Columbus Day: USPS, Government Offices, and Banks Are Closed Today – October 10, 2022

Columbus Day is a federal holiday in the United States which celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492.

On Columbus Day, most government offices, the United States Postal Service, banks, and some non-retail businesses are closed today.

What is closed today or not operational today at USPS?

• No counter operations at retail post offices around the country.
• No regular mail delivery.
• No regular mail pick-up.
• No mail pickup from USPS mailboxes.
• No USPS phone customer service.

What is open or operational today at USPS?

• Access PO Boxes at most locations, if separated area from counter operations/lobby.
• Use self-service machines at most locations, if separated area from counter operations/lobby.
• Priority Mail Express may be delivered. Restrictions and conditions apply, check tracking.
• Online USPS Ship-N-Click is fully functional.
• Inside and outside USPS mailboxes are open 24/7 – but outside boxes could become very full at busy post office locations.

UPS, FedEx, Amazon, DHL, and Other Private Parcel Carriers

• UPS, FedEx, Amazon, DHL and most private package carriers will operate today.

Tips for Sellers on Columbus Day

Federal holidays when USPS is closed are always a bit tricky for sellers because many buyers don’t think about them as “holidays” as retailers and most private companies are open. Here are some tips on how to deal with shipments today.

• Process USPS shipments as usual, but a good practice is to notify buyers that today is a Postal Holiday in the United States and there are no postal operations today. Buyers will still receive a tracking number, but by notifying them of the holiday they won’t expect to see any movement scans until Tuesday.
• For urgent shipments, consider using UPS, FedEx, DHL Express (international), as these carriers operate today. For sellers who need to drop off package(s), private carriers have an extensive nationwide store network.
  • The UPS Store website and store locator
  • FedEx Office website and store locator
  • DHL Express Locator
• Also, UPS, FedEx, and DHL have small package drop boxes, and agreements with many independent national retailers, private shipping centers, and mailbox stores. Check their websites for more details.
  • UPS
  • FedEx
  • DHL Express
• The Sendle shipping service which is becoming popular among some marketplace sellers mostly relies on USPS to deliver packages in the US. You should treat regular Sendle shipments like USPS shipments unless they are Sendle Swift shipments that are contracted through a private carrier.
• If using USPS Scan Forms, the best practice is to close out the day as usual. Some shipping platforms may not allow this or they may allow rolling over today’s shipments to the next business day. Check with them for details.
• Avoid using outside USPS mailboxes (the blue boxes) at busy post office locations as they could become very full.
• eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, PayPal and other platforms that offer USPS shipping services will all process USPS labels today. However, most of them will not inform buyers that today is a holiday. See the suggestion above for USPS shipments.

Additional Federal / USPS Holidays in 2022

Looking ahead this year, here is a list of the remaining federal and postal holidays in 2022.

• Friday, November 11 – Veterans Day
• Thursday, November 24 – Thanksgiving Day
• Monday, December 26 (observed)* – Christmas Day
• Monday, January 2, 2023 (observed)** – New Year’s Day

* December 25, 2022 (Christmas Day), falls on a Sunday. Monday, December 26, will be treated as a federal holiday.

** January 1, 2023 (New Year’s Day), falls on a Sunday. Monday, January 2, will be treated as a federal holiday.

Here is a complete list of all major holidays and other important dates for eCommerce in 2022.

Richard Meldner

Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.

To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.