The problems have delayed some packages for days and even weeks, shippers and consumers say, holding up orders at a time when many people are shopping more online to avoid infection with the virus.
The slow deliveries have complicated business for e-commerce sellers who rely on the Postal Service to ship packages at affordable rates, and tracking services have added to the frustrations, with some items appearing to get stuck at certain locations or vanishing altogether.
“Updates on locations of almost all of our packages are either not available, they do not get scanned [or are] sent back without notification,” said Ivy Kami of Colorado Springs, Colo., who sells jewelry and gifts through an online store called Boutique Alosia LLC. “Long wait times and frustrated customers have not been fun for e-commerce sellers like myself.”