USPS Reliability - Anyone Else Having Issues?

[roys*variety]

HI all, I've been selling small items that I generally send via USPS First Class with confirmation or priority mail.  Within the last month,  USPS tracking has given 10 day estimated delivery times as opposed to the guaranteed 2 to 5 day on several of my items (including Priority). Also, some items didn't arrive for up to three weeks. As a result, I've cancelled all my items as I'm worried about feedback .   The items I sell cost nominal amounts, like $3 or $4 and usually fit into a small envelope so I don't see shipping through UPS or FedEx. Anyone else having issues with USPS delivery reliability or has anyone come up with a solution? I appreciate any input. Thanks so much. ~ Roy's Variety

[1tuna]

I shipped a watch to France last week in record time.4 days.  I only ship 1st class with usps,very reliable and a great for for ebay,if fact I would say its the best fit for ebay. I ship about 40-50 packages a week and the best advice I can give you is to keep on selling and to not look at tracking.I would never ever worry about a negative for slow shipping.

i have about 30-40 late shipping dings and every single one was descored or taken off.the covid 19 protection with ebay is the best I have seen,it really does work

if you have not tried fedex I would advise against it,there are numerous stories here with sellers that are getting the shaft after shipping when you see the actual price,not the low ebay fedex price that some users think they will be paying

[1grandmashope_1]

Good morning, 

I live in Southern California and have not had the problems with USPS that you and others have mentioned. I have shipped about 10 items this month and they have been pretty much on time, also using Priority and first class primarily. 

Many areas are experiencing fires and now storms and can be the cause of some of your delays. 

I am sorry that this is happening to you. 

It has to be frustrating. 

Maybe talk with your local Post Office, they may have some suggestions for you. 

My hope is that you find some answer to your dilemma. 

Grandma

[cityslickercreations2004]

I sell small items also. They are usually 4 oz. or less and fit in a small padded mailer.

I have experience a few delays but not many. Knock on wood.

[disneyshopper]

I too live in southern California.  I use 3 different post offices, depending on what I am doing that day.  I ship mostly first class parcel or priority, depending on weight.  No problems at all.

A few weeks back someone did post that there were delays, I think in Michigan, due to weather.  A few other posts mentioned other areas, but I forget which ones.

[gmckee3]

Hi everybody,

I'm having a major issue with USPS. I sell kitchen cast iron pots and dishes. In March USPS managed to brake 6 dishes and 2 cast iron pots (Le CREUSET from France). All packages were priority mail, and I was denied the insurance, because the copy of the ebay sale order is "insufficient" proof of purchase according to USPS main office. I lost over $500 and switch to FedEx that is chipper and more reliable. I'll be very happy to sue USPS if I have more supporters.

[one-troyounce]

Yep, I've seen significant delays across the country with both 1st class and Priority Mail, as well as failures to scan delivery, and 'in transit' showing for 3-4.  I have seen terrible service with eBay Standard International, and when I contacted eBay they tell me it's not their problem, call USPS (even though USPS confirmed delivery to their international hub).  It is a worthless program, avoid that one.

[hammer.max]

I've been having pretty good luck here in the last couple weeks shipping out of mid Missouri 1st class/priority. I've been shipping regularly throughout this year with my local post office and asked a worker at my local post office about it when my shipments were way later than usual - When the pandemic set in it seriously messed up USPS logistics. Regular 2 day shutdowns for building sanitizing at hubs. After their sanitizing plans and such I got lucky if my packages would make it through hub changes all the way to delivery without issue (VERY rare), most times a package might end up getting stuck at a facility for a couple days or end up back tracking off course to go to a different facility out of the way. My worst experiences had been 2 packages that took just shy of 2 weeks to hit their destination on a priority 2 day mailing. I've experienced a handful of shipments that took 10 days but I'd say my average time for Departure to Delivery was sitting at about 6-7 days for me.

[dbfolks166mt]

There are multiple shipping issues at the moment some related to the problems with USPS I had a priority mail package that took 21 working days to get from Virginia to California, it should have taken 2-3. This was before the current fire situation. I have excluded a lot of foreign sites from international sales simply because you cannot ship to them at the moment because of the COVID-19 situation. A significant portion of California is dealing with massive fires, as is Oregon, so expect delays into and out of those locations being impacted. The gulf coast is about to get hit by another hurricane, probably more than 1,  so expect delays in and out of some of those locations. However, due to some of the problems with USPS and the increased scamming activity on eBay I have been requiring a signature receipt of higher ticket items and insuring items to the full value if it exceeds the USPS coverage limits. 

[dbfolks166mt]

I have filed several insurance claims with USPS. First and foremost if something arrives broken the buyer needs to retain the original shipping materials. The one case where USPS paid the claim the buyer had done so and when they took the package to their local post office and USPS could see the package and where the forklift had gone through the box they paid the claim the same day. The others I was not so lucky with. While I had sufficient proof of the value of the package, eBay purchase receipt, shipping and tracking information that matched up with the eBay sales record and pictures of the sold items the buyer had not retained the original packing so USPS could not "inspect" the package. The USPS insurance is pretty much as useless as eBay's seller protections.