Thank you so much for this article!!!

thanks for the info, my shop has had one issue over the holidays, I gave the buyer a full refund as the items were xmas presents and did not arrive. I do think its worth making sure we state clearly where our shops are based (ie where stuff will be coming from) and adding a note into your shop announcement and even the auto message from seller to make sure the customer really understands the situation. xx

good to know, thanks for the info... most of my parcels have made it thru but there are a couple still stuck in the works... it's good to be able to direct customers to something official c

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't know about this. Any idea how long this will be an issue?

oh thanks!

I hope it sorts it self out soon i have 7 parcels really late on delivery now :(

Thank you for the info. I would also love to see some more articles on shipping internationally as a whole...thank you!

Thank you for publicising this! I have several parcels sent before Christmas which have not yet arrived, and my customers are getting anxious.

it also should be noted (if you haven't seen the news) that the state of Queensland (QLD) in Australia is experiencing major flooding that has now spread to the capital, Brisbane, so that could delay things going in and out if the region.

Thanks for the update :)

Thanks ever so much for this - very useful and helpful!

Thank you so much, I think it's so important to inform customers and also sellers so that everyone understands and is patient. This is extremely helpful.

I know we all want to be safe. But this is getting unfunny. The more info we get like your article the more it helps thanks.Pam

Thank you so much for the article. There have been major delays for parcels to the US over the holidays because of the increased seurity measures :o(

Thank you for bringing this to the attention of the masses. Most of my customers with delayed parcels have been understanding and having it in my shop announcement, policies and auto message has definitely helped.

Thank you for the update, Amity.

I had one parcel gone missing to uk from Sweden over holiday period. I'm just going to make another hat and send it to the customer. I'm sure sellers will benefit from this policy in the long run. I have now made a note in my policies not to take responsibility for stuff going missing in the post.

thank you so much for noticing!!!! I have the same problems for parcels I sent on 10-20th of December from Greece to USA... its nice to know why...:)

I had one stuck in the mail, I think it may get there eventually but I did refund the buyer. Better to give good customer service!

Thank you for this article! Just sent one to the US yesterday, hope it will make it in time. I guess when you are sending things from the UK with Airsure, you can at least track it all the way, and it could help paying extra £2.50 for upgrading compensation from £41 to up to £500 in case of parcel getting lost or damaged.

There is major chaos on UK posts still due to snow which arrived in December. There are quite bad delays there still from before Xmas, so if any of you wonder... I am not sure how much knowledge there is, but many major airports were closed just before Christmas here in Europe as well as roads and trains, which created this problem with shipment. I am afraid that many of these might be lost forever, somewhere in postal hell together with my Xmas present for a friend in UK.

I have refunded money already and I fear I´ll have to refund a lot more to my customers in the US sent from Spain. I hope that if any of them are reading this- that I sincerely apologise for the fact they haven´t received them, and I will be sending out more refunds now I am back from a family crisis in the UK. Thanks for this info Etsy.

I have to admit i am holding off refunding for now, i think with all the bank holidays, the festive period and hold ups on either side of the pond this is reasonable. So far my customers are fine with this. I made sure i was clear about the delays as early as November in my announcement, policies and meassge to buyer section. Just so the customer could be as fully informed as possible prior to purchase and expect delays. Thanks for this extra announcement, it all helps!

I had no idea! Thanks for posting!

I have had many parcels delayed over Christmas period - lots of emails from customers wondering where their purchases are. *But*, they are slowly, but surely arriving at their destinations, but it is taking alot longer than the 5-7 days Royal Mail suggest for international mail...

Thanks for the heads up! This explains a lot about some recent orders taking forever to arrive.

If parcels have been lost and youve refunded make sure you put a claim into royal mail they pay compensation for lost international packages to. They consider them lost after 25 days.

Good info... Thanks

Thank you Amity!!!!! :)

I had no idea, thanks so much for the info. Good to know as a shop owner and as a buyer on etsy. Good Luck to everyone that has to deal with the after math of the uncertainty.

Thanks for the heads up! Any delays with mail transiting from the U.S. to overseas?

Thanks so much! Practice Patience. :)

I've current have two packages stuck somewhere. Thank you for the article!

Good point to bring attention to

Thanks Etsy for posting this article - I've got a few customers still waiting for parcels from before Christmas. Hopefully they'll arrive soon.

Thanks most of my packages arrived but, some people are still waiting. Hopefully they will arrive soon and that this does not keep up.

thank you for the info.

Thank you - this is REALLY important for me to know !

When I get an order for international delivery I always send an email to my customer stating my shipping policy. this way my customers are aware of possible long delays in customs and they understand that once the package is sent it is pretty much out of my hands. I also purchase a "Certificate of mailing" this way the customer can see that the item really was mailed out. Just a little FYI for priority USA mailings:I found out that Priority mail is only good up to boarder. What that means is, it is only priority to get it to the boarder and once at the boarder it is no longer considered priority,it can still sit in customs just as long as a regular parcel. So, I no long spend the extra money on international priority shipping in hopes of it getting to my customer quicker.

Thanks for the info!!

Thank you for publishing this, I have problems with all my shipments until 27th november, they seem they're at USA but they didn't processed them yet...My customers understand the situation but I'm very disapointed with USPS, they're to many packagings and a lot of people without their Christmas presents!!! I hope they arrange this situation quikly!

I want to reiterate ElegantPartyBoutique's comment about USA priority mailings. It's also great to reiterate in an email what the policy is. Great post, and thanks. I have had one package lost, US to France, and that was last spring. It has never arrived: ( Replaced the item for the buyer, who happened to be in the USA visiting nearby, so it did not have to be shipped.

Thank you for this Amity as always you are a treasure :-) At last we have somewhere to direct our customers so they can see we aren't just individual sellers making excuses about late parcels.It's the Etsy community sending parcels into the USA as a whole having difficulties.

Thank you for the information. Very helpful!

I really hope that the USPS can sort out a better way to deal with the need to inspect packages for security reason. I feel terribly for our non-US friends and sellers who have to deal with this while simply trying to run their businesses and send sweet little Etsy goodness filled packages to their eager customers. Terrorism blows.

Thanks very much for this report! Some of my customers understood the situation, but some didn´t have patience to wait the arrival about their Christmas gift, and I need to refund the money. I hope that post service will improve as soon as possible, because the delay makes sellers look bad.

as someone waiting for an international purchase i made before Christmas to give as a gift, i understand what's happening and will not hold it against international sellers or let it keep me from future overseas purchases

Cool! My mom ordered something for me for Christmas from a UK Etsy shop, and last week she told me she was getting worried it had been lost. I told her first class international can take a while. One FCI took 3 months to arrive in Argentina. I'm grateful that customer was patient! It's good you're putting this information out there for other concerned buyers.

Thanks for the heads up! I ordered supplies over two weeks ago and haven't yet received them, so I was getting really worried.

As a buyer, I don't know what options I have when my packages are so incredibly late. They were Christmas presents ordered in November, and they still aren't here. I know it isn't the seller's fault, but they didn't warn me at all in their policies or anywhere else that this was a possibility.

Thank you so much for this article! I have a pile of orders sent to US in the end of November and in Desember which are still on the way...it's quite uncomfortable situation for my customers and for me too.

Thank you so much for inform my shop have some problem with delays postal too some order have not received in time (over a month I think very long time) I understand why the buyer would like to refund and I'm also willing to refund and yes I think so this problem makes sellers look bad :(

Thanks for the heads up =)

This is old news as most of my delayed packages have arrived by now, despite having taken up to 6 weeks instead of the usual 2.For what it's worth, for UK sellers Royal Mail won't classify international mail as "missing" until 25 working days after posting (5 weeks not including Bank Holidays) so presumeably it can take that long even in normal times. I think the mail delivery services have done an awesome job considering the communication chaos & all my buyers have been very understanding once I've explained what's been going on over here. I've found it useful to send links to various news sites (BBC, Reuters, etc) so they can see the state of the airports, roads & rail links for themselves. The sudden onset of the bad weather is what really caused problems, as we couldn't warn buyers until after they started worrying about thier missing packages... one day's posting was perfectly normal then the next day's was snowed in at every turn. Sellers need to keep themselves well informed of weather conditions worldwide that may interfere with international deliveries in order to warn buyers... but we can't be held responsible for freak snowstorms, flooding or terrorist action requiring extra security measures (a much less important issue in deliveries to the US... packages are no longer allowed to travel on passenger flights)

Thank you so much for this article!

This is pertinent news to me, I still have two packages that haven't arrived in the US from France. My customers have been very patient, but replacements will go out on Monday if they still haven't received what they ordered in early December. Thanks for publishing this!

And I also assume that outgoing mail from the US is delayed. It has been 3 weeks since a package was posted to me (not from Etsy) but just in general, significant delayes all around. I concur, thank you for this article!

Thank you SO much for this! I had no idea and the Post Office didn't tell me a thing even though I'm always going in laden with packages bound for the US. This explains so much. I've had so many customers recently asking where things have got to. Thank you thank you!

I was wondering what was taking so long. My purchase has been taking way longer than usual. It's just roving for goodness sakes!

Wow..I had no idea about this. Maybe that explains the length of time I have had to wait on things. I'm a patient person though so I don't mind ;) Better safe than sorry! Thanks for the info!

Thanks very much for this information!

Thank you so much! Very helpful.

Thanks so much for the heads up!!!

Thanks for the article, lots of sellers have been sharing info about this issue in the forums and it was really necessary to spread it 'outside'...

experienced this!!!! gave out one EMS shipping as a gift, just so it could reach the country on time.. but to no avail!

Thanks for the info!!!

None of my jewellery orders from Canada to the US have been affected by these delays but thank you for informing us. I will put a little something in my policies about it.

thank you for this! It's great information, and luckily, I register all my mails so both myself and my customer will know where their parcels are!

Thanks for the heads up!

my sent items have been affected, and one particular order was intended as a christmas gift. it only arrived on 3 Jan, nearly 1 month after it is sent out. thanks for posting this article!

thanks Amity mail has been taking extra long to travel - both ways for me, shall save the pages

much appreciated ♥ best wishes to all :D

Finally! We have been contacting Etsy about this issue since the middle of December as parcels sent to US in November haven's showed up even yet! Some parcels now travel very quickly, and some get on hold...for nobody know how long. Sellers are forced to refund money to unhappy customers.. It is a dreadful situation and I wish Etsy had adressed it much earlier...

I think it has been going on long before the Christmas season. I am a US seller and sent something to Canada back in October of '10. I knew enough not to charge the ridiculous Priority Mail fee as this only get it to the boarder. I sent it First Class International. The USPS was able to inform me that it made it to Canada based on the customs form number. The customer (as far as I know) has never received the item, nor have I. The sad part of this shipping saga is that after returning all of the buyers money, I am still out the item and the buyer left Negative feedback after I cancelled the sale. The feedback issue is one that Etsy needs to address when items are lost in shipping and the seller can provide some sort of documentation proving the item was shipped when cancelling a sale. I felt this was unfair. The whole situation never ceases to amaze me.....we can put a man on the moon, but we can't seem to get packages around the world.....

thanks for this info! it would explain why a few of our parcels have not yet arrived - they have taken much longer than this time last year...and now i now why! :D i can also point buyers here! thanks Amity :D

thanks for the heads up

Thank you so much for the info ! I've just sent a parcel to US today from Spain and read this article once i was back home. Luckily i sent my parcel registered but they didn't know anything about these new control measures at my village post office. So thank you !

I have had countless problems with sending orders to the US and Canada since December. Thanks for the article!

great that this has been pointed out - I only discovered it via royal mail's website myself last night, according to them apparently it's to do with increased security measures imposed by the US Dept of Homeland Security.

Thank you for the heads up on this issue. I know that by shipping via Canada Post, that items sent to the US normally take 1-3 weeks and always make sure to remind my customers of this, in case they didn't read my shipping poicies. I usually send a convo or email after their purchase as a heads up and they are all understanding and appreciative of the reminder.

Thank you for, at last addressing this issue, a little late though! We would've been happier if it came up earlier, it would've helped us in dealing with our understandably unhappy buyers. USPS is our partner in this business and if it's not working properly, a timely note would've helped avoiding unpleasant situations, time was of the essence here. It's been over a month since we've been dealing with claims, threats for negative feedback, convoes to and from, lost items, refunded money. For many of us these holidays have been a disaster. We're sure Etsy have seen a huge increase in negative feedback and canceled transactions at the end of 2010. We're happy but hurt for Etsy's success post, not only because we didn't had a share of it this year due greatly to this issue, but for the lack of support we've felt from the company we trust. We're looking forward for a better 2011 holidays.

This is good info to know. I appreciate your tips and thanks for sharing

thanks for write this!!

Thank you! I have no idea since I read the article! With this information I could inform all my USA customers that they can suffer some delays. I hope people understand the situation, because security controls are really important these days!

Wow. Didn't know this. Thank you for the update!

------------------------------------------------- I regret that this item has not been published even 20 days before. Many customers have written to me, and I'm sure that even thought they were lying about their packages delayed. Indeed! have not yet reached their destination some of them ... a shame the Postal Service, as well as by not supporting all users of etsy we needed a confirmation of chaos in order to demonstrate to our customers. TKS!!! -----------------------------------------------

Thanks for your post , but the question now is : What can we say to our early december buyers who did not get their parcels today? Wait some more ? get refund ? replacement ? I have started to ship replacements this morning and I am truly sad...

This explains everything!!

Good article. I had an issue with something I bought over the holidays for a gift and it just arrived last week. The main problem was the lack of communication from the seller.

Yeah it is such a bummer. Some stuff I ordered from Canada on the 15th still isn't here but I ordered fabric from Japan after X-mas and it came in 1 week...

Good information. Thank you

Thanks for the update. I've noticed this not only with some handmade things I purchased this Christmas season (took over a month for that) but also with some things I've ordered from large companies shipping from the UK. Still waiting for something that was shipped a month ago.

Hi again , Yes a little late though! Unfortunately I had same problem with my few customers , I send lots of convo . I have one negative feedback and for what ; one buyer couldnt track it her package in their website, but I couldnt change this feedback unfortunately ! They are asking when ? They are asking refund with Etsy support team ? They are asking refund with paypal ! Already all my shipping detail in my item description , shop policy , note from seller part ! But who is reading ? I'm very disapointed with USPS, they're to many packagings and a lot of people without their Christmas presents! I hope they arrange this situation quickly!

Thank you for that information, I just sent a few necklaces to the United States this weekend. I'll contact my clients right away.

I'm not sure of how to handle this with my customers. So far I have recommended them to pay extra for tracking and insurance. Or offering free tracking for purchasing for more than $100. This still doesn't cover all my problems. Any suggestions?

Kaja me too, I asked and i shipped lots of package with tracking number (offering from me) Still they are asking why we cannot track it , why because USPS not updated daily ! And from France tracking number option is not gift , we need to pay more money .

We are writing all details about our handmade work , shipping , payment etc . But why still we need to refund ! We are small home business . This notes from my shop policy : ●I cannot be held responsible for any lost, damaged or misplaced packages. If you would like to upgrade your shipping service with " tracking number " , please contact to me !! What i can do it more , really i dont know !

i am in the same side... i have a customer who she want her order for christmas gift and still waitting... i feel so sad .. i wish everything goes well from now..

Hm...missing a package coming in, but the seller was FAST & courtious to refund it. What about going out of the country? thanks for the update! dahlila

Hmm...maybe that's why my recent shipping arrived a bit later than usual? Thanks for the information!

thanks for the info. good to know.

Thank you so much for this information. I still having issues with some orders that I´ve sent back on the 14th of December! I will pass this information to my customers. Thank you!!!

I've refunded 4 purchases already, one more and this shop will be a "gift" shop, literally. I'm not getting information from the people who received the refunds whether their packages did finally reach them, either.

Thanks for posting this Amity! most of my parcels have now arrived safe and sound but have taken just over a month, thankfully I am blessed with patient customers.

I would assume Australia's horrible flash floods will even further delay mailing. Of course mailing delays are probably the least of their worries as they struggle through such a tragic nightmare.

I have made one replacement and other 'lost' packages are now trickling through customs, thank goodness for understanding and patient buyers! It is vital to keep in daily contact with the buyers who are as frustrated as us over this problem. Also keep things in perspective. A refund here or an angry convo there really is nothing compared to some of the stuff that's going on in the world at the moment :-)

Waves to mentalembellisher (above)and, yes, I've made one refund but am now explaining to my patient buyers that the various worldwide situations are causing the delays - not me!

thank you for this advices, i'll ad these notes to my shop policies!

For most of my sales the customer pay $8 for first class shipping. And the insurance+tracking is $10. So I am loosing a lot of money on each transaction...

This is really a big problem, and the sellers loose their money... I can say I am really happy with my customers, who understand this is not my fault! I think the comunication is the best way to find the best solution. I wish Etsy could think about the negative feedback in the cases that the seller can prove the delay or lost of the package. It is not fair us to be afraid of feedback, when we did all the best from our side. Keeping my positing thinking and hoping my packages arrives soon!

Thanks for this information. I have been able to forward this on to concerned buyers.

Oh yes. We ordered some gifts the first week of December for Christmas. They didn't arrive until yesterday!

Thank you so much for the info.It really helps to make your customer service better.

Thank you so much for the info.It really helps to make your customer service better.

Thanks for the article Amity. I have loads of customers asking for their parcels and all I can really do is to ask them to wait a bit. Frustrating!

thanks, yeh I've had 2 or 3 issues of this earlier in the month, though thankfully they have all arrived safely now :) phewwwwwwww

Thanks for the information. I'll keep it in mind for customers in USA / Canada. Hopefully, now the Holiday season is over, postal delays will be cleared and we'll gradually return to the normal delivery times. I normally quote 7-10 days delivery to USA, telling the customer it does depend on the part of the US they live in. Under normal circumstances, Royal Mail say that an item sent first class leaves the UK by the next working day - so all the rest of the time is flights and handling at the other end... Hopefully it will all settle down a bit, now that there will be less post going back and forth. Poor Australia! I'm sure there are delays in the North Eastern states, but that must be the least of their worries just now. Still, something to be aware of, if you get orders from Aus.

I am pleased to see this article. Any further info shared is of course helpful. Thank you!

the security is an issue and also the pre Christmas weather here in the UK. Our local post master tells me there is still a backlog and I do still have some very lovely, patient customers waiting for their Christmas presents.

My last sale took 6 weeks to get to the States. I paid for Track and Trace and it was not even scanned in in the US. The customer told me it had arrived!!I am not bothering with Airsure Track and Trace in the future because they only track it until it gets out of the UK and have no proof that it arrives safely in the US. I am sending everything plain old cheap and cheerful airmail and advising customers about possible delays.

My last sale took 6 weeks to get to the States. I paid for Track and Trace and it was not even scanned in in the US. The customer told me it had arrived!!I am not bothering with Airsure Track and Trace in the future because they only track it until it gets out of the UK and have no proof that it arrives safely in the US. I am sending everything plain old cheap and cheerful airmail and advising customers about possible delays.

i even have delays on parcels form france to the uk at the moment..but the oens ot the u.s are really late, some over 6 weeks delayed..people asking for refunds..so glad that i can now direct them to this reassuring post..thanks v

having said that any parcels to japan and australia have gone quite quickly.. from france that is

oh and also i recieved one from canada today, and that was under a week...

Thanks for the update..I sent a parcel to the US on 14th Dec and it still hasn't arrived! Customer patiently checking mailbox. I will refund/replace after 6 weeks.

Great thanks for the info - I have had several customers contact me re: packages not yet arrived!

I am truly worried that if this is an ongoing issue that us UK sellers will really feel it in the pocket as the majority of my customers are from the US and may be put off but such crazy delivery times. Can I ask you UK Sellers what you are quoting your American customers in regards to how long it can take for their delivery to arrive? I used to say it would take 3 weeks but that is clearly not how long it is taking these days!

Have to echo what others have said - I was aware of issues (as I'm sure many were) as soon as we had all that snow before Xmas, then when checking the PO site saw the security issue (also I posted in the forums). As this is from Etsy I don't feel I'm moaning at an individual - sorry if it seems that way. But there have been issues, I actually emailed all my customers from the end of November to let them know their items could be coming late. Unfortunately I can see a lot of refunds being asked for. Some of the packages are trickling through now, but news is really scarce. I gave mine all the option, but have to say, asking a customer to wait 6 weeks seems a long long time. Think I'm going to make my policies exagerate the time to take from UK to USA instead of giving the best / usual case scenario. It all just sucks!

Squirlgirl - I have always said 5 - 10 days as that has been my experience, but will change that to 5 - 14 days and maybe up to six weeks during the current climate.

Hawkgreenfelt - I had the same thing with track and trace and the customer told me before the system! The problem I find is that US customers all seem to use track and trace and expect it from us without realising it adds nearly $10. (at least).

Thanks for addressing this issue. It helps to know that it is a general problem - even if this is no good news.

I also have been having problems with delayed parcels and am trying to get the buyers to wait a little longer before I issue a refund. One customer spent over 400 USD, which is a lot of money for me to lose! A package posted on 9th December (from France) arrived on 10th January in the States, so I am keeping positive!

I have also been experiencing delays to the U.S. After contacting TNT Post (Netherlands), I learned that all packages to the U.S. are being shipped by boat due to security threats. This adds an additional three weeks to the shipping time. I am not happy that shipments are delayed, but I am glad to know that I am not the only one facing this problem. Hang in there!

Thanks for this post, and the good advice.

Thank you so much for this!! Now I know how to explain it to my customers~ :D

Many, MANY thanks - thought it was only me having problems with packages to the USA. Odd, as sometimes things got through faster than orders that had been send in November. Anyhoo, thank you so much for the info. :>

Thanks so much for the info.

According to the Royal Mail website, packlages to the US should take 5-7 working days... all the info is on their site & sellers really should make themselves aware of such an important part of their business. International Signed For delivery is the only way there is of knowing for certain that an item has arrived, but it's very expensive. Airsure & Track & Trace only work as far as the UK border so don't waste your money. For small or high value packages such as jewelry a courier service is best, FedEx or DHL both offer a fairly reasonably priced, guaranteed time delivery with full insurance. However, our lives would be much easier if only buyers would acknowledge receipt... feedback would be nice in all cases (providing it's honest & not overly hasty) but just a note to say something's arrived would be better than simply not knowing.

Ive been waiting for almost 5 weeks for a package to arrive in GA, USA! Hopefully like some of yours it will be there soon fingers crossed!

What about mail into Queensland Australia. A buyer and I are trying to track a wayward package.

Few...I'm glad to find this article. I had sent several items to various places in the US over Christmas/New Years and their recipients sadly haven't received them yet. I will be sure to pass on the news.

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one, but it's not a great feeling to think that there are so many floating packages out there! I sent an order out on the 18th November to the US and only found out a week ago that it still hadn't arrived. My buyer has been very understanding about it, but it now looks like I will me making a refund as I hate to let people down. It doesn't give me much confidence for future postings to the US though! Thanks for opening up this topic Amity!

I used Airsure track & trace in December for one customer in the US, and I tracked it through 5/6 stops all the way to her door so I guess that service is a bit hit & miss too :/ I now offer that option in all my listings for the extra cost. Has still been a nightmare Christmas and New Year.

Today i had one gift from USA , she shipped 6th December and arrived 13th January Paris, France ! Still we are waiting for lots of good news!

My November packages are finally reaching their buyers! Things are horribly slow and delayed right now and I am dealing with lots of unhappy people. I really wish I was better prepared to deal with this situation and I hate to be in this position. Now I know better, and I hope that things aren't like this next year!

Thank you so much for addressing this! With about 300+ orders going to the US over the Holidays: this has been a huge issue. (esp. as Royal Mail has made so expensive to add tracking to packages!)

thisn thread is such a useful link to give to customers who are unhappy and have been waiting for so long...

UK sellers, how lucky you are if Royal Mail "offers" tracking; In France, La Poste is selling this expensive international service and when I asked for tracking parcels my US customers did not receive, I was tolled that tracking numbers are lost crossing the french border !!!! We would be delighted if UPS or FedEx could make some special Etsy light costs for european Etsy sellers...

ah thanks! This explains an order which took some time to arrive in the US and also explains why I'm still waiting for something from there too :)

Very useful everyone! I have been caught both ways with delivery and purchases that have never arrived here.I have shipments not yet arrived and I am sure it won't be too long before somebody shouts.I now never routinely offer Airsure as I prefer Int SFor.Then you have the chance of going on line to check if it has actually been delivered.Very useful if you have an issue with a customer. Re:- Feedback I consider it very bad manners for the purchaser to be totally unresponsive to covos, and not advising you they have even received the item.I call them the "silent" purchasers.I try to be as friendly etc as I can and give good service to be rewarded by zilch.They certainly are not welcome in my shop. Then you get the ones who say in convos they love the item,blah bla,bla and three months later still haven't given feedback.That is really frustrating especially when it is one of your best items.I don't know if newcomers realise that there is only three months to leave feedback!Also some purchasers don't know how to give feedback,so if they are very new I do tell them in a friendly convo.Unfortunately you can only do so much:-)

Many thanks for the info, I have so far had 2 orders affected by this. One has arrived now after over 4 weeks.

I have 14 orders waiting to be delivered because of this :(

I have 14 orders waiting to be delivered because of this :(

yes, me too. it's terrible. bit by bit my december customers are contacting me re non arrival of parcels. i'm asking them to hold on a little longer and they are being wonderful and waiting for now. it's miserable though, we work so hard to be great sellers and then the mail system which we pay plenty to use lets us down. i know it's understandable, none of us want mail personel to get injured by terrorist packages. i think it's gonna be a long haul till they devise an effective new and safe system. it's a major impact for my business which is just starting to build so well :(

This is an ongoing issue still!!! I have packages that took 7 weeks, yes, 2 months and 1 week to arrive in the USA!! I am only in Mexico! We have a very good mail system and things are never lost, and to top it off I register everything! But the US also stopped tracking the packages! Lots of them say they made it to the town I am shipping to but it does not say delivered! Recently it seems to be a tad faster, but it is still taking at least a month and in some cases more. I wish the Etsy Article had more info. I wish it would talk about it being a problem still happening. I wish they would have talked about how sometimes it took more than 2 months for something to reach there! It is really getting tough to make the customers believe us! It is just sad and will eventually put us out of business. It is hitting us hard, 2 chargebacks and more potential ones.....it is so hard on us, I run a small workshop for women who don't have options, so the money is very slim and far between. We need all of it we can get. How frustrating!

This is continuing to be an issue for me. I'm referring my customers to this article, which has been helpful. Mostly, they've been understanding but I've had a couple of pretty unfriendly people who don't seem to understand that I'm doing my best but cannot control the postal service! I've ended up sending out a lot of replacement items. It's quite irritating when buyers repeatedly harass me about where their package is but then suddenly disappear (presumably when their package does arrive) without letting me know if the package arrived in the end.

@lucileskitchen The Royal mail is the same. The tracking numbers for "Airsure" only work until the item leaves the UK. So they are pretty much useless, really!

It is funny that the UK doesn't have "real" tracking...while "backwards" Mexico does...hehe, we track it really well here, even better than the US. Oh well... Yes I agree Gemmabear, I had to replace 3 packages until I really caught on, and then I heard nothing once the first ones made it there....it is sadly not the best situation for us by far. I wish we could gauge time, or get more info.

Thank you so much for this note! ^u^

thank you

Thank you for this. I'm now having to refund clients with the hope that they will repay me when they receive their orders.

Lots of thanks. Hope just delays, and no missing packages!

This thread is a relief! Good to know what's happening..but Etsy could put out a notice as well to buyers.. Just sent this out to a dozen buyers..It is strange how some packages arrived in a week and others it's been a month and nothing..

Thanks for the article! I'm awaiting my first sale from the USA buyers:)

I have now refunded 5 customers and still have 8 parcels still not arrived (from Spain to the US ) My friend in Barcelona has just received very horrible NEGATIVE feedback and it is JUST NOT FAIR ! @HelenRawlingson ...I shouldn't let it put you off posting to the US. It must be a one off. I have been sending to the States 90% of my client's are from there...I would give up Etsy rather than ship locally. I have 3 parcels sent out in the last weeks that have arrived. It is not usual.

I know there is a delay and all but is it normal to wait 2 months? I have been waiting for something to arrive that I ordered at the end of November. The seller keeps asking me to wait, which I am fine to do I ship internationally too and understand the "it's out of my hands" dilemma, but 2 months seems a bit long...I don't want to leave negative feed back because I know it isn't their fault necessarily but if I can't get what I ordered and have to cancel the order I am not wanting to leave positive feedback either...puts us shoppers (and shippers of course, goes without saying) in a tight spot!

It's a relief to see these comments as a seller in the uk I have sold two items to customers in the USA since November and both never arrived. This is really bad for business, as sellers we are making a loss and on top of that the threat negative feedback is a real kick in the teeth. Is a message in my shop announcement enough or should I stop selling items to customers in the US?

@stretch751 of course 2 months isn't normal, but on rare occassions it can take up to 3 months even when things are going good. Sadly the biggest delays in my experience are with items sent in that mid/end of November time.

Thank you very much for the information, very important...!

Thank you very much. Now I understand, why my stuff does not sell. Shipment from the Netherlands to US is a complete chaos at the moment. And expensive too! I have made only 2 sales around 10th Decemebr and one is already reported 'undeliverd' No buyer would like to run such risk, while there're so many nice things to buy in the US.

I'm in the U.S., and yarns I ordered from the U.K. in mid-December still have not arrived. But I've worked with these vendors before, know they aren't the source of the problem, and have decided to continue waiting. I hate the idea that really good businesses are being hurt by really bad mail service.

stretch751 - I know 2months is a much longer than usual but part of the added problem from the UK (far as I understand it) is that they've been working backwards through the back log. That adds to the confusion when buyers receive a more recent order from the UK and are left thinking "well this one got here so the other one should have as well". Natural assumption to make after all! I know Royal Mail also said sometimes items may go by ship in the announcement I read ... so that's another possibility that during the bad weather UK side of the pond that items were shipped when flights were cancelled. (Annoys me that we may have paid for extra for airmail and ended up getting packages sent on the boat).

I feel so bad about this. I love shipping to foreign countries. I've had more US buyers of course I'm in the USA. And I thought it was just the customs issue.

Thank you for this helpful information. I'm looking forward to a parcel arriving in New Zealand, posted in Paris on 2 December 2010. Actually, it's my mother-in-law's Christmas present. Gulp!

I have received the 6th customer email/complaint that their product has not arrived. (all in the US and 1 was sent priority through FEDEx - the FedEx one I will get a refund for the customer but still) I am in a difficult situation because I can mention to the customer that shipping is out of my hands but I am not sure that would be perceived as good customer service. I could probably expect negative feedback for a product that arrives way later/never arrives. I will have to spend 2-3 days now re-making all of these items. Sooooo frustrated with the postal service now.

This feed has been very helpful. As a buyer, I certainly do not fault the seller, but I do wonder what Etsy is doing to help this situation. I find that other packages I order from overseas (I am in US) do not have the same delays. Is there something more "threatening" and requiring higher security about crafts? As a huge Etsy fan, and as a seller myself, I'd like to see Etsy step up, be more pro-active and make some noise in support of their community.

After 6 weeks my customer has finally received her earrings......was sent from Spain

From what I understand, certain small and slim parcels, plus letters/postcards are being allowed onto passenger flights, but everything else is being split between commercial flights and ships, and I presume that it is quite possible that if I mailed 2 items to the USA from the UK on the same day, then one could end up on a ship and the other on a commercial flight. I am not entirely sure how long ships take, but I do remember(about a year back) asking about delivery time on the UK Royal Mail's 'surface mail' - which is by ship, that it can take several months in some instances, as they wait for the containers to be full, so I am not sure if that is still the situation. I too have had delays, with my USA parcels taking between 4 - 7 weeks, but everything is gradually filtering through.

Thanks for this blog post...it is both saddening to know of this horrible situation, but reassuring that things are starting to get through. Let's hope this issue resolves itself soon.

Some of my packages are just arriving now. 2 months after they were sent. These are not all big packages. Some are small things like cards and totes. I'm quite angry that I paid for Airmail, yet these things got sent by boat. I'm all for security, but come on. Also lost a lot of money due to paypal disputes- and Royal Mail only give compensation on actual value of an item, not the shipping cost and if you didn't insure it you're likely to get a book of stamps as compensation. Seriously. That's what they sent me. I won't be selling on Etsy next christmas because I don't want to deal with this stress again!

thanks it will sure help me a lot. It is true i send them registered but post is still delayed

I think from 18 March there are no so strict security measures but because of the large amount of delayed parcels there are still delays with the already shipped. I had sent mine on 18.02 and 21.02 and still they havent arrived. I dont want a negative feedback as a newbie so I ll give money back if they ll not arrive in one week which is bad al well.

I think from 18 March there are no so strict security measures but because of the large amount of delayed parcels there are still delays with the already shipped. I had sent mine on 18.02 and 21.02 and still they havent arrived. I dont want a negative feedback as a newbie so I ll give money back if they ll not arrive in one week which is bad al well.

good to know, thanks for the post

Thanks a lot for this blog!Thats explain why I got emails from clients complaining they havent receive their orders yet,this was in January(1 sent last week of Nov & the other was Dec).I hope by this time,everything is running back smoothly,though sale comes in trickle most of them are from the US!

Ahh that's why my package took so long to get to me! This explains everything. I still gave the girl a great feedback though. I had a feeling it was because of security tightening!

This situation still remains, i sent a package nearly a month ago and did not arrived yet............if this situation is forever,we the European seller are in a delicate state, because our customers will not want to wait for such a long time to get the product............must of us will close the shops.

Thank you for the heads up. Hope everything will go smooth and fine.

I had a small paper only package sent from London via Royal Mail signed for insured that is going on two months missing. I can't imagine what could have happened to it at this point.

Thank you for great information, Sincerely, Nadin at http://www.etsy.com/shop/NadinArtGlass?ref=si_shop