Everyone at ShippingEasy cares deeply for our customers and your success. On this page, you will find information and updates on what we know about COVID-19, and how it may affect your business, your shipping through various carriers, and your customers. We are here to help in every way we can.
Also, please read our recent blog post and help us celebrate Austin businesses who are chipping in and stepping up to help the community.
A message from our partners at USPS: The Postal Service wants to let SMBs know that we care about their business during this hardship by promoting our Free services and tools like:
Informed Delivery - Digitally preview your mail and manage your packages scheduled to arrive soon! Informed Delivery allows you to view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-sized mailpieces and track packages in one convenient location. To sign up, visit the Informed Delivery page.
Free Shipping Supplies - Order free Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express supplies to send care packages to loved ones. To order, visit the USPS store.
Free Package Pickups - Just place your USPS packages on your doorstep and we'll come pick them up for free during regular delivery. To schedule, visit the Schedule Pickup page.
Domestic Shipping Updates
Effective April 17, 2020 The Postal Service’s flagship Priority Mail Express service, which guarantees overnight service, will not change.
Service commitments for local 1-day Priority Mail will not change.
Priority Mail’s two and three day service commitments now will be extended to three and four days respectively. Customers will continue to receive end-to-end visibility and improved product tracking, as well as up to $50 in free insurance.
With the extra day extension, customers should expect delivery using Priority Mail Open and Distribute (PMOD) to range from two to four days nationwide.
First-Class Package Service (FCPS) two and three day service commitments will also be extended to three and four days respectively.
International Shipping Updates
The Postal Service is currently unable to accept items destined for the below affected countries at any Post Office® or postal facility location until further notice.
Customers are asked to refrain from entering items addressed to any of the below countries into the USPS system. The below list of destinations are suspended:
Afghanistan
Belarus
Greece
Israel
Laos
Macao
Myanmar
Niger
Niue
Russia
Sudan
Syria
Thaiand
Ukraine
Yemen
Notes of importance around these locations:
These service disruptions affect Priority Mail Express International® (PMEI), Priority Mail International® (PMI), First-Class Mail International® (FCMI), First-Class Package International Service® (FCPIS®), International Priority Airmail® (IPA®), International Surface Air Lift® (ISAL®), and M-Bag® items.
For already deposited items, other than GXG, Postal Service employees must endorse them “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender” and then place them in the mail stream for return.
For any returned item bearing a customs form, the Postal Service will, upon request, refund postage and fees on mail returned due to the suspension of service.
For all other returned items not bearing a customs declarations form, the Postal Service will, upon request, refund postage and fees on mail returned due to the suspension of service, or the sender may remail them with the existing postage once service has been restored. When remailing under this option, customers must cross out the markings “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender.”
Effective October 21, 2021 USPS announced suspension of Priority Mail International service's guarantee to certain countries, which include:
Australia
Great Britain
Korea
Sweden
Canada
Hong Kong
Switzerland
China
Israel
Singapore
Thailand
France
Japan
Spain
FedEx is temporarily suspending signature required for most deliveries in the U.S. - Except for shipments with adult signature required, physical signature not required for Ground or Express services.
Italy and Saudi Arabia: Restrictions and limited carrier activities into and out of impacted regions are in place. Existing containment measures in Italy continue to impact service throughout Italy. A number of airlines have suspended flights to and/or from Italy. The Saudi Arabian government now prohibits the arrival of flights originating in or passing through airports in the following countries:
Bahrain
Egypt
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Iraq
Italy
Korea
Kuwait
Lebanon
Syria
Malaysia: The government has closed all non-essential services effective March 18, 2020. FedEx Logistics is operational in Malaysia; however, due to the movement control order, arriving cargo cannot be received by shippers. No cargo will be received until the movement control order is lifted, which is currently scheduled for March 31, 2020.
Vietnam: The Vietnamese government has implemented a 30-day halt to issuing visas. Carriers are responding with plans to cut passenger flights. Australia and New Zealand: Effective March 20, 2020, the Australia and New Zealand governments are restricting arriving air passengers to only citizens and residents.
Grants available for small businesses: As part of FedEx's #SupportSmall campaign, FedEx has committed to providing $1 million in grants for small businesses in the U.S. Each grant recipient will receive $5,000, plus a $500 credit from FedEx Office that can be used for printing banners, posters, floor graphics, custom branded boxes, and more. Head to this site to apply, beginning May 25, 2020.
Effective March 26, 2020, UPS has suspended UPS service guarantees until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shipments created during this time are not eligible for service refunds.
Avoiding Undelivered Shipments: As some businesses have reduced hours or closed, please check that your recipient is still receiving shipments. If the location is closed, UPS will hold your shipment and attempt to complete the delivery at a later date if the receiving location has indicated to UPS that it will re-open within 9 days. However, if the location is closed indefinitely, UPS will return the package to the sender.
Commitment times for UPS Next Day Air Saver® and UPS 2nd Day Air A.M.® services scheduled for delivery on or after March 30, 2020 will be extended to end-of-day until further notice.
DHL is implementing a new Emergency Situation Surcharge due to coronavirus, effective April 1st.
Amazon has temporarily suspended inbound inventory shipments and fulfillment for Fulfillment By Amazon orders outside of high-priority items, falling into the categories listed below:
Baby Products
Health and Household
Beauty and Personal Care (including personal care appliances)
Grocery
Industrial and Scientific
Pet Supplies
Amazon is not suspending sales and they are not keeping small business sellers from listing more products they can fulfill themselves. For now, sellers may need to look at self-fulfillment if they want to continue selling on Amazon.
The WHO and U.S. CDC have stated that the likelihood of the COVID-19 virus contaminating cardboard or other shipping containers is low. If there is a concern, disinfecting the shipment or using protective apparel when unwrapping the container will reduce the risk of exposure.
Important note on shipping hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes using USPS:
Most hand sanitizers and disinfecting wipes contain flammable ethanol or isopropanol (rubbing alcohol), which are hazardous materials subject to the following mailing restrictions:
Flammable hand sanitizers and alcohol wipes are prohibited in international, Army Post Office, Fleet Post Office and Diplomatic Post Office mail.
Small quantities of flammable hand sanitizers and alcohol wipes can be sent in domestic mail by surface transportation only by USPS Retail Ground, Parcel Select or Parcel Select Lightweight.
Customers can only ship up to 1 pint of liquid per package using surface transportation. Cases of 12-ounce bottles or more exceed USPS allowable limits.
Customers who want to use domestic air transportation of these products must submit a request andobtain written authorization from the product classification manager at [email protected].
March 24, 2020 Walmart has announced that they are relaxing Order Defect Rate policies.
Effective immediately, we are (a) relaxing ODR score calculations to take into consideration any COVID-19-related challenges you may have with listing, canceling, and shipping inventory and (b) pausing any suspensions for exceeding maximum ODR thresholds. Our intent is to ensure Marketplace Sellers are not penalized due to demand or supply chain or workforce challenges for cancellations, slower on-time shipping, or slower on-time delivery.
Adobe Magento Commerce is offering free resources and access to tools for small and medium sized business owners to help them get through this tough time.
3 Months Free of Magento Commerce and Marketo Engage
Magento Commerce Launch Package
Free Magento and Marketo Engage Training
There are other products and services being offered as well, which are described in full details on the Adobe blog article here.
The ShippingEasy platform and staff are not experiencing any outages or delays in service. Our team is still available by phone, email, and chat for merchants who need help in this time of uncertainty.
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More Information
There is also a ton of useful information on our blog to help you manage things during this time. You can also check out our Knowledge Base for specific guidance with ShippingEasy setup
