U.S. Postal Service Provides Update on Shipments to Italy
The U.S. Postal Service provided an update today regarding shipments destined to Italy.
Don’t Miss
- Do you need a business bank account for your online business? Have a look at our review of the five best bank accounts for sellers, some of which are free with no minimum balance or deposits.
- AI can change your entire social media game today. Learn how you can save time writing engaging content faster. [sponsored]
- How to lower your taxable income and pay less in taxes. [sponsored]
- ‘My Community Made’ is a new marketplace to compete with Etsy and Amazon Handmade.
- EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Chris Prill, VP eBay Motors, discussing the new Guaranteed Fit program.
Last week, USPS informed shippers that Poste Italiane, Italy’s postal service, suspended deliveries of packages and mail in Northern Italy due to the coronavirus outbreak in that region.
UPS and FedEx also warned customers it had stopped operations in parts of Northern Italy affected by the quickly rising outbreak of coronavirus cases.
While the Italian government now has placed the entire country under a quarantine, Poste Italiane has resumed operations in the initially affected areas of Northern Italy and continues to deliver mail and packages throughout Italy.
However, the Italian postal service is taking some additional precautions that may delay some shipments or require recipients to pick up their mail and packages.
- All mail items, including registered mail, insured letters, and parcels, will be deposited in mailboxes with a notice signed by the mail carrier informing the recipient of this temporary measure.
- If the addressee is absent or refuses to accept this mode of delivery, the mail carrier will leave a notice of delivery and instructions in the recipient’s mailbox, enabling the recipient to collect the item from a post office.
- Items rejected by the addressee will be returned to the sender.
NEWER UPDATE AVAILABLE HERE: U.S. Postal Service Status on International Mail Shipments
Other Couriers Report Resumption of Operations in Italy
The Italian country-wide quarantine does not impact the movement of goods to and from Italy or inside the country.
While the quarantine order has placed restrictions on some businesses and organizations and is explicitly trying to discourage larger gatherings of people, it is not as restrictive and detrimental to the economy as China’s quarantine.
In addition to Poste Italiane, other courier services such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL have also resumed full operations in previously affected areas of Northern Italy and continue to do so in the entire country.
Online merchants and marketplace sellers should still notify Italian recipients that shipments can be delayed due to the country-wide quarantine and pro-actively track orders en route and stay in touch with customers.
[post-cta]
Connect with us: Head over to our Facebook Group for Small Business Sellers and interact with other small business owners.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to stay up to date with relevant news and business insights for your online business.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Business Insights for Your Online Business Presented with a Dash of Humor
We do not share your information and you can unsubscribe anytime.
Richard Meldner
Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.
To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.