USPS Will Close Monday June 20 In Observance of Juneteenth
UPDATE
eBay community staff have confirmed an update was made early today to account for the Juneteenth holiday.
Hi @valueaddedresource! I got a reply back faster than I was expecting to. They said they made an update this morning but it will only apply to transactions that occurred after the update was made.
They've already worked out protections for sellers prior to the update too, so no worries about shipping defects for any impacted transactions.
I'm glad to hear eBay is proactively applying protections for sellers with longer handling times that may have been unfairly penalized before the update - that's exactly how it should be done!
Heads up for ecommerce sellers - Juneteenth will be observed as a postal holiday for the first time in 2022 with post office closed on Monday June 20th in observance.
U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 17, 2021, making June 19 a federal holiday. This newly observed holiday commemorates the freedom of enslaved African-Americans in the United States after the Civil War, and the Postal Service is fully supportive of annually recognizing this historic event...
...On Sunday, June 19, the country will observe Juneteenth National Independence Day. The U.S. Postal Service will recognize this federal holiday on Monday, June 20, when Post Offices will be closed for retail transactions. Although there will be no regular mail delivery on this date, carriers will deliver Priority Mail Express items on the observed Juneteenth holiday. Post Offices will open, and regular mail delivery will resume, Tuesday, June 21.
Adding new holidays to the shipping calendar poses some challenges for online sellers who must meet marketplace shipping deadlines, especially if those marketplaces missed the memo.
One seller has already noticed eBay has apparently not adjusted their required ship by dates to accommodate for post offices being closed on Monday for the federal holiday.
Sold an item on @eBay @AskeBay on June 15 with a 5 business day handling time. It says I need to ship by June 22. June 20 is a postal holiday #Juneteenth #Juneteenth2022 NOT a business day! @unsuckEBAY @ValueAddedRS
— less than three records (@RecordsLess) June 16, 2022
That could cause some major issues for sellers who may face late shipment strikes on their seller metrics if they cannot ship on Monday.
Will other marketplaces make the same mistake? I'll update as news rolls in from sellers but in the mean time, I'd highly recommend checking shipping settings for all selling venues and extend handling times if necessary to make sure you're covered!
