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.
128x128noromance

I made an order from Eastern Europe (free post office shipping) on the same day as one from Florida. The one from FL arrived a day later.

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
Discog CD ordered from Romania, USPS tracking NEVER updated, thought it was still in transit or stuck in some bullshit customs.

Checked P.O. Box for the hell of it today, sitting between junk mail for 3 weeks, way to go USPS.
The nice vendor on Discogs refunded me the loss.

We've no idea why USPS didn't just send on the records they claimed were damaged. The only one in the box was perfect. The well packaged media mail oversized box looked fine so hard to comprehend what really happened.
Thanks Tim.

It’s not even about delays per my original title. They delivered it 17 days later with a usps note saying it was damaged by them and sorry sh1t happens and tough luck buddy. YET, the box arrived looking intact with 8 of 9 records missing. Methinks something else is afoot.
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. 
USPS should be the last option you ever choose. I my are there is a bottle neck facility where packages will sit for weeks. Spend the extra money and request FedEx.
3 months ago an LP I ordered was damaged in transit and sent back to the seller and another LP never showed up. 6 weeks ago I ordered a CD from a seller 20 miles away and tracking says it will be delivered later then expected. 
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
My orders nearly always arrive when USPS
promises. At work we use FedEx and they are just a mess.

I have records coming from Germany and Belgium that will arrive on Monday as scheduled.
Sorry to hear about that noromance! I've had good luck (knock on wood) with vinyl coming my way undamaged. That said, USPS is usually much slower than UPS or Fed Ex. 
Post removed 
Ha, Jim, I "quasi jinxed" myself too. For the first time ever, I added the haul to my collection before I received it. I knew the bored deities were waiting to intervene.

Thanks Brian. It does. I'm in a funk about it. I'm out the cash too.
ugh, that hurts @noromance … i did end up quasi jinx myself, my Promo Zevon…. aint…

Will see what disc dogs seller has to confess..

@sbank Kansas Vinyl Oligarchy…love it…..
Well, the package arrived with a letter from USPS saying the package was damaged in transit and all but one of 9 records repackaged. So I’m down 8 awesome, researched, and paid for LPs. All because the crap US mailing system can’t do its job. Damn them anyway. I am very annoyed.
@bkeske said "...I’m surprised it isn’t a total train wreck....
Agreed. It's amazing that it works at all, given the volume. 
I think it all depends on where it is coming from. I receive some in about 7 days and other take more than 3 weeks.
When I check tracking some seem to sit a while in certain locations. Eventually  they all arrive.
If you need it faster just offer to pay first class.
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. 
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
I haven't had a slow order in months from media mail. Last super slow issue I've had was ordering a special variant only available in Australia and that taking 6 months to get here to the states. 
@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?
Ask your local USPS worker if they believe the mail has been worse since Louis Dejoy took over.  I've asked several in different states.
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... 
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. 

@noromance I usually just ask the seller prior to paying if it is something I want quickly. In my experience, sellers are generally accommodating.
i must lead a charmed existence…..i will probably regret saying that…

I have three unopened behind my listening chair….
Understood on the snail mail aspect of the service. I wish more Discogers offered the option of expedited shipping. 
Somewhat typical. As mentioned, media mail is the ultimate in “snail mail”…
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.
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’).
Media mail can take up to 4 weeks under normal circumstances. I'm a letter carrier.  I have personally waited 6 weeks for and album to be delivered to my home.   I'm sorry for your issue. 
 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.
Media mail is a highly discounted rate, I think they have 30 days before it is considered late. If you want it faster you have to pay for better service. 
@bkeske Ironically, this is the only order that provided a tracking number. Five other separate orders mailed after this one arrived within five days.
@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.