[jchcollins]

The average to slightly below average "norm" of service that the USPS has had for at least the previous decade dipped to new lows last year, and that is what you are continuing to see now in 2021. All of these stories are very familiar. I've paid a lot extra for Priority insured packages that took longer to get where they were going than First Class. Over the 2020 holidays, multiple eBay purchases just fell off the radar for days or weeks at a time, before eventually all magically showing up. The local postal workers in NC (Triad region) will tell you they are sorely understaffed, and cannot keep new hires. I think in terms of personnel, they have union problems. I'm not sure how to put a point on it, but I've always felt that no postal worker, even the nice ones, truly gave a damn about anything because in their situation they don't have to. Their continued employment is not based at all on customer satisfaction.

Covid of course took even more wind out of their sails; the regional facility 30 miles down the road here in Greensboro I think even shut down for a few days in December.

It's not a good situation, but if you want to mail run of the mill cards without spending a fortune, it's your only choice as it's always been. I know it's a painful answer right now, but the old "most things do get there eventually" is basically true, from what I can tell. If I have to mail a card over $2-300, I will usually just suck it up and pay FedEx a lot more to get it there quicker with (much) better tracking. I don't sell a ton anymore, and peace of mind is more valuable to me than it used to be.