The package is stuck at customs: how to understand what's wrong?

I’ve been waiting for a package from overseas for nearly three weeks now, and it’s still stuck at customs. I got a notification about it being held for “further inspection,” but no additional details. Has anyone dealt with this before? I ordered some clothes for a family event, and now it seems like they won’t arrive on time. It’s super frustrating because the tracking information just says “in progress” with no updates for days. What could cause something like this, and is there any way to speed up the process?

It sounds like a stressful situation, but unfortunately, customs delays are pretty common. Sometimes it happens due to incomplete paperwork, high package volume, or even random checks. One thing that might help is using a tracking service like track.global. It often gives more detailed updates than some courier websites and might show what’s holding up your shipment. I had a similar issue last year with a package from the US. It turned out customs needed a receipt to verify the value of the goods, and I only found out when I contacted the carrier directly.

I’ve never had a package stuck for too long, but I’ve heard that customs delays can sometimes just be about timing. It could be peak season or a higher-than-usual workload for the customs team. A friend of mine once had a parcel held for two weeks because of a missing declaration form, but it resolved itself without any intervention.