Shipping Information

USPS Shipping Issues (Updated Dec.7, 2023)

As the holidays approach, we have seen a marked increase in misrouted, delayed, and sometimes lost packages, shipped to our domestic customers using U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Ground Advantage service. Ground Advantage is the successor to First Class – it is the lowest cost shipping option USPS offers. Slot Car Corner does our best to process our customer orders and hand them off to USPS within 1 business day. Once we turn the package over to USPS, we have ZERO input or control over how USPS routes the package. Ground Advantage packages that used to take 3-5 business days to be delivered are increasingly taking 1-2 weeks (and sometimes longer). These problems are not unique to Slot Car Corner. Virtually any business using USPS (with the possible exception of Amazon – see below) and their customers are being affected.

The media, and Congress, is starting to shine a spotlight on these problems. Many of these issues are being blamed on the USPS contract with Amazon. Amazon has increasingly relied on USPS to make “last mile” deliveries. USPS workers are being told to prioritize Amazon shipments but not to mention anything about it (fortunately some Postal workers have been speaking out). Smaller rural Post Offices with limited staff are being especially hard hit – they are literally being inundated with Amazon packages. Meanwhile, medicine, checks, gifts, letters, etc. along with slot cars and slot car parts, are not being delivered in a timely fashion.

Given the above, we would encourage our customers to use Priority Mail or UPS Ground (especially until the 2023 holiday period is behind us). While more costly than Ground Advantage, we are seeing far fewer issues with packages shipped using Priority Mail or UPS Ground and more consistent delivery timeframes (yes, there a still occasional problems with these services too). We will continue to offer Ground Advantage to those customers who want the lowest cost shipping option possible and don’t mind extended delivery times and/or service disruptions.

 

USPS (United States Postal Service)

Please note USPS does NOT guarantee package delivery in a specified timeframe for Domestic Ground Advantage (formerly First Class) or Priority Mail service ("1 Day", "2 Day" or "3 Day" when checking out and printed on the shipping labels) - they are STRICTLY ESTIMATES.


Once we turn a package over to USPS (United States Postal Service), we have no control over how USPS routes or prioritizes package delivery. If a package goes into the USPS "black hole" (i.e. tracking information does not get updated for several days or longer), there is nothing we can do. The packages are not lost but rather being held at a USPS facility or in a tractor trailer somewhere waiting to be processed. On a positive note, most USPS packages do eventually emerge from the "black hole" and get delivered.

** International Customers **  If your package is shipping via USPS First Class International, please note USPS will usually route your package to their international shipping facilities in Hackensack, New Jersey or Jamaica, New York.  Please don't be alarmed if the status shows your package appears to be "stuck" in one of these locations.  It is not unusual for packages to take 7-10 days before they start moving again.  Again, we have no control over this.

UPS (United Parcel Service)

Please note - UPS 2nd Day Air and UPS 3-Day are NOT guaranteed delivery services at the present time.  UPS has suspended delivery guarantees for these services.  In general, these service do have shorter delivery timeframes than UPS Ground service; however, UPS will not provide a refund or other compensation in the event a package takes longer than 2 or 3 business days to be delivered (refer to link earlier in this paragraph).

Like USPS shipping options, once Slot Car Corner turns over a package to UPS, we have no control over how UPS routes or prioritizes package delivery.

While more expensive than USPS Ground Advantage, it has been our experience that UPS delivery timeframes are more consistent than USPS delivery timeframes for a given shipping option/service and tracking information is updated more frequently.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.