Waiting for an Amazon package can be both exciting and stressful. Usually when you are not paying attention to the order status, it seems to get delivered timely. But somehow every time you are closely tracking it, things seem to go wrong. There are multiple stages to an Amazon order, ranging from packaging to shipped and finally out for delivery. But it can also be pretty confusing between all of these different stages.
There is a basic difference between ‘shipped’ and ‘out for delivery’. The former basically means that the order is in transit from its original destination or the source warehouse. It is on the way to your jurisdiction’s warehouse. Once it reaches your city or district, it will finally be on the way to get delivered and this stage is known as ‘out for delivery’.
What Does ‘Out For Delivery’ Mean?
‘Out For Delivery’ means your package has left the final warehouse and is currently on the truck that will drop it off at your home or work. It normally means the package will be delivered within the day.
If you want to learn more about shipping and deliveries, keep reading….
‘Out For Delivery’ vs. ‘Shipped’
It can get pretty confusing for the un-initiated to distinguish between ‘out for delivery’ and something like ‘shipped’. When Amazon shows your status as ‘out for delivery’, it means that your package has reached the final warehouse or hub and it has been loaded on to the truck for final delivery.
On the other hand, ‘shipped’ indicates that your package has been scanned, packed and it has left the source warehouse or if the package is being shipped from a third party seller, that seller has packed and shipped the item.
This indicates that the order is on the road to your city or jurisdiction.
How Does The Delivery Process Work For Amazon?
Amazon is an amazingly oiled machine which deals with millions of order on a daily basis. The scale at which the company operates at is truly unimaginable. Have you ever wondered how does this all work? let’s take a look.
The first step takes place when your place the order through the website or the app. Once the order has been placed, the warehouse which is closes to your location which has the item you have ordered gets notified about it.
Once the warehouse has been notified, they will find the item and start packing it. The packaging process has to be thorough because if there is some packaging mistake, Amazon will have to refund the amount.
Once the item has been packed, it is scanned so that the order status can be updated on the website.
Once this is done, the package waits at the warehouse for a truck to pick it up. Amazon cannot send each package separately for obvious reasons, so they have to wait for a truck which is going to your destination to come and pick up a huge number of orders.
Once the truck arrives, the item along with thousands of other orders are put on the truck. Once this is done and the truck is on the way, the order status gets updated to ‘shipped’.
Now, depending on how far away your location is from this warehouse, it can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week for the item to arrive at the warehouse closest to your address. Once the order arrives here, the status gets updated to ‘package arrived at the final destination’
After this, package sits there until a delivery truck arrives to pick it up. Sometimes, the order can sit there for a couple of days. This is because Amazon has to wait for a certain number of orders to pile up which are near your address for a truck to come pick it up. This is the ‘out for delivery’ status.
If you are a prime subscriber and the order qualifies for a faster delivery, this entire process is sped up and your order is given a priority.
How Long Does USPS Take To Deliver After ‘Out For Delivery’?
USPS can take anywhere from a couple of hours to 12 hours to deliver your package once the status is changed to ‘out for delivery’. In rare cases, might even take a couple of days for them to deliver.
This can be very worrying because if the package is already out for delivery, how come it takes them so long to deliver? This can happen if the order load is unusually high for that day, this happens usually during the holiday season. The package might be loaded on to the trucks but they couldn’t reach your address on time.
Another reason can also be some unexpected issue due to weather or blocked roads.
Can Other Delivery Services Take Longer To Deliver?
USPS and Amazon are one of the efficient delivery systems in the world.
Although other delivery services can be cheaper and even safer, in terms of speed they will most probably end up being slower.
It is really hard to compete with the organization and manpower that both USPS and Amazon has.
At What Time Do Amazon Orders Go Out For Delivery?
Usually, Amazon delivery trucks leave the warehouse in the morning. This way they can deliver the most number of packages.
But this is not always true. A lot of times, truck leave the warehouses during the afternoon or even in the evening if they are making another trip of the day.
After What Time Will Your Order Not Be Delivered On The Same Day?
Usually the last time of delivery for USPS is 7pm. But with the new Amazon program, packages can arrive at your doorsteps till 10 pm.
This service is not available everywhere as of now.
Why Is Your Order Status Showing ‘Will Be Delivered Today’ But Not Out For Delivery?
Sometimes when the order is scheduled to be delivered today but it has not left the warehouse, this status can appear on your account.
Either the package will leave later that day or might be delayed by a day.
Want to learn more about Amazon? Check out these posts to learn what Is Amazon Flex, what does Amazon delivered to safe place mean, and does Amazon ship to Hawaii.
Conclusion…
‘Out For Delivery’ normally means the package will be delivered to you soon. Your package is currently on the truck and will arrive at your doorstep soon enough.
It is very rare when you don’t receive your Amazon package on time.
But it can occur and there is no need to panic. If you know what your order status means, you can tackle the issue in a better way and be stress free about the situation.