My tracking has not updated in days. Is my parcel lost?

5 min read · Updated 12 August 2026

Tracking silence is alarming and usually harmless. A parcel only generates an event when a human or a machine scans it, and on cheap international services there can be very few scanning points along the whole route.

How long silence is normal

The last row is the important one. Once a parcel is with the carrier that will actually knock on your door, scanning becomes frequent. Silence at that stage is far more meaningful than silence mid-ocean.

Reading the last event

• "Departed from outward office of exchange" — the parcel left the origin country. Expect a long gap next; this is the most common place for tracking to go quiet.
• "Arrived at destination country" — nearly there. Customs comes next, then the local carrier.
• "Delivery attempted" — someone tried to deliver. Check for a card, and check with neighbours before assuming loss.
• "Returned to sender" — the parcel is going back. Contact the seller, not the carrier.

When to actually act

Use the marketplace deadline rather than your own patience as the trigger. Buyer protection windows expire, and once expired you have no leverage regardless of how justified your complaint is.

• More than 30 days of silence after departure from the origin country.
• The buyer protection or refund window is within a few days of expiring.
• The parcel shows as delivered but you have received nothing — act immediately, as proof-of-delivery disputes have short windows.