After your AliExpress item arrives at the departure transport hub, it’s not uncommon for you to see, “Accepted for transportation by postal service.”
What might that tracking status mean? What else do I need to know? Let’s get to it right away.
What Does Accepted For Transportation By Postal Service Mean [AliExpress]?
This tracking status means that AliExpress used China Post to fulfill the delivery, and China Post notified the Postal Service of the recipient’s country that there was a package coming soon and they agreed they would deliver it.
From our experience, when the tracking status shows this update, it takes longer to reach the recipient. The estimated delivery dates don’t matter at this point as they are mostly a guess.
5 Important Points To Note
Such Packages End Up Taking Longer To Arrive
Mostly, you receive that update after your item has arrived at the departure transport hub.
At the departure transport hub, the item has to be inspected by customs, and as this process goes through, the tracking system will still show “Accepted for transportation by postal service.”
It’s also vital for us to mention that if the customs in the departure transport hub won’t process the package the exact day it arrives, it might take several days before the tracking status moves to Left from the departure country.
See, as new packages keep coming to the departure transport hub, they may be heaped on your package that reached the hub earlier.
Depending on how backed up the hub is, it might take longer before customs can work on your parcel and get it going toward you.
Due to such delays that can arise at the export hub, the overall delivery date ends up being later than what was initially estimated.
Your Item Will Be Automatically Handled By The Postal Service In Your Country
Since the Postal Service already accepted to deliver your item when it was still in the origin country, it means that China Post will automatically deliver it to them.
The problem is when you have a preferred local delivery company and the postal service in your country isn’t as effective. You will have to bear with a longer delivery time as there is no option to change from a postal service to a 3rd-party company.
Again, depending on how many items the postal service has to handle before working on yours, it might take longer or shorter than you expect.
The Estimated Delivery Date Doesn’t Mean Anything
Even after AliExpress provides an estimated delivery date, it doesn’t mean anything much whenever they decide to work with a postal service.
This is so because it usually takes longer when they follow this route and the package will certainly reach you past what they had estimated.
Re-tracking Your Item Is The Best Decision
Since AliExpress doesn’t provide timely updates whenever an item makes a specific move, it’s prudent to use free third-party package tracking sites such as 17Track and Parcelsapp to get a better overview of what step the item makes.
Such sites will also give you details about whenever the Postal Service in your country receives the item from China Post and when the customs process in your country is completed.
You can also get the tracking number from there and paste it into your country’s postal service to get timely tracking updates about when your item makes it to you.
Ask For A Refund Where Applicable
When the AliExpress system automatically confirms that your item was delivered (within 60 and 90 days of placing the order, depending on your country), ask for a refund if you haven’t received the item.
Since there is a high chance that your item will get to you past the automatic delivery date, you have firm grounds for asking for a refund owing to a non-delivery.
If the automatic delivery date hasn’t been confirmed by the system under the tracking details tab, know that you will have to be more patient regardless of what the estimated delivery date showed or how time-sensitive you feel your item is.
