Beware of USPS

[jay helfert]

I've had two bad experiences using the U.S. Post Office in the last month, both times sending via First Class mail. I sent a shaft to New York (from Los Angeles) and it took three weeks to get there! I followed it through the USPS tracking system and it showed arriving in New York after one week. It somehow got lost there and finally made it to it's destination nearly two weeks later. I had already refunded the money and my customer paid me again after he got it.

The second situation is ongoing and appears to be worse. This shaft was sent to Florida ten days ago. It still does not show up as being received by the post office, on their tracking system. I personally handed it to someone at the post office and he remembered when I asked him why it still does not show up in the system a week later. He explained that this can happen and I need to be patient. It's been nearly two weeks and nothing! I refunded the money to my customer today and told him to let me know if it ever arrives. I do have insurance on this package, but I was told I must wait 30 days to file a claim. No one at the post office wants to take any responsibility for my missing package, treating my calls and inquiries as more of a nuisance than anything else.

Seems that if you don't use Priority Mail you are taking your chances with the USPS. Even that may not work soon for all I know. I've lost a lot of faith in the USPS this past month. Just a word to the wise.

 

[Island Drive]

I've had two bad experiences using the U.S. Post Office in the last month, both times sending via First Class mail. I sent a shaft to New York (from Los Angeles) and it took three weeks to get there! I followed it through the USPS tracking system and it showed arriving in New York after one week. It somehow got lost there and finally made it to it's destination nearly two weeks later. I had already refunded the money and my customer paid me again after he got it.

The second situation is ongoing and appears to be worse. This shaft was sent to Florida ten days ago. It still does not show up as being received by the post office, on their tracking system. I personally handed it to someone at the post office and he remembered when I asked him why it still does not show up in the system a week later. He explained that this can happen and I need to be patient. It's been nearly two weeks and nothing! I refunded the money to my customer today and told him to let me know if it ever arrives. I do have insurance on this package, but I was told I must wait 30 days to file a claim. No one at the post office wants to take any responsibility for my missing package, treating my calls and inquiries as more of a nuisance than anything else.

Seems that if you don't use Priority Mail you are taking your chances with the USPS. Even that may not work soon for all I know. I've lost a lot of faith in the USPS this past month. Just a word to the wise.

Similar situation. Last Xmas, send gifts USPS to my brother in Chicago, downtown mailed em the week after Thanksgiving. Never arrived, never got there. Now I make sure I insure those packages and I overprice the gifts X2.... JIC I have to go and get em again.

 

[ideologist]

Priority Mail or Express Mail and you have no problems

For one shaft, I can't imagine you saved money. I ship shafts Priority constantly for like $8, and the triangle boxes are free. 2 days coast to coast, in a more controlled handling stream

 

[SJDinPHX]

I've had two bad experiences using the U.S. Post Office in the last month, both times sending via First Class mail. I sent a shaft to New York (from Los Angeles) and it took three weeks to get there! I followed it through the USPS tracking system and it showed arriving in New York after one week. It somehow got lost there and finally made it to it's destination nearly two weeks later. I had already refunded the money and my customer paid me again after he got it.

The second situation is ongoing and appears to be worse. This shaft was sent to Florida ten days ago. It still does not show up as being received by the post office, on their tracking system. I personally handed it to someone at the post office and he remembered when I asked him why it still does not show up in the system a week later. He explained that this can happen and I need to be patient. It's been nearly two weeks and nothing! I refunded the money to my customer today and told him to let me know if it ever arrives. I do have insurance on this package, but I was told I must wait 30 days to file a claim. No one at the post office wants to take any responsibility for my missing package, treating my calls and inquiries as more of a nuisance than anything else.

Seems that if you don't use Priority Mail you are taking your chances with the USPS. Even that may not work soon for all I know. I've lost a lot of faith in the USPS this past month. Just a word to the wise.

As a typical government entity, the USPS has always had trouble maintaining solvency and credibility..They flush millions of our tax $$$ down the drain every year!.. A well run private company (like UPS) could easily make a profit carrying the mail, and at less cost!

With the advent of social media, (twitter, facebook etc.) the need for 'snail mail' has been greatly reduced..The USPS has failed to downsize accordingly..Sadly, it will only get worse!

 

[billiardthought]

I have never mailed by first class mail. It doesn't even seem to save that much.

 

[cj609]

Sorry to hear. Always worry about shipping. I use USPS priority mail or express mail. I get insurance , tracking and signature confirmation. Out of 60-70 shipments had 1 issue and it was resolved. Been lucky I guess. Wish u luck.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Tapatalk

 

[Poolhall60561]

Of the package shippers, USPS is the worst, but the cheapest.

 

[Fast Lenny]

They are the worse. They actually lost my possible Rambow cue in the mail. I sold it on Ebay for a steal and shipped it off. Never got there and it was a pain to get the money from it. I had an appraisal letter for the cue and they still wouldn't pay the $500 I insured it for.

I had to settle for the small change it sold on Ebay for proof of value. If you take my money for a certain insurance value then I expect to be paid that when the item gets lost. Unbelievable how bad these people are and they wonder why the USPS is in debt every year.

 

[Kim Bye]

As a typical government entity, the USPS has always had trouble maintaining solvency and credibility..They flush millions of our tax $$$ down the drain every year!.. A well run private company (like UPS) could easily make a profit carrying the mail, and at less cost!

With the advent of social media, (twitter, facebook etc.) the need for 'snail mail' has been greatly reduced..The USPS has failed to downsize accordingly..Sadly, it will only get worse!

I'm not gonna go into the politics here. But do you have any idea how many letters and parcels USPS handles on avereage?
Letters might have gone down, but packages has gone way up due to online shopping.
It sucks when the post office looses or misplaces your package, but please be aware of the bigger picture.
USPS is partly privately owned, and you have no statistics to back up your claim that efficiency would go up if USPS was privately owned. The comparison with UPS shows your ignorance on the matter...

 

[Underachiever]

Funny, the only shipping company I've had problems with is UPS... Every time I use them, the item is always late, and half of the time the box is totally destroyed.

But when shipping USPS, I always ship priority unless there's a significant cost difference, and there usually isn't.

Hope this resolves favorably for you, though.

 

[Buzzard II]

How much business do you do with the USPS from Oslo? Not for nothing but 150 years ago the Pony Express could get a letter from St. Louis to San Francisco in ten days.

When I first moved to Virginia I had to file New Jersey state tax too. I sent the forms return receipt. It took three days to go 150 miles, the postcard back took another 33 days. The USPS sucks, end of story.

 

[Kim Bye]

How much business do you do with the USPS from Oslo? Not for nothing but 150 years ago the Pony Express could get a letter from St. Louis to San Francisco in ten days.

When I first moved to Virginia I had to file New Jersey state tax too. I sent the forms return receipt. It took three days to go 150 miles, the postcard back took another 33 days. The USPS sucks, end of story.

I use USPS all the time.

 

[Maniac]

Funny, the only shipping company I've had problems with is UPS... Every time I use them, the item is always late, and half of the time the box is totally destroyed.

But when shipping USPS, I always ship priority unless there's a significant cost difference, and there usually isn't.

Hope this resolves favorably for you, though.

I agree....especially the part about UPS destroying the boxes.

Maniac

 

[SJDinPHX]

I'm not gonna go into the politics here. But do you have any idea how many letters and parcels USPS handles on avereage?
Letters might have gone down, but packages has gone way up due to online shopping.
It sucks when the post office looses or misplaces your package, but please be aware of the bigger picture.
USPS is partly privately owned, and you have no statistics to back up your claim that efficiency would go up if USPS was privately owned. The comparison with UPS shows your ignorance on the matter...

In my 20 yrs. working for UPS, (72-92) I watched as the USPS kept undercutting UPS, on the more profitable lighter pkgs.!..UPS let them go, until they eventually made it into yet another losing proposition for themselves!.. What part of the USPS is privately owned..Who would want to be stupid enough to invest in a full time, proven loser?

PS..My ignorance is based on fact!..You sound as though you might be an unhappy (disgruntled) USPS employee?..Please note; since its inception, UPS always shown a profit, and always shared it with its rank and file employees! :sorry:

 

[Ak Guy]

Big bummer!

Sorry about the lost items Jay. The frustration is compounded by no admitted errors on their part and friends/customers of yours are also effected.

Seems like I am always using USPS for shipping cues and guns out for custom work. When I do I always insure the heck out the gun or cue stuff, have it signed for and get a return receipt. I also track it a couple of times a day and once it arrives I do a follow up call to verify it's arrival. How paranoid is that?!

 

[ROB.M]

Shipping

Everyone knows snail mail is unpredictable...priority mail offers tracking and insurance...if you use snail mail and get bitten.... you knew it was a snake when you picked it up and put it in your pocket'



Rob.M

 

[Kim Bye]

In my 20 yrs. working for UPS, (72-92) I watched as the USPS kept undercutting UPS, on the more profitable lighter pkgs.!..UPS let them go, until they eventually made it into yet another losing proposition for themselves!.. What part of the USPS is privately owned..Who would want to be stupid enough to invest in a full time, proven loser?

PS..My ignorance is based on fact!..You sound as though you might be an unhappy (disgruntled) USPS employee?..Please note; since its inception, UPS always shown a profit, and always shared it with its rank and file employees! :sorry:

No point in arguing about this. But some functions like the post service, roads, public transport etc. should not be about profit. It should be about the best possible service to the public. Not eveteything is measured in monitary value.

 

[gxman]

As a typical government entity, the USPS has always had trouble maintaining solvency and credibility..They flush millions of our tax $$$ down the drain every year!.. A well run private company (like UPS) could easily make a profit carrying the mail, and at less cost!

With the advent of social media, (twitter, facebook etc.) the need for 'snail mail' has been greatly reduced..The USPS has failed to downsize accordingly..Sadly, it will only get worse!

It was just millions the USPS was losing every year it would be great. Its $5bil+.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/post-office-losses-widen-to-58-billion-this-year-2016-11-15

The U.S. Postal Service reported Tuesday a multibillion-dollar loss for a 10th-straight year, as government-mandated benefit expenses overshadowed a fourth year of revenue growth.

For the year ended Sept. 30, the net loss widened to $5.6 billion, from $5.1 billion in the same period a year ago. The government-sponsored mail carrier has now recorded a combined $62.4 billion in losses over the last 10 years. The annual losses the post office has reported since fiscal 2007 have ranged from a low of $2.8 billion in 2008 to a high of $15.9 billion in 2012.

 

[BMC361]

As a typical government entity, the USPS has always had trouble maintaining solvency and credibility..They flush millions of our tax $$$ down the drain every year!.. A well run private company (like UPS) could easily make a profit carrying the mail, and at less cost!

With the advent of social media, (twitter, facebook etc.) the need for 'snail mail' has been greatly reduced..The USPS has failed to downsize accordingly..Sadly, it will only get worse!

USPS is self sufficient. They dont get tax money from the government.

 

[Get_A_Grip]

I've had the USPS leave a cue in the tube resting against my detached garage. They didn't even leave it on my porch!

Last year around Christmas, there were some gloves I was waiting for. I saw the postman stop in front of my house, but nobody came out. When I checked the status in Amazon, the status was updated to -- attempted to deliver.

I thought that this meant that the package needed a signature (strange for gloves) and that they were claiming that they tried to deliver and I wasn't home. I went to the post office and they said that "attempted delivery" was just the status update they used in the system, and it didn't mean that they came to my door with the package. They couldn't locate the package in their system, but the gloves showed up two days later.

I really don't trust them much...