Shipping Delays, anyone?

umtrr-author Aug 1, 2020

  1. umtrr-author

    umtrr-author TrainBoard Member

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    Without (underline, boldface, italics) getting into a political discussion, it appears that deliveries by the United States Postal Service are being delayed. There have been news stories which I won't cite-- see above-- that document this at least anecdotally.

    I'm more concerned about other things besides model trains getting to recipients more slowly than expected (e.g. prescription drugs...) but I can see this being another issue for, say, eBay sellers who put things in the mail in good faith but then get dinged by a buyer for not arriving by the "guaranteed" delivery date (or by eBay itself which tracks the tracking).

    So I guess we all need to be a little more patient with such things. I've read that packages are not being as affected as First Class Mail-- and of course please feel free to take your time delivering Junk Mail to me! As it was, it was taking two days to get an envelope cross-town here in the UMTRR HQ environs. I will not pin this one on the actual mail carriers-- they are showing up every day as always.

    What, if anything, has been your experience? Inquiring minds want to know...
     
    Hardcoaler likes this.
  2. Jim Reising

    Jim Reising In Memoriam

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    I just had an eBay delivery delayed a day - tracking shows it spent an extra day in Nashville (very rare, usually goes right through).

    But yes, I have noticed delays where there usually aren't.
     
    Hardcoaler likes this.
  3. bremner

    bremner Staff Member

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    It depends, my ebay items that started in the US were delayed maybe a day, 1700 miles or more shipping.

    My package from China took over 2 months

    My package from England took about 10 days
     
  4. Randy Stahl

    Randy Stahl TrainBoard Supporter

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    Shipping delays EVERYONE !
     
  5. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    My 'non political' reply... It's a sign of the times.

    Fact...

    My wife ordered a 'rare' potted flower. It was shipped via USPS ! Took 3 1/2 months to get delivered !! She hadnt read the whole ad...It was coming from 'China' !!! I think the shipping order showed it went to every city in the USA ! You guessed it....when it got here it was just a dried up twig in a small flower pot !!!! :mad::mad::mad::mad:
     
  6. umtrr-author

    umtrr-author TrainBoard Member

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    What will be my last purchase of Cheap Chinese Trees for a while arrived last week, about six weeks after I ordered. On the other hand, the scheduled delivery date was in August so how about that, it was early!
     
  7. Rich_S

    Rich_S TrainBoard Member

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    I must be the exception, I've not seen any shipping delays and the last several items I purchased from ebay (all continental US shipping) arrived before the expected date. A recent purchased from woo woo woo woo woo woo arrived in the usual amount of time. Truth be told it actually took them longer to process my order, pick and package the item then it did for UPS and the USPS to deliver the item. The one thing I have noticed, the overseas shipping prices has tripled, while continental US shipping prices have only increased by a few dollars. It's my understanding the large overseas jump in prices is because of reduced overseas airline service. Fewer planes flying overseas means the cargo area now is at a premium for first class mail and first class packages. The longer delivery times from overseas locations is because more products are now moving via containers. As others has stated it's just the signs of the times during the current pandemic we are all facing.

    My worst shipping experience actually occurred last year before we even knew what COVID-19 was, I had a package shipped from the West Coast that made three round trips to Philadelphia before finally being delivered to my home, which is 20 miles West of Pittsburgh.
     
  8. Rich_S

    Rich_S TrainBoard Member

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    Where in the heck did the "woo woo woo" come from, I did not type that into my original text?
     
  9. bill pearce

    bill pearce TrainBoard Member

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    I have noticed this slowing for at least a year. I appreciate the sendering giving me a tracking number so I can follow my package, but if I were a shipper I might reconsider. I make an order, my card is charged, and immediately I get the "a shipping label has been produced" notice. Then nothing happens for days. And days and days. All I can think is this is the time when the warehouse staff is busy taking smoke breaks, or the business has failed to hire adequate help. They don't need to have a smooth running warehouse, if a customer complains, they can just say it was the PO or UPS or whatever.What really makes me mad is when i pay extra for expedited shipping and the time spent in label printed hell exceeds the time in transit.

    And don't get me started on the horrific loss of good service from FedEx.
     
  10. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Guessing it was auto generated. You know 'woo woo..woo' cant be mentioned. Its not a TB advertiser. PLUS I believe there is some bad blood in there somewhere. Just my guess ;)
     
    gmorider and Rich_S like this.
  11. pmpexpress

    pmpexpress TrainBoard Member

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    Non-political information for inquiring minds.

    In an attempt at reigning in ever growing USPS expenses, here are some of the recent policies that have been instituted by the new, 75th Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy.

    US Postmaster General tells postal workers to leave mail behind if it slows down their route - Tim Levin Business Insider July 14, 2020

    https://www.businessinsider.com/postmaster-general-carrier
    s-leave-mail-delays-routes-usps-postal-service-2020-7

    Postal Service memos detail ‘difficult’ changes, including slower mail delivery - Jacob Bogage The Washington Post July 14, 2020

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/14/postal-
    service-trump-dejoy-delay-mail/

    Mandatory Stand-Up-Talk: All Employees July 10, 2020 Internal USPS Document

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/internal-usps-d
    ocument-tells-employees-to-leave-mail-at-distribution-centers/175dd1ae-e202-4777-877c-33442338d1cc/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_13

    In addition, Kristin Lee reported in Business Insider on July 30, 2020 that "the US Postal Service will reportedly reduce post office hours to save money.''

    https://www.businessinsider.com/usps-to-reduce-post-office-hours-to-sa
    ve-money-report-2020-7

    Some post office locations will reduce their normal eight to nine hour workday schedules to under four hours per day, while others will close during lunchtime.

    The reductions in operating hours will certainly impact anyone who is not purchasing postage online, or needs services that can only be obtained at a physical USPS location.

    With regards to delivery expectations, buyers and shippers must take all of the aforementioned information into account.

    Over the past twelve months, the only issues that I have regularly seen are delayed and/or incomplete USPS tracking scans and misdirected parcels.

    Likely related to the elimination of overtime and/or possibly, work slowdowns, the aforementioned problems began many months before the worldwide Covid-19 epidemic.
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2020
  12. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Been over two months close to three trying to get a shipment from one vendor in Japan. I would be luckier getting gold out of Fort Knox.
     
  13. pmpexpress

    pmpexpress TrainBoard Member

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    My last purchase from a major Japanese supplier whom I regularly order from was placed on April 3 and received on June 8, which was just prior to the ending of outbound international airmail shipments from Japan.

    Due to much longer delivery times frames and/or the complete absence of airmail services to foreign destinations, the aforementioned supplier switched to the more costly DHL.
     
  14. Traindork

    Traindork TrainBoard Member

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    The only problem I've had has been Amazon. A CD I ordered arrived a week late. In fact, the replacement they sent arrived before the original one. I had something else ship from Switzerland, and it took about a month, which is pretty standard. I've been meaning to get one of those Tomix Hello Kitty 500 shinkansen from my favorite Japanese ebay shop, but the whole shipping mess lately has me hesitant to pull the trigger.
     
  15. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    It's very inconsistent...My last purchase from [a certain popular OHS in Maryland] took about a week and a day. For some reason they now ship out using UPS but it gets delivered by USPS (It gets sent through the UPS system but they send it to my local post office and it's delivered with my mail). Normally, [a certain popular OHS in Maryland] orders took about 3 days USPS.

    On Monday I ordered some Kato N scale containers someone was selling on Facebook. He says he's shipped it out on Tuesday but never gave me any confirmation number. On Thursday I asked him if he sent it and what the confirmation number was, but lo and behold the package had already arrived via USPS (from IA to CA)...go figure!
     
  16. pmpexpress

    pmpexpress TrainBoard Member

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    Because of ongoing delivery issues, the firm is now using UPS SurePost rather than USPS.

    Typically one day slower than UPS Ground, UPS SurePost is an economy residential ground service that combines the consistency and reliability of the UPS Ground network with final (aka "Last-Mile") delivery that is typically provided by the U.S. Postal Service.

    With SurePost, UPS delivers a parcel to the recipient's nearest USPS branch and the post office typically delivers the package a day later.

    The last four orders that I have received via SurePost have arrived on Sunday.
     
    Metro Red Line likes this.
  17. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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  18. Nick Lorusso

    Nick Lorusso TrainBoard Member

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    I get delays for items shipped out of Florida.
     
  19. Inkaneer

    Inkaneer TrainBoard Member

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    Same here. I ordered mailing labels and a camera (from different venders) both were scheduled to be delivered on Monday Aug. 3rd. I got both on Saturday, Aug. 1st. Both were from US sellers. Stuff I ordered from overseas takes an eternity but not any different than before the virus.
     
    Rich_S likes this.
  20. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    One thing I’ve noticed the past couple weeks is that the “expected delivery date” on the USPS site is now a couple extra days out; this has led to “early” delivery of a number of packages (the normally expected time). Tracking some shipments from me to the East coast, it does seem to be taking a day or two extra, usually sitting in some East coast distribution center.
     

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