1/31/21
COVID 19 and the election fracas caused delays within the USPS over the past three months, affecting the timeliness of deliveries, and in some areas, brought them to a standstill. It all boiled down to the distribution hubs. Our mail goes to the Richmond hub, which was flattened by labor shortage amid package overload. The finally clog cleared last week and we are past the worst of the shipping delays.
During the pandemic, we’ve been working hard to keep up with increased demand for soap and candles, and encourage you to order sooner rather than later.
Free Priority Shipping over $60 within the USA is reduced to $30 temporarily. 🙂 No coupon needed. Just order. We deeply appreciate your patronage and patience.
Virginia orders can be picked up Porchside. Please note we are not allowing patrons to enter the studio. Complete your order online and we will let you know when it’s ready and coordinate your pickup window.
1/22/21
We’re still waiting for the Richmond hub’s package clog to clear, and holding shipments until next week.
We’re maintaining a lower free shipping minimum throughout the pandemic. Enjoy free shipping with every order over $30. 🙂 No coupon needed. Just order. We deeply appreciate your patronage and patience.
Virginia orders within our region can be picked up Porchside. Please note we are not allowing patrons to enter the studio. Complete your order online and we will let you know when it’s ready and coordinate your pickup window.
1/8/21
We just got an update from the PO about a late package trace for a customer. That package is on one of the many trucks waiting at the Richmond hub to be unloaded into the building for sorting. The number of employees able to work has plummeted due to the increasing COVID crisis. Richmond is so backed up that they are simply parking the full trucks, and leaving them to be unloaded as they are able. The package in question was shipped Dec 15, meaning that truck has been sitting there for nearly a month.
Given that your products will be left on a truck to freeze, we’d feel more comfortable delaying until that clog gets cleared up in Richmond. Our original delay date was to be Jan 11, but now we’re holding shipments until Jan 25th. Enjoy free shipping and score a bonus bar of soap (our choice) with every order over $30 placed until Jan 25. 🙂 Again, we’ve considered other shipping venues, but they make no promises either. We deeply appreciate your patronage and patience.
12/22/20
As 2020 is on the way out the door, packages are piling up at the Post Office. The Postmaster at our local branch gave me a long explanation of what is being done with packages right now. In short, they’ve set up auxiliary areas to store and sort packages. There are literally not enough scanners to scan, so the employees are manually sorting at this point.
This means that zillions of packages are at or on the way to a hub between the originating branch and the destination. Many, many packages don’t get scanned into the tracking system until they are already well on their way. Our local branch is operating at 20% labor capacity, and it’s bad everywhere. Let’s continue to be patient and grateful, and if you’re looking for a job, try the Post Office.
12/20/20
Beginning today, December 20, 2020, we’re suspending shipping until January 11, 2021. The postal system is facing unprecedented package load that, coupled with a labor shortage, has created massive backlogs across all USPS hubs. We’re taking this unusual step during this time to safeguard orders, rather than contribute to the clog, and then worry while packages get there late or not at all. (We’ve considered the other shipping services, but they cost about twice the price and stopped guaranteeing delivery times back in March 2020.)
Yes, you can place orders during this time, and we appreciate your business, your faith in us, and your patience as we all wait this out. You will enjoy FREE SHIPPING and an extra bar of soap (our choice) for orders over $10 placed during the interim. No coupon needed. Just order.
We’ve been working hard to keep up with demand for soap and candles, and encourage you to order sooner rather than later. We’ll send pictures of your order being boxed so you have something visual to hold onto. Tracking numbers will be assigned later in the interim, within a week of shipping. We wish you all a safe and healthy Winter.