Read on Twitter
So: you shopped small in December and your order hasn’t arrived yet. It’s been several weeks- what’s happening and where is your package and what can you do? A thread:
December was a record month for packages being sent. Many people, being at home or unable to travel to see family or loved ones, turned to FedEx, UPS, or USPS this year. Unfortunately, the capacity has been overwhelming for the system. In addition, USPS hubs have become a
Large infection point. For example, a USPS hub nearby was closed after 50 employees tested positive for COVID. This means, unfortunately, that packages and mail are just sitting and waiting for reopening. The USPS very rarely refuses mail, so the mail continues to come.
Right now it’s estimated that 30,000 out of 644,000 postal workers have tested positive for Covid in the last year. Some postal workers are reporting its difficult to walk through distribution centers because of the sheer amount of mail piled up
Businesses are being overwhelmed with this- we are getting a lot of messages and emails, but we have few answers. It is, of course, ok to be frustrated with a weeks late order. But it’s really not the fault of businesses or even the USPS, and we’re all dealing with it best we can
Unfortunately, businesses cannot determine when your order will arrive, and the sudden influx of requests for refunds is putting us in an precarious place. It’s not that an item is missing- it’s probably, most likely, sitting in a bin still awaiting its next movements
The only answer right now is to plead patience. Once the package is in the hands of the mail, there is no telling what happens next. Even postal workers cannot tell you- if tracking stops, that’s what they’ll see on their screen too.
Also please wait to ask for replacements until things can be assured to be lost. The only way to tell, really, is keep checking for mail updates in the news and tracking. Once mail has returned to a regular pace, then we can determine if things are actually lost and not delayed
It may be an issue that if things are stuck right now, a second package might get stuck too! Or you may end up with an extra package in the end once things are delivered. This is an unprecedented year, remember, none of this is normal but waiting is basically all we can do
Also, I don’t mean to be blunt, but it’s pretty jarring for someone to skip asking about a replacement and direct ask for a refund on an order that shipped if you know there are extreme mail delays. Your order has been shipped, and it’s probably not lost, just very late
I’m sure that most of us small business people are deeply upset about this. If there was any way to get things to you faster, we would, and this situation is unfortunately blowing back on us. Please be patient, these are unusual times!
Also many of us vendors and artists are also waiting on packages too. It’s very hard when you ordered something early December for Christmas to still see it at its origin facility, but that’s..... how it is right now. All we can do is hope things will clear soon 
This is also a pretty good article about what’s happening, and how it’s affecting business owners: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2021/01/02/small-businesses-holiday-shipping-deals-usps-fedex-ups/4087597001/
