Impressions on Shipping-UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc.

22-rimfire

22-rimfire

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Seems to me that for regular (lower priced) shipping UPS wins. Their tracking is amazing actually. USPS tracking is spotty. Never really tracked something I shipped via 2-day Priorty mail with USPS. But they meet their schedules overall.

I just purchased a tripod from one of the big retailers in NYC on line and could not believe that the product would actually be delivered in two days to my door via UPS as the merchant stated when ordering. That means, there was essentially one day for the package to travel by ground from NYC area to TN. (I wouldn't drive it that quickly personally.) Well, it is in the next city as I write this and I suspect it will move later on tonight to my city for delivery tomorrow. Have seen the same thing on other shipments as well. Very pleased with them overall.

I have lower expectations with FedEx Smartpost. As the package seems to move rapidly to delivery to USPS, and then it slows down. On one order, the merchant gave themselves more than a week to deliver item. Slow.... slow... Amazon does this with their free shipping when you are not a Prime member. I did learn something today however..... people complain that the tracking stops when FedEx delivers to USPS and that has been my experience too up until yesterday. USPS picked up the tracking and it was reported on the FedEx tracking site.

FedEx, always seems to be the best, but you certainly pay for it. I ship stuff via FedEx to the west coast fairly often and even a small box is rather expensive for next day delivery. But, the reliability factor seems to be high expect during in climate weather when all delivery schedules fall by the way side whether it be snow & ice, even a thunderstorm at the airport.....

USPS Priority (2-day) has been amazingly consistent in meeting the 2 day time frame regardless of distance in the lower 48. I have only seen delays during the Christmas shipping rush.

I think UPS has a deal with the post office for delivery also like Fedex. I suspect that is the one that falls into a black hole until the postal people arrive at your door.

What has been your experience?
 
USPS tracking is spotty.
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That's generous.

could not believe that the product would actually be delivered in two days to my door via UPS as the merchant stated when ordering. That means, there was essentially one day for the package to travel by ground from NYC area to TN. (I wouldn't drive it that quickly
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Think Air Mail.
Yes it is almost like some situations they have special arrangements and ship faster than 2nd day which in the past has meant three business days.

FedEx Smartpost
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Which is anything but. It is like FedEx felt bad for making so much money and getting such a good reputation and wanted to give back so they decided to try to help USPS and it turned into the anti-delivery service. They getter done . . . eventually . . . but . . . nah dude, nah.
There is a lot of "shipping pardoner" action going on. I don't know what all that entails but seems like USPS hands it off to UPS or some such then gets it back to deliver on the USPS mail truck. Just one more way to slow things down and make you pay the big bucks . . . it is almost like extortion money.

They ship it the same fast ways . . . but the difference is they let your package rot over night at various postal facilities on the way.

Then there is shipping it the cheapest way . . . they tape the package to the back of a blind, sick, turtle and throw him off a pier or dock some where but ALWAYS facing the opposite direction to the destination. It's just their SOP.

PS: I haven't read it for some time but the little notice that comes with the cheapest way says something to the effect : This could take seven to ten days, but could take eleven to eighteen days, unless it takes eighteen to twenty one days, or longer.

They should add : If it comes at all to you. Give or take eternity. Yes I have had items never arrive.
It's beautiful.
 
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I often ship USPS flat rate 2-day priority on Fridays, sometimes Saturdays. The cool thing there is USPS "counts" Sunday as a "day" and the item is usually delivered on Monday. FedEx does not count Sundays and if you ship Saturdays, you really pay for that. FedEx two-day shipped on Friday is delivered on Tuesday, not Monday.

Wowbagger, the item sourced from NYC went ground all the way. Most things FedEx go at least partially by air for one or two day shipping. Noticed on the UPS tracking, item is out for delivery at 6:30 AM. Pretty darn cool.

Compare this with a box shipped from Macon GA to my town in TN took 7 days via FedEx Smartpost (shipped 7/22 and delivered 7/28) plus it took the retailer three days to pack it. This is about a 4-5 hr drive from my location.
 
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I've noticed, in the last month or so, that usps tracking is a bit lacking. I got a delivery notification yesterday for a package that was delivered last month. Happened a few times.
Have a blade on the way that was supposed to be here Monday. Tracking still says delivery to be made on Monday.....it's Friday!
Joe
 
My years of experience with USPS is they have been the most reliable. UPS and Fed Ex will deliver to the wrong address or claim no one was at home, when we had bee waiting all day. I have seen UPS literally drive past my house on a Friday night as I waited for a computer claiming were were not there, the driver claimed there was no such address. After calling and getting a supervisor she admitted they had delievered to us many times and has no idea why the driver said there was no address. I have had Fed Ex and UPS send packages all around the country and lose the pkgs on several occasions.

USPS delivers on Saturday,and luckily had never lost a package and I have sent over 1500 of them over the last few years.

I may be lucky with USPS, but when it comes to FEDEX or UPS it really is a crap shoot on when and if you are going to get it for me.
 
As I mentioned, I have also had very good luck with USPS 2-day priority mail, especially the flat rate boxes. They haven't lost one yet and I can only think of one time around Christmas when delivery was more than 2 days.

The USPS people have told me at the post office counter that they are VERY efficient and cost effective with small packages, but UPS may be better with larger heavier packages.

I see this thread got moved to good, bad, and ugly.... seldom visit this forum. But I suppose the responses could get a bit negative by some.

My typical FedEx small package to the west coast is about $30 2-day, and $70 next day afternoon or "standard" shipping. These are packages that weight less than 2 lbs typically. For me, this is at least 3x USPS 2-day priority.
 
We send and receive literally thousands of packages/shipment every year. Every package is tracked and we check the analytics weekly. Nobody comes close to USPS speed & value. FedEx is the worst.

Companies who ship lots of packages get discounts from the shippers. Some companies charge full price (or more) for shipping and pocket the difference. I think this practice is dishonest and indicates the company culture is bad.

Chuck
 
Yes this thread is about impressions, so that is based on feelings and not necessarily facts. Not saying any of the above stories are not correct. I would say that it's obvious that some folks do not understand the details and reasons for multiple services by UPS, USPS, and Fedex. Nor the logistics of how the pkgs move. I'll give an example: Fedex Smartpost and UPS surepost are an offering for customers that is cheap....that is it's purpose - cheap, not fast, saving money. A lot of companies use this when free shipping is in play. It's the cheapest way to go and is less expensive than any USPS offering. It does use the PO for last mile delivery. Another fact, FedEx actually provides a great deal of the airlift for the USPS priority services. So, if you use priority mail......it spends most of its travel distance on Fedex. So USPS priority is often a product of fedex service. :rolleyes: Also, the USPS priority mail is not 2 day anymore - check the label, it's been 3 for quite a while now. Service is often 2, but often 3 as well. Additionally fedex and ups have money back guarantees - you will not see that at the USPS. Moving a regular ground pkg from NY to TN is standard for both ups and fedex. In fact fedex ground's standard for pkgs from Boston to SC is 2 days. No offense to anyone here, but it irks me when people expouse that they know all about the details of transportation, when they in fact are making incorrect statement of facts. As this has become a more fluid society and online shopping/shipping will continue to grow, if we all understand the shipping options it can lead to a positive experience, enable better choices, and level set expectations.
 
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I don't believe I provided any incorrect "facts". But my USPS priority shipments reach their destination in two days, not three. The change to 3 days reflected the closing of many of the bulk mail or sorting facilities by the USPS. I am also aware that there is no guarantee such as given by UPS and FedEx. My point about the NYC to TN was that when you consider that they track the delivery day as a day, the package is being transported ground almost directly and very efficiently considering in my case there were stops in MD, VA, and TN cities prior to reaching the delivery city. I find that amazing.

I am also aware that FedEx provides the air carry for USPS priority. I am also aware that FedEx smartpost is designed to be "cheap" and reflects shipping that the delivery date is not a huge issue. AG Russell uses Smartpost. Very slow and one of the things that has not impressed me about their business. Of course you can pay more for other shipping options.

I also used the word "impressions" in the title for folks that might want to contribute to say what they feel like saying and not be restricted to FACTS.
 
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I have never had an issue with USPS deliveries except they will only deliver to my box or in person because the mailman does not like dogs. he is a great guy and except for the occ. inconvenience of going to the post office, i prefer this delivery method

Fedex, fedex ground, UPs all do well here. they occ deliver a package to some friends down the road with a similar number and vice versa.

UPS surepost is slow

Fedex smartpost is really variable depending on whether or not the package gets routed via memphis hub. that adds 2-3 days. unfortunately it often passes by my house to go there and then travel back. one online flyfishing store usually routes stuff via two different hubs. if it goes the wrong direction to the farther one, the package comes directly to my city and arrives 3-4 days earlier. if it goes to the one on the way , it takes a circuitous route to memphis with delays in multiple places. I'm sure there is a shipping algorithm that fedex uses to minimize their costs, but it sure looks counterintuitive. i suspect the package an extra 8-900 miles to go that way

DHL is terrible . 2-3 weeks due to packages sitting in their hubs.

for shipping fro europe TNT express is also very poor. the royal mail blue bags are much better if from UK. no tracking but very reliable
 
I find USPS to be the most reliable as well as economical of the lot. For the same money, USPS also picks up priority packages from my doorstep, no one else does. USPS has upped the game by providing several tracking improvements (see the sticky). I have consistently received polite answers to my postal enquiries at local PO. Can't say the same for UPS or FedEx. All said and done, USPS has more pros and I prefer them.
 
I don't believe I provided any incorrect "facts".
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Nah . . . he meant me. I was exaggerating when I said they use blind sick turtles. They are either or. If they were both they probably wouldn't survive the air travel leg of the journey . . . from the dock to the ground or water.

No but seriously now what set me off about USPS is two fold. One episode a couple of years ago and one this year.
1. I ordered something. I was supposed to be able to track it. I could not. That was OK I guess but when it did not arrive in the first week or so I got on the e-mail and asked the vendor for help. They sent me a link to how they track it as the sender or some such and I saw where it had gone.

Get this; it only had to travel from California to Colorado. This usually takes three to four days. The package had indeed traveled from California to Colorado. From Denver it had gone on to New York City ! Then it had to be shipped all the way back to Denver and then to my City. As I recall I have tracked other packages shipped USPS that have done the same thing.

2. We had a small package delivered several months ago and it was a bit too big to fit in the mail box. Usually they just put the box on the deck. We are in the county on a cul de sac and the deck is well above the road so it is a perfectly safe place to leave a box out of view of the road and we have never had any problem with that. Well . . . rather than put the box on the deck the box was forced into the mail box and I thought I was going to have to dismantle the mail box to get it out. I mean that sucker was STUCK ! Finally I distorted the box enough to get it out then bent the box back into shape. The average person would have had to call someone . . . who I don't know . . . to come and dig the package out for them.

I have had great results by both UPS and FedEx. I order a lot of stuff on line. FedEx I prefer by a small margin. Maybe we just have a better batch of drivers out our way. I don't know.

And finally I have to say. We used to have a regular mail guy for years and years. He used to call me by name when I saw him in town. Now it isn't the same person twice. Always a new face . . . and they are often delivering mail to us that belongs down the street. Are we a training ground to cull out the can't-do-its from the might-make-its ?
 
Since 9/11 no mail travels on domestic flights. Yes, Fed Ex flies all the mail. USPS has contracts with both Fed ex and UPS to deliver a lot of their packages because they do not go to every house every day like USPS.
 
In my experience USPS tracking might be spotty but Prioriy Mail is about the most reliable and cost effective shipping service around. I would say 95% of the time I don't have a problem with the actual delivery. First Class is okay most of the time for cheaper items of course.

UPS and FedEx sucks IMO. Typically it cost more and takes longer. If the USPS can take a package from Orlando to Portland in two days there is absolutely no reason that UPS can't take a package from Portland to Orlando in two days. Benchmade shipped me back a knife on 07/27 and it won't be delivered until 08/03, thats ridiculous. UPS is taking nearly four times as long as USPS would. As a regular consumer it would cost me three times as much for this trip with UPS, Benchmade probably gets a huge discount.

On the east coast we have a local courier service that Amazon uses a lot called Lasership, talk about spotty. They have delivered packages to the wrong house twice, I'm just lucky my neighbors are honest.
 
I have to admit that the tracking provides some interesting, sometimes entertaining, and sometimes frustrating information on USPS mail or package movement. It is when stuff goes in the wrong direction that really ticks me off. Things like the CA to CO shipping happen. I can ship something across the country via USPS Priority mail box and it gets delivered faster than a letter (usually checks in my case) moves a few hours driving distance. Atlanta is the worst.... add a day if something comes out of Atlanta.

I have noticed around Christmas, USPS tracking is indeed more spotty than typical. Overall, however, I am quite impressed with the options available to us.

The USPS sorting facility is or was scheduled to close in my area. To date it has not. There are two Amazon facilities within 30 miles and I am hoping that helps to keep the facility open. If it closes, my flat rate boxes will go to Atlanta for sorting.... and I know how that goes and I suspect my 2-day priority will become 3-day at that point.

Had a box shipped from SC to TN (UPS) about a week ago. Something was screwed up on that one. My suspicion is that the retailer used my "billing address" on the label versus address to be shipped to. That caused a one day delay. But think about it... one day delay..... pretty amazing that they can figure these things out even that quickly.
 
What I really like about USPS is the relationships you are able to form. My mail dude is awesome! Know him for 15 years and he's a friend. When I get a package, read knife, he will call me at about 9:00 AM so we can meet up. I don't have to wait till 5 PM.......he knows I'm worse than a 9 year old at Christmas!! I usually throw him a few bucks for this service!! Gladly!!
Everyone at the counter in my PO is friendly and overly helpful!
I'm really satisfied with USPS and they're all I use.
Tracking isn't the best, but I really don't mind.
Joe
 
Recently I was going to say USPS has been doing pretty well for me for the last several knives I have ordered. They go straight from back East (over a thousand miles; keep that in mind) straight here and in three days.

Now take a look at the latest track. Less than four hundred miles, low traffic, few stops, clear roads (no floods or snow etc.) . . . annnnnnnd I ordered this Monday eve (as I always do) and get it Thursday.

Looks like it is one third the distance and going to take an extra day. Four days to travel a five hour trip.

THEN note, just to make things difficult we have to go north to Denver . . . past its Colorado Springs destination and come back . . . but we had already STOPPED in Colorado Springs when they came through the first time. Brilliant.
I will be lucky if they don't ship it to New York . . . I am not kidding I have seen them do that . . . California to Denver to New York and back to Denver and then to Colorado Springs.

Beautiful.
I wonder if the Pony Express had the resources to operate like that ?

No I didn't get it today; the update says to be delivered tomorrow Friday the 21st

October 20, 2016 , 1:00 pm Arrived at USPS Facility COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80910

October 20, 2016 , 3:42 am Departed USPS Facility DENVER, CO 80217

October 19, 2016 , 6:46 pm Arrived at USPS Facility DENVER, CO 80217

October 19, 2016 , 2:50 pm Arrived at USPS Facility COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80910

October 19, 2016 , 7:58 am Departed USPS Facility AMARILLO, TX 79120

October 18, 2016 , 8:15 pm Arrived at USPS Origin Facility AMARILLO, TX 79120
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(There was more farting around bellow this but it all took place on the 18th)
 
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The most expensive knife I ever bought cost $300. UPS shipped it to the wrong address two cities away from me (but their tracking claimed it was at my house). I've had more than 100 orders delivered by the US Post Office and I have never had a problem like I did with UPS.
 
Hi all,

Just rectified a USPS Priority Mail issue today. I was watching the tracking and expecting delivery with signature confirmation yesterday. Without a delivery attempt (or a notice left), the tracking info switched to "your item is undeliverable as addressed. It is being returned to sender..."

Well, making a long story short, the seller and I pounced on USPS customer service (thanks again Wavicle!) and my wife was able to pick it up at our local outpost first thing this morning.

So, bad for screwing up the delivery; good for the customer service that followed. It probably would've been different if the seller and I weren't so vigilant of the tracking info, however.

I've also had USPS cram/fold stuff into the mailbox that shouldn't have been. That ticked me off way more.
 
My experiences have been different. I'll take USPS over UPS any day, either of them over FEDEX, and even FEDEX over DHL.

The biggest "fault" I can find with USPS shipping is that allowing folks to print their own stamped labels means the seller can give you a tracking number, then sit on the package for days. Darn near every time a Priority package has taken longer than expected to arrive, the fault could be traced to the time between "shipping information sent to UPS" and "arrived at UPS facility", not the time it took from that PO to me. Only time something has arrived damaged, it was poorly packaged by the seller. Fragile items do not belong in envelopes, even if the envelope is made of Tyvex.

UPS has lost packages en route to me, sent packages I was expecting on a tour of the USA, delivered packages with footprints on them, and routinely leaves packages in front of my door without ringing the bell or knocking. That last one's annoying enough now that I own my home, where the biggest danger is that I'll trip over it when I take the dog out for his morning walk the next day. It was an open invitation to theft when I lived in an apartment back in NY.

Fedex has lost packages, damaged packages, claimed I signed for something I did not which made it look like I was trying to cheat the vendor, and almost returned a package to Spain claiming they could not find my address. Apparently nobody in the local FEDEX office had ever seen a European style 1 and it never dawned on them that the same character appeared in the area code and zip code. :rolleyes:
 
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