Covid Delays

Information for those who have placed orders through our Etsy stores via Hand Stamped Delights and Two Cheeky Bitches.

As you are no doubt aware, there have been worldwide delays with the postal service because of COVID-19. This has been well documented in the worldwide news and media. Due to a combination of factors including a dramatic increase in online shopping combined with a lot less planes in the sky, shipping times have dramatically increased on what were previously reliable services. Although we have made every effort to provide our customers with appropriate information and affordable options for shipping, we are unfortunately continuing to hear about delays, particularly within the United States where freight is often taking several weeks to clear US customs then is slow to be processed and delivered at a local level.

The good news is that our customers are receiving their orders and we are confident the shipping options we offer will continue to provide a safe and reliable service!

The bad news is that things are moving slowly and items are taking time to reach their destinations.

We completely understand the frustrations of our customers. Particularly when in some cases, orders are taking months not weeks to reach you. The below guidelines are intended to provide some clarity on the latest information we have regarding customers who have used different postage options. This information is based on a number of factors including guidelines provided by different shipping providers, our own monitoring of tracking on items we have sent over the past few months and on feedback from our customers who have recently received items. As the current situation evolves we will endeavor to keep this information up to date for your reference.

Since all the craziness came to our attention, which was around mid March (due to the pandemic) we increased our shipping time frames for all international orders to 10-35 business days to give you all a realistic estimate of shipping time frames, this would have been shown when you placed your order through our Etsy store.

For those who opted to have their items sent via the FREE (untracked) postage method (you can check your Etsy purchase history to double check if you paid for shipping).

This method of post is the slowest method of postage from Australia to the United States, Europe, Canada and other countries abroad. As this method of post is seen as a economy option it seems to be the method of post which has been hugely affected by the postage delays. As it stands, it looks like orders which were placed in April are now only starting to arrive. Had we known this method of post was going to take so long we would have pulled this option from our store earlier, but as we're sure you can appreciate this is something we could not have ever predicted. When we make and post a item we do take a photo of the item with the packaging as a record it has been sent. Despite the current postage delays, we have had very few issues with items going missing so we ask for your patience in waiting for it to arrive.

Was your parcel sent via the Sendle (tracked) postage option?
Please note: you can double check the postage method you selected under the 'purchases' section in your Etsy account

Sendle has also experienced significant delays for items being sent from Australia abroad. As with other freight services, distribution routes have been severely impacted by reduced air services, lockdowns and other COVID related issues. It appears that parcels that were sent in late APRIL to early MAY are only now starting to arrive.

When your order was posted you would have received a e-mail notification from Etsy containing your Sendle tracking number (this can also be found under the purchases section of your Etsy account).

Please note that once your parcel has been scanned our or into your country (before clearing customs - although sometimes it's been happening afterwards) it will be issued a further tracking number for you to track your parcel locally using your local postage provider (USPS for example). To find this number you need to go to:

1) https://try.sendle.com/en-au/tracking
2) Enter your Sendle tracking number
3) Scroll almost to the bottom of the page to find the number (refer below for example)

Was your parcel sent via DHL eCommerce (tracked) postage option?
Please note: you can double check the postage method you selected under the 'purchases' section in your Etsy account

If your order was sent via DHL eCommerce, you would have been sent a e-mail notification on the day your parcel was sent containing the DHL tracking number. You can track your parcel using that number via the link below. If you missed that e-mail, you can also find the tracking number under 'purchases' in your Etsy account.

https://ecommerceportal.dhl.com/track/ (Click to open link in a new window)

For info, when we introduced this shipping method we had the shipping time frames listed as taking 10-35 business days, this information is listed in multiple places within our store and again shows up before you commit to making your final purchase (apologies if you missed this).

According to our DHL tracking portal here are some rough delivery estimates on how long items are taking to arrive.

United Kingdom : On average, it appears orders are taking 3-4 weeks to arrive to their final destination.

United States : Based on tracking data of parcels we have sent recently with DHL it appears as though orders are taking a week or two to arrive in the United States where they are then being held up in US Customs.  On average, it looks like parcels are taking on average 2-3 weeks to pass through customs. I'm hoping that now the situation is changing in the States and things are slowly getting back to normal that this speeds back up. Based on the size of the DHL network and their good reputation for service delivery we trust that they will be able to provide a prompt service once items do clear customs. 

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If you have read through the above information yet still have concerns about your order, please don't hesitate to send us an e-mail (handstamped@internode.on.net) but please don't be offended if we don't get back to you straight away. As per the message on our Etsy store, we are due  with our first baby any day now so we may not be in a position to respond to messages for a little while (hence why we wanted to compile the above information). Rest assured, we will get back to you when we are able.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding through these crazy, unpredictable times. Stay safe ♡