Delay in shipping from (and perhaps into) the UK?

[Coenus Scaldingus]

As I imagine is true for quite a few hobbyists here, rather a large proportion of packages arriving on my doorstep come from the UK.

In the last few months, it appears those are taking longer and longer to arrive. 1-2 weeks tended to be typical before. Since August, I've had several items take three weeks to arrive using standard shipping, and now a little envelope with some bits took a massive 5.5 weeks. In isolation, any of those could just have been an outlier in the randomness of shipping times, but it might be part of a larger pattern. Has anyone had the same experience?

Living in the EU, I wondered if it might be caused by the introduction of customs checks and things like that; with such measures perhaps being tested now before they will (perhaps) have to be implemented in full soon. Or maybe it's all just the fickle nature of international postal services after all.

[Arrigo]

or more people ordering minis to stack their stashes, and the companies taking more time...

or slump in services during summer (with less staff available to the various national mail services), it is a thing I noticed here.

[Inkpaduta]

You are correct. Things are taking longer to arrive to the US. I am usually waiting a month now.
However, as usual, Irregular gets me my order in seven days. So if they can do it what really is
the problem?

[Blackwolf]

Hello chaps,
I live in Australia,all good so far. I’ve had three lots from the UK recently,two by courier and one by Royal Mail,all came within 10 days. In fact the package from Oshiro arrived in less than seven (by ‘neff evidently).
Cheero
Guy

[Historiker]

I also live in the EU, Germany specifically, and an order which usually takes 8 days to arrive has not yet reached me and it has been 5 weeks. Other orders from the same source seem fine, so it could be a coincidence or just one order held up in customs. Wait and see.

Will definitely have to keep an eye on that, as  - so far - I almost exclusively order from the UK. The UK, in my opinion, ist just THE place in terms of tabletop culture. I will probably continue ordering most of the stuff directly from the companies themselves as I want to support that culture. So far the wait is no problem because there is always the lead mountain to paint.

[Antonio J Carrasco]

I did notice also a delay, but it has been random, and some packages have arrived even earlier than expected. Others, however, have been delayed up to the point of being sent a replacement!

Can't speculate about the reasons. I don't believe it is related to Brexit, though, if only because I don't believe anybody has a real plan about what to do once it is in force (for starters, nobody seems to know what "in force" will mean anyway)

[Shahbahraz]

opposite here, in the UK, ordered from continental EU, now 4 weeks and counting.

[Nordic1980s]

Mail from UK to northern Europe is taking some days longer than it used to: before 1 to 1½ weeks, now easily 2 weeks or more. Same thing with parcels from US and Canada: it used to be maximum of two weeks, unless sent by super cheapo surface mail. Now easily 3 weeks. Falls in line with the overall gradual degradation of services/infrastructure/logistics seen in European first world nations.