Here are a few pandemic-related questions and their answers (plus a couple of rants), which I will update as things change:
- Is DIY Packraft still making and shipping packraft kits?
- Yes! My region has been mercifully spared by the pandemic, so things go on here with few disruptions aside from physical distancing measures. There have been some changes to products due to fabric shortages (see individual product descriptions for details), but if a product is available to purchase in the DIY Packraft shop, that means it’s available. I update this website immediately when things change, so there is no need to email me to double check.
- Is shipping still available to my country during the pandemic?
- Shipping to most countries has been resumed. You can check this by adding products to your Cart and then entering your address on the Cart page. The DIY Packraft website communicates directly with the postal service online database, using your address and the parcel weight+dimensions to check options and prices in real time. If you email me to ask this question, you will get a slower and less reliable answer than if you check for yourself. Even if regular service is suspended to your country, you may be able to use a North American-based freight forwarder instead, as shipping within North America continues without interruption. (Note that shipping availability could change during the order processing time – i.e. after you submit your order but before it’s ready to ship – but I haven’t noticed any changes in the past couple of weeks.)
- Is UPS the most infuriating business to deal with?
- Quite possibly. As much as I hate UPS for their hidden import fees and ugly brown uniforms, I have been trying to set up a UPS account for weeks now, so DIY Packraft can ship kits to countries where the regular postal service has been suspended due to COVID-19. UPS representatives email me to schedule a phone call so we can set up the account, but when I suggest times (such as “10:00 a.m. Tuesday, PST,” or “literally any time”), they do not acknowledge my replies or phone me at the suggested time. I try contacting a different person, but they just pass me off to someone else who then does not reply. So to those people who were waiting, I am sorry – there’s only so much I can do. Fortunately postal service has resumed and there’s no need for UPS anymore.
- Will the United States Postal Service still exist in a few months?
- Not unless you advocate for it. Due to a bizarre law that doesn’t apply to any other agency or corporation, USPS employee pensions must be pre-funded, which adds up to a huge cost (there are over 600,000 employees). The USPS also has to serve small communities where for-profit couriers don’t operate because doing so is revenue-negative. For centuries this hasn’t been a problem, because the federal government has seen the value a postal service provides, but the USPS is controlled by the executive branch and the current president thinks it’s “a joke,” so the postal service is on track to be bankrupt in a few months. If you use and value the USPS, you might want to send a letter to your representatives expressing your concerns… while you can still send letters.
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