Last year, it took ages for my LHS to get Model Railroad Planning on his shelves. This year, I decided to order direct.Here’s the result:
Pre-Shipment
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
RINGGOLD, GA 30736
January 17, 2026, 11:56 pm
It has been crickets ever since. Comments?
That might not be ‘postal paralysis’. Tracking would update with ‘USPS in possession of item’ when the item reached the originating facility.
Maybe more like “we only take the books to the PO once a month?”
Last thing I ordered in advance of publication showed up pretty much when promised. Trouble is, the print runs are now so short you can’t count on a popular book being available for very long.
And then the PO has the option of shipping it to you directly…or letting it take a circuitous route so that it can collect stickers - like the old steamer trunks. 
Ordered two Mini Metals vehicles off eBay from a gentleman in MA. MA to OH should take only 2-3 days. Nope! Item picked up by USPS last Saturday and went from East Bridgewater, MA…to Boston…to Middlesex/Essex, MA…to Indianapolis, IN…to Des Moines, IA, where it presently resides. It will likely stop off in Indianapolis again on the return trip and show up in OH on Monday.
It’s not really a big deal. However, it isn’t the first time that something shipped from the east coast shoots past OH and ends up in Indianapolis before ricocheting back to OH. Guess there is some sort of USPS logic to it. It’s beyond me though.
Tom
I think I’m surprised that doesn’t happen more often. Of all the things I’ve gotten in the last year through USPS, only one item got waylaid. It went from Burlington, Vermont to Rochester, New York by way of Denver.
I agree with Woke; “Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item” means Firecrown or whoever sends out their stuff has created a USPS label, and the USPS is waiting to get the package from them so they can begin the process of getting it where it’s going.
Adding to this, in general there are sellers who create a label as soon as an order is received regardless of when they intend to actually ship it. As soon as they do that USPS tags it as label created.
To the OPs comment about the LHS taking a long time to get it in the past that indicates they experience the same issue as you. Out of curiosity check their shelves periodically to see who gets it first.
That’s exactly what it means. The only action taken so far in that situation is that the sender has had a tracking number issued by USPS.
I am currently awaiting an order from a large, well known mail order shop; one I have dealt with for years, with no problems. I am assuming that this particular order (all from the manufacturer) was drop shipped; as the order was placed on Jan. 14th; shipped from Milwaukee on the 15th.(I am assuming from the Walthers warehouse; hobby shop is not in Milwaukee) Package was received for processing in Dallas on Jan. 17th; then it shows up in Indianapolis on Jan. 25th. On January 28th, package is received in Olathe, KS (at least it is the right state). It says “out for delivery” today, but it does not say where (hopefully, Dodge City). We’ll see.
I am sure the snowmaggedon had something to do with the routing. The things I ordered are not critical, just some stuff that I wanted to have for future use.
Gotta love USPS. Actually, I’ve been very happy with their service in general, except lately they don’t seem to scan all package tracking numbers. It will show in, say, Ohio for days and then it’s all of a sudden in your mailbox. Oh, and then this happened this week. Ordered a sign from Miller Engineering and it shipped from CT, one state south of where I live in MA. The first destination it showed was headed SOUTH to NJ, instead of their hub in Springfield MA. Hope it doesn’t go to OH. Go figure!
Regards, Chris
Maybe to a small extent. It happens frequent enough for me. A Lexington, KY shipment heading to northern OH last month went down to Knoxville, TN…up to Louisville, KY…over to Indianapolis…then eastward to OH.
I just wish I understood if it was a logistical routing issue that made sense if you were involved in the USPS network…or…employee incompetence/apathy. 
Tom
We are having theft issues regarding our local mail. I know of two instances where checks for utility payments were stolen after being dropped in a mail box; the checks were altered; one significantly. We mailed a birthday card to my daughter in Houston in October, with a significant gift card inside. She never received it.
Trying not to get political here; but I would think that a politician who could fix the postal service would get elected in a landslide. Or privatize it; not sure if the postal union would go for that.
The USPS literally circles my area with packages sent to me. At one point in one of the routes, the package passes within 1/2 mile of my front door on its way to a hub over 100 miles away.
I know they can’t stop the truck to drop it off, but they could skip that last hub ans send it to my town from the intermediate stop. It’s not as if I am the only person getting mail around here.
Sometimes, the route is St. Louis to Springfield to KC to Springfield to my town. with multiple day waits at each place. Tell me how that routing = efficiency, please.
I’m in the opposite situation here.
I can put a letter in my mailbox, and it seems to reach anywhere in the country in four days, usually three days.
We get packages normally one or two days earlier than the tracking predicts.
I’m friends with our local postmaster, and his biggest issue is when the Post Office agreed to do the last miles’ deliveries for Amazon and Fed Ex. We have enough trouble here getting workers, and that extra stuff really taxes the remaining employees.