USPS tracking shows "Acceptance Pending" -> what is that?

I ordered something on July 7, and I knew at the time that shipping would be USPS.

It's been a while, I just looked at the shipment status. The current status is shown as:

Aug 8 Estimated delivery / The carrier has the package.

The details show:

Jul 11, 2022 / 5:28pm
SHIPMENT RECEIVED ACCEPTANCE PENDING SAN FRANCISCO

Jul 11, 2022 / 3:44pm
PRE-SHIPMENT INFO SENT USPS AWAITS ITEM SAN FRANCISCO

Jul 7, 2022 / 11:51pm Tracking number provided

So again this is US postal service. Supposedly they have the package, but I don't think I've ever seen "Acceptance Pending". And no change in that for a week.

Anyone have any comments about this?

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Re: USPS tracking shows "Acceptance Pending" -> what is that?


@sonometrics wrote:

I ordered something on July 7, and I knew at the time that shipping would be USPS.

It's been a while, I just looked at the shipment status. The current status is shown as:

Aug 8 Estimated delivery / The carrier has the package.

The details show:

Jul 11, 2022 / 5:28pm
SHIPMENT RECEIVED ACCEPTANCE PENDING SAN FRANCISCO

Jul 11, 2022 / 3:44pm
PRE-SHIPMENT INFO SENT USPS AWAITS ITEM SAN FRANCISCO

Jul 7, 2022 / 11:51pm Tracking number provided

So again this is US postal service. Supposedly they have the package, but I don't think I've ever seen "Acceptance Pending". And no change in that for a week.

Anyone have any comments about this?


All that means is your package is in the process of being processed. When it reaches a terminal to be sorted it gets exceptance scan...gets processed and gets a released scan to go on to the next depot. eBay times are approximate. Unless your parcel is beyond its "suggested" delivery time not to worry yet. What can also happen from time to time is a scan or 2 can get missed. It happens. This may have been what happened to your package. Note: Your package will also go through this when it reaches Canada to clear through customs before it gets forwarded to your location for final delivery.

 

=Lotz

 

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Re: USPS tracking shows "Acceptance Pending" -> what is that?

Don't watch tracking.

It's not good for your mental health.

You have been told your purchase will arrive on or before August 8th. *

Mark that on your calendar and forget about it.

 

If you are worried that you will miss the carrier**, enquire at your PO about Flex-Delivery.

This is a newish FREE service of Canada Post which leaves a Notice only at your address, letting you know that your shipment is being held for you at the PO.

 

 

 

 

* Which is a long time from SF to Canada. Usually delivery would be 14 to 21 days.

** Bad weather and porch pirates are the greatest concerns.

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Re: USPS tracking shows "Acceptance Pending" -> what is that?

From what I've just been reading, "acceptance pending" is usually the result of a vendor that drops off a load of individual packages to USPS, with all of them listed on a form, and USPS scans the form but not (immediately) the individual packages.  Individual scanning can take time, and many different websites that talk about this all seem to repeat the same canned explanation, which is that 2 days is the typical outside time limit for the "acceptance pending" to go away, and if you're seeing that after 2 weeks then your package is likely lost.   None of my search results comes up with a "USPS.gov" result, so I have no idea if USPS has anything "official" to say about this.

 

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Re: USPS tracking shows "Acceptance Pending" -> what is that?


@sonometrics wrote:

From what I've just been reading, "acceptance pending" is usually the result of a vendor that drops off a load of individual packages to USPS, with all of them listed on a form, and USPS scans the form but not (immediately) the individual packages.  Individual scanning can take time, and many different websites that talk about this all seem to repeat the same canned explanation, which is that 2 days is the typical outside time limit for the "acceptance pending" to go away, and if you're seeing that after 2 weeks then your package is likely lost.   None of my search results comes up with a "USPS.gov" result, so I have no idea if USPS has anything "official" to say about this.


Sounds like your seller is dealing with a mail consolidator.  We have those up here as well; Chit Chats is an example.

 

Mail consolidators can make individual items less expensive to ship, but the trade-offs are often much slower delivery times and less reliable event scanning.

 

I've had stuff sent through mail consolidators that have had no event scans beyond  "acceptance pending" and stuff that's gone halfway around the world because there were few Canadian items for my item to piggyback on.  I haven't not received one, however.

My experience with consolidators as a receiver is one of the things that led me to conclude that the value of tracking has really been oversold to buyers.  It's more important to receive the item in the condition and timeframe stated in the listing than to know where it's been.  No news is not necessarily bad news.

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Re: USPS tracking shows "Acceptance Pending" -> what is that?

and USPS scans the form but not (immediately) the individual packages. Individual scanning can take time,

 

Or not.

This is what scanning of labels looks like
POSTAL TERMINAL.jpg

 Hand written labels take longer because they have to have the postal codes manually added-- those yellow marks at the bottom of an envelope for instance.

 

I suspect the mail consolidator is the reason here.

 

led me to conclude that the value of tracking has really been oversold to buyers.

 

Tracking is useless to buyers. It is a seller protection against false claims of non-delivery.

But it's so cheap in the USA (25c if added online) that it is expected there.

And of course Americans are rather paranoid to begin with.

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Re: USPS tracking shows "Acceptance Pending" -> what is that?

mil-5140
Community Member

USPS allows large shipments to be scanned in at once with a Scan Form... a sheet of paper bearing a barcode that represents up to 50 individual pieces of mail.

The moment that shipment is created (online), the USPS tracking  reads: "Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS, USPS Awaiting Item". At this point, the shipment has not yet been received by USPS.

Once the shipment has been picked up or dropped off at the post office and the Scan Form has been scanned, the tracking changes to: "Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending" on each of the individual tracking pages for all of the up to 50 items.

It is likely that USPS does not mean physical "acceptance" of the item is pending.

They likely mean the "Package Acceptance" scan  is pending and this scan may or may not never happen. Even without that scan, the item is about 100% sure to simply enter into postal transit anyway.

If not for the Scan Form, the postal worker would have to scan each of the items individually... causing postal worker frustration and actually slowing down the delivery process. The truth of the matter is that not all postal workers are adequately trained as to how to set their scan guns and screens to to do a --- "Package Acceptance" scan --- or a "Scan Form" scan. Bringing a "Scan Form" to the post office often results in the postal clerk huddling over the paper with their manager or a colleague hopefully to figure out what to do with it.

In the end the postal clerk always processes the piece to the extent that their training informs them to do and when in doubt that clerk simply puts the item into transit.

And you can best believe that if the postal clerk has managed to scan the Scan Form and has a long line, the last thing they are about to do is hold up the line for another 20 minutes while they run 50 or so "Package Acceptance" scans on each of the items individually at that point. So generally... they don't do it and simply put the items into transit.

After the shipment is received and Scan Form scanned and the "Package Acceptance" scan done or not, the mail pieces are in transit. These items in transit may not be held up so another scanning can be done. If the scanning did not happen on receipt at the post office they simply move on. Even if they are not scanned as 'accepted' they will continue on their journey. Many pieces of mail end up being scanned as 'Delivered' without having ever being scanned as 'Accepted'.

So "Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending" pretty much means the item is in transit.

usps tracking

Thanks

David M

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