Yes. The dead horse that is this topic.

Shipping. The holidays. The pandemic. The gridlock. The worry. The panic. The frustration. The fact that it’s 2020, and we’re all feeling the distance between our families and us.

I know it feels dismissive when we (yes, I’m using the royal we for makers now) ask for grace, kindness, and understanding. I know it feels like we’re discounting the importance of your holiday traditions and gifts. I know this is especially frustrating this year when gifts, face time calls, and cards are the only ways you’ll be interacting with family members you would have otherwise seen. I know it sucks to have no idea when your packages are going to show up (whether you have tracking numbers or not) and if it will be in time for Christmas (or another holiday you observe).

But we’re disappointed too. We’re frustrated too. We want nothing more than for you to have a fantastic experience shopping with us. We want your item to arrive as promptly as we shipped it. We want you and/or the intended giftee to love it and to know it was made with love. We know you chose, for numerous reasons, to shop small and support our small businesses. We want you to make that choice again, so of course, we want the experience to be flawless. We wish that we could hand-deliver each order directly to you. Or have a magic machine that *poofs* it directly to your hands.

But what we have is a little less teleportation. A lot more of a system (or multiple if the mail is travelling internationally) that is/are overwhelmed, in some cases, underfunded (looking at you US Postal Service) and filled with folks along the way that are just doing their best to accomplish an unprecedented swell in parcel and letter rates.

Yes. Additional staff, when allowed by social distancing needs (it’s still a pandemic), have been hired. But experience goes a long way for speed, you know?

Makers have control over making, packaging, and getting your goods to the delivery service. Our control ends there.

Your delivery options should be clear when you check out (for example, my default is untracked lettermail to keep prices down – tracked shipping is available for an upgrade fee which barely covers my cost for the upgrade). However, once we entrust the package to the shipping company – we’re as powerless as you.

We’re checking the same tracking numbers (if they exist). We’ve got our fingers crossed along with you. We’re hoping that you get the items as promptly as we ship them. And we’re just as frustrated as you.

We’re all just trying our best. Please be kind.