Slow First Class Package transit from MA to NJ

[billythekid16]

I recently had a sale from a buyer in New Jersey.   That was last Friday (April 10th).  I dropped the package in my local blue collection box that day.  The tracking number did not show up online until this (Wednesday) morning... stating it arrived at the USPS Regional Facility in Pittsburgh.  It has not departed that facility at the time of this message.

Going from Massachusetts to New Jersey with Pennsylvania in-between seems (to me) a pretty unusual transit.  Not to mention its already five days and counting since I mailed that package.  Has the coronavirus pandemic caused the postal service to experience more slower delivery times?  (OTOH I had a sale early last week which I mailed that First Class Package to Florida... and it only took three days for it to arrive to that buyer.)

[auroraflix]

Check my thread below yours.

I shipped 3 packages from RI to the NY/NJ/PA area Saturday -- and they only scanned for the first time this morning. In SEATTLE.

While the bulk of what I shipped over the last 2 weeks arrived as normal in a few days, what's getting delayed is REALLY DELAYED. And there's really no way to know what's going to get delayed unless it's hitting an infected COVID area and USPS facility that may be closed.

There are going to be major issues shipping anything through the USPS for the time being. I have a couple of packages (one of them Priority) that were shipped nearly 2 weeks ago to the Midwest that are "In Transit" but there are USPS facilities straight out shut down out there (and elsewhere) so the mail is going all over the place right now as a result. Delayed, diverted, whatever.

I would recommend putting clear notations on your auctions that there are delays and quite possibly excessive ones occurring right now -- and that the buyer may even want to hesitate on a purchase if they are experiencing mail delivery problems in their local area. 

[billythekid16]

I just read your thread.
It makes you wonder if mailing a first class letter will also take extra time to arrive to their destinations.

[7606dennis]

The route an item takes once it is in the mail flow can vary widely.  With the current COVID-19 situation, the workforce available may affect the time in transit for many shipments.

By the way, I ordinarily do not recommend simply dropping items in a blue box.  I'd recommend scheduling a pickup where the carrier can scan the package at the time of pickup.  I do miss chatting with my local clerk at the PO though.

[ed8108]

I find that USPS delays now appear to be the new normal.  😷

Spoiler

[a_c_green]

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@7606dennis wrote:

By the way, I ordinarily do not recommend simply dropping items in a blue box.

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Me neither. Even though the carrier will probably have his scanner in Acceptance mode when doing box pickups, so there's little risk of a Delivered scan by mistake, the package is still going to ride around in the truck until the end of his rounds before getting to the PO, by which time it's nearing end of day and hasn't even left your home town yet. Depending on what day of the week you're shipping, that delay right there could mean the difference between a delivery on Saturday and a delivery the following Monday, two days later. 

Our small-town PO has two truck departures each day, around 1:00 and 6:15, so I know that if I can get my package(s) to the PO by noon, they'll already be in a Chicago sorting facility by 4:30, and out of the state a few hours later. Getting a jump-start on the outbound mail can really pay off.

[billythekid16]

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@7606dennis wrote:

By the way, I ordinarily do not recommend simply dropping items in a blue box.

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(This is off-topic, but I have to reply to this... )

To each their own.

The nearest blue box is a four-minute walk from my home.

I am aware of that blue box's pickup times - Mon-Fri @ 5:00PM, Sat @ 1:00PM.

The nearest post office is one mile away and over a 20-minute walk on a good day.

The instances I never drop items in the blue box and must go to the post office:

- if its too large to drop into the box.

- if its breakable or fragile.

- if its going out of the country.

To me, its a matter of convenience.

Since I learned to use the eBay shipping labels several years ago, I never a had a problem of putting them in the blue boxes.  They always get scanned eventually.