This blog is meant to be a record of my adventures as a new home-based business owner. Starting my jewellery business was one of the most daunting things I've ever done, next to giving birth. Especially since I was (am?) pretty technically stunted. In this blog I will describe the trials, tribulations and, hopefully, eventual successes I experience while navigating the world of (really, really, really small) business. I also plan to use this blog to talk about all the aspects of jewellery design that fascinate me, keep me addicted, and cause me to spend thousands of dollars (What, honey? No, I didn't say thousands...) on gemstones, beads, findings, etc. I welcome your input, ideas, and stories of similar experiences in beading, jewellery design, or running a handcrafts business.





Saturday, January 15, 2011

S*#@@! Shipping Delays

In a past post I vented about a shipping delay that caused my Etsy customer inconvenience and cost me any hope of profit from the sale of a bracelet.  In a nutshell, I shipped the bracelet on Dec. 6th, way before the Dec. 13 deadline for shipping goods to the US in time for Christmas, but it still hadn't arrived by Dec. 18th.  I ended up shipping another bracelet, by ExpressPost, at a loss.

Recently, though, I was reading the Forums on Etsy, and came across a post about shipping delays to the US.  Apparently, many sellers have been experiencing delays in shipping, caused by increased security at the border.  Some shipments have taken up to 60 days to arrive!  As I searched further, I found many more posts about the delays.

Many Etsy sellers are putting a warning about possible shipping delays, along with this link which explains further, in their policies sections.  This is what I put in my policies section:

****NOTE - Recently, many sellers and buyers have experienced frustrating delays in shipments coming into the U.S. from other countries, including Canada.   Apparently, the delay is caused by increased security at the border, and shipping can take up to six weeks in some cases. If your order has been affected by this delay, I do apologize, but I cannot be held responsible for replacing your package until the six-week period has elapsed.   Here is a link to Royal Mail's website, where the problem is explained further.  

Again, I do apologize for this delay.  It is extremely frustrating for me, as a seller, as I make it my mandate to ship immediately upon order, usually the next day.  I am hoping that this delay at the border is a temporary situation, made worse by heavy holiday shipping traffic. 

Since the last shipment, I got another order from the US, and it reached the customer in 7 days, so I'm hoping the shipping delay was temporary.  We'll see.

Later, readers.
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

2 comments:

  1. Poetry DollsJanuary 15, 2011 at 8:47 PM

    Hi there. Love your blog! As for the shipping delays, the US gov actually stopped incoming shipments from certain countries for at least a month. This was in the news and posted at their website. I had similar issues with packages, even in the USA going all over the country before getting to their destination weeks later.
    Anywho, enjoyed reading here :) found you on Etsy btw.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DianaJanuary 16, 2011 at 9:13 PM

    Thanks! I wonder what countries? Not Canada, I hope. We're harmless here.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)