COVID-19 Shipping Updates

**Most items should ship within 48 hours. Only A FEW ITEMS will delayed to 48-36 hours. Feel free to reach out to cs@plantingseedsofbeauty.com or chat with us if you have any questions. 

Shipping & Delivery:

Planting Seeds of Beauty is committed to servicing our customers in this unprecedented time of need. A crucial aspect of our ability to service our customers is transportation and freight. We recommend customers refer to guidelines and statements provided by the carriers delivering their shipments to understand their safety protocols.

Below is a consolidated view of our current shipping and delivery information based off carrier details from their respective websites. 

Delivery times and Service Guarantees: Given the increasing number of shelter-in-place orders across the country and reduced capacity due to an influx of orders, some shipments may be impacted by delivery delays. If a business has signage posted indicating it is closed, if possible, it is recommended to also post signage indicating deliveries are being accepted, with a location.

• USPS: The Postal Service’s provision of postal services throughout the United States is not affected by State and local government actions that are restricting commercial and personal activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Postal Service is an entity of the Federal Government, and the provision of postal services to the American people is designated as an essential function under federal law during times of emergency. The postal system is used to deliver, among other things, important governmental information and benefits, mail that is essential to the functioning of our economy, elections materials, and packages containing vital necessities, including medicines and other goods, and is a part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.: Postal and shipping workers, including those in the private sector, are also considered essential critical infrastructure workers under recent guidance issued by the Department of Homeland Security. White House and CDC guidance has also stated that such industries have a special responsibility to maintain normal work schedules. The functioning of the postal system depends critically on the mailing and printing industry. Members of the mailing and printing industry work with the public and private sector to create, print, and enter essential mail into the postal system. The industry also serves a vital role in ensuring that packages are able to be efficiently shipped from sender to recipient. Therefore, the Postal Service considers that the continued operations of the mailing and printing industry in enabling the delivery of critical mail and packages is vital to the Postal Service’s continued performance of its essential functions.vSignature Confirmation Update: For inbound mail deliveries, letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items will be handled as follows: Items requiring signature on delivery will no longer be signed at the moment of handover to the recipient, for health, safety and security reasons. Instead, the postman will ask for the recipient’s name and will enter this information in the signature field of the handheld device or delivery manifest. This temporary measure came into force from Monday, 16 March 2020 and remains in effect until further notice. For delivery of items to a mail room, the addressee will receive a text message or telephone call. Deliveries to premises or areas needing to be closed down due to COVID-19 are suspended.
• UPS: UPS continues to deliver worldwide. In the U.S., UPS is designated among the government’s critical infrastructure and, therefore, operations continue as normal. If destination addresses are not accessible due to business closure or quarantine, shipments will be held for nine (9) business days until the destination is cleared for delivery. If the destination is cleared within nine (9) business days, UPS will re-attempt delivery, prior to returning the shipment to sender. Alternate delivery locations may be available as well, depending on the destination location. UPS standard practice is to utilize exception codes providing updates to impacted shipments. UPS has suspended the UPS Service Guarantee for all shipments from any origin to any destination until further notice. UPS expects to see delays within the Air and Ground networks. Signature Required Services have been modified. Drivers will ensure packages are delivered to the consignee but will not be exchanging the signature board to capture a signature. Drivers will not release packages without the consignee being available to retrieve them, and if applicable verify the age (over 21) of the consignee. UPS is also taking additional precautions when delivering to healthcare facilities.  All UPS drivers delivering to healthcare related locations are provided a mask to wear while performing the delivery.
• FedEx: FedEx is considered an essential business and will continue to operate under state of emergency and shelter in place orders recently issued in the U.S. Local, state, and national government work and travel restrictions change daily which are impacting FedEx’s ability to meet their high standards of service. Delays are to be expected. Signature guidelines are being temporarily adjusted for all shipments within the United States, except for Adult Signature Required (ASR) shipments. In efforts to minimize physical interactions, customers may be asked to verify recipient name in lieu of a physical signature. FedEx is still collecting recipient information. For shipments with the adult signature service option selected, couriers will still request a physical signature and require a government issued photo ID.