How long does snail mail take?

[thailen]

I just sent a letter(containing only two sheets) from the U.S. to Pattaya on February 2nd. Is it reasonable to expect such a letter sent from the USPS to a business location in Pattaya to take approximately 2 weeks?

[CharlieH]

Yes and as much as 4 as it depends ultimately on your local postman as thats the weakest link in the chain and why many opt for PO Boxes.

[wotsdermatter]

8 minutes ago, thailen said:

I just sent a letter(containing only two sheets) from the U.S. to Pattaya on February 2nd.

Interesting that you mailed the letter on 2nd February but your comment was not posted until 16th February.  I send letters and small packages from Toronto, Canada and they usually take no longer than 10 days maximum to Bangkok.

'nuf sed.

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post.

[Maestro]

USPS offers different types or classes of postal mail service with different delivery times. Which service did you use for your letter to an address in Pattaya?

 

https://www.usps.com/international/mail-shipping-services.htm#quickcompare

[Susco]

Snail mail or surface mail doesn't actually exist anymore in most counties

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_mail

[taxout]

I don't know how airmail is normally routed between the US and Thailand, but if it is normally routed through Hong Kong, expect delays.

[jackdd]

For priority mail they do afaik guarantee 30 days, if it wasn't priority then there is probably no guarantee, so can be more than 30 days (usually it will be less than that, but depends on your luck).

[Puccini]

14 hours ago, Susco said:

Snail mail or surface mail doesn't actually exist anymore in most counties

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_mail

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/snail-mail

 

The OP did not say surface mail and consequently he obviously did not mean what used to be surface mail and now is called different names by the the postal services of different countries. Snail mail is slang for postal service, regardless the class of the postal service, as opposed to email.

 

[statman78]

My brother sent a Christmas card from the US to me in Chiang Rai.  It took 3 weeks to get here

[rwill]

2-4 weeks, rarely even longer is what I have experienced.

[paulbrow]

On 2/17/2020 at 1:40 AM, Susco said:

Snail mail or surface mail doesn't actually exist anymore in most counties

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_mail

Very misleading and inaccurate post at best...

[spetersen]

On 2/17/2020 at 1:10 AM, Maestro said:

USPS offers different types or classes of postal mail service with different delivery times. Which service did you use for your letter to an address in Pattaya?

 

https://www.usps.com/international/mail-shipping-services.htm#quickcompare

I don't think it matters if you don't send it EMS, I live in a Moo Baan in Pattaya and we all 57 villas receive our mail once a month in bundle with a rubber band , We have been to the post office and complained, but nothing happened. TIT 

[new2here]

As I recall EVA has one of the USPS contracts for US Mail to several countries in Asia, Thailand included.  That is because they service all the US airports with an ISC which is the last point before a US originated mail piece is cleared to be exported.  My experience is that it’s right around 14 to 20 days... but there’s a lot of variables such as making that days dispatch, hold ups for outbound clearance#, even inbound Thai clearance too... So called “document” shipments tend to clear faster than non-document shipment (the difference is that all non-document shipments must have attached the correct version of the PS 2976 form for customs clearance purposes)

 

 

(#remember that while we think of Customs as an entry only event, Customs does have the statutory right to inspect outbound mail for compliance with relevant export commercial and product control laws, currency control laws, etc)

[Captain 776]

Average 15 days

[xeniv23]

I recently sent a small box of home made chocolate chip cookies from Las Vegas to a friend in Bangkok.  It was an experiment to see if the cookies would survive in the heat and how long it would take and if they made it through customs.  

 

USPS cheapest option took 6 days and everything arrived just fine.  I'd expect about the same for First Class letter.  

[Maestro]

Removed some off-topic posts and the replies to them.

 

The OP asked about a letter he sent from the United States (US) to Pattaya in Thailand. Therefore, any post about mail delivery times from any country other than the US to Thailand and mail from Thailand to any country is off topic in this thread.

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post.