazon Contact Us page and click Start chatting now. Mention that you want to apply for the Guarantee Delivery fee or the A-to-Z Guarantee refund, whichever applies.
