Shipping Delays

At Tidewater Games, we try to ship most orders for in-stock items within 48 hours (except on holidays). Unfortunately, all 3 major carriers, FedEx, UPS, & USPS are still currently (as of October 2021) experiencing delays with the delivery of packages.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and staffing problems, all carriers are working with millions of packages. As such, there are delays all over the country. Some retailers, websites, and other companies may try to tell you there's no delays, but they're wrong if they use any of the 3 major carriers.

Workers at all 3 carriers are doing their best to get packages to their destinations in a timely fashion, but there just simply isn't enough time in the day & people working to accommodate the number of packages being shipped. Some workers at all 3 carriers have COVID & are thus out of work. At facilities where has this happened, some of them have been shut down.

Even when there isn't a virus confirmation at a carrier facility, some workers are scared of getting sick & are not reporting to work. Thus the carriers are short staffed. They also don't have enough trucks, vans, etc. to haul all of the packages. They're having to rent trucks from rental companies to increase their capacity.

Depending on what part of the country you're in, carriers may not be scanning packages at each stop along the way to you. Thus, if you check the tracking of your package, it may sometimes look like it's sitting in the same spot for days at a time. This is not always the case. Sometimes the tracking receives no updates until it reaches the local area where the package is being delivered. Sometimes however, it does unfortunately sit in one place for several days at time. There's nothing we, you, or anyone else can do at that point, but wait. Packages that are sitting, are usually in huge trailers filled to the brim and it is virtually impossible for the carrier to find your one package out of the thousands on a given a trailer at a specific moment in time.

There are so many packages being shipped, the carriers just don't have enough time or people to scan every package every time.

Generally you should allow for at least 1-2 weeks for your package to arrive no matter where in the country you are or where it's coming from. With USPS for example, we're seeing First Class packages take a minimum of 5 days to reach their destination & some taking 2 weeks or more at times. Same thing with Priority Mail. FedEx & UPS have similar delays though not quite as severe as USPS. Even companies promising 2 day delivery, such as Amazon with their Prime service, are having trouble meeting that promise.

When you order with TWG, once your order is dropped off to FedEx, UPS, or USPS, we have no control over what happens to it. It is up to the carrier to get it to you. We are not FedEx, UPS, or USPS nor affiliated with them in way, shape, or form.

We want you to get your item(s) as quickly as possible & will do what we can to help you out in that regard, but please be patient & plan ahead.

If you're wanting your item(s) in time for Christmas or other important dates, we recommend purchasing FedEx Express Saver or UPS 3 Day Select or faster services such as 2nd Day or Next Day. First Class & Priority Mail may get there in time or it may not. It's not really known right now due to the huge amounts of delays.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact us. We apologize for any inconvenience any of these delays may cause you & thank you for shopping with us.