USPS Sucks

[fedoracentric]

With sequestration, I would doubt we have full staffing.

I doubt sequestration has anything at all to do with this.

 

[alanfgag]

International shipping is a gazpacho of mixed services, governments and companies. Within the U.S., the USPS partners with courier companies for some of their services and the couriers use USPS to deliver to rural addresses that they cannot reach cost effectively.

Commercially, we use UPS for all trade deliveries and USPS for all retail deliveries. The residential surcharge for UPS generally gives the nod to USPS in terms of cost. With Saturday delivery (which should remain for parcels, should congress approve a move to 5 day service) and the 2-3 day service for the majority of Priority Mail shipments, this is the service of choice for hats. The only exception is when there is a large hat box involved, which can push the dimensional weight of a Priority Mail package into a higher zone.

We used to experience almost 0 loss with UPS. At some point several years ago we stopped insuring all but very expensive parcels because loss was so low. It was more cost effective to underwrite the potential losses than to insure with UPS for excess valuation. This has shifted somewhat. Newer automation hardware at UPS has resulted in occasional damages and as Guttersnipe notes above, the process of filing claims has become more difficult as UPS often rejects the claim initially as a fault of shipper packaging. This has always been resolved at some point down the chain, but it is annoying to have to appeal.

It is obviously imperative to package your goods carefully. That is a topic unto itself.

I'm sorry that you are experiencing a delay, TJones. Standard parcel service is much slower and harder to trace for what usually amounts to a very small cost savings over Priority Mail. USPS Priority Mail service remains the fastest, cheapest, most accessible and most reliable package delivery service for sending hats.

 

[fedoracentric]

I'm sorry that you are experiencing a delay, TJones but your experience notwithstanding, USPS Priority Mail service remains the fastest, cheapest, most accessible and most reliable package delivery service for sending hats.

Hear, hear.

 

[T Jones]

(1) When I worked as a shipping/receiving clerk at a distribution warehouse (first job out of high school), we had a pallet of merchandise arrive via U.P.S. Freight that had been IMPALED by the forks of a fork lift while in transit! The cost of the destroyed merchandise was about $35,000. Of course the shipment was insured so, as was part of my job, I filed a claim with U.P.S., which they rejected. Their assertion was (a) the manufacturer sent the pallet that way (doubtful, illogical, and frankly absurd) or (b) we did it ourselves unloading the truck, which of course hadn't happened according to their own driver...ultimately the company I worked for had to take legal action against U.P.S. and a U.P.S. subcontractor who'd handled the shipment at some point.


... so yeah, I don't think much of private carriers.

I worked for a Wal Mart distribution center as shipping loader and as a cross-dock unloader. WARNING: Don't buy electronics from Wal Mart!

...regarding UPS, I haven't had any issues with their services at all. But then again, I wasn't a recipient of their services over the holidays.

 

[alanfgag]

I doubt sequestration has anything at all to do with this.

It does not. The USPS is not funded by taxpayer dollars.

 

[Rick Blaine]

In almost 1000 eBay transactions since '96-ish, I have never had a package go astray that didn't... eventually show up, usually where it is going, once or twice I got it back [huh].

We really do have one of the best combinations of cheap, quick & good. It is a delicate triad to balance. IMO

 

[T Jones]

It does not. The USPS is not funded by taxpayer dollars.

Thanks Alan. Yes. True. The USPS receives their funding through postage sales and other postal product sales rather than through tax dollars...but I would still like to see some better accounting from them.

 

[alanfgag]

It is hard to get a handle on all the challenges faced by the USPS as it attempts to carry out its constitutionally authorized duties. It carries much baggage along a road that has changed dramatically... a half million employees and the largest fleet of civilian vehicles in the world, to name just a couple.

I expect your package will eventually arrive in good shape. When it does, send a thank you card. It will be good for all of us!

 

[Blackthorn]

I know, Terry. It's just a very difficult issue to debate without politics. I simply can't get beyond "Yes, it really sucks!" without getting into politics

I feel your pain.

 

[Blackthorn]

Hear, hear.

That has been my experience as well. The key to remember, is PRIORITY mail. All else falls by the wayside.

 

[Guttersnipe]

In almost 1000 eBay transactions since '96-ish, I have never had a package go astray that didn't... eventually show up, usually where it is going, once or twice I got it back [huh].

We really do have one of the best combinations of cheap, quick & good. It is a delicate triad to balance. IMO

Similarly, in roughly 15 years of collecting and selling records and vintage clothing, I've never had package go missing from the custody of the U.S. Postal Service. The only issues I've ever had with missing packages have occurred during customs inspections or while the custody of foreign postal services.

It's easy/popular to bash the U.S.P.S., but for perspective do a side-by-side comparison of the cost to ship a 12" x 3-1/2" x 14" box (the size of a medium Priority Flat Rate box) via FedEx or U.P.S. Your cost will be a lot more than $12.35 to ship anywhere in the U.S.

 

[mayserwegener]

Hi

I've sent out numerous packages from the UK to the US recently, all of them are getting delayed I sent one on the 12 Dec got to the USA on the 18th of Dec then was held up finally got to the customer on the 22nd or so of this month ! Another I sent on the 30th of Dec only left Chicago on 2 days ago after arriving in Chicago on around the 3rd of Jan, if you use twitter you can tweet usps I now find this is the quickest way of contacting big firms as they don't like the public humiliation ! But yes I thought my parcels had dropped off the rader as they were both sitting in one location for 20 days each ! USPS blamed customs and a Holidays backlog but that seems like a stupidly long time to clear a backlog !

It can take a long time to clear (backlog, misplaced) U.S. Customs. If possible I try to have hats sent from Germany by Brief ( 500 grams 3,45 Euro or 1,000 grams 7,00 Euro) vs. Paket. Brief (considered a letter) is possible because of the light weight of the hat and the shipping box can be up to 90cm total. Brief arrives in about one week (avoids customs or is handled differently) vs. a month or more by Paket and is more than half the cost. Not sure if there is a similar International Brief option available in the UK.

 

[scotrace]

The package always arrives via USPS, but is never speedy, and the tracking information is never, ever accurate or even worth looking at. You simply cannot track a package shipped via the postal system.
I've had items delivered, and the tracker still shows it in a sorting facility five states away. The system is a pretend one, just to say they offer it.

 

[Horace Debussy Jones]

I live in a somewhat small town, compared to most I think. So I know the people at the post office and if the rare instance of a problem comes up, I just ask them directly. Like many others here, I have used the USPS for most all of my ebay transactions without a problem. Only one was because some guy forgot to update his address before I mailed his package. :eusa_doh:
Overseas shipments can sometimes be iffy, depending upon conditions in the receiving country. Germany seems to have the most efficient customs and postal services currently.
UPS has always been dodgy, they attempt to deliver when I am at work, sometimes just leaving packages on the doorstep at the mercy of passersby. :eeek:

Buyer / Seller beware! Seems I'm not the only person who's having delivery issues with USPS. I was expecting to receive a package a couple days ago, via USPS, which failed to arrive on the expected delivery date. I can understand delays in deliveries due to the current Winter weather conditions across parts of the country. Usually I wouldn't be concerned but it seems the package I was expecting dropped off the radar and USPS doesn't know where it is. John Galt sent me a real nice Knox 15 Westlite, and damn, I'm pi$$ed! I have the tracking number and it shows when the package was received and when it left the sorting facility 10 days ago. But after that, no other information is available. I'd like to able to track it just so I know I'm going to eventually get my package. I sent out two emails which USPS has failed to respond within the time frame their website promised. Don't even think you're going to reach a live operator by telephone. I'd feel a lot better if I could at least track where the package is at in transit. There's nothing, and they're raising our postal rates! has anybody else had a similar experience with USPS?

http://www.ebay.com/gds/THE-USPS-SUCKS-PLEASE-READ-/10000000004659923/g.html

 

[alanfgag]

The package always arrives via USPS, but is never speedy, and the tracking information is never, ever accurate or even worth looking at. You simply cannot track a package shipped via the postal system.
I've had items delivered, and the tracker still shows it in a sorting facility five states away. The system is a pretend one, just to say they offer it.

This is not my experience. Below is a portion of the tracking record of a recently received parcel that was sent via Priority Mail. Tracking information will vary depending on the level of service selected by the sender.

 

[T Jones]

I just wish there was more accountability with The USPS. Failure to respond to emails as promised or to not even reach a live operator over the phone for information is, to me, unacceptable. While not solely funded with taxpayer money, I still think that the US Postal Service should at least be accountable to the people they serve.

 

[fedoracentric]

The package always arrives via USPS, but is never speedy, and the tracking information is never, ever accurate or even worth looking at. You simply cannot track a package shipped via the postal system.
I've had items delivered, and the tracker still shows it in a sorting facility five states away. The system is a pretend one, just to say they offer it.

I disagree to a degree. Sometimes, you are right that the tracking does not accurately reflect the location of a package in transit. But you are completely wrong to say that it never reflects the facts.

In my experience, the tracking system is right most of the time.

I had a package the other day that was listed at its starting point for the entire time it was in transit until the day it got to me, then was suddenly "delivered." In that case the tracking did not help me guess when I might anticipate delivery. But in the case of ten other packages I received this month (and the five or six I sent), all accurately informed me when it had gotten to my area and when it was out for delivery.

So, no, the tracking system is not a "pretend one, just to say they offer it."

 

[ManofKent]

I can't say I've had any real problems receiving packages posted USPS, and my experience with Royal Mail has been generally very positive.
When it comes to some of the private couriers it has been another matter...

 

[hatguy1]

This is not my experience. Below is a portion of the tracking record of a recently received parcel that was sent via Priority Mail. Tracking information will vary depending on the level of service selected by the sender.

Hasn't been my experience either. And one of the things that makes me uncomfortable about USPS tracking is that it only shows when the package enters their care, custody and control and when it shows up as delivered. In between...God only knows.

 

[hatguy1]

The USPS is not funded by taxpayer dollars.

True enough, but they still act like their service is the only game in town. What they have been far too slow about waking up to is they're not only no longer the only game in town, but they've got some very serious competition that's slowly putting them out of business (FedEx, UPS, email, etc).