Almost 450 packages were dumped into a ravine in Alabama this December. The driver, 22 year-old, Deandre Rayshaun Charleston has admitted to dumping almost $40,000 worth of holiday gifts into the rural location (TODAY). This is only the tip of the iceberg of the larger problem that is the delay of packages all over the country. 

   Ordering a package, and receiving no information about its whereabouts has become the reality of many online shoppers this holiday season. A student at Westerville North, Lauren Palmer (11), ordered a Taylor Swift sweatshirt almost two months ago, and it still has not arrived. 

   “[The website] said four weeks but I’ve waited five or six weeks and it still hasn’t shipped,” Palmer said. 

   Palmer has not received any updates from the website or the shipping company. 

   “I actually forgot about [the sweatshirt], I didn’t even get emails,” Palmer said.

   Not only is the delay of packages affecting students, it is also affecting parents, who count on their online purchases to arrive before Christmas. 

   Alayna Green, teacher at Westerville North, orders packages very often during the holiday season, especially for her son. Recently, Green tried to order a gift for Christmas on a lesser known website ‘The Nugget.’

   “One thing I ordered in particular is a kids’ couch and it was going to be ten weeks before it would ever ship and be delivered,” Green said. 

   Green did not buy the couch from ‘The Nugget’ solely because of the timeline of the delivery.  Green had to search elsewhere for the gift. 

   Small business owners are also feeling the wrath of delivery delays, especially in light of the holiday season. Ohio Art Market, a locally owned business, ordered shipments of products for the store and are still waiting on its arrival. 

    Micha, an employee at Ohio Art Market, expresses frustration with delayed orders this holiday season.

   “We ordered bags a while ago, handbags, and they haven’t arrived yet. They are two weeks past when they were supposed to arrive,” Micha said.  These problems only started to occur once the holiday season started to pick up.. 

   “Covid has restricted a lot of travel and has made everything a lot slower,” Micha said. 

   However, as difficult as delivery delay may be, small businesses and parents alike have found ways to navigate around the issue. 

   “I actually got [the couch] from another place – Sam’s club,” Green said. 

   Small businesses have started supporting each other during the holiday season to combat delivery delay. 

   “We started ordering bags from another small business, you know, small businesses supporting each other,” Micha said.