Latest Updates6/2/2020
All Facilities are open, fulfilling orders.
New orders placed by 4pm EST are estimated to ship the same business day!! 5/31/2020
All Facilities are open, fulfilling orders. Currently, our shipping delay is ranging between just 1-2 days on economy shipping.
Operations are still 24 hours a day, 7 days week. We're on track to be back to same day shipping on June 1.
We're still paying crisis pay to all of our hardworking and dedicated staff!
Thank you: Aaron, Alden, Annette, Anthony, Bradley, Brandon, Bryn, Cam, Carmen, Celeste, Chris, Christa, Dan, Daniel, Darius, DayShoun, Demetrius, Diana, Diane, DL, Donna, Dylan, Eric, Erica, Evan, Ibrahym, Ivan, James, Jamil, Jerome, Joe, Joel, Jose, John, Jonathan, Josh, Justin, Kaia, Katie, Kelly, Kevin, Kieran, Kyle, Marlon, Nachelle, Nay, Orlando, Pierre, Rebekah, Rosie, Ryan, Sam, Samir, Sarah, Shea, Solomon, Sonnet, Steven, Talia, Tamika, Tanay, Taylor, Teisha, Toby, Travis, Vernice, Yijiu, Zachary -- and so, so many others! Be proud and know that you are appreciated!
Thanks to all for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers! To leave a facebook review,
click here.
5/28/2020
All Facilities are open, fulfilling orders.
Currently, our shipping delay is ranging between 2-3 days on economy shipping.
Operations are still 24 hours a day, 7 days week. We estimate all websites will be back to shipping orders the same day they are placed before 4pm, by Monday June 1 !!
Inventory is continuing to grow. Each day, we are intaking an unprecedented amount of inventory to re-build our offerings and continue to provide you with the selection you've loved for years.
Crisis pay continues for all staff!5/14/2020
All Facilities are open, fulfilling orders.
Since the last update we've managed to improve fulfillment speed further and are now shipping orders faster that we're receiving them. Currently, our shipping delay is ranging between 5-6 days on economy shipping.
Operations are still 24 hours a day, 7 days week. We are laser focused on reducing our shipping delays even further in the coming days and weeks.
Inventory is growing quickly - selection is vastly improved. Your favorite items are coming back in stock every day.
All staff have been receiving crisis pay for weeks and this still continues!4/27/2020
All Facilities are open, fulfilling orders.
Sales volume is still extremely high and while we've markedly increased fulfillment speed in the past 2-3 weeks, orders are still coming in faster on average - but not for much longer! Currently, our shipping delay is ranging between 10-14 days on economy shipping.
We're operating 24 hours a day, 7 days week; devoted to getting your orders out. With continued new staffing and recently increased fulfillment capability, we're aiming for drastically increased fulfillment speed in the coming days and weeks ahead.
Inventory is growing and selection is getting better, every day. While this means we're stocking more of what you love, it also means... More orders!! Ahhhhh!
Thank you again for hanging in there with us as we meet these challenges. We've been receiving overwhelmingly positive and encouraging feedback via email and social media. This continued support and patronage means the world to us. Be well!4/6/2020
Facilities in NJ and IN are open, fulfilling orders.
Hello friends! So much has happened since our last update!
Current shipping delays have increased again and are now 10-12 days on economy shipping. But, we've added an additional production line and better tech which will be up to speed in a matter of days. This means our fulfillment speed will increase markedly in the very near future -- this is great news for our very patient customers!
Speaking of fulfillment, our fulfillment staff is on track to more than double (again) in the next several days to fully utilize our new equipment. More staff equals more products moving through our warehouse, making their way to the people who need them at home.
We've added a dynamic live shipping predictor to our websites! Once you've placed an order with us, you'll have a link to be able to track where your order is in our system, and when we predict it will leave our warehouse! These estimates are based on real-time fulfillment speeds, and vary with our minute-by-minute performance. Very exciting and high tech stuff, folks.
Record-setting days continue, and our SERIOUS staff keeps amazing us, day after day. We're so lucky to have a crew who is so caring and hard-working; from customer service to warehouse, and everyone in between who keeps our shops running.
And, once again we want to thank you - our customers - for your continued support and understanding during these uncertain times. We'll make it through together!3/26/2020
Facilities in NJ and IN are open, fulfilling orders.
Inventory is improving and that's uncovering pent up demand and so we're experiencing continued record breaking sales. We're just out of adjectives, now.
We can't stress enough how appreciative we are of your patience and support! Please know that we're giving this everything we've got. We're continuing to hire and are well past doubling fulfillment staff, now.
Thank you for hanging in there with us as we meet this challenge. Know that you're supporting a life-altering hiring effort of recently laid off workers. Our new people are grateful, passionate, and so excited to be a part of this.
Current shipping delays have increased again and are now 6-7 days on economy shipping. Expect this delay on shipping new orders to worsen until it begins to get better by this time next week. It takes time to train and optimize placement of so many new staff. We hope to achieve our max fulfillment rate by next week. 3/23/2020
Facilities in NJ and IN are open, fulfilling orders. We are working so hard to catch up! Fulfillment capability is increasing each day. We're continuing to hire recently laid off workers in our area and we're all working together to meet the demand and reduce shipping times as quickly as possible. Thank you immensely for your patience and good wishes!
Inventory is improving slowly and is expected to continue to grow this week - along with new items coming available, the site offerings will grow, too. To see a picture of all the inbound jigsaw puzzles on their way to our fulfillment center,
click here.
3/22/2020
Facilities in NJ and IN are open, fulfilling orders.
New order speed is still accelerating! Today's sales are on pace to smash records again. This... is inexplicable.
Current shipping delays are now 4-5 days on economy shipping. We've managed to double our fulfillment staff in less than a week. Fulfillment is ramping up; soon our fulfillment speed should be faster than new order speed and we'll begin chopping away at the delay. Thank you to all for your continued patience!
Inventory is under pressure, but will begin to grow again this week with massive inbound shipments landing soon.3/21/2020
Facilities in NJ and IN are open, fulfilling orders.
NJ closes many more 'non-essential' businesses. Mail order / ecommerce businesses are exempted.
Sales and order speed records again! Continued hiring is underway for 2nd and 3rd shift. We are now 3-4 days behind with all hands on deck. We're maintaining strict social distance policies in our facilities and this has reduced the number of staff that can work in fulfillment at any given time, necessitating a 24/7 schedule.3/19/2020
Facilities in NJ and IN are open, fulfilling orders.
PA closes many more 'non-essential' businesses. Mail order / ecommerce businesses are exempted.
Surprisingly, order speed increases further. Hiring is underway for 2nd shift receivers. We are almost 2 days behind in shipping orders by the end of the day.3/18/2020
Facilities in NJ and IN are open, fulfilling orders.
Sales volume continues to accelerate. Hurculean staff efforts can't keep us ahead; we're drowning in orders. Approximately 1/2 day behind schedule on shipping orders.3/16/2020
Facilities in NJ and IN are open, fulfilling orders.
NJ issued more closings of public facing businesses. As an ecommerce / mail-order house, we can remain open.
We're experiencing record off-season sales; we're managing to keep up without additional hiring so far. Puzzle inventory is strong, but we fear it will get worse before getting better.
All staff are offered 0% interest payroll advances with deferred repayments, to help with added expenses.3/15/2020
Facilities in NJ and IN are open, fulfilling orders.
NJ issues closure orders for many businesses. Our business is not included in this round of closures and can remain open.
•All staff that can work from home are instructed to do so. •No visitor entry allowed, including delivery persons and salespeople. •Third party cleaners asked to assist further in our frequent facilities cleaning. •Required hand washing begins for at least the following times: building entry, building exit, and before & after all breaks. •Expanded hours to allow for less staff density to aid in social distancing.
All staff that cannot work from home will be paid 1.5x wage for all hours, until at least the end of the month and are awarded an additional 1 week of PTO.3/13/2020
Facilities in NJ and IN are open, fulfilling orders.
•Issued guidelines to staff as provided by the CDC and WHO regarding cleaning facilities and commonly touched points, proper hand washing, and social distancing. •Reminded staff to remain calm, but not complacent. •Implored staff to stay home when sick. •Committed to take measures to assist with potential financial disruption of staff. •Staff begins daily cleaning of all commonly touched points throughout the facility.
Sales volume for jigsaw puzzles rises noteably in the US, likely coinciding with many school and business closures. We begin increasing purchasing to prepare for the unknown.
Originally posted 3/13/2020:In this crisis, Serious Shops is dedicated to protecting our staff and customers from the spread of COVID-19. We believe COVID-19 poses an especially grave threat to at-risk individuals and the elderly. For this reason we are doing everything advisable to play our part in slowing the spread and "flattening the curve". It's important that we work together to lower the impact that this virus will have over time on the healthcare system. By slowing the rate of spread our healthcare providers and assets can be effectively utilized to treat the most critical patients. Please join us in adopting stringent personal hygiene and social distancing controls. Limit your contact with people outside of your immediate family whenever possible and encourage others to adopt these measures, too. Together we can make a difference and save lives.
Why are we staying open?For our staff:
From the start of this, our primary objective has been to maintain as much business continuity as possible while keeping our people safe, so that we don't ever have to stop our payroll - even if we can't keep working. Presently, we're achieving this by continuing to fulfill orders, replenish our inventory, and drive sales. But, if it comes down to it and we can't keep that up, we're prepared to ask our customers to bear with us through these times and continue to support our business and our people even if we can't promise a stated delivery date. Please explore further below about how we're responding to COVID-19 and the challenges we're facing; we hope you'll find that our priorities are in order. It's become apparent that the economic impact of COVID-19 will become hard to overcome for many; it's presenting challenges for millions already. Our people have given their all for this business, and it's our responsbility to do everything we can to protect our staffs' financial well-being, too.
For our customers:
We're delighted that our products are in such high demand during these strange times. We have always believed that we're helping to provide customers with fun distractions, cerebral pursuits, tasty treats, and wholesome family activities. Especially, in these uncertain times, people are finding comfort through our products. This is deeply satisfying to us and we want to continue to be there for our customers as long as we can.
