Reply #6: hobbit709 and HopeHoops have it right.

[MicaelS]

Just because you have a tracking number doesn't mean much. All it means is the order has been picked, packed and the label put on the box.

UPS and Fedex don't pick up after a certain time of day. Usually 6pm-8pm for ground shipments is the cutoff time. Air is earlier, usually no later than 5-6pm. So if it didn't make a truck by the pickup time, it might sit in the shipper's yard, or even on the shipper's loading dock until the next BUSINESS day (not Sat or Sun). Most shippers won't send out a lightly loaded truck since they get charged for a pickup. So it makes economic sense to send out one fully loaded truck as close to the end of the day, than multiple partially loaded ones.

As far as USPS (Post Office), they have started using third party shippers to move trucks cross country. So if you have something shipped from one side of the country to the other by the Post Office, it might never get scanned until it actually hits the local Post Office distribution center in your city, which is shortly before delivery.

The lessons are to order as early in the day as possible, and as early in the week as possible. An order placed on Thursday or Friday might not actually ship out until the following Monday or Tuesday.