Pagoda World 27

[Jonny B]

Marc,

See my PM on verifying your address. If okay, we will get another out to you.

As you can see from this thread, there has been a real problem with getting the magazine delivered this time around.

I just got three returned last evening, from South Africa. They are not accepting mail deliveries.

[Norm]

Just received today's mail here in Central Texas, still waiting   

Not asking to have another sent yet.  I have had several packages sent "1st class" since March and they all arrived but as much as 21 days from being "accepted at the local post office" where they were shipped from.  Normally would take 2 or 3 days.

Hoping it will arrive by the end of this week.  That would be a month since mailing and probably consistent with other delays.

I'll re-post here when I receive my copy or next week if I don't.

Soooooo....  Is this when we start seriously considering publishing "on-line" and skipping the cost of printing and mailing?  Waiting is one thing but if a significant number of magazines have been lost or undeliverable and resending becomes a burden maybe that would be a better option.

Still being patient!

Norm

[Peter van Es]

Soooooo....  Is this when we start seriously considering publishing "on-line" and skipping the cost of printing and mailing?  Waiting is one thing but if a significant number of magazines have been lost or undeliverable and resending becomes a burden maybe that would be a better option.

Nothing beats having a high-quality physical magazine in your hands. So, not really, when they arrive all over the "civilised" world (France, UK, Netherlands) within a week or two! Perhaps you should worry a little about the job the current administration is doing on the USPS and the effects it will have on voting... perhaps you should all vote now! 

[Cees Klumper]

Yesterday the mail lady only arrived at 8 PM (!), where she normally passes by at around noon. Don't know what's going on, only that I am receiving some things with weeks delay, where USPS used to take days. But other things arrive normally. Lots written about the reasons and causes, but I just hope it goes back to a normal performance soon as I don't think anyone is happy with how it's going now. BTW I did find the Pagoda World in my mailbox finally last Saturday.

[TJMart]

I still have not received my issue. Can I request another. Thanks!

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

After sleeping on it and some heads up from a good friend, I've decided that mixing politics with our pagoda discussions is not a good idea. I, therefore, deleted my earlier post from yesterday.

Dieter

[neelyrc]

👍👏

[Garry]

For those that have not yet received their Pagoda World No 27, can we ask that you please hold off seeking a second one to be posted out at this point.


It appears that the USPS system, which is used to post the magazine out, is struggling with all US internal mail and all International mail to the point where they are returning some other than USA PW’s posted out saying that the receiving countries are not accepting mail. This together with some mailings in the USA taking 3-4 weeks to arrive is problematic..


The USPS International rejections has occurred internally in the USA on PW to South Africa and I have had a personal experience of this happening with a parcel post to Australia which I checked and was advised by our own postal service that it is just not true that Australia is rejecting US mail and they are still handling mail from USA but at a USPS 90% reduced rate. Hopefully this will not continue till November.  If we do get a Pagoda World returned from USPS, we will make alternative arrangements to send them out from Australia in a week or so but they will still potentially be delayed if to the USA and other International addresses by Covid-19 and other restrictions.


So we ask that you please be patient and await the return to normal USPS mailing at some point and hopefully receive your Pagoda World.


Garry
Membership Administrator

[Norm]

Reporting back as promised.

Delivered today! (Central Texas)

 

Norm

[sandcrab59]

I already informed Jon that my issue finally was delivered this week Sep 8.
Tom

[66andBlue]

Here is a good read detailing what caused and still causes the delays:
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-17/louis-dejoy-usps-changes-delays

Draw your own conclusions about the motives behind.

[Cees Klumper]

Well, even before the pandemic and everything that postal management has since done, or neglected to do, a visit to the post office was only slightly less demoralizing to me than a visit to the DMV. Now I avoid both like the plague. Like, to get service at our local DMV I have to be there by 5:30 AM, stand in line for the next 2.5 hours together with around 150 fellow Long Beach residents (many who come with fold out chairs, books, their smartphones) so I can get a 'ticket' at 8 AM that will then allow me to come back to actually get service at around noon. You can't make an appointment, you can't call, you just have to spend a half day to get 10 minutes worth of something done.

[Peter van Es]

Sounds like when I lived in Indonesia. Although, when confronted with this in Jakarta, I paid a guy $2 to stand in line and phone me just before it was my turn. Worked very well. It's a whole business model out there...

[mdsalemi]

Well, even before the pandemic and everything that postal management has since done, or neglected to do, a visit to the post office was only slightly less demoralizing to me than a visit to the DMV.

I'll give you the DMV. Or Registry. Or Secretary of State, depending on what state you are in and what they call it there. In all 50 states, to the best of my knowledge, at the absolute BEST of performance, pre-Covid, it was abysmal. Add Covid to the mix and it was untenable. We're still trying to sort out issues with a simple change to the registration. I don't know where and how they uniformly can hire the surliest and most unfriendly people on the planet.

Post office, well. I've generally had pretty good luck. Must be your local branch. No, they are not as good or efficient as Fedex--not even close--but every office is different. The smaller towns do much better. Where I used to live in Michigan, there was a plethora of non-English speaking people who forever were sending packages overseas. Lines of 20, 30 or more, and the spiel that the counter clerk had to give was the same to everyone, but few understood. One by one trying to educate in sign language about mis-wrapped packages, customs forms, etc. etc. Then you'd get a family there trying to do a passport or a visa, and they'd occupy the clerk for an hour...I rarely ever went to that post office but chose the next town over, where they knew me and service vastly better than my own town.

[Jowe]

I have not receiced PW 27 yet. What's happening?

[Garry]

I would have thought you should have got it by now. However, I only got mine about two/three weeks ago so there is definately some delay in the mail.


Is there any others in Sweden that have or have not received their Pagoda World No. 27?


Garry
Membership Administrator

[Jonny B]

Johan, I have sent you a PM to double check that I have the correct address.

This was a most unusual mailing because of the many countries we ship to, and the varying approaches each has for mail during the pandemic.