USPS bogging down again

[Fballguy]

It seemed like things got better for awhile after the USPS summer time drama, but in the last week or so they are starting to Fubar again. I've got 5 packages either coming or going and all have the dreaded "your item while arrive later than expected" tag and tracking has stopped, in some cases a week ago.

Hard to pinpoint a specific problem area as I have packages being sent from both coasts and I sent one from Humble, TX to Conroe, TX...a whopping 30 miles and they've all slipped into the void.

Anyone else noticing this?

[bnorth]

Luckily no, I have sent and receive easily 15 packages in the last 2 weeks with zero problems. Used USPS for all of them, sent with PWE, first class package, and flat rate boxes.

[Jstottlemire1]

Originally Posted by Fballguy

It seemed like things got better for awhile after the USPS summer time drama, but in the last week or so they are starting to Fubar again. I've got 5 packages either coming or going and all have the dreaded "your item while arrive later than expected" tag and tracking has stopped, in some cases a week ago.

Hard to pinpoint a specific problem area as I have packages being sent from both coasts and I sent one from Humble, TX to Conroe, TX...a whopping 30 miles and they've all slipped into the void.

Anyone else noticing this?

I’m in the same boat dealing with receiving packs and in sending I now just do priority instead of first class for a little better turn around time.

[nebboy]

It may have to do with the HUGH amount of junk mail during the election season. My old route can go from 20-25 feet of mail A day to over 40 feet of mail during a presidential election year.

[joejo20]

I ship at least 50 parcels a day and have seen a lot of delays with first class mail since the end of August. Quite a few show sitting in one location for up to two weeks or more before moving on. It is a very frustrating time to be shipping right now. The good news is that I have only seen one lost package this year and priority mail seems to be moving fine. The long extended delays have been overwhelming at times though.

[Yankees1964]

It is busier but I am not having any issues at all. I shipped out about 15 in the last week and only one had a one day delay. I had my last two arrive a day earlier. My wife, who works for USPS has been working lots of OT (12 1/2 hours on Sunday night) of course I am not complaining, that's card$$

[Fballguy]

24+ hours later. No deliveries. No updates. Really weird because everything was flowing nicely for me over the last 4-6 weeks. Now it's come to a record screeching stop.

[Fballguy]

Checking for status updates right now is like watching paint dry. Another day, another no updates.

Really puzzling as I bought an item on Sunday. Coming from NY and it's "out for delivery" today. How did this one zip thru? It's like every USPS facility is doing their own thing.

[jbbama]

Yep.... no tracking updates and taking wayyyyy to long to travel a few states!


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[ASF123]

So get this: a letter carrier just rang our doorbell and dropped off, count ‘em, 15 packages on a Sunday. With an apology that they had been backed up. We are in the process of putting up our Christmas tree - it’s like Santa came early.

[jcmtiger]

With Christmas coming up I wouldn’t mail any cards right now. Wait until after New Years. Where I live we have 1 place to pick up mail 800 boxes locked. The mail person has more mail than I have ever seen every day. Christmas mail hasn’t even started yet. Joe

[jchcollins]

Here is my wacky USPS story for the day:

I had a modern auto PSA 10, nothing super high end but not dirt cheap either - that I had bought on eBay before Thanksgiving, 11/23. That same day the seller printed the label, my tracking number popped, and then the card went on radio silence. The week after, I reached out to the seller to see if he had actually mailed the card, due to the fact that all I could tell from the tracking label was that it had been printed. He said he dropped it off with the PO in Georgia the same day he printed the label. Card should have been here like 12/1 right? Or even sooner, I'm in NC. Nothing for more than a solid week in terms of tracking updates. I was preparing to open an eBay case this morning, when the tracking number suddenly updated to say it was out for delivery in my zip code. And indeed it was delivered a few hours later, the card is now sitting next to my laptop as I write this. Weirdness though, no other tracking hits. It still only shows that the label was printed, and then that it was delivered. No record of leaving a post office, or getting to the regional hub in Greensboro, NC (which all of our mail goes through...)

The holidays are indeed a weird time to play with the physical mail aspect of the hobby...

[sycks22]

I sent something from MN to NJ. It was last tracked in New Jersey a week ago and just keeps bouncing around there. Kind of amazing that it takes a week to travel 100+ miles.

[buymycards]

When I was still working at our local PO, we were receiving 300-400 packages per day for our 5 routes. When Amazon kicked in, the number jumped to 600-700 per day. I'm not working any longer, but I go to the PO every day to mail eBay packages, and I'm told that a normal day is 1200 to 1400 packages. Remember, this is a small 5 route office. So they are delivering all of these packages, in addition to the regular mail.

Most of the Post Offices in this area are short-staffed. Current employees are quitting because of the mental and physical stress. Newly hired people are quitting after 2-3 days and no one seems to want to work for the Post Office. Of course, the PO, being a government agency, takes months to get someone hired and trained. Plus, many of the clerks and carriers have had to stay home to quarantine after coming down with the Corona virus. The newly hired employees are on a much lower pay scale than employees who were hired 15-20 years ago, so the job doesn't pay enough to pay your bills, unless you work a lot of OT. Plus, the part-time employees are now delivering Amazon on Sunday, so it can turn into a 7 day a week job.

I could go on for hours about the problems with the Postal Service, but I won't.

[carlsonjok]

Originally Posted by sycks22

I sent something from MN to NJ. It was last tracked in New Jersey a week ago and just keeps bouncing around there. Kind of amazing that it takes a week to travel 100+ miles.

The Kearny, NJ mail hub has always been problematic. As part of my signed 1963 Fleer project, I sent off the Bob Gibson and Bill Mazeroski to a private signing a number of years ago. It literally spent a week leaving and returning to the Kearny sort facility before it was finally delivered two days past the deadline. Luckily, the company hosting the signing was gracious enough to get them in the signing or me.

[jbbama]

It’s been 10 days since I Shipped a card going 3 hours south of here...10 days!! Still no updates on tracking!


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[hammertime]

The biggest issue is there seems to be no "first in first out" or any method to the madness at all. I've had packages zip through a hub in one day while other packages have been languishing at the same hub for a week or more (and still are).

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by hammertime

The biggest issue is there seems to be no "first in first out" or any method to the madness at all. I've had packages zip through a hub in one day while other packages have been languishing at the same hub for a week or more (and still are).

Yeah it's madness. I have one card I bought last week that is here, and then multiple the first week of December that are not.

[sycks22]

I feel like under updates on the site instead of the date they should say "Good luck"