What Is The Deal with the Postal Service

[dentalsales4u]

I made a purchase from a company about 20 miles from my home.

It shipped 1st class on December 17th.

I should receive next day.

Well, today is December 27th, 10 days later. 

It went to Guam and is now in Honolulu HI

This has never happened to me before. Does this happen often??

[714ricki]

The volume of parcels & mail that the USPS handles is incredible. Yes, they will make mistakes from time to time. The sorting process may have put your parcel in the wrong container by accident & it ended up flying all the way to Guam & then to Hawaii.

Just take a deep breath, relax, & realize that no courier is perfect & mistakes do happen. 

Hang in there!

[dhbookds]

Yep, some packages do a tour.......but usually eventually get to where they are going...........I'd go to the tracking # and put in a request for updates........sometimes that can (seems to) get it on the right path......

[buyselljack2016]

Happens on occasion.

One of my sales took a short vacay in PR before going where it belonged.

[pcobra93]

The USPS is a JACKED UP MESS right now.

[slippinjimmy]

Often? No, sometimes? Yes.

Sometimes the items is not actually moving to those locations but rather a CONTAINER is but your item was never scanned as being removed from the container.

Example:

Package is placed and scanned into a container.

Container arrives at the next facility and emptied.

Before it can be scanned your item falls off a conveyor belt and lands hidden behind some equipment.

The system thinks it's still in the container so the tracking you see is actually just the container moving while your item is sitting in a USPS facility.

Every time the container moves you see a new scan.

Eventually someone finds your item and the delivery process starts again.

[lepke1979]

Sometimes packages get miscanned. Says it's on it's in Buffalo when it's really still in Oakland. Sometimes packages will also get lost or put on the wrong truck/plane/boat/bin. They usually figure it out within a few days. But sometimes it could take longer.

If you're super concerned. Fill out a Where's My Package form and they may get back to you in a few days.

[ckimodog]

@dentalsales4u 

Yes. In the last few years I see more and more of our items taking special trips before arriving to their destiny which does not help the sellers metrics.  I was selling a few new printers for my brother in law .  I got a sale from a person who was 7 miles away in the next city.  The buyer paid and I shipped next day.  The printer wound up in Des Moines Iowa and sat there for 3 weeks until the buyer contacted me concerning.  It finally made it to the customer in about a week, but initially it should have been there in a few days.  USPS is overwhelmed right now.  Most carriers work long hours due to acquiring more routes than normal.  Yet the prices still continue to rise.  Some days my carriers don't even show.  Perhaps this is the new normal, who knows? Sorry for your frustration.  

Happy New Year. 

[deserdog]

I have had very good luck with USPS this last year. first class parcels and media mail making it to zone 8 and delivered in 2 or 3 days. No lost packages or damaged packages. 

[lawnmowerpartsstore2]

You forgot to knock on wood after saying that.....

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

Its improper routing, happens.  I was on Postal Community Council many moons ago.  Machining at you're local main post office likely went awry.  Also important remember the US Postal Service is tightly coupled with both United Parcel Service and Federal Express subcontracting them in much of the actual freighting.

[yuzuha]

I shipped 5 things via USPS on the 21st. Every single one of them made it to its destination before Christmas. I was honestly impressed.

[mtgraves7984]

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@deserdog wrote:

I have had very good luck with USPS this last year. first class parcels and media mail making it to zone 8 and delivered in 2 or 3 days. No lost packages or damaged packages. 

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I have fared just as well as you, @deserdog. (Knock wood )
I ship USPS exclusively... mainly FC, Priority when necessary. I've been wowed all year. I was wowed last week, even. 🙌

[ms.rodriguez*]

Your box took the scenic route. Sometimes a package can get stuck in a mail sack and then that sack is loaded with parcels for a different destination than yours.  Hang in there.   It will arrive. 

[fredoniacoinandtreasure]

LOL, I watch my tracking all the time. Not long ago had a package for California go to Utah, return to NY and then go back to CA and finally get delivered. As long as it gets there in reasonable time....