UPS delays delivering Newegg packages, among others due to shipping limits

[rcmaehl]

Summary

UPS has delayed* delivering Newegg packages, along with other retailers, as it applies shipping limits for the Holiday Season

 

Quotes

Quote

UPS...told its drivers on Cyber Monday to stop picking up packages at some of the largest retailers in the U.S.,... after they reached capacity allocations set by the delivery company. The shipping company also halted package pickups for Macy’s, L.L. Bean, Hot Topic and Newegg, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Retailers had attempted to push up the start of the holiday shopping season this year because of the coronavirus pandemic by offering discounts as early as October. UPS had set “specific capacity allocations” for its customers...throughout the holiday season as it works to deliver packages at record volumes, Glenn Zaccara, UPS’ director of media relations, told CNBC. “We’ve worked with our large retail customers to ensure they are aware of how much capacity is available to them,” Zaccara said. If the demand exceeds the planned allocations, UPS will “work with our larger customers to ensure the volume gets picked up and delivered as more capacity becomes available in our network,” UPS declined to name any retailers that maxed out their capacity. A Gap spokesperson told CNBC that the company’s “very happy” with the performance of its package delivery. “Knowing the unique constraints the industry is facing this peak season, we worked with our carriers early on to collectively build a strategic plan of execution — which includes dynamic pickups at stores,” Online sales reached $10.8 billion on Monday, setting a record for the largest e-commerce shopping day ever, Adobe said.

 

My thoughts

It appears that all this online shopping is really putting some strain on shipping networks due to a huge increase due to the on-going pandemic. I would not be surprised to see some major package delays. I've even heard that some other electronic shops such as BestBuy have also been rapidly approaching their limits but haven't seen any outlet mention them specifically yet.

 

Sources

CNBC

[bellabichon]

I see this as a win. Every time I've had to pay ridiculous import fees and/or my item arrived damaged, it was UPS. 

[TVwazhere]

15 minutes ago, rcmaehl said:

Summary

UPS has stopped delivering Newegg packages, along with other retailers, as it applies shipping limits for the Holiday Season

It should be noted that they're not stopping but rather delaying packages past their normal time frame due to a huge surge in deliveries. 

 

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/ups-temporarily-stops-collecting-orders-retailers-exceeding-delivery-74516947

Quote

Despite the temporary halt in collecting packages, UPS is assuring that deliveries will get made, but they might be delayed.

“If demand exceeds planned allocations, we will work with our larger customers to ensure the volume gets picked up and delivered as more capacity becomes available in our network,” UPS told ABC News in a statement.

In the meantime, it's urging people to get those orders in early so gifts arrive in time for the holidays.

“If you’re buying online, buy as early as possible,” said Ziobro. “Don’t wait until December 21st, the last week before Christmas.”

[Eaglerino]

16 minutes ago, bellabichon said:

I see this as a win. Every time I've had to pay ridiculous import fees and/or my item arrived damaged, it was UPS. 

blame the governments for the import fees

[eeeee1]

so thats why my stream deck is stuck in LA.  

[bellabichon]

5 minutes ago, Eaglerino said:

blame the governments for the import fees

Oh no I get that. It's just with literally every other carrier who ships internationally (FedEx, Purolator, DHL, etc) the duties and import fees are already factored into the shipping cost. UPS is just as expensive as any other carrier, and they won't let your package leave the border until you pay the fees through their online portal that looks like it was designed in 1996. 

[ToboRobot]

Sounds like there is an opportunity to invest in logistics networks.  Automation, robotics, green energy, machine learning, and IoT. etc...

Perfect project to be funded as part of a "green new deal" or pandemic funding.

[eeeee1]

1 minute ago, ToboRobot said:

Sounds like there is an opportunity to invest in logistics networks.  Automation, robotics, green energy, machine learning, and IoT. etc...

Perfect project to be funded as part of a "green new deal" or pandemic funding.

or maybe another large company is gonna play monopoly.

[ToboRobot]

1 minute ago, eeeee1 said:

or maybe another large company is gonna play monopoly.

There is a duopoly no?  Amazon and WalMart.  

[eeeee1]

1 minute ago, ToboRobot said:

There is a duopoly no?  Amazon and WalMart.  

maybe we can all play monopoly and shipping and logistics is just boardwalk

[ShiftyFadesofNay]

So that's why my package from Newegg has been stuck in the same location for the past 5 days.. 

It made it to my state, but not close enough for local pickup. I don't need it until Xmas anyway, but good to know.

[Sakkura]

Not surprising under the circumstances. Over here, shipping companies have been offering a chance to win a prize if you pick up packages within a day from drop-off points (which are swamped). 

[ShiftyFadesofNay]

1 minute ago, Sakkura said:

Not surprising under the circumstances. Over here, shipping companies have been offering a chance to win a prize if you pick up packages within a day from drop-off points (which are swamped). 

Ok, that's pretty cool. 

[poochyena]

2 hours ago, Eaglerino said:

blame the governments for the import fees

 

2 hours ago, bellabichon said:

Oh no I get that. It's just with literally every other carrier who ships internationally (FedEx, Purolator, DHL, etc) the duties and import fees are already factored into the shipping cost. UPS is just as expensive as any other carrier, and they won't let your package leave the border until you pay the fees through their online portal that looks like it was designed in 1996. 

I can confirm that is true. UPS shipping price is very misleading compared to USPS shipping, at least for shipping from the US to Canada. UPS expects you to manually fill out the customs forms yourself, or pay them to do it for you. I shipped one order through UPS, and stopped offering UPS for international orders from my online store ever since.

[FeIIex]

Ah that explains why my CPU didn't show up today, it just HAD to ship from the US ;(

[Sir.gg]

I'm caught up in this as well. I ordered a prebuilt for my father to ship straight to him (easier than finding the parts right now, and I'll just upgrade the RAM when I visit him next, so yolo). Ordered on the 30th, and it was expecting to arrive on or around the 9th, but for the past couple days it's been stuck at "Label Created" for days now.

 

What's worse, is that Newegg completely failed to notify customers of any current shipping issues. I had to find out about this by stumbling across it in the news.

Also worse, is that Newegg's order status reflects "In Transit" despite the fact it's probably sitting on the loading dock somewhere at most. But if you click into their tracking page, it says "Label Created".

 

 

Oh, and you know what the rep on Twitter had to say about it?

"Make sure to sign up for UPS My Choice at http://UPS.com as a way to get notifications on the latest updates on your order. "

 

As if it's UPS's job to inform their customers that stuff isn't getting shipped. Yes, UPS is at fault here, but Newegg simply failed in communicating the issue at all.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

3 hours ago, bellabichon said:

Oh no I get that. It's just with literally every other carrier who ships internationally (FedEx, Purolator, DHL, etc) the duties and import fees are already factored into the shipping cost. UPS is just as expensive as any other carrier, and they won't let your package leave the border until you pay the fees through their online portal that looks like it was designed in 1996. 

Add DHL to that list. Inflated my customs and fees to 40 bucks... on an item that was valued at 35 CAD. They pointed the finger at CBSA. 

[JZStudios]

1 hour ago, _Sir said:

I'm caught up in this as well. I ordered a prebuilt for my father to ship straight to him (easier than finding the parts right now, and I'll just upgrade the RAM when I visit him next, so yolo). Ordered on the 30th, and it was expecting to arrive on or around the 9th, but for the past couple days it's been stuck at "Label Created" for days now.

 

What's worse, is that Newegg completely failed to notify customers of any current shipping issues.

As if it's UPS's job to inform their customers that stuff isn't getting shipped. Yes, UPS is at fault here, but Newegg simply failed in communicating the issue at all.

I just had to purchase a whole bunch of parts to build 2 full PCs for my dads business. Did it through Newegg Business though, wonder if he's getting the same delays. Would be really cool if his business would suffer because they can't deliver. It won't, but it could... but it wont.

But it could.

[ThePointblank]

2 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Add DHL to that list. Inflated my customs and fees to 40 bucks... on an item that was valued at 35 CAD. They pointed the finger at CBSA. 

That looks about normal; brokerage fees for both the major couriers, or through a customs brokerage firm is about $25-35 bucks, depending on the firm, plus taking on duties and taxes.

 

You won't be able to avoid the brokerage fee, unless you are willing and have the know how to fill out the customs forms yourself and go to a customs office to have the paperwork stamped by a customs officer, and pay for the duties and taxes. The question is, is $25-35 bucks really worth your time and effort to print and fill out the forms, go to a customs office, wait in line for an hour, get your paperwork approved, make the payment, and send the completed paperwork back to the courier so they are authorized to release the shipment.

[divito]

5 hours ago, _Sir said:

I'm caught up in this as well. I ordered a prebuilt for my father to ship straight to him (easier than finding the parts right now, and I'll just upgrade the RAM when I visit him next, so yolo). Ordered on the 30th, and it was expecting to arrive on or around the 9th, but for the past couple days it's been stuck at "Label Created" for days now.

 

What's worse, is that Newegg completely failed to notify customers of any current shipping issues. I had to find out about this by stumbling across it in the news.

Also worse, is that Newegg's order status reflects "In Transit" despite the fact it's probably sitting on the loading dock somewhere at most. But if you click into their tracking page, it says "Label Created".

Oh, and you know what the rep on Twitter had to say about it?

"Make sure to sign up for UPS My Choice at http://UPS.com as a way to get notifications on the latest updates on your order. "

As if it's UPS's job to inform their customers that stuff isn't getting shipped. Yes, UPS is at fault here, but Newegg simply failed in communicating the issue at all.

You're blaming Newegg? 

 

UPS is the one delaying their pickups/deliveries from retailers. Newegg receives an order, processes it and it creates the label. The system is automated and that's it, label is created, items get picked up same or next day, so "In Transit" is the standard. That's what Purolator, DHL, UPS' actual systems are for, which is why it was suggested to you; their systems have much more specificity for its delivery position. There is no retailer I know of that has their own system to specify that items have been set aside for delivery, but haven't been picked up yet. That's why they use the delivery companies in the first place, and that's essentially what "Label Created" means; order has been picked and processed, but not picked up until you get the next scan. 

Without manually addressing thousands of orders for something that the system doesn't even have an option to do (ie letting customers know if there package was picked up), there's no realistic way to address information that Newegg doesn't even have access to. As someone who has dealt with and worked in retail logistics, some locations receive up to three pickups per day based on volume. On some heavier days, maybe they only come once instead of three times; maybe because of the backlog, rather than your weekend order getting picked up to start its journey on Monday, there is too much of a backlog at their first 5 retailers and they can't make the rest of their route and have to get to it on Tuesday.

UPS does not come out and let the retailer know they're not coming. UPS doesn't let the retailers know that even if they should pickup the package, that it might sit in their DC for extra time. Speaking from experience, I also know Canadian Tire in Canada has turned off UPS as an option in several areas because they have problems with following through and processing online orders within a reasonable time.

[DrMacintosh]

I love how so many people love to talk bad about the USPS yet when push comes to shove, no private courier company in the US can compete with the USPS in infrastructure and the sheer volume of packages that can safely delivered by the Post Office. Even with this surge, the USPS will continue to accept packages from EVERY RETAILER without delay for a week after these courier companies are going to stop. UPS and FedEx all know they have a surge of shipments coming every year....but do they invest in their backend? No. They don't care if your package gets delivered, you paid the shipping label either way. 

[Dylanc1500]

7 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

I love how so many people love to talk bad about the USPS yet when push comes to shove, no private courier company in the US can compete with the USPS in infrastructure and the sheer volume of packages that can safely delivered by the Post Office. Even with this surge, the USPS will continue to accept packages from EVERY RETAILER without delay for a week after these courier companies are going to stop. UPS and FedEx all know they have a surge of shipments coming every year....but do they invest in their backend? No. They don't care if your package gets delivered, you paid the shipping label either way. 

Mis-read, my apologies.

[Sir.gg]

1 hour ago, divito said:

You're blaming Newegg? 

 

UPS is the one delaying their pickups/deliveries from retailers. Newegg receives an order, processes it and it creates the label. The system is automated and that's it, label is created, items get picked up same or next day, so "In Transit" is the standard. That's what Purolator, DHL, UPS' actual systems are for, which is why it was suggested to you; their systems have much more specificity for its delivery position. There is no retailer I know of that has their own system to specify that items have been set aside for delivery, but haven't been picked up yet. That's why they use the delivery companies in the first place, and that's essentially what "Label Created" means; order has been picked and processed, but not picked up until you get the next scan. 

Without manually addressing thousands of orders for something that the system doesn't even have an option to do (ie letting customers know if there package was picked up), there's no realistic way to address information that Newegg doesn't even have access to. As someone who has dealt with and worked in retail logistics, some locations receive up to three pickups per day based on volume. On some heavier days, maybe they only come once instead of three times; maybe because of the backlog, rather than your weekend order getting picked up to start its journey on Monday, there is too much of a backlog at their first 5 retailers and they can't make the rest of their route and have to get to it on Tuesday.

UPS does not come out and let the retailer know they're not coming. UPS doesn't let the retailers know that even if they should pickup the package, that it might sit in their DC for extra time. Speaking from experience, I also know Canadian Tire in Canada has turned off UPS as an option in several areas because they have problems with following through and processing online orders within a reasonable time.

I'm blaming Newegg for the lack of communication. This isn't something that we should be learning from the news and news only. The only thing on Newegg's website is the default holiday warning saying that stuff may be delayed a couple days and to order by X date to get it before Y date. There's absolutely zero caution that your items may be delayed by weeks. This is something that Newegg needs to communicate forward to its customers, particularly those with packages waiting to be picked up or for people who are still making purchases not knowing about this whole fiasco.

Newegg isn't just some small retailer either. Their distribution centers will have multiple scheduled pickups each day. They wouldn't last more than a few hours before someone goes "Hey, UPS hasn't picked up yet..." before things start piling up around their dock. The fact we're days into this fiasco with no communication from Newegg treating this like everything is situation normal is pretty piss poor in making sure all parties involved is aware. Yes, like I said, UPS is at fault, but it's Newegg's job to let their customers know in a timely manner.

[Sir.gg]

Quick update on my order: It appears to have finally been picked up by UPS 5 days after the initial order (3 day additional delay to normal 2-day order processing). That's not the worst, considering. It would still be nice to have been notified of issues though.

 

I did check, and they added a small alert at checkout regarding delays. This is at least something, so they seem to be at least trying some small bit of communication now that people were complaining about it.

 

 

[divito]

On 12/4/2020 at 12:56 AM, _Sir said:

I'm blaming Newegg for the lack of communication. This isn't something that we should be learning from the news and news only. The only thing on Newegg's website is the default holiday warning saying that stuff may be delayed a couple days and to order by X date to get it before Y date. There's absolutely zero caution that your items may be delayed by weeks. This is something that Newegg needs to communicate forward to its customers, particularly those with packages waiting to be picked up or for people who are still making purchases not knowing about this whole fiasco.

Newegg isn't just some small retailer either. Their distribution centers will have multiple scheduled pickups each day. They wouldn't last more than a few hours before someone goes "Hey, UPS hasn't picked up yet..." before things start piling up around their dock. The fact we're days into this fiasco with no communication from Newegg treating this like everything is situation normal is pretty piss poor in making sure all parties involved is aware. Yes, like I said, UPS is at fault, but it's Newegg's job to let their customers know in a timely manner.

Well the software doesn't work that way. So you're essentially asking Newegg to manually verify the hundreds of orders that are still on their dock (because maybe UPS picked up partial orders over those 5 days), and then manually send out emails to all those customers. Newegg also doesn't know if UPS is coming back that same day. Things change consistently throughout their routes. 

And "Newegg treating this like everything is normal" isn't piss poor; it IS normal. That's how deliveries and logistics work. Sometimes a delivery load for a route is too full to accept a lot of outgoing orders so they have to make another trip. Sometimes, things go sideways during their route and while they meant to return, their other stops had too much to deal with. UPS not having other shifts or permitting overtime leads to delays like this because they aren't equipped to handle the capacity properly, which is what leads to excessive delays and leads to retailers holding the bag as they're now wasting dock space for other orders that could be going out through other shipping providers.
 

On 12/4/2020 at 1:26 PM, _Sir said:

Quick update on my order: It appears to have finally been picked up by UPS 5 days after the initial order (3 day additional delay to normal 2-day order processing). That's not the worst, considering. It would still be nice to have been notified of issues though.

 

I did check, and they added a small alert at checkout regarding delays. This is at least something, so they seem to be at least trying some small bit of communication now that people were complaining about it.

 

 

I'm glad it's on the way. But like I said, UPS does not inform retailers of the situation. Trying to contact them as a retailer also leads to vague and non-committal estimates on when or if pickups will even happen. I'm sure, even being a larger retailer like Newegg, they had to deal with a lot of uncertainty in regards to this.