Is USPS backed up?

[kbalb93]

I ordered a necklace for as a Christmas gift for someone. The expected delivery was November 30. It is now December 2 and I still have not received it. The seller provided a tracking number and it was shipped. The last known place that it was at was the USPS sorting facility in Warrendale, PA on November 25. Since then, it has said in transit to destination. It has not said that it has arrived at my post office. Is USPS backed up because of the holidays? I don't need the necklace right away, but it would be nice to get updates on where it is at. I hope USPS didn't lose it. 

[mr_lincoln · Accepted solution]

@kbalb93  Go to the USPS web site and use the tracking number to request email updates on the package.  Depending on how it was shipped it may indeed be backed up.  Our Post Office says that package voume doubles this time of year ...

[oaklandmaryland]

Can't believe this isa problem when it is only 12/2 and there is plenty of time before Christmas. There are plenty more important things to worry about now. Also the post office often has an item and doesn't scan it right away-happens LOTS. This is extremely frustrating to sellers because Ebay rates the sellers on USPS efficiency which can never be counted on.

[kbalb93]

Whenever I order something, the item gets to me before the estimated delivery date. It was at the USPS sorting facility on November 25 which was a week ago. It has not said where it is at since. It's not a major deal since there is still plenty of time until Christmas, but it should not take over a week when it was at the sorting facility near me a week ago.

[chrysylys]

USPS is totally messed up.  In a very big way.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping-Returns/If-your-buyers-complain-about-USPS-tracking/td-p/2781...

[mr_lincoln]

@oaklandmaryland  Yes, isn't it something that a 3rd party company that has nothing to do with Selling products can affect a Seller's account because of their inbility to perform the task they are paid to do?  A carrier's performance (or at times lack of) should never (ever) be associated with Seller Performance.  Sellers don't scan the packages, load the trucks, drive the trucks, walk the routes, run the bulk centers, etc.  So why should they be graded or judged on those tasks?

[oaklandmaryland]

Thanks for the agreement. There are going to be plenty of shipping defects for December. Very sad. But it is a sure way to eliminate smaller sellers or what I suspect is Ebay's goal of charging sellers higher fees.

[kds99]

I don't see any delays yet.

[1786davycrockett]

At my post office this morning, the stack of unscanned packages that had been dropped off by customers was nearly SEVEN FEET TALL, so I don't expect my post office to scan these drop-off packages by eBay's scanning cut-off time of 12:30 PM Pacific time.  

And, yes, delivery times will possibly be delayed, due to holiday shipments, from now until January 2018 -- just as they ALWAYS are, every year at this time, until the holiday shipping craziness is over.

So who will eBay blame for the delays -- the post office, or eBay sellers?

Need you ask?

[lja440]

Yes USPS can get backed up this time of year. At my little PO we are already haveing one or more subs coming in daily to run packages, still except for Thursday this past week I ended up playing tetrus in order to get them all in my Jeep. 

USPS warehouses standard mail flats this time of year to make room but Friday we had 4 pallets, 2 of which barely fit through the door they were so tall just from Amazon. When I came back in after the route Friday, after the SmartPost and SurePost drop offs, my carts (2) were almost completely full. I'm talking about 2 of these:

Version:1.0 StartHTML:000000216 EndHTML:000001422 StartFragment:000001320 EndFragment:000001386 StartSelection:000001320 EndSelection:000001386 SourceURL:http://www.postalproducts.com/bigpicture/N1014158.htmN1014158-Postal Cart Hamper Big Picture

Dimensions: 43½"L x 31½"W x 37"H

[dcintennessee]

@kbalb93  Politely message the seller and ask him/her to file a missing package report with USPS. The package may be on a truck somewhere, under a seat, etc. Filing a report will initiate a search, and it's more likely to be found. Kindly working with the seller is the best way to go. If it's truly lost in shipping, the seller can refund you & file a claim with USPS so they'll be reimbursed.

As a seller, I was not at all happy last week when I discovered that of two packages sent Priority Mail to different (large) Texas cities Monday, one was delivered, while the other was MIA. Tracking showed that it was taking a tour of Texas - literally. I proactively contacted the buyer that I was aware of the delay, and I filed a missing package report. The missing package was attempted for delivery Saturday, but the business was closed. It should be delivered Monday. My point with this example - the seller can't control delivery, but they can work to help find it, and ultimately it is the seller's responsibility to make it right with the buyer.

Send this link to the seller:

https://www.usps.com/help/missing-mail.htm

[critter_mama_2007]

My post office doesn't consider a package late until 21 days past the estimated due date.  They will do a internal computer search and some times that will find the missing item.  This time of year they consider everything a waiting game.

[chrysylys]

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@lja440 wrote:

Yes USPS can get backed up this time of year. 

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I rarely ever have packages get lost in tracking, but right now I have a few that don't even show estimated delivery dates and one that showed as due Friday, but hasn't shown up yet.

[soh.maryl]

Every year about this time there is somewhat of a delay.  Your only real concern should be receiving your item by a few days after the last estimated delivery date.  I am sure you know what action to take if that doesn't happen.  

[tina06457]

Go to the USPS website and put in the tracking. Submit a request for updates on the package. This usually gets their attention and someone will start looking out for that package. This has worked for me a few times in the past. Just because there's time before Christmas is no reason not to wonder about your package. Best of luck.