I have had this happen a number of times. It really helps to call the local post office branch. You can ask the postmaster who will check with the carrier. However, I have had packages simply disappear for no apparent reason. I always file a search but have NEVER had the post office find a lost package. One time, six of my packages never had the labels scanned and showed no tracking, despite having the tracking numbers uploaded (by me). The second scan at the central shipping location showed up two days later, however. I discovered that the postal carrier who picks up the packages from the local private shipping company (Postal Connections) did not scan any of the packages they picked up. Consequently, all of them were marked by eBay as being shipped late. I called the Postmaster, who contacted the store and I believe that carrier was reprimanded. However, those six late shipments will remain on my account for a year. Supposedly, you can get the postage refunded on a lost first class package, but it takes months for the USPS to notify you, apologetically, that they could not find your package. I have also received labels from the lost package returned to me (without the item) and with no reimbursment for whatever their machine did to my package. Again, they were sincerely sorry.
