Okay so last month I got totally annoyed waiting for this birthday gift I ordered. Ordered it Friday morning and the tracking just…stopped all weekend. Drove me nuts refreshing that page! Made me wonder: does USPS actually do anything with packages on Saturdays and Sundays? Or was my stuff just sitting in some dark warehouse corner?
Testing This Weekend Shuffle Thing
Right, had to actually test this myself instead of just guessing. Needed real answers. Here’s exactly what I did:
- Got my test packages ready: Dug out three small, identical junk boxes from the garage – old phone cases and cables nobody needs. Light and cheap to ship.
- Chose the shipping methods: Sent one First Class, one Priority Mail, and one using Media Mail (had some old DVDs lying around). All dropped off Friday at lunchtime at my local Post Office counter.
- Started the weekend stalk: Grabbed my phone like it was glued to my hand. Set up tracking alerts and made a coffee. Checked the USPS tracking site religiously Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night, Sunday morning… you get the idea.
The First Packages (First Class & Media Mail)
Friday drop-off. Nothing happened Friday night, totally expected that. Saturday? Pure silence. Dead quiet all day. Sunday? Zero movement. Literally no activity logged. Monday morning rolls around, and BAM – both packages finally showed an “In Transit” scan around like 6 AM. So those two definitely got a nice, long weekend nap. Not moving, not scanned. Just waiting.
The Priority Mail Surprise
This one was the interesting one. Also dropped off Friday. Nothing Friday night. Woke up Saturday, checked… boom! Hit with a “Processed Through Facility” scan at the big regional distribution center around 10:30 AM Saturday. Didn’t move again after that scan, but hey, it actually got touched! They processed it! It didn’t go anywhere new Saturday night or Sunday, but it wasn’t totally ignored either. Monday, it was out for delivery, arrived earlier than the others.
Had to Ask the Source
Honestly, the tracking stuff helped but it felt kinda vague. Needed the inside scoop. Went back to my local Post Office Monday afternoon. Struck up a chat with one of the clerks I recognize, Barry. Leaned on the counter real casual:
- Barry confirmed it: “Yeah, Saturdays are mostly for Priority and Express stuff, especially heading out to the main hubs. Some facilities run limited sorts. Sundays? Forget it, unless you got Amazon Sunday delivery happening nearby. Regular mail? Boxes? Sleeping like babies. They ain’t messing with your regular letters or First Class parcels until Monday.”
- He also dropped this bomb: “Tracking scans? Honestly, they might not get updated until the package moves to the next spot, even if something happened Saturday. Don’t trust the app timeline too much.” Eye-opener right there.
So What Actually Happens on Weekends?
- Saturdays: Priority and Express Mail are the kings. They get processed and loaded up for travel, especially traveling between major facilities or hubs. Don’t expect much if any movement for First Class or cheaper services. Some scans might happen but not guaranteed.
- Sundays: Basically shutdown city for everything except for delivering Amazon packages in specific areas where the local post office has that contract. Your stuff isn’t moving. No sorting. No loading trucks. No scans. Period. It’s like everyone hits pause until Monday morning.
Was it complicated? Nah, the test made it pretty black and white for me now. Unless it’s labeled Priority (and even then, only sometimes on Saturday) or it’s that specific Sunday Amazon run from your local PO, your package is parked till Monday morning. Saves a lot of pointless weekend tracking page refreshing now. Hope this helps someone else chill out!
