It's Not Just You, USPS Packages Are Massively Delayed Again

[LRV]

It's Not Just You, USPS Packages Are Massively Delayed Again
By Aaron Gordon
December 14, 2020

Every holiday season, the United States Postal Service gets inundated with packages and holiday cards. To help keep mail moving, USPS staffs up with temporary positions and no double-pay overtime in December. But this holiday season is proving downright crazy in some parts of the country.

To name just a few instances:

In Cleveland, dozens of trucks waited up to 12 hours to deliver mail to the processing and distribution center. A spokesperson for the Northern Ohio District of USPS told Cleveland.com that the processing center has "faced challenges."

People waiting on packages in Louisville said they have seen items scanned into the Louisville distribution facility only to disappear for weeks. E-commerce sellers are having similar difficulties getting packages out of the facility to be sent around the country.

The Greensboro, North Carolina processing facility—which happens to be in Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's hometown—is experiencing similar problems as Louisville, with packages inside for extended periods.

It's hardly a mystery why this is happening. Thanks to COVID prompting people to do much more of their shopping from home, package volumes are through the roof—the USPS Reddit has near-daily photos of stuffed distribution facilities with endless lines of packages—as COVID cases yet again soar throughout the country, inevitably resulting in some postal workers getting sick or quarantining.

The dynamic is similar to the one from the summer when packages were also significantly delayed around the country. Then, the problem was exacerbated by new policies instituted by DeJoy that later got rolled back in advance of the election. The current delays don't appear to be the result of those policies being re-instituted, but rather the extreme package load surpassing even that of July and August, although the USPS has not yet released data on December's late and extra truck trips as required in ongoing litigation.

"This has been an extraordinary year of unprecedented challenges given the Covid-19 pandemic and the Postal Service is expecting significant volume increases which are difficult to predict," said USPS spokesperson Kimberly Frum in a statement to Motherboard. "The Postal Service begins planning for peak holiday season every January. To help handle the expected volume increase, the Postal Service has the ability to flex our network to meet the significant volume increases expected this year." Frum added that Sunday delivery was expanded to most major cities on November 29 and for an extra fee mail carriers will deliver packages on Christmas Day in select locations."

The current delays are significantly impacting small businesses as customers demand refunds for disappearing packages. For example, eBay told sellers it is "updating estimated delivery dates" and is giving packages 10 calendar days after the buyer marks an item not received to see some movement in the package's tracking history before a refund is issued. But in some of the most backlogged facilities, 10 days isn't enough. Independent e-commerce sellers often get refund requests much sooner. Meanwhile, the USPS is still telling customers any package ordered by December 18 will arrive by Christmas.

Bryan Tintes runs an online key-cloning service and relies on USPS to get replacement keys to customers quickly. Tintes told Motherboard he has roughly five times as many delayed packages this year as previous holiday seasons. Because some packages are taking days just to get scanned into the system, customers think Tintes hadn't mailed them yet and demand refunds. "I was expecting with the current pandemic and holiday season that there would be an increase in delays," he told Motherboard. "Honestly, I could never imagine it being this bad."

[boxbuster7]

I didn't know Aaron Gordon was also a writer - Jokes aside I got a tracking message today: "High shipping volumes are causing some delays. Please allow extra time." Package stuck at the same facility for 11 days!

[jcmel323]

Its crazy whats happening. I stopped selling for fear that the packages would continue to be lost. All my packages have been in the same place for 1 or 2 weeks.

Sent about 2k to PA on Nov24 and it arrived yesterday Dec14. Thank God that was never lost and the buyer was a friend. He waited patiently.

I sent some cards to probstein and let them deal with that hassle.

[longhornjunkie]

Originally Posted by jcmel323

Its crazy whats happening. I stopped selling for fear that the packages would continue to be lost. All my packages have been in the same place for 1 or 2 weeks.

Sent about 2k to PA on Nov24 and it arrived yesterday Dec14. Thank God that was never lost and the buyer was a friend. He waited patiently.

I sent some cards to probstein and let them deal with that hassle.

I won a card from Probstein last night, wish it made sense to ask them to send PWE.

[excel_b]

Ignore this... Wrong thread.

[Lonewolf]

The article left out how DeJoy ordered removed several sorting machines and mailboxes, and cut overtime and benefits well in advance of the holiday season, thus only fueling this logjam months in advance.

[shrevecity]

The big issue is UPS and Fed Ex basically telling some very large retailers they were not taking their packages this season forcing those packages which number into the millions into the USPS system. It also fails to mention how the logjam earlier in the year was caused because Dallas and 2 other large plants were completely shuttered by COVID others were really short. Shreveport was running with over 400 fewer people than it usually has back then. There are 2 plants right now on the verge of shutting over COVID and several others are extremely short staffed.

[Cactuspies]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

The big issue is UPS and Fed Ex basically telling some very large retailers they were not taking their packages this season forcing those packages which number into the millions into the USPS system. It also fails to mention how the logjam earlier in the year was caused because Dallas and 2 other large plants were completely shuttered by COVID others were really short. Shreveport was running with over 400 fewer people than it usually has back then. There are 2 plants right now on the verge of shutting over COVID and several others are extremely short staffed.

nashua nh is closed and routing all to new york, we all know new york is a dead end for packages. western mass has 15 trucks not even unloaded yet from friends reports.

where I am in az isn't much better. item going to CA 6-8 hours away given directly to carrier on the 5th, wasn't scanned until the 8th, and hasn't updated since. I have 6 items I'm awaiting sitting in new york for weeks, one in VA since Nov 30th that hasn't moved.

my MIL has an item lost in Boston. it was out for delivery here and then routed to Boston for an unknown reason.

we have family in the system and they have been trying to track down our stuff and can't get anything.

I guess also, UPS stopped delivering something and tossed it all on the USPS which the head honcho said, sure no problem, but my people get no OT, no extra help, and cannot get sick. millions of packages, also I think they are still doing sunday amazons. it's a shatshow out there. I figure if I get anything by february I'm ahead at this point.

[rmw10]

It's so bad right now. My mail didn't even get delivered today. Had a couple of things finally marked out for delivery and a few PWEs in the informed delivery portion... not a thing in my mailbox.

[Jimmy the Greek]

I had about 4 cards delivered to buyers the last couple of days so that was a good feeling. I have 8 In Transit to buyers at the moment. Four have expected delivery dates of Friday and Saturday but the other 4 all just say In-Transit, Arriving Late and no other details. I think they are so backed up that they just put that status on there because they know they're not going to get to them for a while. It's an absolute debacle at the moment and I just don't see how it gets better until early next year.

[altaeria]

Yup. I have packages lost in limbo for weeks also. I worry more about stuff that I sold, because I don't want to get hit with a refund request.

Has anybody noticed any pattern? I think that Priority Mail packages have been moving along much better.

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by altaeria

Yup. I have packages lost in limbo for weeks also. I worry more about stuff that I sold, because I don't want to get hit with a refund request.

Has anybody noticed any pattern? I think that Priority Mail packages have been moving along much better.

All mine still stuck are priority. Have 5 that was scanned last on December 1- 3rd and another last scan was the 8th. I am finding bubble mailers are moving faster in general than boxes.

[csmtampa]

I dropped off a Priority Mail Express package at the post office 4pm Thursday (Florida). It was delivered in NJ at 11:00 am on Friday. Anything you need to get there ASAP, I suggest sending Priority Mail Express.

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by csmtampa

I dropped off a Priority Mail Express package at the post office 4pm Thursday (Florida). It was delivered in NJ at 11:00 am on Friday. Anything you need to get there ASAP, I suggest sending Priority Mail Express.

That is a guaranteed service that you pay for. Most of my items its not pratical for one reason or another.

[mikecala98]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

The article left out how DeJoy ordered removed several sorting machines and mailboxes, and cut overtime and benefits well in advance of the holiday season, thus only fueling this logjam months in advance.

Not true at all...

Originally Posted by Cactuspies

nashua nh is closed and routing all to new york, we all know new york is a dead end for packages. western mass has 15 trucks not even unloaded yet from friends reports.

where I am in az isn't much better. item going to CA 6-8 hours away given directly to carrier on the 5th, wasn't scanned until the 8th, and hasn't updated since. I have 6 items I'm awaiting sitting in new york for weeks, one in VA since Nov 30th that hasn't moved.

my MIL has an item lost in Boston. it was out for delivery here and then routed to Boston for an unknown reason.

we have family in the system and they have been trying to track down our stuff and can't get anything.

I guess also, UPS stopped delivering something and tossed it all on the USPS which the head honcho said, sure no problem, but my people get no OT, no extra help, and cannot get sick. millions of packages, also I think they are still doing sunday amazons. it's a shatshow out there. I figure if I get anything by february I'm ahead at this point.

Also NOT true at all...

[rman112]

Originally Posted by mikecala98

Not true at all...

..

Also NOT true at all...

It's gotta be at the local level, right? Because it's not as if the issues are equal across the board, location wise. Different people in different areas having different levels of delayed mail.

[mikecala98]

Originally Posted by rman112

It's gotta be at the local level, right? Because it's not as if the issues are equal across the board, location wise. Different people in different areas having different levels of delayed mail.

Local meaning what? I sure hope nobody thinks their mail carrier is the issue.

[rman112]

Originally Posted by mikecala98

Local meaning what? I sure hope nobody thinks their mail carrier is the issue.

No, not Jim the Mailman.

I mean the different various sorting facilities and maybe even individual post offices, vs. issues stemming from higher-up initiatives and DeJoy specifically.

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by rman112

No, not Jim the Mailman.

I mean the different various sorting facilities and maybe even individual post offices, vs. issues stemming from higher-up initiatives and DeJoy specifically.

i know Dallas is a mess right now and its one of the major hubs they also have a large Amazon warehouse there that lots of packages were dumped on them.

From what I was told here the machines they removed here were moved to Shreveport where they could actually use them since we were no longer a sorting facility. That is what happened in many areas from my understanding on that.

[chrisfaceoff]

I know for sure Allentown, Pa is a disaster and so is Phoenix.

I have some Xmas presents for my girl coming from Phoenix and they’ve been sitting in limbo for over a week now.

A lot of my packages are also stuck in Allentown since the 3rd.

I’ve had people open cases on me for not being delivered yet. Any idea how eBay will handle this. You can clearly see it is shipped and there are messages about delays. I just wish one particular buyer would be a bit more understanding.

[LRV]

Opened 7 service request cases with USPS early this week for missing packages and so far 2 were finally delivered.

These were just packages lost from the first week of Dec. so I'm sure there will be more.

This was one response I received from USPS:

Thank you for taking the time to bring your mail delivery concerns to my attention. I regret learning of the inconvenience you have experienced. The Postal Service is committed to moving mail as expeditiously as possible. As a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, our Priority, First-Class and Parcel Select Mail services may temporarily experience delivery delays due to higher volumes and limited transportation availability.

After checking our internal tracking information, your item still shows as in transit. At this time, I advise you to continue monitoring your tracking scans at www.usps.com. Your mail piece is not considered lost until after 30 days from the date of mailing without updated scans. If the item is lost and/or was sent with insurance, you can submit an insurance claim or missing mail search within 60 days on our website at www.usps.com under the "Help" icon located at the top right-hand corner of the home page under "Filing a Claim" or "Find Missing Mail".

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we address our volumes and transportation availability. If you have any questions, please respond to this email and/or contact me at the telephone number listed below.

We thank you for your business and allowing me the opportunity to respond. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience.

[LRV]

Originally Posted by rman112

No, not Jim the Mailman.

I mean the different various sorting facilities and maybe even individual post offices, vs. issues stemming from higher-up initiatives and DeJoy specifically.

For me it looks like the Jersey City, NJ and Springfield, MA facilities are holding packages 4+ days before they move along..

[BGT Masters]

I had buyer today say they cant believe its not there yet and demand a partial refund and told me my explanation of the delay being nationwide through USPS isn't accurate and they would know because they work in logistics. Its been 5 business days. By the way tracking says it left his distribution center in his state today.

Ebay's estimated time says 4-5 business days. Looks like some people might try and use this as a way to strong arm sellers into refunds.

[rman112]

Originally Posted by BGT Masters

I had buyer today say they cant believe its not there yet and demand a partial refund and told me my explanation of the delay being nationwide through USPS isn't accurate and they would know because they work in logistics. Its been 5 business days. By the way tracking says it left his distribution center in his state today.

Ebay's estimated time says 4-5 business days. Looks like some people might try and use this as a way to strong arm sellers into refunds.

Tell him to shove the box up his ass when he gets it, and to send you a picture.

[VinnyH]

I have a few cards and a box of Brooklyn Collection in long term limbo. I think the pandemic is showing me how much we took for granted in the past when we knew every step until it was at our doorstep.
Best to All,
Vinny