Shipping and Tracking during a Pandemic
Quite a few customers are asking why their orders aren’t showing up in the tracking information on our web site, why they haven’t received the Spring Bicycle Quarterly yet, and other shipping-related questions. We’re very sorry about these things, because we can’t do anything about them right now. They are out of our control.
One of the consequences of Covid-19 is that there are very few airplanes flying right now. This means that there is much less capacity for airmail, and shipping takes longer. We just learned that many shipments to Europe are going by boat these days – which seems to include the Spring edition of Bicycle Quarterly for readers in France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and a few other European countries.
The U.S. postal service is also struggling to keep up with increased traffic and additional precautions due to Covid-19, and not all parcels are scanned properly when they enter the system. Fortunately, we’ve had zero parcels lost, so this is a glitch that is inconvenient, but usually it’s not a major problem. The shipping company who handles our International Bicycle Quarterly mailings says that all mail to Europe is arriving just fine, too, but it can take months instead of weeks. We’re sorry about this.
So if your order shows as ‘processing’ on the web site, don’t worry. Your order has been shipped or will be shipping shortly. If there is a problem with your order on our end – which happens very rarely – we’ll contact you. In the mean time, please be patient. Your order will arrive!
What if you want to add to or modify an order you’ve already placed? Right now, we’re short-staffed due to Covid-19, and all we can do is ship your orders as they are received. Even though we are working with reduced staff and in staggered shifts, we’re shipping them as fast as we can – usually within 2-3 days. Brakes and cranks are custom-assembled, so they can take a few days longer. We don’t have a minimum order amount, so please place another order for the additional parts. We’re sorry about the inconvenience.
Our goal is to keep you supplied with the parts that are essential for your riding. We prioritize shipping your orders, and we work hard with our suppliers to keep the parts in stock, so that there won’t be shortages down the line. Thank you for your patience during this extraordinary situation.
