I am sharing this experience in case it may be helpful for anyone else that has this happen to their usps package.
Earlier this year, i ordered a package of tea from beijing through chinapost. The package traveled without incident and was at my local post office near washington dc after about a week. Then on the day it was supposed to be delivered, it somehow departed from my area, and headed towards new york city.
Over the next few weeks, the package circled back and forth between washington dc and new york city , making stops along the way in baltimore and new jersey. I finally made an inquiry through the usps website.
After a few days, i was called by worker from my local post office. She confirmed that the package is looping. She claimed that the cause was a signal from the sender on the date of delivery for the package to be redirected back to the sender. That is why it was sent to new york towards the airport. She went on to say that there was not enough information on the label to send it back to the sender. So the system sent the package back towards washington dc, which then sent it back to new york. She said i needed to ask the sender to redirect it back to me. This call was followed by an email summarizing our conversation that included a call back number to the local station. That number was key; it is not the same number listed publically. Every time i called it, someone would answer rapidly, even at odd hours.
I got in touch with the vendor, who told me that they didnt ask for the package back and that based on usps policy, international packages cannot be redirected. Bottom line - they said it was out of their hands.
I got back in touch with my local post office. They said the only option is to contact the station master of the centers where the package has landed, and ask for a human to catch and redirect the package. They also let me know that this happens quite a lot - there are many looping packages!
They sent some emails to station masters but it didnt work. Finally i called the local post office again to get the direct numbers to the varuous station masters.
I called the baltimore one once i saw the package land there. I gave the tracking number and explained the situation. Within 3 days, my package was finally delivered to me.
Looping usps packages
Station master's number was given to me by local usps worker. It is an internal number, i think, that diretly reached the station master.
As for the number to my local usps branch, it was shared with me by email after i made an online inquiry. It is not the same number that is listed on website. So i think it all worked out for me because i got a good number to call after an online inquiry. Whenever i called, they would pick up within 3 rings.
I've never had a package loop through nearby parts of the country, but it sounds pretty frustrating! I had a package that was stuck in customs for about six weeks from late November 2023 to mid January 2024. Canada Post was convinced it had been delivered, and issuing a ticket didn't change their mind. I was about to ask the vendor to contact them when the package finally cleared customs and arrived at my door.
I had a China post parcel that was delivered to my regional post office right around the new year, if I recall correctly, but after Christmas. It sat there for something like two weeks before it abruptly moved to my local post office and was delivered the next day. usually when I see that arrival at the regional post office it gets to me within 2 to 3 days.
I figured they just had a huge holiday customs backlog to work through. but at least it didn't try to make its way back to China!
I figured they just had a huge holiday customs backlog to work through. but at least it didn't try to make its way back to China!