IMPORTANT SHIPPING INFORMATION AND DATES
We wanted to take a moment to update you on shipping for the holidays as well as international shipping. The United States Postal Service along with other shipping companies have updated their schedules for holiday shipping along with restrictions for shipping internationally for certain countries. Based on the latest notification that we received, there will be some delays with domestic and international shipping. We wanted to make sure that you were all aware of the changes to prepare for the upcoming holiday season. Below you will find important information for Agile Ticketing Solutions fulfillment services and shipping information from USPS, FedEx, and UPS.
Agile Ticketing Solutions Fulfillment Services Holiday Schedule
For any of our clients that use the Agile Ticketing Solutions fulfillment services, we mail all items via First-Class Mail with USPS. According to the USPS schedule, the last day to mail any items to possibly arrive by Christmas is Friday, December 17th. On Wednesday the 15th, our Fulfillment Center will process two fulfillment cycles. The first cycle will be at 8 AM CST and the second cycle will be at 1 PM CST. Any orders processed after 1 PM CST on December 15th will go out the next business day through our regular fulfillment and cannot be guaranteed to arrive by Christmas.
NOTE: USPS is stating that there may be longer delays than normal this holiday season due to staffing shortages and international restrictions and will not guarantee delivery dates for any of their services.
The USPS has posted the following service alert about First-Class Mail service standard changes:
Implementation of First-Class Mail and Periodicals service standard changes – October 1, 2021
On October 1, the Postal Service will implement new service standards for First-Class Mail and Periodicals which will increase delivery reliability, consistency, and efficiency for our customers and across our network.
Most First-Class Mail and Periodicals will be unaffected by the new service standard changes. Standards for single-piece First-Class Mail traveling within a local area will continue to be two days. Mail traveling the greatest distances will be most affected, with a day or two of transit time added for some First-Class Mail and Periodicals.
We’ll make better use of our trucks and existing surface network to move the mail, relying less on costly air transportation.
By improving service reliability and increasing efficiency, we can keep costs at reasonable levels and help keep postage rates affordable for our customers. For more information, visit the Delivering for America page for the First Class/Periodical Service Standard Fact Sheet at https://about.usps.com/what/strategic-plans/delivering-for-america/assets/USPS-Fact-Sheet_FCM-Service-Standard-Change.pdf
We recommend placing information in multiple areas on your website (i.e.in the description area for all of your items that you mail). We additionally recommend adding information to your email confirmation during the holiday season. You may also want to add an attestation pop-up that notifies the customer of these dates. Feel free to contact your Client Support Representative if you need help making these changes.
International Service Interruptions due to COVID-19 outbreak.
Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, certain countries have restricted items being shipped from the United States. Below are links that show each company’s international service disruptions. Please check these periodically as they are updated weekly.
United States Postal Service International Service Disruptions as of Oct 8, 2021
FedEX Service Temporary Service Suspension and restrictions as of Oct 6, 2021 – View Here
UPS Service Guarantee and Suspension of Service Guarantee as of October 18, 2021 – View Here