USPS sure has its inept times.
Summary: lakefor94 expressed frustration with USPS shipping delays, especially compared to UPS, which they find more reliable. christworks shared their experiences, noting their preference for FedEx despite some challenges, and discussed issues with USPS contract drivers. tobaccocardyahoo highlighted USPS's cost-cutting measures leading to delays and shared mixed experiences with UPS and FedEx. Other participants, like 12345jamesstamps and melrose_stamp, discussed the limitations of tracking services and perceived USPS inefficiencies. The exchange continued with discussions about refunds, regional hub issues, and ways to manage shipping mishaps effectively.
Buyer asking me where their shipment is.
I use USPS and UPS. 50% USPS and 50% UPS. The absolute only time there is an issue with routing correctly and late delivery, it falls with USPS every single time. Never, ever an issue with UPS in the last 9+ years.
Have one that bounced around in Dallas for over a week. Picked up on July 24th and just left Dallas heading east to FL on August 2nd, arrived in Atlanta, GA August 3rd. And now, why Atlanta rather than Jacksonville FL? The shipment has to make it to south FL.
One of the reasons the expensive items only ship UPS.
(my rant for 2026)
lakefor94
OP2 days agoI did the missing mail search and it showed in the tracking.
The shipment is now back in its destination state, FL.
Been exactly 3 weeks as of today.
I did process the refund several days ago which was less than 24 hours after updating the tracking when the INR was filed.
Buyer responded saying he would pay for the order if it eventually gets delivered. Of course, I would not allow him to do that if eBay refunds me upon delivery.
fm2000
·1 week agoPart of the issue comes down to regional hubs that mail passes through. Some have problems, some don't, some have been operating so poorly they required Congressional intervention to clean up their act. My regional hub operates well and I don't have issues with the USPS on my side, my packages go in and out and arrive on time with very rare exceptions. I consider myself very fortunate, I suspect more Congressional intervention is going to be required across the country.
lakefor94
OP1 week ago · EditedWell,...... the buyer just filed INR today. Shipment is back Texas where it started. Been to GA twice, back to Dallas twice and FL once. Been over 2 weeks. $80 order.
What are the chances of it actually making it to the buyer in FL??? LOL. Probably not that good.
I updated the tracking in the INR. I reckon standard procedure is to go ahead and refund before the INR closes?
That way eBay refunds me IF it gets delivered at some point this year? I did use ebay shipping.
Do I understand the process correctly?
@christworks @tobaccocardyahoo
Another question: does anyone do USPS missing mail searches anymore these days?
tobaccocardyahoo
·6 days agoI do USPS missing mail searches. It seems to work, as does the Ebay refund when the shipment is delivered after you have refunded.
I've gotten the money in my available funds within hours of delivery
lakefor94
OP6 days agoThanks for the clarifications @tobaccocardyahoo , appreciate it.
soh.maryl
·1 week agoThis has little relationship to some of the issues posted here, but is an example of the USPS lack of accountability. I use "Informed Delivery" which has mostly worked out well for me, so, if I have no important mail, I don't have to walk down a very long gravel driveway. However, last Saturday ID told me I had an item being delivered from an insurance company. No. Not Monday either, Tuesday or today. Evidently if you check that it's not delivered, they do search for it, but where do they search? All of my incoming or outgoing mail goes to Cleveland first and the ID info is scanned in Cleveland. How hard do they look and when can I finally contact the ins co and tell them the check for a large amount of money that they sent me has disappeared?
melrose_stamp
·1 week ago · EditedEasily, 10%, with some weeks as high as 20% of USPS packages I mail are being delivered late/delayed. Im convinced my father doesn't even get mail deliveries on Mondays any longer.
12345jamesstamps
·1 week agoI decided not to use tracking as much as I did in the past...I actually stopped using it Internationally.
It seems the items take so much longer to get to it's destination than without tracking...and a few have 'in transit' for months and months.
I never know if item gets delivered when it saids 'in transit' for so long...and prefer not to contact buyer..that's like opening 'a can of worms'.
For the ones with tracking...especially from me buying from sellers...I had one item last week that hit 10+ cities before I got it.
I am beginning to find tracking a waste of money for me.
The banks(issuing credit cards and debit cards)...are smart...there is no tracking of these...and I assume because the banks want them to get to the consumer ASAP to spend on the cards. How these manage to get mailed when there is a stiff card in them in beyond me as metered mail.
I think I have saved quite a bit of money not using tracking.
And if, I lose an item...not a big deal.
The hubs in Tennessee and Kentucky and Florida and Texas seem to move mail very slowly these days.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 week agoAmong the USPS cost reductions during the DeJoy era was the elimination of alternative routes to some sorting centers,
Among the effects of these changes was the increased delays when a package was misrouted. It is now common for it to have to return to the facility where the misroute occurred. It is also common for the route to a destination to be through a more distant sorting center than some alternative. That is sometimes a prelude to closing the nearer center.
Small population states saw sorting center closures. Maine went from two centers to one.
It takes only one human error to misroute large numbers of parcels, and many of the USPS workers are not full-time and are poorly trained. They may also be workers who work for USPS because they do not qualify for better jobs.
UPS, after the latest contract with the Teamsters, began closing sorting centers and reducing costs. I have no idea whether they have completed the process, but it would not be surprising if their service worsens.
With Amazon handling more parcel shipments than any other carrier, it would not be surprising if service deficits appear from other carriers.
lakefor94
OP1 week ago@tobaccocardyahoo "UPS, after the latest contract with the Teamsters, began closing sorting centers and reducing costs. I have no idea whether they have completed the process, but it would not be surprising if their service worsens."
I have not seen anything yet that points in that direction.
I agree with your assessment of USPS. There can be incompetence at any turn and they have a real problem being able to fire any of those fulltime employees that just do not care. (aside from the contract hires)
christworks
·1 week agoI read here that UPS never loses a package. Two posts down I read UPS steals expensive packages.
Everybody's experience will always be different. I love FedEx. I never have any issue with them. When they damaged an item, I applied for the insurance online and I had my $80 check exactly one week later. Likewise, I don't have issues with USPS. Yes, packages can do a big loop sometimes - or at least it can appear that way. But rarely is anything actually lost. It finds its way to the customer. If they are upset it hasn't arrived, they can file an INR if the last EDD has passed. I can refund, and then collect from eBay when it is eventually delivered. I may even be able to collect the insurance.
lakefor94
OP1 week ago · Edited@christworks
One of the reasons UPS is competent is the way the employees are paid. I have never met a UPS driver that was unprofessional. These guys/gals work it all the way until retirement. Every UPS order I have ever received is delivered by a UPS employee in a UPS truck. My previous UPS driver, Art, retired at 34 years. We have another stud on my route now that does a great job.
I have a nephew that has 32 years in with UPS as a driver. These people work their azzes off and live really good.
Fedex uses a LOT of contract drivers in random vehicles. I do use Fedex on rare occasions but not for expensive orders.
I would rate Fedex as more competent than USPS.
christworks
·1 week agoYou are right on the contract drivers. The ones around here are almost always in a FedEx truck. We don't have a hub here. It is about an hour's drive away. I know two people who have worked for FedEx. Both liked it, but their issue was you didn't know if you'd work from one day or the next. They had to call in at 10pm the night before to find out whether to make the drive to the hub the next morning. Both of those guys went on to do other things.
I think there are maybe a half dozen FedEx drivers locally. They all know I resell, and have been good about accepting packages if I flag them down.
My only issue with USPS is my local carrier. They are about seven months into this route. They refuse to get out of the vehicle to pick up packages or leave packages. They use the excuse there was a dog alert on this street ten years ago. That dog isn't around anymore, but back then it did bite a carrier. USPS everybody on my street install roadside mailboxes as a result. Funny thing is all the other nearby streets are still walking routes, as if a dog cannot cut between houses and go to another street. Our previous carrier never had an issue with getting out of the vehicle.
I'm friends with my post master and have an acquaintance who is a regional supervisor for USPS. I've told both of them about this carrier, but there is little they can do because the union has it worked into their deal that if a carrier feels unsafe, they can refuse to get out of the vehicle. It is insane to me since any dogs around here now are kept up. I don' thave a dog. Of course UPS, FedEX, Amazon, Door Dash, etc. have no issues getting out of their vehicles.
lakefor94
OP1 week ago · EditedMy USPS carrier(s) are the bomb. Scan everything, always.
I can leave a note in the box and they will come down the driveway and get packages to large for the box.
(I do tip well at Christmas)
The distribution centers are where the problems lay.
I have my postmaster's cell and he has mine. Have assisted him with networking issues at the post office in the past. He has been to my house before. Though I only see him about once a year these days since I am not shipping a dozen or more AMZ orders a day.
lakefor94
OP1 week ago@christworks Wrote: "You are right on the contract drivers. The ones around here are almost always in a FedEx truck. We don't have a hub here. It is about an hour's drive away. I know two people who have worked for FedEx. Both liked it, but their issue was you didn't know if you'd work from one day or the next. They had to call in at 10pm the night before to find out whether to make the drive to the hub the next morning. Both of those guys went on to do other things"
Those don't ~sound~ like "full-time" Fedex employees. Sounds more like contract workers from a company that has a contract with Fedex. Correct me if wrong, please.
Kind of off-topic: There was a contract Fedex guy that m*urd_ere*d a little girl in 2022 not that far from here. It was in Wise County, Texas. It was headline news here, on and off for years.
christworks
·1 week ago@lakefor94 I believe they worked for FedEx because they both started out in the FedEx hub and not the ISP. One of them is about to marry my niece so I will ask him.
That story made national news earlier this year. Didn't he claim he hit her with van and panicked?
lakefor94
OP1 week agoFedex is really workin' it to garner all the margin they can obtain.
Yea, that was the first story he dreamed up that was later debunked. Such a dumbazz.
This day and age gives me dumbazz fatigue.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 week ago · EditedI have never met a UPS driver that was unprofessional.
One of my favorite UPS drivers was unprofessional. He violated UPS rules by coming to work with a pistol. He intimidated his supervisor who was a meddler and not very bright. The merchandise he picked up on his route was never audited because everyone feared how he would react.
When we moved the business ten miles and were served by trucks in another UPS facility, our new driver was well acquainted with our old driver and considered him a hero. Many UPS drivers did so.
We had our share of UPS drivers over the years, and all were not perfect. We were given a phone number at the depot to call if I pickup was late or missed, and they would send another driver to pick up. We had a number in Atlanta of a manager who would troubleshoot any problems we had with our shipments. None of this was normal, but we were shipping heavy, big ticket items in volume. We would have had far more problems if the did not get this back door help.
I have nothing good to say about FEDEX Ground/Home. There contractors perform poorly in my area. Every package they deliver to my area is dirty and manhandled. They never ring a bell, never leave a heavy package, the package stays in the truck while they put a sticky slip on the door.
I will not order from anyone other than Ebay Supplies who uses FEDEX. The box of mailers arrives filthy but you cannot break these products.
It a shame because I always admired Fred Smith and his FEDEX Express operation.
As for FEDEX Ground, it might be even worse than its predecessor RPS.
A FEDEX Express Story. A computer manufacturer I was dealing with was unable to ship me 50 PC/AT sized computers to arrive by a committed date. They shipped them FEDEX Express Next Day Air. FEDEX did not have a local truck available to deliver the shipment to me by 10 AM the next day. They got a truck and the shipment arrived by noon. They credited the full amount of the shipping charges. It all shipped from California to Massachusetts for FREE.