How has USPS been for you lately?

[mugsisme]

I admit it ... I buy way too much on Amazon. I have prime, so I order a lot. However, I've had 6 of 10 orders arrive late in the last two weeks.
I've not really had too many problems shipping via Ebay, except for this one bizarre case. I shipped an item on June 29, and then on July 3 realized I sent the wrong item. So I packed up the correct item, and sent it Priority so it would get there faster. The first package, that was due to arrive July 3, didn't arrive until July 6th. It had gone missing for a few days. (I had the buyer refuse it so I could get it back.) The second item, the one that went priority and was due to arrive July 6th has gone missing. I spoke with the supervisor in her area, and they don't know where it is. She will definitely NOT get it today.

It's so weird that two packages to the same address both go missing once they leave my state. Anyone else having USPS issues? My mail carrier told me that they are very short staffed here. He said carriers are quitting left and right. Our branch is short 4 or 5 carriers. He said another branch is short 14 carriers!!! That's insane. We've had days where we got mail at 9pm. We've had days where we just didn't get any mail delivered to our area. (That was the cause of one of my late Amazon deliveries.)

So how is USPS working out for you? Is there any other option for me that won't cost an arm & leg?

 

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[vpnavy]

Funny you should bring this up - I ordered something from EBay and tracked it via USPS. It said out for delivery so I caught my mail person at the mailbox (he was a sub) and he said he didn't have anything. I told him that according to USPS it is out for delivery. He called the office and they said all they know it was loaded and he should have it. He looked every place on his truck and said sorry - but he doesn't have it. The next day my neighbor brings over my package! Yuppa - the "sub" left it in the wrong mailbox. Yuppa - USPS still has it out-for-delivery....

 

[SD51]

Suggest you look at FedEx and no I don't work for them. I have had similar experiences with USPS and will only use them to deliver mail.

 

[1320]

This is an odd week for the USPS, a Tuesday holiday wrecks havoc with carrier and clerk schedules. Across the country, this is the biggest week of scheduled annual leave for the USPS. Combine these two factors and it's plain to see delays are inevitable. Priority Mail isn't guaranteed for two or three day deliver, it's just a promise....lol.

Around July 17th, all gets back to "normal".

 

[galenrog]

Not unusual here to have neighbors go back and forth with each other's mail several times a week. Also, I always use UPS or FedEx when sending anything that absolutely has to get there.

 

[trdking]

USPS has been struggling since the onset of the fax machine. eMail has just about wiped them out. They don't make a profit and are subsidized by the US government. No wonder they are short staffed, pension burdened and being a government subsidized private company they can't get out of their own way to fix anything.

 

[Tom Bigbee]

I am strictly an ebay seller/shipper and have not had any problems at all. But I too made a similar mistake a couple of years ago. I was packing 2 items at once and sent the wrong item to 2 different buyers. WHAT A MESS! I had both people just ship the items back to me at my expense and then shipped them correctly. I hard lesson learned.

 

[Drmad7]

99% of the time...no issues. I'm very satisfied with that. I rarely have delivery issues and only Fedex when their shipping is cheaper than USPS ( larger items). I just hope hey continue to send me free supplies with free shipping to my door. Best deal out there!

 

[1320]

USPS has been struggling since the onset of the fax machine. eMail has just about wiped them out. They don't make a profit and are subsidized by the US government. No wonder they are short staffed, pension burdened and being a government subsidized private company they can't get out of their own way to fix anything.

No offense, but there is nothing true in these statements. The USPS is a stand alone agency, zero funding from taxpayers. It is self funded by product sales. The internet has definitely impacted first class letter mail, nothing more. The USPS is mandated by Congress to contribute 5 billion per year to prefund it's retirement plan, back that number off the ledger and the USPS sports a hefty profit of around 1 Billion.

The USPS has asked Congress for more flexibility in streamlining the agency but they will not hear the arguments. The USPS is also governed by the stand alone Postal Regulatory Commission. It literally takes an act of Congress to make changes.

 

[Rented Mule]

I recently bought some US silver coins on eBay ($5 face of barber halves and quarters and SLQ's) that was sent via USPS. I watched the tracking and on the day it said it was delivered I had my daughter check the mailbox for the package within 30 minutes of the tracking indicating it was delivered. Nothing there. This was on a Monday. I figured I'd give it one more day as maybe the carrier (who was somewhat new on my route) still had it. Tuesday came and still no package.

First thing Wednesday I opened a claim with the USPS and also a case with eBay indicating I did not receive the item. I was a bit bothered when the seller responded to me case telling me I should close the case (they said eBay would only hinder, not help) and that I needed to open a claim with my local postmaster. I replied that the USPS claim was already opened before I even submitted the eBay case. I didn't mention anything about the eBay case in my response and based on other stories I read about didn't hold out a lot of hope with eBay since it seemed if the seller could show tracking said it was delivered it was my tough luck not theirs.

Heard nothing on Thur (still no package either) but then Friday I was surprised to receive an email indicating my payment for the item was cancelled and the case was closed. I guess the seller decided to eat the loss rather than risk bad feedback (which I would not have given since I know they shipped the item). I gave them positive feedback and wrote off the purchase in my mind since I got my money back.

Imagine my surprise when on Saturday afternoon I found the package sitting in my mailbox. I made sure to immediately pay the seller since i got my item and to let them know it did show up. Shortly after I got a call from the carrier supervisor for my area checking up on my case. I let him know the missing package had just showed up and wasn't sure if it had been delivered to the wrong address before or had been misplaced somewhere by the carrier.

He hinted that when the carrier scans the package at delivery a GPS fixing is recorded as part of that scan and that allowed them to figure out where it had been misdelivered and later retrieved from. He also hinted this was not this carrier's first screw up.

 

[WhiteTornado]

No problems with USPS here, either sending or receiving. My regular mail carrier lady is great, as is the small, local branch that is very close to my house.

 

[AlienLifeForm]

Pretty good, no problems although we have a sub right now, mail has been arriving later in the day, but its all mine and not my neighbors or anyone elses. No complaints here.

 

[laidback4sho]

Yeah, USPS sucks bad lately. Two weeks ago, I was tracking a package that was to be shipped to my house. It arrived here in NH, was scanned in at the post office literally two blocks from my house, and then headed out to Maine!

"Wtf? Maine? Hello! I'm just down the damn street! I'll walk to the post office and pick it up if I have to!"

But no, it traveled around Maine for a day or two, I guess on some sightseeing tour, and then finally made its way back home.

That's why I'm nervous as all hell, because I'm expecting the new XP Deus elliptical coil in the mail today. Hope it doesn't go off wandering the earth. I really would like to enjoy my weekend.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

 

[diggummup]

My only problem lately was a couple months ago. A birthday card I sent to my son in law with a gift card in it that never made it to his house, less than 100 miles away. Then again I'm surprised it's not worse considering what they hire nowadays.

 

[mugsisme]

I am strictly an ebay seller/shipper and have not had any problems at all. But I too made a similar mistake a couple of years ago. I was packing 2 items at once and sent the wrong item to 2 different buyers. WHAT A MESS! I had both people just ship the items back to me at my expense and then shipped them correctly. I hard lesson learned.

Years ago I did the same thing! I had a bunch of packages all ready to go except for labels, and slapped the wrong one on the wrong package. Same deal, send back to me so I can resend out. Every since then, I don't care how much longer it takes, I pack up ONE item at a time, and don't move onto the next until a label is on the sealed package. This time it was just that I forgot to look up the auction to make sure I pulled the right bangle. I had two up that were hinged, but I forgot about the first one, the one she bought. I just went, OH, hinged bangle. Gee, that's funny. I thought I listed it for $75. I wonder why I sold it for $36. BWahahaha on me. I didn't sell it.

For some reason, when the packages to this particular woman left Sanston, VA, the main sorting facility, they disappear for about 5 days. Both of them did the same exact thing. Then they magically appear in Chicago, and it will take another two days to reach my buyer. Meaning, from the time she bought her item until she got it will be from June 29 until probably July 11. 12 days. I am going to be annoyed if after all this she wants to return my bangle.

I've never had this happen before. Even at the holidays, most of my packages arrive in a decent amount of time.

I have a Fed-Ex account ... only problem with them is that they are sooo expensive for heavier items. I do a lot of lots in flat rate boxes.