I noticed something of a slowdown lately, usually at handoffs between different carriers. I had one from GB that was going to PostNord (Sweden), and it languished for over a week before getting my first email from PN.
With all the miscellaneous flash sales and coupons and such from GB, I’ve been going crazy with 1-off orders, as little as a 99¢ USB hub thingy. I’m not about to pay 3bux for shipping and insurance, so I picked free shipping. I got a few things from Azerbaijan Post just fine, so hopefully these will make it, too.
But yeah, last year was averaging about 4wks to get my goodies, as little as 2-3wks in the middle of the year, but now, it’s a month or so again, and seems to be stretching.
Worse, sometimes tracking numbers don’t even match! Some S2+es I ordered had tracking number A, and I just got it today with tracking number B, completely different. So I’m not even sure how that happened.
Now, sometimes Int’l Bridge would get different USPS numbers. One’s assigned to it initially, the “wishful thinking” tracking number, but then when it makes the actual handoff in Huntsville or wherever, it get a new/different one. So I have to refer back to the IB site to get the new USPS number (which does get updated, interestingly enough), but if I requested email status-updates for the first USPS number, they just stop at a certain point, and then the request re the second USPS number will work flawlessly. The previous case was just number A with no updates, even now, after-the-fact (still in “pre-shipment” or whatever), then it arrives with number B today.
So, fingers crossed…
—
Oh, even with ostensibly untracked numbers from AzPost, if you plug it into… 17track or trackingmore, one of them… it’ll kindasorta work. I have no idea what the messages mean, though. Something “left-hand” whatever? At least it’s some clue.