If you have placed an order with us in the last few weeks, you might have noticed that your order is getting to you more slowly than expected. This is because of new policies put in place by the Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, who was appointed in June.
As a small business who does most of their shipping with USPS Priority Mail, this is a potentially devastating turn of events. The normal shipping time for Priority Mail packages was one to three days before the pandemic started impacted service. Then it started slipping by a day or two.
In the last few weeks, packages we handed off to our mail carrier took as long as a week just to get scanned in at the local distribution center. Packages dropped off at our local post office have been scanned in within a day or two. Even once they are scanned at the distribution center or post office, packages are taking several days, if not longer, to make it to the next distribution center on their way to a local post office for delivery.
We have had packages to Oregon and Nevada take nearly two weeks to be delivered after they left our hands. But it’s not all bad! We also continue to have a number of packages make it all the way to New York or North Carolina in four days.
We will continue to drop off packages at our local post office so that they get scanned into the system as soon as possible and you can follow the tracking as they make their way to you. This also seems to avoid them going through the Los Angeles International Distribution Center, which appears to be the biggest local bottleneck.
The American Postal Workers Union has a page full of resources with more information on these slowdowns and how to get in touch with your congressional representatives to encourage them to get the USPS the funding it already desperately needed to manage the impacts of the pandemic, and also restore the footing of the postal system instead of trying to carve it up and privatize it.
As always, thank you for your support, patience, and understanding. Stay safe!