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You made your online purchase a few days ago. You have excitedly tracked its journey, from Processing, to In Transit, and now, it is showing Out For Delivery. What does ‘Out For Delivery mean’?
If you see Out For Delivery status, the assigned delivery person has picked up the package from the local office and other packages. The delivery person will deliver all the packages, including yours, to their final destination. You may assume that you will receive the package the same day.
In this article, we explore the meaning of ‘Out For Delivery’ and some other relevant questions that may cross your mind about delivery statuses.
For example, we look at if you can still pick up the package and what you can do to ensure the package is delivered to you smoothly.
What Does Out For Delivery Mean?
‘Out For Delivery’ is a status usually assigned at the second final stage of the shipping journey of a package. The package has arrived at the local mail processing center, fulfillment center, or operation hub closest to you.
It also means that a local delivery person has picked up the package and is on its way to deliver it to your doorstep. This stage of the shipping process is also known as the last-mile delivery phase.
Normally, there are several statuses assigned to a package as they are received from the sender and delivered to you:
- Received: Meaning the courier received the package from the sender and is processing it.
- In transit: Meaning the courier is currently moving the package from the sender’s location to the nearest hub. Packages usually spend the longest time under this status. The further the sender’s location is from you, the longer the transit time is.
- Out for delivery: This status indicates that the package has arrived at a local hub. A delivery person has picked up the package and is delivering it to you. You are likely to receive the package on the same day.
You may like this article: What Does ‘In Transit’ Mean
Does ‘Out For Delivery’ Mean It Will Arrive Today?
When you see the status ‘Out For Delivery’, you will likely receive your package that same day. However, some factors may still cause delays, such as incomplete addresses, inability to sign to receive, overload of parcels, or rare occurrences such as a delivery person getting caught in an accident.
In general, when your package tracking says Out For Delivery, you will likely receive the package on the same day. This is because usually, the status will only indicate Out For Delivery when the package is picked up by a delivery person.
A delivery person usually comes in early in the morning to pick up the packages and then delivers them over working hours. Rarely does a delivery person pick up too many packages that they are not confident of fully delivering them. The delivery person will then go along the route assigned, delivering the packages door to door.
However, there may be a likelihood that you may fail to receive your package the same day. This may happen due to several reasons:
Incomplete Address
Sometimes, the delivery may not work out because the address is not complete or correct. This may be an error from the sender. The delivery person cannot locate the address and, hence, returns the package to the shipping hub.
Some delivery person may call you to confirm the address again when this happens. It may be helpful to be around your phone on the delivery day, just in case.
Nobody To Sign The Receive Note
Some packages may be sensitive and may require you to sign an acceptance note. If you cannot sign, the delivery person cannot simply leave the package on your door and consider it delivered. Instead, the delivery person will have to redeliver the package again tomorrow.
Parcel Overloads
During heavy shopping seasons such as Christmas or Black Friday, there may be a large surge of parcels in the system. This is because many people engage in online shopping.
This may result in the overloading of packages in the shipping hub, which means the shipping company may have assigned a little more packages to people than usual. If this happens, there may be a likelihood that the delivery person may not be able to fully deliver the packages on time.
Delays
Hiccups and delays may happen during the shipping process. The delivery person takes longer to deliver packages due to security clearance in some buildings and heavy traffic jams. Sometimes there are simply a lot of packages to deliver before yours.
There may also be rare occurrences, such as the delivery person getting caught in an accident or injured during delivery. The delivery person may be bitten by an aggressive dog or hurt him or herself when carrying the packages.
Can I Pick Up My Package If It Is Out For Delivery?
Generally, you may not be able to pick up your package if it is out for delivery. This is because the package is moving with the delivery person, and it may be hard for the courier company to inform you where to pick up the package. Your best bet is to contact the shipping company if you can do a pick-up.
Generally, when a package is out for delivery, you cannot pick it up anymore. There are several reasons for this.
First is that the package is moving with the delivery person. This means the package is not sitting static at a location, meaning it will be very hard for the courier company to inform you where to pick up the package.
Secondly, it may be hard for the delivery person to entertain pick-up requests as they deliver. Imagine if they frequently get calls from people who want to know where they are to pick up packages. They may face a lot more delays while doing the job. Plus, it may not be safe to deliver packages beside the road anyway.
However, some couriers companies may entertain such requests to provide better services.
Say that on your tracking page, you may find the contact of the shipping company. You may try to call and see if you can meet somewhere for a pick-up. Depending on the courier companies’ policy, the delivery person may or may not entertain your requests.
Your best bet for a pick-up is to simply wait for the package to come to you, or you can wait for it to return to the hub before arranging a pick-up.
What Happens If The Package Fails To Be Delivered?
If the package fails to be delivered, the delivery person may return the package back to the shipping hub. The delivery person may try to redeliver the package tomorrow. If redelivery still fails, the package usually will sit in the shipping hub waiting for you to pick it up. If you do not pick it up after 1-2 weeks, the package returns to the sender.
In the event of your package failing to be delivered, what happens is that the delivery person will change the delivery status to ‘failed to deliver.’ The delivery person will return the package to the base and try again tomorrow.
This means you may see the status ‘out for delivery’ or ‘reattempting delivery’ the next day. The delivery person will again try to deliver the package.
If it fails in most cases, the package will not be redelivered again. Instead, you may be requested to pick up the package at the courier’s hub or base. You may check your package’s delivery status to identify the location for pick up.
Your package may sit at the hub or base for some time. Depending on the courier company’s policy, it could be one, two, or four weeks. You need to ensure you pick up the package because if you do not, what happens is that the package may end up being resent back to the sender.
You may like this article: Does FedEx Deliver To The PO Box?
How To Ensure Proper Delivery Of Your Packages?
To ensure safe delivery, you may recheck the receiving address to be accurate. You may also want to be around to receive the package and be alert for calls from the delivery person. You also want to clearly display your address number to help the delivery person identify it more easily.
Accurate Address
You can first ensure the receiving address is correct, as many packages fail to be delivered due to this simple issue. Ensure the unit number is written clearly, as digits such as 3 and 5 can be easily misread if written unclearly. Also, ensure the names of the streets and postcodes are written out clearly and spelled correctly.
Make Your House Easier To Identify
Another issue with delivering packages is that the delivery person fails to identify the house number. For this matter, ensure you place your address unit number clearly, at a location visible from the street. This allows the delivery person to easily identify your address and deliver your package.
Be At Your Delivery Address
Another issue with delivering packages is there is no one to sign for them, especially if they are secure packages. If you know the package is on its way that day, you want to be around your house to receive and sign for it.
Be Alert To Calls
In the event of delivery issues, the delivery person may try to call to see if you can help. You may need to confirm your address or provide instructions on things such as if you prefer redelivery the next day or if you prefer to pick it up yourself. Being alert on the phone helps here, as you will not miss out on the call from the delivery person.
