USPS Ground Advantage is the worst!
Summary: The discussion centers around the critique of USPS Ground Advantage, with the original post by motorcycleguy1100 expressing dissatisfaction with the service. Various participants, including frugalmarketplace, kibble-net, and others, contribute their thoughts and experiences, agreeing with the negative sentiment. Although specific complaints are not detailed, the discussion indicates a shared frustration among the participants regarding the service.
USPS has not improved, yes they are cheaper but the price comes with the headaches of lost, Damaged and packages that travel through fifty states before arriving 23 days later to your customer that was two states away. Not sure in your city but in mine, mistakes happen often, causing packages to be delivered to wrong recipients.
Beyond disappointing and having to constantly track packages for customers and responding to messages. UPS or Fed Ex is the only way forward.
arc4deals
·3 months agoWARNING !!!!
DONOT USE USPS GOUND ADVATAGE FOR LARGER PACKAGES
YOU WILL HAVE SO MANY REFUND REQUEST AND DISPUTES, IT IS NOT WORTH THE LITTLE BIT OF MOENY YOU SAVE.
BIG TIME HEADACHE
I HAVE MULTIBLE MESSES TO DEAL WITH
THEY BUMP YOUR PACKAGE FOR SMALLER PACKAGES
reelworks
·5 months agoOut of the last ten items shipped 6 now are on random tours of the country. First they don't get or show a scan for three days, then they sit at sorting centers for days at a time, sometimes weeks before moving again to an unexplained destination where it both shows "In transit to next location' for a week or more and then "arrival' at some location no where near the destination. When I inquire as to a missing package, it suddenly gets a new scan and it hanging in limbo in transit again.
I was told to file a claim but it goes no where because its still in transit and showing tracking. One package that was addressed to TX via Global Advantage shipped on Jan. 5, 2026 got marked as delivered in TX after showing tracking to 19 locations. It showed "Delivered' after I filed a lost mail claim, now 3 weeks after is showed delivered in TX is shows up on my step with the bar code taped over and a bunch of writing on the box. It was one of 6 going to the same buyer, each one shipped about 3 days apart.
The box looked like it got dragged the whole way, the address was clear with no damage to the label, but there was a label over half the bar code with a few numbers hand written on it, and there was other numbers written all over the box that weren't there when shipped. All in red marker. The tracking still shows as 'delivered' in TX, a replacement was already shipped to the buyer via UPS at my expense. It was out and bouncing around for nearly 11 weeks.
It was a larger box, not something that would get lost easily and the address it was going to was a regular buyer. On that one I'm only out the shipping but the shipping was still $14 and change. Apparently all I paid for was it to take a tour of the country for no apparent reason.
This is the latest one, its no wonder they're losing money with routing like this, sadly it seems to be the norm lately.
fern*wood
·5 months agoSounds like dejoy's master plan is working to perfection. Destroying sorting machines has consequences.
lesegouts
·5 months agoHave never had an issue with GA, and only one with EIS, which was refunded by ebay's insurer the day after my claim. It has been two months on that one with no movement after the local center.
shirla2005
·5 months agoSunday, 3/22/26 - I literally had stopped making purchases on eBay due to USPS lack of shipping time frame, mis-sorts with my purchase(s) going to the wrong state, ghosted tracking information after item's first scan (if scanned at all), and even waiting over two weeks' time frame and then filing "Missing Mail" search which ends up with no communication by USPS they even received my inquiry to my email nor no update after Missing Mail does show in the tracking number. EXAMPLE: I file Missing Mail on March 7, 2026, it did show one day later in the tracking, however, nothing showed, "ghosted" until March 18, 2026. That is 1-1/2 weeks after filing. Item was accepted by USPS February 20, 2026. AS I write this, it is 3/22/26 and still it has not been delivered! I am even scared to list items on eBay due to failed USPS service. Face it people, USPS it is experiencing really bad issues!
I wanted to know what is going on with USPS. This type of unreliable shipping service by USPS cannot possibly be happening to just me so I did some research, a little "digging" about USPS.
USPS is experiencing widespread scanning failures, network changes, and high‑volume choke points that cause packages to loop, sit in hubs for 1–2 weeks, and show no tracking updates. These issues are now common enough that millions of packages are affected and “Missing Mail” searches often don’t get meaningful follow‑up because the system can’t locate the item until it’s scanned again. USPS Tracking Goes Silent for Days (or Weeks) due to missed or skipped scans. USPS has been restructuring its distribution network, and the new routing system has caused: Packages looping between hubs, Long holds at regional centers, & temporary “dead zones” where scanning is inconsistent. Package Loop or sit in a Hub for 1–2 Weeks: A facility is overloaded and holds trailers; package is misrouted and sent back to the previous hub; container is sealed and not reopened for days; & sorting machine rejects the package repeatedly. These are known issues in the current USPS network transition.
Most “Missing Mail” cases only get resolved when: The package finally gets scanned; It reaches the destination city; or It’s delivered without ever updating. This is frustrating, but it’s consistent with current USPS performance.
But raising the price of a stamp could accelerate the decline in volume of letter mail, its most profitable product - has seen massive declines, as the GAO reported in December.
The alternative to taking drastic measures: the end of the Postal Service as we know it. Reuters quoted the PMG's written testimony to be delivered tomorrow, including the following excerpt:
"In order to ensure our survival beyond next year, we need to increase our borrowing capacity so that we don't run out of cash," Steiner's written testimony seen by Reuters said. "The failure to do this could lead to the end of the Postal Service as we know it now."
Many sellers rely on USPS Ground Advantage for shipping their orders, which is a competitive service as opposed to a market dominant service like letter mail. But presumably moving to a 5-day delivery schedule would impact package delivery as well as letter mail.
reelworks
·5 months agoI'm seeing the same thing, I've had 5 packages take over a month to get delivered, one took 59 days.
The latest is one shipped to NE, from NJ.
Tracking has it going through PA, to VA, to NE, back to VA, and back to NJ and now 'In route to next location as of Friday. It seems every last package takes a crazy route to its destination. Packages going to CA, go through ME or FL, maybe back and forth several times before finally returning to their destination PO for delivery.
I've also had a dozen show up as 'no such address' on their first round, only to bounce around an finally end up back and out for delivery. One showed out for delivery four times, only to turn up half way across the country again before going back and being delivered as is nothing happened.
One didn't show any tracking till it was delivered, only to show it delivered two days before I printed the label.
when I saw that one it gives me the impression that they can manipulate tracking somehow.
I had a package that was delivered to me from a seller continue to show tracking around the country after I had received it. A padded envelope shipped from TX to NJ, it arrived 14 days after it was postmarked, it showed continued tracking for four more days in locations no where near me or the sender. It finally stopped showing movement and three days later showed 'Delivered' even though it was here 7 days prior.
They blame it on the weather in the midwest but I don't see how a storm in MI makes a package going from NJ to FL go through Seattle, San Jose, and Portland ME, before showing up in Richmond VA, Atlanta GA and on to Cocoa Beach FL, where it sat for a week before showing out for delivery.
This has been going on since the first of the year.
We also lost all our regular carriers, I'm being told drivers keep quitting, they don't stay long enough to get uniforms. I realize its become pretty much a minimum wage job but the level of help they seem to be getting is terrible. The carrier today was not in uniform, didn't know the route and instead of going box to box, he was bouncing around the block in no particular order, often going to the same box three times before moving on.
A carrier last week didn't know how to use the scanner, he said they were told to just get the route done, don't worry about scanning anything.
I've been told by nearly every driver that they're told NO OVERTIME yet I'm told they're short 42 drivers here. Yet they won't hire anyone local. Every last driver has been from far away, even these recent non uniformed drivers. I know guys in their 40's and 50's who have tried to get a job there but never got called.
I think the pre-requisite to get hired is purple hair, flip flops and a nose ring, or a general low IQ and the inability to read.
I swear they almost have to be trying to be this bad lately. As someone who did the hiring at a large company, I cannot imagine a situation where I'd hire any one of the drivers I've seen lately simply because they cannot present themselves professionally. Its one thing to be dumb, its something else to advertize and be proud of it.
bonanza125
·5 months agoComplete different experience than you do. I have not had many issues with USPS. There are some times where delivery takes longer due to being sent to different locations or damaged items upon arrival but that's very little in compared to the majority. Majority of the time things go fine. The cost for FedEx or UPS will be too expensive for the buyers I deal with as in how low in weight the items are. I can understand using FedEx or UPS on very heavy items.
fern*wood
·5 months agoI think I'll pass on your advice. Around here it is a constant scavenger hunt to find a delivered FedEx package. You get a photo of some random porch and no real way to find your package. My brother got a photo of his delivered package on the back of some truck, but never found where or who got his package. Cases don't help because it got the delivery scan. Eventually ebay refunded him, but it was a real hassle.
kensgiftshop
·5 months agoLately, we've had more problems receiving packages from FedEx then other carriers.
They've been leaving our packages at our neighbors and our neighbors packages here.
biggymoe
·5 months agoUSPS Ground Advantage is my go to shipper of choice.
I will never use UPS.
I will only use FedEX as a last resort.
YMMV
gator08041971
·5 months agoFor here, its the opposite for me. I won't use FedEx here, but will use UPS for certain packages, but primarily use USPS with only 1 package mishap in the past 2 years. And that one still arrived eventually, even though it was considered lost by USPS and they reimbursed me, and my buyer was refunded. And they still got their item. lol
I do know that some areas/hubs/local post offices have different experiences and I can't vouch for USPS for everyone in the country. But from my experiences they have been more than satisfactory.
reelworks
·5 months agoFed Ex left this area completely, I'm an hour south of Philly and the only Fed Ex option means leaving your outgoing packages at the local super market who piles them up out in the vestibule where everyone walks in and out of the store. They're left completely unguarded and they won't give a receipt.
The only other option is to drive over an hour away almost to Philly to drop them off at a FedEx run facility.
They used to have one here but it was never fully staffed, they had a couple of girls who worked the counter and a few dozen trucks but after 2020 it was gone.
The drivers whom I've spoken to who were making deliveries said they were owner/operators. now I've had FedEx items delivered by the Post Office. The shipping times for FedEx are terrible here too. A box I shipped Fed Ex, one which I took to the depot near Philly because I was already going that way, took 18 days to get from NJ to CT.
The buyer was livid but they chose the option vs nearly double via USPS.
UPS breaks items, its been an ongoing issue for years here. I often get product via UPS out of FL and NY, the damage rate is about 10% on items that are hard to damage without trying.
ryry-jj
·5 months agoI love using USPS, but as sellers we make our choices based on our own experiences
kibble-net
·5 months agoCounterpoint: I've not had any of the problems OP describes and I ship about 80-100 parcels per month.
If you think USPS is that poor in service, use a competitor or start your own.
Or better yet, vote for people who won't gut USPS in an attempt to privatize it. I know we all hate hearing about politics but elections have consequences...
P.S. That comment about non-English speaking mail carriers is a racist dog whistle if I've ever heard one.......
frugalmarketplace
·5 months agoThe “service” we are currently receiving is terrible. Pony express would be faster.