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Postal Packages

Right now UPS, fedex, and even Amazon (if it isn't sold by Amazon with prime shipping, lots of people aren't buying) are laughing all the way to the bank with how things have been run. Shame.

Makes me wonder if that was the intended purpose of the changes? :(
 
Yup. Jeff besos is laughing all the way to the bank. Amazon owns the Washington post. Who originates most of the hit job "reporting" on the proposed changes at the usps to try and fix all the kick down the road issues our do nothing politicians have been complicit in for many years. Gee someone might want to run the USPS more like a real business, not a government entitlement. As in thinking some responsible cost effective business model is a crazy idea. Some folks continue to be played by WP/Amazon articles. Sure Amazon doesn't want changes. They continue to get richer by taking advantage of low usps rates for moving volume they don't want to handle in low density/ high cost areas. The funny thing is some think we are standing up to The man, when the reality is we are being played by the man. Bezos did not become the richest man in the world by accident.
The fact is that the usps should be charging more for many small package shipments. Do you really think that our government is ever capable of providing a more cost effective solution to just about anything?
So if UPS or Fedex or Dhl are more expensive= do you really think they are just so off base with their true pricing?
Yup Amazon is laughing ...but at whom?

I'll add

Unfortunately, the whole situation at the usps is a political football. The union doesn't want changes - they got a good gig, politicians are beholden to them for votes. The USPS continues to bleed billions every year, yet for years no one has done anything to make some necessary changes.

The poor service during the record holiday volume and a pandemic was not caused by anything that was recently done or proposed. It was a whirlwind of historical problems, covid, and unexpected record ecommerce growth. It's worth noting that ups fedex and dhl could and did refuse business above certain volume levels because they knew their systems could only handle so much. USPS did not have that luxury. They can't turn away customers. So not only did they end up with record volume from existing business - they got overwhelmed with so much more that was never planned from other new ones. It was impossible for the system to handle it. Throw in the fact that 10-15% of their workforce out due to covid or covid protocols any given week. And well it ended very badly. Which is a shame.

Someone, sometime is going to have to have the guts to take on the politicians and the mighty union to make needed changes to preserve the usps properly long term. Things just can't stay as they are. It's not tenable.
Like it it not some price increases for packages are needed, money could be saved by slowing first class letters by a day (which is not really a big deal) and the elephant in the room - massive retirement/pension funding needs an overhaul.
Changes need to be made in order for the USPS we all love to continue to have a positive future.
letter volume has dried up to half what it once was. Package is where the growth is. They don't even have the right size vehicles to efficiently run routes with the current mix. Most of their fleet is so old and needs to be replaced. Should have been upgraded many years ago. But They can't afford to do so. Keeping things the same is really not a great option.
 
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In addition these extreme weather swings across the country have also added to longer shipping times in the past few weeks
 
I've got a package that is shipping through the Portland, Oregon distribution center. The last 5 packages that I have had go through there have ended up taking between 10-15 days, all but one was priority. I've had first class letters through there take up to a month. On every one of them the tracking says it arrives at the distro, never leaves, and then tracking shows it arrives at my distro 2 weeks later. These experiences have been throughout the last 6 months at different times (pre/post election, which Oregon has done by mail for over 20 years, and pre holidays) so the apologists can save the excuses.

Expected delivery was today, but it hasn't "departed" the Portland distro yet and the status is now the ever present "Arriving late".

Just had the package going through the Portland Oregon distro center take 3x longer than it was quoted (9 days) but at least not 2 weeks like most packages I have had go through that distribution center! Not sure how USPS can be quoting 2-3 day priority times when they know it will take much longer certain places. I had another package out of VA (knifecenter) get here a day early though, so there is that. Interestingly enough, when I sent a package to VA a few weeks back it sat at a distro center for a week. Go figure...
 
I also think the combination of the companies overloaded with fulfilling orders is having an affect on shipping times. I ordered an item back on 2/19 and I’m still waiting on a shipping update.
 
I sent something USPS Priority on Feb 20. No tracking updates since Feb 24. Good to know the package is “On it’s way to the destination.”
 
I wonder what the excuse is now from all the apologists? Increased St. Patrick's day work load! Employees catching the whiskey flu? March madness is coming up? Certainly not the announced deliberate slow down, right? Lol.
 
This thread gives me hope at least that my latest knife, which has been "in transit" from California to Texas for 8 days, may actually show up at some point!
Well, dont know what to make of this. Package Left on the 27th from San Bernadino CA, no tracking updates until this morning. And Alas! It has Arrived! In Metro NY...????

I'm south of Houston TX...This is a Joke Right ahahahah :D:D:D?

BM51 Tracking.JPG
 
Yeah, this is a joke.
I have some collectables I need to sell.
My confidence in USPS is at an all time low. I don’t want to be left on a hook to a purchaser because they suck. And we all know their insurance is a total scam.

I’ll be checking out UPS this week.
 
I had a package show it had arrived at the PO this morning but wasn’t confirmed it had been scanned into my Locker. I checked the box just to be sure and it wasn’t there.
I went in to inquire about it and gave the clerk the delivery confirmation # He checked it in the system and said it had indeed arrived and proceeded to thoroughly look around in the back area behind the counter. He and another clerk remembered seeing it but it was no where to be found.
He came to the conclusion that it must have got mixed in with other packages that where going out on the local route trucks. He took my name and number and said he would track it down and notify me once it was located.
I later received the call and was told it would be in my PO BOX by the end of the day. I went back later on and it was there just like he said.
Mistakes do happen but he went out of his way to search and locate where it was and I really appreciated that. I know a lot of people will say well that’s his job to do it but there are people who just do their job and others who care about the job they do and put their heart and soul into it.
 
I’ll be checking out UPS this week.
During this deliberate slow down Iv'e used UPS about 10 times rather than USPS. If something must get there by a certain date or you just don't want the stress of not knowing what is going on with a package, hanging over your head for days on end, I highly recommend using UPS. No dates were missed and I always felt like I knew where my package was and what was going on. It costs a bit more but was very much worth the cost for no stress shipping. Might have been monetarily worth it when you calculate the increased cost with UPS vs how much time I spent checking tracking on the USPS website lol.
 
I’m in western Washington. Shipped a knife to a bladeforums member on feb 12th. Last tracking info is feb 17th arriving at a location in my state. Nothing since. I’ve emailed the USPS a few weeks ago asking about it and no response. I refunded the member his money and if it doesn’t ever show up (I doubt it will now) I’ll try and recoup some of my loses with the $50 insurance that’s included. Not looking forward to that process at all. MXG Gear shipped something to me and it was “accepted” at the post office on March 2nd. It’s been a week and no updates. Have a mini adamas ship from Louisiana. Shipped March 2nd, showed up in San Francisco on the 7th, jumped across the bay to Oakland on the 8th and then departed....who knows where it will end up next. The USPS is an absolute joke.
 
I’m in western Washington. Shipped a knife to a bladeforums member on feb 12th. Last tracking info is feb 17th arriving at a location in my state. Nothing since. I’ve emailed the USPS a few weeks ago asking about it and no response. I refunded the member his money and if it doesn’t ever show up (I doubt it will now) I’ll try and recoup some of my loses with the $50 insurance that’s included. Not looking forward to that process at all. MXG Gear shipped something to me and it was “accepted” at the post office on March 2nd. It’s been a week and no updates. Have a mini adamas ship from Louisiana. Shipped March 2nd, showed up in San Francisco on the 7th, jumped across the bay to Oakland on the 8th and then departed....who knows where it will end up next. The USPS is an absolute joke.

I ordered from them recently as well and my tracking is the same. I'm in CO.

Screenshot-20210309-183206-Shop-kindlephoto-8724835.jpg
 
I’m in western Washington. Shipped a knife to a bladeforums member on feb 12th. Last tracking info is feb 17th arriving at a location in my state. Nothing since. I’ve emailed the USPS a few weeks ago asking about it and no response. I refunded the member his money and if it doesn’t ever show up (I doubt it will now) I’ll try and recoup some of my loses with the $50 insurance that’s included. Not looking forward to that process at all. MXG Gear shipped something to me and it was “accepted” at the post office on March 2nd. It’s been a week and no updates. Have a mini adamas ship from Louisiana. Shipped March 2nd, showed up in San Francisco on the 7th, jumped across the bay to Oakland on the 8th and then departed....who knows where it will end up next. The USPS is an absolute joke.
Like I've said before in this thread, I've had packages shipped from the PNW take in between 9-25 days from October 2020 to present. That's around 10 packages, mostly priority, a few first class, and one ground. I'll bet your package shows up eventually.

Since this is not a pandemic, holidays, weather, or election related problem, but rather a deliberate change in how usps operates, usps should not be quoting short shipping times like they have in the past.

Basically, if you want your package to get to a place when quoted, don't use usps unless you know where you are shipping from and where you are shipping to are operating as they have pre-deliberate slow down. Some places are completely unaffected. Others continue to be a mess. A lot of places seem to have dug out of he back log and are getting better. Who know how things will look if other issues arise, and they always do. I mean, we know when Christmas will be, right?*

*USPS sure didn't in 2020.
 
Well, dont know what to make of this. Package Left on the 27th from San Bernadino CA, no tracking updates until this morning. And Alas! It has Arrived! In Metro NY...????

I'm south of Houston TX...This is a Joke Right ahahahah :D:D:D?
Well, It looks like (fingers Crossed) The USPS might have found TX after all! Out for delivery after a long circuitous road trip around America :)
BM51 Tracking 2.JPG
 
Just had something weird happen. I’ve been tracking one of my orders shipped on March 2nd through FedX out of CA. The estimated delivery showed March 9 by the end of the day when I checked tracking in the morning.
I wasn’t receiving any text updates so I rechecked it later in the afternoon and out of nowhere the estimated delivery was pushed back to March 19:(
 
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A5AAA82C-A5B7-41C7-A9F6-5E3AC6D4EDD3.jpeg

It moved!!!
Frankly, I’d kinda written it off and I’m surprised it showed up again at all.
“Priority” Mail, flat rate envelope.

It still hasn’t made it to destination though.....

I’m sure glad I sent it “Priority.”
LOL. What a joke!
 
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