media mail has always been the slowest to arrive.
USPS records delivery delays
Anyone else have issues with USPS taking weeks to deliver media? I can get a delivery from Discogs in a few days or in 2-3 weeks depending on their mood. Currently hoping a current delivery hasn't been stolen.
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@noromance In general, for me, the USPS delivery times seem to be back to normal vs what we dealt with last December/January (and beyond). That was ridiculous. I know, as the Cleveland Distribution Center was an absolute mess with packages ‘stuck’ there for weeks, and was reported on the local news. That said, I always cringe when a package has to through NYC/NJ. That always seems to result in a slow down, albeit better than before. I haven’t had to wait 2-3 for any media mail after it’s been picked-up. I have had a few sellers that notify me the package is ‘on its way’ and provide a tracking number, but in reality, it hasn’t or wasn’t picked up or dropped off for a couple/few days after the notice. That’s on the seller, not the USPS. |
If you want it faster you have to pay for better service. and I believe that you have that option to pick which way you want it shipped ( media, regular, priority )....and you picked media to save a few dollars which is perfectly fine.....but then dont complain when it takes longer than normal to arrive. |
Jeez, not sure where you guys live. Perhaps that is part of it. I ordered an LP on Discogs which was shipped 4 days ago. From LA to Cleveland, looks like it will arrive tomorrow (fingers crossed), so 5 days total, 7 if it doesn’t get out of Pittsburgh tonight, so Monday. I think most of mine get to me within a week, maybe a week and half at worst. I would say most the time, my media mail arrives a day or two early (per their stated delivery date on ‘informed delivery’). |
I buy a lot of used records online. The last couple years, since Covid kicked in, there have been slow downs, but that’s not the worst of it-- the longer it remains in postal authority hands, the more likely it is to get damaged. I’ve had more damaged records (damaged by shipping casualty, not the product falling short of grade) in the past year than in all the years I’ve been buying. I do priority or better for any record that means anything to me. I did get an old Pharoah Sanders Impulse record that was somewhat obscure via media mail today, and it was fine. Foreign sources: take forever now, aside from cost. I look for dealers that can do DHL Express or the equivalent through Fedex or whatever (Mumbai to Austin within less than 10 days), and stopped buying from some foreign sources due to inherent delays in their standard postal service (which is what most sellers offer because of price). I’d say if it is a valuable record, pay the premium for fast shipping. It will not only get it to you sooner, but will mean the package is in the hands of the berserkers who may do mayhem to your goods for a shorter period of time, all due respect to our postal workers. |
Sellers can be strange: there was a $300 re cord I wanted, but told the seller I was interested if he could send it expedited (within 5 or 10 days) max, and asked him to give me an all in quote. The record is still for sale, he never got back to me. Next. But still: it is worth asking. You know a record from Western EU to USA is going to cost 24 dollars + for fast shipping. That may deter you from buying a cheap copy that is less or equivalent to shipping price, but for high value records, it is the cost of doing business. I did this before Covid kicked in unless I wanted to wait. And now, it's wait and wait and wait. |
Everything coming USPS 1st class or otherwise takes longer the past few months. Even Amazon packages coming 90 miles from Richmond take a week and if you track the packages, they go on some bizarre tour of post offices they shouldn't be anywhere near... Fed Ex from MOFI took 2 weeks and basically sat for 3 days at every Fed Ex warehouse it could... meanwhile I can get DHL to bring me a box from Tokyo to Va Beach in 4 days on average... |
@emaillists They definitely are according to Rueters. I see the FBI are investigating him for campaign-related fraud. And he's sent over $236m to his former company. Wasn't there a rumor that he was hired by the former president to suppress voting? |
Geez, guys, let's not go political and derail the conversation! Right now, I'm crying in my coffee over my Fedex ground shipment that was supposed to land in Austin yesterday coming from a well known Kansas LP oligarchy. Following Fedex updates, daily, I said to myself for most of the week, "it's still in Kansas, no way it's here by Friday." Well, 7pm on Friday evening Fedex changes status from "expected delivery by end of day" to "pending". An hour later, "expected delivery Sunday by EOD". Don't they understand that I'm supposed to be listening right now to Smokin' at the Half Note 45rpm? Cheers, Spencer |
My LP via the USPS media mail is indeed arriving today, two days ‘early’. LA to Cleveland in 5 day via USPS media mail/Discogs. Not bad. I find recently, that is more the norm for me than waiting weeks and weeks to get a package from Discog vendors (as it was a few months ago, but that wasn’t just media mail, but everything), again, as long as they don’t take days to actually get it into the USPS’s hands vs. sitting, awaiting to be sent. I must say, given how much ‘we’ are getting packages through the USPS today, I’m surprised it isn’t a total train wreck. IMO, they seem to be doing a pretty good job overall in adjusting to the new reality of shopping on-line/mail delivery vs primarily brick and mortar. |
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Discogs purchases have typically been delivered on average within 10 to 14 days for me. Though there have been some pleasant exceptions (often from foreign sellers). I’m never sure if the delay is the seller, or the discogs system. Tower records is slower as well. Acoustic sounds also seem to take longer than usual and they use FedEx. My main issue with usps recently, has been damaged packages. Most recently, last week an ultra disc of Bridge of Sighs arrived with a broken case. It wasn’t shipped that way. The packaging was gouged and noted by the post office. Luckily, the disc itself was unharmed, but when I pay that much for something I expect to receive it in the same condition it left the seller. I’ve had an album delivered that looked like it had tire tracks that appeared to be from a hand truck on the packaging. I made some discogs purchases last night (while dinking bourbon) and woke up to a message from a seller in Canada stating he only goes to his warehouse when he has enough orders to cover the shipping economics and asked for my patience and says he has a seven day deadline requirement for shipping. So…..I wait. carry on |
I live in Canada and have never had any problem with USPS shipping up here through Canada Post. From purchasing records, cd's from Discogs, Ebay, etc, never an issue, and I've bought ALOT of music online. I have had issues with other carriers(FedEx, DHL, etc)but those were purchases from Japan or Europe, mostly delay time. The longest I have ever waited was 85 days, and it was a record shipped regular post from Japan. |
We were getting Christmas Cards in March from people who usually send them the first of December. I recently took 6 weeks to get some CDs from a U.K. site that usually takes 1-2 weeks. After a month I sent the site an email showing that it took 3 days to cross the Atlantic and arrive at my post office 1/4 mile from my home. I went 3 times to the post office site, which is about twice the size of my home, before they could find it I am a Primary Care Doctor and many of my patients are postal workers. They get a hangnail, they go off work for 6 months |