is it normal to wait two weeks before getting a package from canada to USA?

Answer 1

Yep... especially over the holiday season... as postal workers are unionized and staff in is minium during the holiday season.

Answer 2

I've answered this before, so I'll try and paraphrase a little.

First - how do you ship? Dedicated couriers (like UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc) will tend to be faster than regular parcel post in most instances, but sometimes will take exactly the same amount of time.

Second - and more important than the first - where do you ship from (and to)? Starting in a rural area will mean more time than a city start - and finishing in a rural area will add time at that end as well.

For the record, the fastest possible time (from rural start to rural finish) goes something like this:
-> Package is dropped off for shipment by you at the local point. If you're there before the day's pickup by Canada (or US) Post, then you ~should~ get out that day ... unless yours is big, heavy, bulky, or there's simply a lot of other stuff to be picked up, Then you might have to wait an additional day or two to actually move forward on the next leg of the journey.
-> Package is picked up and moved to nearest urban center. Once there, it gets resorted - if you're going international, it probably has to stop at one other urban center on your side of the border first. If the sorting gets done quickly enough, you make that day's shipment ... if not, you've lost another day.
-> You're now at the Canadian (or US) urban transfer point. From here, the package gets sorted (again!) ... and loaded for transfer between countries. If the timing is right, you make the next outgoing run ... or the one afterward. Of course, being a fairly large urban center, the sorting is done twice (or even three times) a day, so at most you lose another 12 hours.
-> The truck (containing your package) has reached the border. Here, you need to transship to the other country's system ... which might entail a day or two at the border, depending on both vehicle and parcel traffic.
-> From the border, you go to a major urban center. Once there, you get sorted (again). If you've made the timing correctly, ... ah well, you know what I mean. Otherwise ... more delay.
-> Now in second urban center (more local, not the international sort version) ... again, a re-sort and possible delay.
-> Finally, delivery to your local rural point. If it's open, a notice goes into your mailbox telling you to come and get it ... otherwise you have to wait for the announcement. And then you have to actually come by and make the pickup yourself ...

I ship stuff all the time between 'rural' Texas and 'rural' areas in Ontario and Eastern Canada. The shortest trip was 14 calendar days ... a more normal time is about 21. When going to the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, add another 3-4 business days onto the longer timeframe. (And when going up there, it makes no difference whether you use regular parcel post or courier, except in how much you pay. They all arrive on the same delivery.)

Hope that clears it up for you.

Answer 3

It's entirely possible for a package to take 2 weeks. First you must consider the time of year - it's busy and the post office is on overload. Next it really depends on "how" it was shipped - regular parcel post, expediate, express, etc - each of these have different time lines for delivery starting with regular which is the slowest to priority which is the fastest. Then you also have to consider Customs - which are also on over load at this time of the year and are usually ruuning anywhere up to 6 or 7 days behind schedule. So to answer your question while it may not be exactly "normal" at other times of the year it is "normal" at this time of the year. Hopefully this answers your question.

Answer 4

Very normal. CanTexan said most of it for you.

If you are shipping by regular mail, I have had packages take 4-6 weeks from the USA.

Answer 5

No, it's not normal. It doesn't take anywhere near that long to get a package from Canada. It sounds like the package was probably lost in the mail, or it could be because of the holiday season.

Answer 6

yeah it's fine. when i send or get stuff it usually takes like 10 days to get it.