Current postal service performance

BatDad · Jun 14, 2020

Obviously CV has had a huge impact, what are your experiences on international shipping at the moment.

Pre-CV it was generally 10-14 days for a U.K.-US shipment.

I have some small low value shipments, with tracking taking over 5 weeks to arrive. Royal Mail -> USPS.

Normal in today’s environment? Would it make you more nervous on higher value transactions? Would you start to look at 24/48hr Fedex/UPS options?

Evitzee · Jun 14, 2020

Just got a strap from Switzerland, 15 days to US via Swiss Post and USPS.

DHL Express shipment in late April from Perth, West Australia to the US was 7 days, and that included customs clearance and last 1,000 miles by road.

Canuck · Jun 14, 2020

On Sunday, May 10, I ordered some watch material using email, to a Canadian watch material supplier. I requested it be shipped by Express Post. I usually receive my stuff in 4 to 5 days. I checked with my supplier after one week, asking about the status of my order, to be told it was shipped on a May 11. I was told that Express and Priority mail was being treated just like regular mail owing to greater than Christmas mail volume, reduced staff levels, illness, etc. etc. My parcel took 14 days to get here! Same goes everywhere with every courier, I expect.

eugeneandresson · Jun 14, 2020

Bought something here in March. Was shipped today, 3 months ago, yet to see a status update or get my package...

Edit: thats to CH. I can imagine though, with all that is happening in the US (especially Covid) that Swiss borders are still closed. However...3 months!!!!!!

Vercingetorix · Jun 14, 2020

My foglight, it’s on the way.😒

STANDY · Jun 14, 2020

Posted this in another thread not long ago.

I think a lot of airmail systems are paralysed with international flights at less then 10%. A good percentage of the air cans in every plane from one country to another are usually what carries mail from one country to another.
Basically there is not enough cargo planes in the world to make up the loss.
😗 Know planes are getting converted as I type by many airline companies as no money in having planes sitting or flying them with a top deck of empty seats

Most national post systems have a contract with their national carrier for post/parcel transport in aircans like in the picture below

so several of these in ever plane from one country to another are not being delivered daily like in normal times.

BatDad · Jun 14, 2020

STANDY
Posted this in another thread not long ago.

Basically there is not enough cargo planes in the world to make up the loss.

My bad, I must have missed that. But makes a lot of sense to me.

Vercingetorix
My foglight, it’s on the way.😒

Hells bells!!

Canuck
On Sunday, May 10, I ordered some watch material using email, to a Canadian watch material supplier. I requested it be shipped by Express Post. I usually receive my stuff in 4 to 5 days. Same goes everywhere with every courier, I expect.

I’m having similar experiences with mail from Canada. Very very slow at the moment. It is what it is - but good to understand it’s a broader issue. I just hope it’s not the new normal!

Bill Sohne · Jun 14, 2020

HI
USPS is hit and miss incoming to NYC....

I had a small priority mail flat rate box .... ship from Red bank NJ to go to Brooklyn , NY ... ( 45 miles away ). shipped May 4th to be delivered May 8th .... it arrived June 8th !

I have incoming international ( a book) ... stuck somewhere in customs for over a month.

bill

Stripey · Jun 14, 2020

Ordered several bits and pieces from the US since March, which have been shipped by post, by Fedex, and by DHL to the UK. Haven't noticed any delay with any of it.

The Father · Jun 14, 2020

Glendale, Arizona to the Ammanford, UK. Mailed off USPS priority mail international. No customs form included. I figured less moving parts involved the better. Omega watch.

Mailed off May 29th had tracking till June 4th. After many days of unknown locations it miraculously appeared at the destination in the UK June 10th.

Scarecrow Boat · Jun 14, 2020

The only carries I haven’t seen a delay with are FedEx and UPS. Last week I shipped something FedEx International Priority to Japan and it was there in two days and delivered on the third. All of my incoming UPS shipments have been on time.

USPS, however, has really been hit by c19 and the protests/riots. I have three incoming priority packages and all three overshot their delivery date by a week (so far) with two finally being delivered yesterday and one still missing. They were supposed to be delivered in two days...

BlackTalon · Jun 14, 2020

US Customs has been hit hard. USPS stuff that goes through US Customs is essentially in a black hole. My understanding is Customs in NY was essentially shut down for a while and all the packages were sent to the already overloaded Customs facility in Chicago. The acceptable time packages could stay there for processing increased from somewhere around 35 days to about 60 days. USPS cannot find much info when a package is in Custom's hands.

(this info came from a relative who runs a small USPS post office when she was trying to track a package from overseas a month or so back)

Evitzee · Jun 14, 2020

BlackTalon
US Customs has been hit hard. USPS stuff that goes through US Customs is essentially in a black hole. My understanding is Customs in NY was essentially shut down for a while and all the packages were sent to the already overloaded Customs facility in Chicago. The acceptable time packages could stay there for processing increased from somewhere around 35 days to about 60 days. USPS cannot find much info when a package is in Custom's hands.

(this info came from a relative who runs a small USPS post office when she was trying to track a package from overseas a month or so back)

Got a strap last week from Switzerland, mailed in Zurich on May 26th, got to NY on May 28th and left customs on June 7th...so 10 days to clear. Delivered to me on June 10th. Not too bad under the circumstances. But I think it is all very inconsistent at the moment.

WatchCor · Jun 14, 2020

I sent a parcel to the US from Europe , in total it traveled for 7 weeks.

In my case however, the USPS/customs side worked quite fast. Due to the lack of transantlatic flights it took over five weeks to land in US from the date of shipping.

The rest of the way it travelled with regular tracking updates and remarkably smoothly. I shipped it early aprill and it arrived in very late May.

So lucky for me, the USPS side worked very smoothly compared to this side of the pond.

MikeMan2727 · Jun 14, 2020

eugeneandresson
Bought something here in March. Was shipped today, 3 months ago, yet to see a status update or get my package...

Edit: thats to CH. I can imagine though, with all that is happening in the US (especially Covid) that Swiss borders are still closed. However...3 months!!!!!!

Same situation here. Shipped a package to CH on April 21 with no update. Swiss borders remain closed you are saying?

However, it could take forever as the USPS is using sea transport:

https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/pdf/alternate-transport-air-to-sea.pdf

3nicewatches · Jun 14, 2020

The week before last I ordered a strap from Watchgecko in the UK. I live in NYC. I chose free shipping without tracking, which is Royal Mail their end, USPS our end. Placed my order on a Thursday evening and the strap was in my mailbox the following Thursday, which is great.

Meanwhile, a friend of mine in the UK sent me a birthday card three weeks ago and I still haven’t got it!

So, I second the “hit and miss” assessment from @Bill Sohne !

eugeneandresson · Jun 14, 2020

MikeMan2727
Swiss borders remain closed you are saying?

To 3rd world countries (First world being CH, Second being EU (and the lower tier ones the border remains closed), Third being ROW) yes...due to corona.

Kiwibloke · Jun 14, 2020

eugeneandresson
To 3rd world countries

Hopefully New Zealand will rate at least as 2nd! I have purchased a good numbers of items over the past couple of months from Australia, UK, United States and the EU. Common factor amongst all the shipments was that delays are experienced most significantly with the national mail systems - USPS, Royal Mail, Australia Post, New Zealand Post. Shippers with their own dedicated planes (DHL, FedEx, et) seemed to be experiencing few delays. A noted above, most air cargo is traditionally carried on passenger flights, and there just aren't many of those from anywhere to anywhere... Air New Zealand has been converting some 777's into cargo...

befobe · Jun 14, 2020

I bought 2 weeks ago from NYC to France, with FedEx: quick, perfect, like no Covid....

sonicosa · Jun 14, 2020

I shipped a package vis USPS International Priority from the US to Australia on April 13. The package bounced around the US for 2 weeks from DC to NY and then LA. After arriving in Australia on May 2, it was another 2+ weeks before the package was finally delivered on May 20 - with no updates to the tracking on either the USPS or Auspost websites until it was delivered. In fact, USPS never updated the tracking number to indicate anything happened after the package arrived in Australia.

I recall reading in another OF thread that Australia was quarantining packages from the US for 2 weeks, so the delay was somewhat expected. It was still a bit anxiety inducing waiting long periods for tracking to update at various points.

I’ve found USPS Priority International to Australia typically takes 10 - 14 days, so this was close to 3 times longer than usual.

Current postal service performance

BatDad

Evitzee

Canuck

eugeneandresson

Vercingetorix

STANDY

BatDad

Bill Sohne

Stripey

The Father

Scarecrow Boat

BlackTalon

Evitzee

WatchCor

MikeMan2727

3nicewatches

eugeneandresson

Kiwibloke

befobe

sonicosa

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