Current Mail / Postage situation due to Covid-19

[WCN]

Just tried to purchase postage for some packages to the USA on the Deutsche-Post site and was blocked. Parcel shipping to USA not available at this time due to the Covid-19 crisis. DHL packages can be sent with an additional €16 Crisis Surcharge.

What are your experiences with sending receiving packages during this time? This can be a useful thread to keep everyone in the loop.

Feel free to move this elsewhere, but I figure it's something that affects most of us and belongs to general info / discussion.

[[MBD]]

Recently in the US, one of the distribution centers had an employee test positive for COVID-19.

https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/concerns-over-possible-covid-19-cases-at-capital-region-usps-distribution-center/

I can't find the link to this article (plus it was from a Facebook community post, so it's best to take it's legitimacy with a grain of salt) but many postal workers have apparently been complaining about a lack of cleaning supplies for the past two weeks, leading to some going on sick leave or flat out refusing to work.  I'll update this post with the link if I can find it. 

I'm not sure what this means for the future of shipping, all I know is that the USPS is remaining open for the time being.  If the above info is accurate, I suppose it's possible the US could see some problems with mail, etc.

[totalblack]

This is problematic to say the least, I just shipped about 20 parcels yesterday without problem, but given this message at the bottom of the Deutsche Post site, it's not clear if they will make it:

"Please note that shipments that are handed over to us for these destinations or have been handed over recently will be returned to the sender."

post stopped or severely limited to a great deal of other countries as well.

[WCN]

"Please note that shipments that are handed over to us for these destinations or have been handed over recently will be returned to the sender."

THAT sucks big time. I've sent a bunch of stuff out to the USA over the past week or so... Guy at the post office just said it will go through no problem, but didn't seem to really know what he's talking about.

[totalblack]

"Please note that shipments that are handed over to us for these destinations or have been handed over recently will be returned to the sender."

THAT sucks big time. I've sent a bunch of stuff out to the USA over the past week or so... Guy at the post office just said it will go through no problem, but didn't seem to really know what he's talking about.

Deutsche Post employees almost never seem to know what is going on. That note was below the list of countries mostly in South America \ Africa which they listed no service to, but it's unclear if all of the other countries listed above are the same. Mail to UK, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and Scandinavia seems to be operating as normal. Hopefully this won't last very long, it also seems a bit predatory to charge a 16 euro crisis fee per parcel. I guess it's just to discourage people sending parcels.

[CannibalRitual]

I did ship few packages to US beginning of last week too. Hope they'll ever arrive. But it's the last bunch I shipped and just stopped all mailorder activities for now. Stuff likely will be extremely delayed or get lost and no thanks dealing with shit like that esp. if I 'd just run into an inpatient discogs punk killing my seller rating.

[vomitgore]

Losing the possibility to ship internationally is probably the worst scenario for Industrial / Noise...

[deutscheasphalt]

USA:
Die Transportkapazitäten in die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika sind aktuell erheblich reduziert, so dass der Versand von Briefen und Paketen nur unter besonderen Maßnahmen aufrechterhalten werden kann.

    Der Versand von Briefsendungen (Dokumentenversand) in die USA ist weiterhin möglich
    Der Versand von Warenpost- und Päckchen-Sendungen in die USA wird bis auf Weiteres nicht mehr angeboten
    Für Privatkunden: Für den Paketversand in die USA steht ab dem 01.04.2020 bis auf Weiteres nur noch der Versand von Paketen in Verbindung mit dem Service Premium zur Verfügung
    Für Geschäftskunden: Der Versand von DHL Paket International-Sendungen ist bis auf Weiteres möglich. Bitte beachten Sie, dass wir für jedes Paket einen Krisenzuschlag international  i.H.v. 16 € erheben

- https://www.deutschepost.de/de/c/coronavirus.html#international

Guess you could try to wrap up to 3 tapes/CDs in paper and ship it as documents.
This "crisis fee" seems excessive and only worth it for larger shipments.

[absurdexposition]

Canada Post is running as normal (some domestic shipments actually arriving faster than normal). The shipping service I use to send to USA is reporting no problems and is operating as normal. Last packages I've sent have all been delivered. Spain seems to be shut down.

[holy ghost]

I had a discogs order from Sweden, currently Canada Post unable till ship to anywhere in Scandinavia.

[impulse manslaughter]

No problems here (Netherlands) so far..

[Human Larvae]

I ordered a pedal from Italy this week and had no trouble. Now that I think of it, doesn't seem like a smart move. Hope nobody died on it.

[Balor/SS1535]

I am actually planing on making an order from the UK to the US later this weekend, but am now having some second thoughts.  Any news on whether that would be disrupted?

[[MBD]]

https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/?utm_source=residential&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=res_to_intl

Here's a list of countries who's postal services are being affected as well as countries where priority mail express international (aka the safest way to make sure packages mailed from the US don't get lost) no longer have a guarantee.  For people shipping from the US and vice versa, I'd take a look at this and decide whether the shipping risk is worth it.

EDIT:  Domestic shipping seems to be fine except for parts of New York and California, as well as the area of Mississippi that got hit by a tornado recently (that's a pretty remote spot but you never know where some noise heads might be I suppose).

[FreakAnimalFinland]

https://www.posti.fi/fi/asiakastuki/lahettaminen/maakohtaiset-tiedot

That is the similar page of Finnish post.
situation varies almost daily. Now you got latest update of countries done 27.3.2020. It seemed pretty good. USA and Canada still works. Rest of overseas not at this moment. Europe pretty good in general, almost every country is ok.
Problem is mostly the lack of planes. As far as I know, big part of letters and smaller packs travel in cargo of regular passagner flights. Now that there is not much of those planes flying, it means there has to be new routes, new deals made with alternative ways to get shipments where they have to go.

All mail from Finland to USA, goes to JFK airport, where it proceeds further. So if New York problems increase, it means problems to mail sent anywhere in the US.

Some may say that the past lifestyles is gone, and things will never be the same... but I would not consider non-existing postal system as option. It just adjusts itself into new ways. Drastic pace of change causes some turbulence. I would not worry much about placing orders from and to countries that are not in border of collapsing. Most of post is slower, as the alternative routing even in EU means basically trucks. If there are no planes for priority mail, they'll just use trucks instead.