A seller cannot guard a buyer’s porch, but a seller does choose how the package is handed over. With USPS, a signature requirement or Hold For Pickup at a Post Office keeps a parcel off the doorstep, and both are chosen when you buy the label. After a “delivered” scan, USPS has a set order of steps to follow.
This post covers both halves: the choices available before you ship, and what to do when tracking says delivered and the buyer says the package is not there.
Before you ship: four USPS options that change the hand-off
Prices below are from the USPS insurance and extra services page and Notice 123, the USPS price list effective October 4, 2026.
| USPS option | What it does | USPS price | When it earns its cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signature Confirmation | Requires a signature at delivery and records the date and time of delivery or attempt | $5.15 at a Post Office, $4.15 paid online | High-value orders to a house or an open porch |
| Adult Signature Required | Requires the signature of an adult aged 21 or older at the recipient’s address | $9.70 | Age-restricted goods, or when you need a named signer |
| Hold For Pickup | Holds the package at a designated Post Office for the addressee to collect, for up to 15 days (5 days for Priority Mail Express) | No charge | A buyer who has told you packages go missing at their address |
| Package Intercept | Lets the sender try to stop or redirect a package that is not yet out for delivery | $19.45 plus any applicable postage, charged only if the intercept succeeds | A buyer who writes “I’m away, please don’t deliver it” after you have shipped |
A few details decide whether each one fits.
Signature Confirmation
USPS Signature Confirmation is available on Priority Mail and USPS Ground Advantage packages, among others. The signature is the point: a carrier cannot complete delivery by leaving the box. The cost is a second trip for a buyer who is not home, so tell the buyer in advance. The glossary entry for signature confirmation explains the variants.
Whether a marketplace expects a signature above a certain order value is a platform rule, not a carrier rule. Check it before you decide your own threshold; for eBay, see proving delivery on an order over $750.
Hold For Pickup
USPS Hold For Pickup is the only option on this list that removes the doorstep entirely, and USPS lists it at no charge for Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail and USPS Ground Advantage. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service recommends it directly in its mail theft prevention tips: ship with Hold For Pickup so the recipient can collect the package at their local Post Office.
Offer it; do not impose it. A buyer who did not expect to drive to a Post Office will be unhappy, and USPS holds the package only for the period in the table above.
Package Intercept
USPS Package Intercept is a recovery tool, not a guarantee. USPS states that it “is not a guaranteed service”, that it works only if the package is not out for delivery or already delivered, and that hazardous materials and surface-only packages are excluded. A retail sender can have the package returned or held at a Post Office. The USPS Package Intercept page has the request form, and the glossary covers how package intercept works.
Insurance, and what it is for
Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail and USPS Ground Advantage each include up to $100 of insurance, and more can be bought. The USPS claims page describes claims for items that are lost, damaged or missing contents. It does not say that a package stolen after a delivery scan is covered, so do not treat included insurance as theft protection. Treat it as transit protection, and use the hand-off options above for theft. The glossary entry on shipping insurance covers carrier and third-party coverage.
What to tell a buyer who has had packages stolen
These cost you nothing and come from USPS and the Postal Inspection Service:
- Sign up for Informed Delivery. USPS’s Informed Delivery is free, shows incoming packages, sends text or email status alerts, and lets many recipients leave delivery instructions for the carrier.
- Collect packages promptly. The Postal Inspection Service’s first tip: “Try not to leave letters and packages in your mailbox or at your door for any length of time.”
- Use a different address. A workplace, a neighbor who is home, or a PO Box, which keeps the package inside the Post Office until it is collected.
- Share the tracking link so the buyer knows which day to watch for.
A tracking link tells the buyer which day to be home
After “delivered”: the order of steps
A message that says “tracking shows delivered but I don’t have it” is not yet a theft. USPS’s own guidance, in its Where is my package? article, runs in this order.
- Have the buyer look where a carrier would hide a box. USPS says the carrier “may have placed it in a safer location” and lists the garage, the porch, areas protected from weather or out of street view, the mailbox, and other members of the household. In an apartment or condo, the building’s management office.
- Wait one postal business day. If the package is still missing more than one postal business day after the delivered scan, USPS says to submit a service request to the local Post Office through the email form on usps.com.
- Open a Missing Mail search. USPS accepts Missing Mail search requests starting 7 days from mailing. Have the tracking number, both addresses, the mailing date, a description of the contents and of the box, and photos if you have them.
- Report theft to the Postal Inspection Service. If the evidence points to theft, report it at uspis.gov/report or call 1-877-876-2455. For a theft in progress, call 911.
- File a claim if one applies. For insured mail, USPS accepts a claim for a lost Priority Mail or USPS Ground Advantage item from 15 days after mailing and no later than 60 days after. Either the sender or the recipient may file.
The main site has a fuller walkthrough of this situation, including what to say to the buyer at each stage: Delivered but Not Received.
This post covers USPS. A UPS shipment follows UPS’s own signature options and claims process, which are set out on ups.com.
Who ends up paying
Three parties can absorb a stolen package: the carrier’s insurer, the marketplace, or you. Which one depends on terms you should read before the first loss, not after.
- The carrier, only within what its insurance covers and only with a valid claim.
- The marketplace, if its seller protection applies to your order. Each platform sets its own conditions. The main site has pages for eBay item-not-received protection, Etsy purchase protection, Mercari with your own label and Depop with your own shipping.
- You, when neither applies and you choose to reship or refund to keep the customer.
That third case is the reason to set your own rule in advance. Pick an order value above which every package gets a signature, and write the buyer-facing sentence that explains it. A $4.15 signature on a $300 order is a small cost; on a $15 order it is not worth the buyer’s second trip.
Frequently asked questions
How can a seller prevent package theft?
A seller prevents package theft by choosing the hand-off. USPS Signature Confirmation requires a signature at delivery, and USPS Hold For Pickup keeps the package at a Post Office for the buyer to collect at no charge. Both are selected when the label is bought.
What should I do if USPS tracking says delivered but the buyer did not get the package?
USPS says to check places the carrier may have left the package first. If it is still missing more than one postal business day after the delivered scan, submit a service request to the local Post Office. A Missing Mail search can be opened starting 7 days from mailing.
How much does USPS Signature Confirmation cost?
USPS Signature Confirmation costs $5.15 at a Post Office and $4.15 when paid online, per the USPS extra services page and Notice 123 effective October 4, 2026. Adult Signature Required costs $9.70.
How do I report a stolen package to USPS?
Report suspected mail theft to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov/report or by phone at 1-877-876-2455. Call 911 for a theft in progress.
Sources
Checked October 12, 2026 against the USPS pages on insurance and extra services, Package Intercept, Informed Delivery, missing mail and claims; the USPS FAQ Where is my package?; Notice 123 (prices effective October 4, 2026); and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service pages on mail theft prevention and reporting. Fees change; confirm the current amount before quoting one to a buyer.