The United States Postal Service has been embroiled in a controversy over cost-cutting measures pursued by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who said on Tuesday he’s reversing some of them, including slashing overtime for mail carriers, and halting the removal of mailboxes and mail-sorting machines. Still, USPS remains in a financial dire straits, spurring Democrats in the House of Representatives to vote Saturday on legislation that would pour $25 billion into its operations.
Much of the discussion around the USPS issues has focused on impacts to voting. The impacts to e-commerce deliveries, however, have largely been overlooked and are extensive. In this edition of Beauty Independent’s ongoing series posing questions to beauty entrepreneurs, we delve into those impacts by asking 22 brand founders and executives: What percentage of your shipping is done through USPS? Has the USPS budgetary crunch affected you? Are you weighing alternatives for shipping?
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Jordan Samuel Pacitti Founder, Jordan Samuel Skin We use the USPS almost exclusively for our shipping needs. Ninety-nine percent of our orders are shipped via USPS first class mail or priority mail, including shipments to Canada, although a small percentage of our customers pay for expedited overnight service via FedEx. Currently, we are not experiencing anything firsthand. Some shipments have been a day or two behind schedule, but nothing drastic. We are, however, aware of the fact that this could affect us greatly moving forward, so we will be monitoring this vigilantly as it progresses.
The USPS is the one shipping carrier that helps small independent businesses compete with larger corporations such as Amazon. It allows us to get products to people more quickly and more affordably than any other option currently out there, which is why it is so important that we are able to continue using the USPS. Switching carriers would mean an increase in shipping costs and transit times and could potentially raise the threshold on our free shipping offer as well.
- EnJunaya Canton Owner and Formulator, Zuhuri Beauty and EMK Essentials for Men
Ninety-five percent of our shipping is done through USPS. I've noticed that it is taking longer for my customers to receive their orders even when they are sent two-day priority mail. I have also had clients say they never received their orders. It is frustrating to contact the post office and get assistance. My client gave me the wrong address once and I did not get the package returned for three months. It took three months to get it back!
I am anxious about using another mail carrier, but I have to consider it during this climate. It is challenging for small orders because other carriers seem to charge a lot more than USPS. We do not charge clients more than what it costs to mail their items. We also share a portion of the costs for larger orders. Our goal is to keep shipping costs as low as possible, but this may change.
- ROB HARMON Founder, Magic Beauty
Ninety-five percent of my direct sales business uses USPS. The majority of our business is Amazon via USPS. I also have a cousin who works for Amazon through the local post office in Michigan, so I’ve seen many sides of this.
I’ve hated USPS until recently. They lose my packages. They run them over. I cannot tell you how many packages have just gone off the map to resurface weeks later on the wrong side of the country having literally been run over. It’s embarrassing sometimes when new customers see the way their packages are handled.
The problem is, because the products are so affordable, USPS is the only reasonable way to ship, without double the cost of the products to cover shipping. I had to ask one of my uber-liberal coworkers one day why exactly is it that I’m supposed to support the post office when I feel that they have no accountability similar to all other government operated entities. She explained it thoroughly and, now, it makes sense. It is a financially neglected government system.
Unfortunately, as it stands, another carrier for our products is not an option. We can’t charge double just to ship a product that is only available by mail. For now, it just is what it is, and it sucks for me and for my customers. We have no option, but to rely on the unreliable.
- Joe Freeman CEO, MedZone, SweatZone and Zone Naturals
We use a mix of USPS and UPS for our shipping. Shipping costs have become something we have to strategically think about. Brands need to balance offering free shipping and how that impacts margins coupled with consumer perception on price. We use USPS when we can, but, for larger packages, UPS is key.
We have found by reaching out to UPS, we were able to negotiate better rates based on our volume. One concern we have with shipping is, with the increased demand and potential interruptions with the USPS, how we can still give great customer service in areas that are out of our control?
- DAVID CALLE Co-Founder, Antidote 1848
We love U.S. postal workers and are so grateful to each of them, especially during these difficult times. When we launched, we relied 100% on USPS. It was convenient for us to drop off packages at our local post office and, by using Priority Mail, everyone could track their packages easily. This worked well until we launched hair sprays. Aerosols required a different shipper, so we started to rely on FedEx Ground for anyone ordering a hair spray.
Like all niche beauty businesses, shipping has been a balance of price, convenience, tracking, quality and reliability. In the direct-to-consumer world getting a beautiful package on time says a lot about the brand. Now that free shipping is a given, the full cost of shipping falls on the business, which means that it is our responsibility to find the best shipping approach. As we grew, the USPS drop-offs became time consuming and, with multiple carriers we weren’t getting the benefit of volume discounts.
This past spring, right at the start of the pandemic, we did a complete review of our shipping carriers. Our goals were to have a carrier that could be fully integrated with our Shopify site, better pricing by consolidating our volume in one place, and increased efficiency by eliminating the daily mail drop-off. The review took about four weeks, and we learned a lot through each step. Finding an account rep that works with businesses your size to walk through the process was key.
After reviewing our volume, typical package size and weight with each major carrier, we found that UPS worked the best for us. As our online volume has increased, the investment in time has paid off with a more scalable process. This switch has also meant that the budget crunch at USPS has not impacted our ability to deliver Antidote to customers on time and looking good.
- Trista Okel Founder and CEO, Empower BodyCare
Companies in the CBD beauty industry don’t have many options to weigh because FedEx prohibits CBD shipments. UPS allows them, but USPS is the more cost-effective option for shipping small e-commerce packages. Our ability to continue meeting online demand is directly tied to USPS' ability to operate as it has.
- Sandra McCurdy Co-Founder, Silked
We use USPS for 90% of our shipping, although we do provide customers the option to use other carriers. Shipping has been slower lately, which is likely a combo of budgetary cuts as well as COVID. We really like using USPS. They’ve proven to be reliable, and we also personally know our local postal workers. We’re hoping that we won’t need to switch.
- THEODORA NTOVAS Founder and Manager, Yasou Natural Skin Care
One hundred percent of my shipping is done through USPS, even some small international sales. It has affected me, and there was a package that I wanted to ship to South Africa and was told it was taken off the shipping route, meaning no shipping in that particular area of South Africa. I was told to use either UPS or FedEx. Both price estimates ran about $163.00 dollars. USPS would have been $14 for ground. I decided to not send the package with apologies to the customer and, now, let people know that it may take a super long time.
As far as local shipping, if it’s not too far away, I am starting to deliver the packages personally. I am waiting to see if we can save our postal office service from becoming private. We just don’t need another UPS or FedEx! I’m going to start looking into other options, but, for local, I may just do personal delivery.
- REUBEN DRIGGERS Founder, Bellasonic Beauty
We used to ship out ourselves with UPS, but just recently changed to Fulfillment by Amazon. When we get an order through our Shopify site, it gets routed to Amazon since they already have inventory for products sold on their site. We don't guarantee two-day shipping, but Amazon is usually pretty fast. I imagine, though, that, if they are shipping by USPS, we may see a slowdown in our deliveries.
- Jordan Schindler CEO, Nufabrx
About 80% of our shipping is done via USPS. All of our new Soliscia masks launching [this week] will be shipped via USPS as well. We’ve definitely started to notice a bit of a slowdown in shipping times and also a negative impact on morale of some USPS workers. It’s been such a reliable and cost-effective service for so long, it’s hard to contemplate switching to anything else. For us, it’s all about reliability, quality of the customer experience and cost. If the customer experience begins to fall, that’s when we’ll need to consider looking at other options.
- Felicia Rintanen Co-Founder, Nomad Cosmetics
All of our consumer orders for our e-commerce business go through the USPS due to the quality of their service and their pricing structure. Over the past few years, the price of shipping has gone up with USPS, but their service continued to be very good, getting packages delivered within two to five business days with standard mail. And, despite those cost increases, for our packages, USPS is cheaper than FedEx, DHL or UPS.
Now, with the pandemic, international mail has doubled in delivery time, going from two to four weeks up to six to eight weeks and, in one or two cases at the beginning of the pandemic, when all commercial international travel shut down, 12 weeks. However, in the last three weeks, we have seen more impact to our deliveries within the U.S. More packages [are] getting lost in the mail, but, more interestingly, packages [are] taking two to four days longer to reach destinations within the US. So, instead of two to five days, it is becoming more like four to nine days. The USPS is still the best and most economical delivery method for our direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand. However, we will continue to reevaluate based on price and service changes.
- Tracey Kearse Founder, CEO and Chief Chemist, AcARRE
One hundred percent of our shipping is done through USPS. The budgetary crunch hasn’t affected us as of right now. We are pricing out UPS and FedEx, but also looking into what other carrier options we have.
- Ju Rhyu Co-Founder and CEO, Hero Cosmetics
USPS does nearly all of our last mile delivery via our UPS Mail Innovations partnership. We have begun to notice an increase in complaints about delivery delays. If USPS were to collapse or should conditions worsen, we would have to look to UPS or FedEx Ground, which would increase our delivery fees significantly, 200% to 300%.
- Sarah Belzer President, Coconu
We have 90% of our shipping that is being done through USPS. We are weighing all of our shipping options, even looking at passing the increased cost to the customer. However, the other carriers are twice as much because of the size and weight of our shipping. For our large wholesale orders, we will go UPS, and all of our consumer orders are done through USPS.
- Murphy Bishop II Co-Founder, The Better Skin Co.
Ninety percent of our domestic shipping is via USPS. Typically, we do not have shipping issues. However, starting in July, we had a large number of orders that were never scanned as received at the post office. Tracking would show up as delivered on the day they were left at the customers door. The customer could not follow the package journey and assumed it was our fault, and thought we had not shipped it.
We knew, based on our software, that it was packed and delivered to USPS. We asked customers to wait for a total of seven business days for delivery and, if they did not receive the order, we would reship. All customers did finally receive their orders. Shipping is incredibly expensive, and USPS is still the best value. We are not looking for other options at this time, although we are set up to ship with UPS or FedEx if and when needed.
- Sarah Moret Founder and CEO, Curie
We have been very impacted by delays. Eighty-five percent of [our] shipments are via USPS. We would prefer to stay with USPS, but are prepared to switch carriers if the USPS issues get worse.
- Kenyata Gant Founder, Pink Lipps Cosmetics
My shipping is 100% done through the USPS. The budgetary crunch hasn’t affected my business yet as my orders have shipped out smoothly. However, my husband has been a USPS employee for a total of 12 years and, if USPS locations shut down or cut back on pay, then my family will be affected. Weighing my shipping options will be tough, but I’ll research, Google and find the best one that is convenient and fits my business needs.
- Jamyla Bennu Founder, Oyin Handmade
Eighty percent to 90% of our shipping has been done via USPS since 2003. Yes, the crunch and the governmental tampering of the USPS is affecting us. We have never had this many late or missing packages, and it's a big load on our customer service capacity, helping our customers find their packages or even replacing them if needed. Even when the initial damaging legislation was passed in 2006, imposing unprecedented and unnecessary costs on the agency, the service didn't suffer this much.
This is a crisis that is completely manufactured by bad legislation. We are working hard to stay loyal to this agency, especially now when the need for it is so high. We are fighting it by calling and writing our legislators.
- Anika Goodwin Founder, OpulenceMD Beauty
I primarily use USPS for the majority of my orders (close to 99%) except those that require overnight or express shipping. Shipping times continued to be slower than normal since the pandemic began here in the U.S. Shipping speed continues to be a high-ranking customer service issue. They want fast shipping time with good pricing. I call it the Amazon Prime effect. Therefore, these two things have to be a high priority for any small business owner. These two things will be my highest priority considerations should I be forced to move my shipping elsewhere.
- Allison Teasdale CFO, Unwrapped Life
One hundred percent of our US shipping is done through USPS as a direct partner with Canada Post. After months of shipping delays and lost packages due to the impact of the pandemic, newly announced budgetary restrictions will be the final straw. It’s the perfect storm to completely stifle small businesses after months of losses and stress.
We are currently assessing viable shipping partners and will start shipping with an alternative carrier for all U.S. packages imminently. We were finally starting to see packages move more regularly through the USPS system, but, as this week closes, more delays are being reported, and we just can’t continue this cycle.
- Olufunke Tonye-Preghafi CEO and Founder, Blot Beauty Cosmetics LLC
We are at 60% done through USPS and 40% through DHL for international deliveries. We have been affected by the budgetary crunch, but we know we will pull through in a short time. USPS still remains the cheapest and fastest for us.
- KRISTY HUNSTON Co-Founder, Avoila
At this time, we aren't really experiencing any issues with shipping even though 100% of our shipping is done through USPS. We are working with a 3PL that we trust and will look to them to guide us through any changes that may need to be made in the future.
If you have a question you’d like Beauty Independent to ask beauty entrepreneurs, please send it to editor@beautyindependent.com.
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