My faith in USPS

Glad you like it. I've noticed a lot of companies like PAA for example highlight it in their terms and conditions that the tracking isn't always reliable. How's the Trumpers Coral skin food, or as I call it liquid Turkish Delight, working out for you Bryan?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

As you can imagine I do a lot of shipping using mostly USPS and UPS. I almost never ship anything out with FedEx, mostly incoming with them.

I'm pretty sure that anything going through the NYC sorting area is subject to the toss of a coin as to whether or not it will get sorted immediately or get pushed into a corner for a few days or weeks. USPS was in the not so distant past really good, now it's just spotty. I sent one package to a gent and after a week or so of non-delivery I contacted USPS. Mandatory tracking of 1st class parcels had just begun, so I tracked it into a black hole. I contacted USPS and they're supposed to get back to you within 3 days with an answer. I gave them 5 days with no response so I checked on my case. I was told that I had been notified (I hadn't been) and that the package had gotten stolen. You may have guessed it... in the NYC area. In the meantime I sent another package. The gent got that on time, and I asked that when the first package arrived to just cross off his address,write "refused" on it, leaving it unopened, and drop it back into the mail. It showed up about a week later to him, and a month later to me. USPS is hurting for money and Congress won't give them more. I can't imagine why they're hurting or why they won't be given more $.

UPS service used to bother the heck out of me. They'd send me an e-mail telling me that " "tomorrow" to expect a package". This at just after midnight. So technically they were right. I just didn't see tomorrow being at least a full 24+ hours away. Now when I get their notifications I call it, "we'll get a package tomorrow unless we don't". Oddly enough at times they deliver when one would consider tomorrow to be when reading that message at midnight.

I know how terrible FedEx delivery is locally, but that's because we have at least one really bad apple for a delivery person. He'd claim that due to weather he couldn't deliver a package. How strange that he'd write that on a winter day when the sun was bright and the sky blue. The next day a different person would deliver during a storm. I suspect our lousy FedEx service is only because of that one Bozo. But I won't use them because of it.

Glad you like it. I've noticed a lot of companies like PAA for example highlight it in their terms and conditions that the tracking isn't always reliable. How's the Trumpers Coral skin food, or as I call it liquid Turkish Delight, working out for you Bryan?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

The Coral Skin Food is a treat. Lovely stuff. I find the scent intoxicating. My other balms are getting a little neglected now

The timescale didn't bother me. 9 days is fair.
It's the tracking they need to sort
Obviously been a computer glitch

Well packed by Stirling and the brush is just superb.

On that score, I fully understand. Even within the U.S.A., most of my tracked packages get to their destinations in a timely manner. However, every once in a while, I just scratch my head while looking at the detours some things have taken.

The timescale didn't bother me. 9 days is fair.
It's the tracking they need to sort
Obviously been a computer glitch

Well packed by Stirling and the brush is just superb.

On that score, I fully understand.  Even within the U.S.A., most of my tracked packages get to their destinations in a timely manner.  However, every once in a while, I just scratch my head while looking at the detours some things have taken.

Recently I ordered a book from a used book seller via Amazon. They sent the tracking info. The trail went cold on 17 June in Jersey City. After a month I contacted the seller and asked if they could start a trace. They responded that this has happened so often, with the Jersey site a Bermuda Triangle, that there was very little chance the book would ever be seen, so they sent a replacement. My wife sent a package to a friend of hers in Italy. Vanished before it got to US Customs. She told me last night, after I mentioned my trip to the post office to mail a package to the UK, that any time she has to send something to someone in Europe, or get something from someone in Europe, it gets sent to her friend in Germany, who kindly sends it on to its destination in Europe or the US. Apparently the UK postal system is in a similar shambles; Germany's, however, remains as efficient as one would expect. 

Last but not least, I sent a client a Christmas Card. The client is in Nevada. I'm in New York. The envelope was properly addressed. My return address was engraved on the envelope. The card was returned to me LAST WEEK as undeliverable, even though it's properly addressed. I mailed it the first week of December 2014. Took until now for me to know the client never got it. I could go on.

The timescale didn't bother me. 9 days is fair.
It's the tracking they need to sort
Obviously been a computer glitch

Well packed by Stirling and the brush is just superb.

On that score, I fully understand.  Even within the U.S.A., most of my tracked packages get to their destinations in a timely manner.  However, every once in a while, I just scratch my head while looking at the detours some things have taken.

Recently I ordered a book from a used book seller via Amazon. They sent the tracking info. The trail went cold on 17 June in Jersey City. After a month I contacted the seller and asked if they could start a trace. They responded that this has happened so often, with the Jersey site a Bermuda Triangle, that there was very little chance the book would ever be seen, so they sent a replacement. My wife sent a package to a friend of hers in Italy. Vanished before it got to US Customs. She told me last night, after I mentioned my trip to the post office to mail a package to the UK, that any time she has to send something to someone in Europe, or get something from someone in Europe, it gets sent to her friend in Germany, who kindly sends it on to its destination in Europe or the US. Apparently the UK postal system is in a similar shambles; Germany's, however, remains as efficient as one would expect. 

Last but not least, I sent a client a Christmas Card. The client is in Nevada. I'm in New York. The envelope was properly addressed. My return address was engraved on the envelope. The card was returned to me LAST WEEK as undeliverable, even though it's properly addressed. I mailed it the first week of December 2014. Took until now for me to know the client never got it. I could go on.

From what I've been reading on here it definitely seems like posting from the east coast is fraught with problems. I'd hazard a guess that there has been cutbacks etc.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

The timescale didn't bother me. 9 days is fair.
It's the tracking they need to sort
Obviously been a computer glitch

Well packed by Stirling and the brush is just superb.

On that score, I fully understand.  Even within the U.S.A., most of my tracked packages get to their destinations in a timely manner.  However, every once in a while, I just scratch my head while looking at the detours some things have taken.

Recently I ordered a book from a used book seller via Amazon. They sent the tracking info. The trail went cold on 17 June in Jersey City. After a month I contacted the seller and asked if they could start a trace. They responded that this has happened so often, with the Jersey site a Bermuda Triangle, that there was very little chance the book would ever be seen, so they sent a replacement. My wife sent a package to a friend of hers in Italy. Vanished before it got to US Customs. She told me last night, after I mentioned my trip to the post office to mail a package to the UK, that any time she has to send something to someone in Europe, or get something from someone in Europe, it gets sent to her friend in Germany, who kindly sends it on to its destination in Europe or the US. Apparently the UK postal system is in a similar shambles; Germany's, however, remains as efficient as one would expect. 

Last but not least, I sent a client a Christmas Card. The client is in Nevada. I'm in New York. The envelope was properly addressed. My return address was engraved on the envelope. The card was returned to me LAST WEEK as undeliverable, even though it's properly addressed. I mailed it the first week of December 2014. Took until now for me to know the client never got it. I could go on.

From what I've been reading on here it definitely seems like posting from the east coast is fraught with problems. I'd hazard a guess that there has been cutbacks etc.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

Will, it's really no different on the West Coast of the United States.  When something gets screwed up, it really gets screwed up, no matter what part of the country.

That's pretty sweet. Does your brush speak French now?

Myself and quite a few fellow shavers in the UK waiting on delivery of the new Stirling soap co synthetic Brush. Doesn't the brush just look amazing. Anyway.
According to USPS tracking my brush is currently on a world tour.

Firstly a tour of America
America to France
France to London UK
Back to Miami USA
Back to London
And now in West Palm Beach USA

WTF  

[Image: image_zpssbh5otyr.jpg]

I'm pretty sure that anything going through the NYC sorting area is subject to the toss of a coin as to whether or not it will get sorted immediately or get pushed into a corner for a few days or weeks.

I can get on board with this. My only lost (domestic) packages were in that area. Also, I have had a couple get scanned as delivered in NYC but not actually be delivered for up to 2 days. So someone needs to give the carriers in NYC a bit of quality control love.

I ship exclusively with USPS, and so far have had a total of 3 lost packages out of all my orders. It has cost me less to replace (by an order of magnitude) than it would have to insure every package. So I'm content, if not always super impressed.

In my "other career" outside of being a retailer, I have dealt with UPS, USPS, & FedEx for a little over 17 years. I've seen my fair share of squirreliness from all 3 of them. Each have their pros and cons. All of them will have times when you need to take their tracking info with a grain of salt.

At the beginning of this year, FedEx and UPS changed their pricing structures to what is called volumetric pricing (dimensional pricing) not to mention a general rate increase of about 5%. In a nutshell, you're either going to be charged for the size of the box or the actual weight of the box and it's contents....whichever they can get more money for. L x W x H / 166 is how they calculate the dimensional weight.

USPS did not go this route. In fact, they are very anti dimensional pricing. I can ship something via the USPS for starting at around half the cost that I could with UPS or FedEx with basically the same service. Is the USPS perfect? Well, no.....but UPS and FedEx aren't either. Like I mentioned, I've found they all have their pros and cons.

I feel that for my personal shipping needs, I feel comfortable using the USPS. For my business shipping needs, I absolutely recommend and use USPS. It allows me to pass along tremendous savings to my customers, it offers tracking info, and offers multiple services.


Ethan