How to Track an International Parcel: 3 Ways That Work

Method 1: Through a Consolidation Service

If the parcel was sent via TopParcel or another consolidator, you have one universal tracking number from the company. It works for the entire route — from the sender's warehouse to the recipient. The service automatically pulls events from all partner carriers.

This is the most convenient way. On one page you can see: "received at warehouse → sent by Royal Mail → arrived in Moscow → handed over to Russian Post → delivered." Without switching between four websites in different languages.

The TopParcel [tracking](/ru/tracking) page accepts a number like TP24050001 and shows the full route.

Method 2: On the Carrier's Website

If you know the carrier's internal tracking number (for example, RR123456789GB from Royal Mail), go to the carrier's website directly. The downside: you only see the section of the route they handle.

When Royal Mail has handed the parcel over to its Russian partner, its page will show the final status "sent to destination country" and will no longer be updated. You'll need to look for further tracking on the Russian Post or SDEK website — using their own number, which doesn't always match the RR number.

If you are our client, it's easier to use our tracking — it will pull events from all carriers in the chain.

Method 3: Universal Aggregators

Services like 17track.net collect events from the systems of hundreds of global carriers. Enter any tracking number, and they automatically recognise which company it belongs to and pull the information.

This is useful if you have several parcels from different sellers on eBay, and each has given their own tracking format. 17track will show everything in one place. The downside: a delay of 2-6 hours in updates compared to the carrier's direct website.

When No Updates Are Normal

With international parcels, there are periods when the status doesn't change for several days. This doesn't mean the parcel is lost.

In the "In transit" stage between sorting hubs, there may be no updates for up to five to seven days. The parcel is travelling in a trailer or container and is not physically scanned until the next hub.

In the "At customs" stage, an update comes after clearance, which takes 1–5 working days. Sometimes longer if additional documents are requested.

After customs clearance, it can take another 2–7 working days to receive the parcel — it's travelling via the local delivery service within the country.

If nothing happens in one of these windows — don't panic. If it has been longer than the stated timeframes — contact support, and we'll look into the number manually. It takes us 5-15 minutes during working hours.