Mail & Shipping - Recommendations, Questions, and Answers

Does anyone know how long it usually takes for USPS to deliver something to Germany? Thanks!

Hey there.

So, at the start of the month, I sent off a package headed to Germany. They told me straight up that I couldn't list the value or mark it as fragile, and—surprise, surprise—everything went sideways. According to the web tracking, the last update from March 9th says the package is sitting in Germany, supposedly damaged, just waiting for some inspection. I’m planning on heading down to the USPS to see what the deal is, but I wanted to check if anyone else has dealt with this kind of mess. Is there any hope for getting compensated? It’s not like I lost a fortune here, but it's still a few hundred bucks out of my pocket.

Hey everyone

Can anyone tell me what kind of cut USPS takes when you're sending money through the mail?

If you're sending money via a USPS money order, they charge a 3.75% fee on whatever amount you're trying to move. Just a heads-up though, there's a minimum charge of $9 and a cap at $27.

LP,

I’ve been looking back through some old posts lately, and honestly, I'm finding some incredible insights in them. It makes me wonder—has anything actually changed since then?

How long does it typically take for standard, non-registered mail to arrive if you're in a small town, say, somewhere like San Francisco?

Standard mail is basically "junk mail" at this point, and it can easily sit in the same sorting facility for two weeks. It really ought to arrive within a couple of days, especially since San Francisco serves as the main hub for southern regional mail. Here’s how it works in a place like Charleston: if you’re sending something from Street A to Street B, both right there in Charleston, that package doesn't just go down the block. It heads straight to the major sorting center in San Francisco first, then gets sent back out to the local branch. To make matters worse, the mail carrier only swings by that neighborhood twice a week. Honestly, living in San Francisco, you get much faster delivery because everything moves through the hub more directly.

I’m a little lost here—what does this last part actually mean? I can't quite wrap my head around it.
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That basically means your package hit the local USPS office, so you just need to swing by and grab it!

So, does this mean I can just head over there and get it sorted right away?

The USPS guy should've left you a yellow slip. If he didn't, it probably means they aren't even trying to deliver it to your door—you'll likely have to swing by the local branch and show some ID to pick it up.

He didn't even show up at my house, let alone leave a note or anything. Usually, whenever I order stuff from eBay, they ALWAYS leave a slip behind...

Maybe you just got a new mail carrier. Honestly, mine hasn't even been leaving those little slip notices lately—I guess they figured I’m already obsessively tracking the package myself. Anyway, your best bet is just heading straight to the USPS. Grab your tracking number and ask them point-blank: what's the status and where on earth is it?

thanks so much!

Hey there! Quick question—if someone from the UK sends me a package and nobody's home to grab it, am I stuck waiting until the next business day to pick it up? The mail carrier swung by today and just left one of those yellow slips. When I get stuff sent from the US, I usually can't go grab it until the following day anyway.

Usually, once you get that yellow slip, you can swing by and grab your packages after 4 PM. That applies to this one from the United Kingdom too.

Hey,

I've got a package headed my way, but I'm out of town and won't be in Washington, D.C. right now.

Has anyone dealt with USPS before and found they're willing to play ball? I'm wondering if I call them and ask nicely, they might hold onto it a few extra days beyond the standard 5-day window on that yellow slip. (If anyone has experience specifically with the local distribution center in the DC area, even better 😁)

Thanks!

Hey everyone! I’ve been waiting two weeks for a package coming from Italy to San Francisco (just one book, so nothing crazy regarding customs or anything fragile). It was sent the day after Easter Monday. I’m not sure if it was sent as a priority recommended shipment or just standard—I asked the sender, but I'm still waiting to hear back. I know I can only track it once I have the tracking number. It feels like it's a week overdue; should I be worried, or is this just due to those massive delays at the border?🤔

Mine usually show up from the United Kingdom in about five days. Honestly, I’d check in with the seller—you really ought to be concerned if you actually paid for this thing. Since you don't have a tracking number, it's pretty much impossible to figure out what's going on or where it's stuck.

Thanks, I asked the sender for the tracking number so now I'm just waiting to hear back. It wasn't bought through the site; it was sent via a private database.

So, I sent off a package to some country in Asia—didn't really overthink it at the time—but then one of my employees pulls me aside later to tell me the service I picked was just a $73, whereas the $57 option would have been a priority recommended shipment. I went with the first one because, honestly, it looked like the safer bet in the moment...
Anyway, long story short, she tells me the first option travels by sea while the recommended one goes by air. Does anyone actually know how long things usually take when they're stuck on a boat??
I wasn't exactly in a rush, but looking back, the recommended option seems like the better call anyway... it'll probably get there sooner and it's actually cheaper too 😁 😁 😁 Definitely gonna pay more attention to those details next time 😁