The logo for the USPS shows an eagle that appears to be in motion. Well, folks. We’re here to tell you that this bird has no wings. Read on to learn more about our recent shipping issues with USPS.
Shipping Issues With USPS
Since we are a small business that ships all around the US, we always check on the least expensive way to ship our packages. FedEx is usually the winner with us. We couldn’t tell you why that is. We look at UPS, USPS, and FedEx. Probably 85 percent of our shipments go FedEx. Just better prices for small business. On occasion we use USPS. If we are shipping regionally or internationally, they are the most economical option.
Recently, we received an order for a motorbike from the UK. It’s not cheap to ship overseas, but the customer pays the shipping cost. As long as they are willing to pay, we will ship it. Monday we attempted to complete an online “Click & Ship” for the international shipping. That’s when we started having our shipping issues with USPS. We tried several times to complete the transaction. Each time, an error message on their system resulted in a problem. I finally called the Technical Support for USPS and actually talked to someone within 10 minutes. They relayed that they were having issues with the online system. Give them two hours to resolve, because it’s important to have businesses be able to ship!
So this morning I tried to create a shipment label again. Still the same issue. So we decided to go to our local Post Office to ship it.
We were greeted by a “Cash Only” sign in the lobby. The employee told us that their system was down and they couldn’t accept anything but cash. She decided to go ahead and try to use their system to create the shipping label. No cigar.
To be fair, the Post Office has been inundated by a crazy increase in packages over the last year. Covid has impacted everyone, including USPS. They have done an amazing job of being able to keep up with demand. We commend them for their efforts to keep up with everything.
It appears the current shipping issues with USPS could be much bigger than just a problem with tracking. We hope the system hasn’t just crashed in a major way. Only time will tell.
We notified our customer that we will try again tomorrow. Fingers crossed that USPS and we are successful in sending it on it’s way to England!
Update: We were finally able to send it out at the Post Office on Wednesday the 28th. On to England!